Sure...but first, "the seriousness of the two issues." Are you joking? What else would I be talking about? Do you think I think West pilots are not serio-- do you think the East pilots are serious about these issues?
No...very different principles and...you said bedrock principles, not just principles found in any "writ of the Rhelm". The Continental Congress spent huge amounts of time researching what would be the American philosophy of government that was remarkably different that that of George III's Kingdom.
The wrtings of Locke, Montesquieu, Blackstone were the top three thinkers cited the most by the Founders. Get this: there is one primary source cited more than any other document. The Founders cited this source...in regards to political theory and judicial law--four times more than Montesquieu and Blackstone, twelve times more than Locke. What was the source? The Bible (source: The Origins of American Constitutionalism, Lutz, LSU Press. p143.
So, before you take any moral high ground based on bedrock principles, especially support of those involved in alleged criminal felony acts against someone/thing you find morally reprehensible, make sure you put into practice those bedrock principles. The outcome may be different. The success of this great country is because of those bedrock principles.
Your comparison to them with this issue as a "wink and nod" and accolade to alleged felony behavior (of any kind from any individual on either side) is...bad form and unprofessional.
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people... Be not intimidated, therefore, by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom...nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice." ~ John Adams
T8
Thank God for an intelligent East pilot, finally! We still disagree, but at least you show signs of intelligence, unlike the impostor Bdfg1.
You're looking more towards the actions of the Continental Congress in the forming of our Constitution, whereas I'm looking much earlier, at revolutionary times while we were still under the yoke of King George. During the revolution, many illegal and arguably unethical acts were carried out by revolutionaries such as Thomas Paine and Samuel Adams. Hell, simply disavowing the King was in and of itself an illegal act! These actions had to be taken so we could reach a point where a new congress could form a more just form of government.