Re: MPs mailout reflected Canadian outrage at payment to Khadr, Rod Loesch, p.21 (Gazette, Nov. 1). Rod Loesch’s outrageous views are demented. His link to an obsessive blog of news snippets do not provide facts. Furthermore, Loesch provides links to Supreme Court decisions that do not support his irrational rantings. Justice is not a public lynching equivalent to American Idol voting based on social media platforms that purport to tally what the majority want. Checks and balances of our society limit abuses of power exercised by government. Rights are designed to protect everyone, including minority rights against the tyranny of the majority. Cooper’s mailout was designed to divide constituents. He speculated a majority might disagree with the amount of the settlement. How much should the Canadian government pay for aiding and abetting the torture of a child soldier? That torture was conducted by a U.S. government violating its U.S. law for treatment of prisoners. To escape judicial checks and balances, prisoners were held outside the jurisdiction of U.S. Courts. Off U.S. soil at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: U.S. courts could not protect minorities from torture. Michael Cooper’s mailout asks us to disregard a judicial settlement in favour of American Idol style tyranny of the majority but St. Albert is not Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cooper’s mailout was an embarrassment and Matt Diederichs accurately recognized it for what it was. Randy B. Williams, St. Albert
