Tripping the Snare

My wife is currently editing a massive volume detailing the official tax code for American corporations and individuals. It is something so voluminous, so intricate, it bears updating every six months. In her estimation, it is impossible for any one individual to know the entirety of legislation that governs it. As such, it is entirely possible that the majority of people charged with complying with these laws, even after having taken utmost care, can still run afoul of them in some obscure way. As such, we all have become guilty of some arcane transgression. As such, we all are guilty of crimes should someone take the trouble to embark on a witch hunt (for oversights we may have committed) for the sole purpose of laying us low.

It's a bit like the speed limits on NJ highways which no one observes precisely. And even those who do are now suspected of running drugs or guns, or driving without documentation. In short, if someone has it in for us, they could in theory trip the snare any time they wanted to.

Take Governor Patterson (NY), for instance. He was said to have intervened for a friend in a domestic violence case. For this he is being hounded out of office (by the very man who wants to unseat him). I would say, if Patterson hadn't intervened, it would indicate a problem (of character). What are friends for if they are straight-jacketed and kept from executing normal responses?

Only our president and those in his favor seem to be immune from scrutiny. You are already well aware of the litany of transgressions of which this president is guilty. But he is the president; he holds the reigns. This, sadly, is roughly the definition of a third world nation.