Put the evil bastards on trial: The case for trying Bush, Cheney and more for war crimes (Salon)

[OrwellwasRight]

3. If people cannot trust that government officials aren't "above the law"

they lose all faith in democracy -- democracy simply isn't "rule by the people" if the people can't hold their representatives accountable.

It's not mystery why so few vote, and even fewer vote smartly (not meaning that people are "dumb" to vote Republican, meaning too many don't bother to educate themselves deeply on the issues of the day, they don't require reporting on more than the "horserace" bullshit). Why bother when the govt again and again violates its own laws (whether spying on citizens, torturing people, shooting unarmed children, engaging in secret and illegal wars, not prosecuting the 1%, or whatever)?

Trying Cheney would be a good start but hard to make up for more than 40 years of undemocratic behavior.