Code of Conduct, by Brad Thor

This is the 14th book of Mr. Thor's featuring hero Scot Harvath. As is the norm, Harvath is the super operative who saves the world by disregarding the US Constitution wherever it suits his sense of purpose to do so. As a consequence he always gets the bad guys (and the nice girls), and promulgates the notion of selective interpretation of rights.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive; I watched the GOP primary debate on CNN last night and heard Governor Huckabee suggest that one needn't really follow a directive from the Supreme Court of the United States if you really really really know deep in your heart that theirs is a bad decision.

And on top of that, today is Constitution Day! I guess I'm in that minority who feels as though if one doesn't respect the entirety of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in how we treat our citizens then we've lost the fight.  The Patriot Act -- terrorists win. NSA wiretapping US citizens without prior warrant -- terrorists win. Occasionally overzealous TSA agents acting out the theater of air safety -- terrorists win. Whenever we give up our rights, whenever we act in fear, and whenever we dramatically alter our normal daily behavior -- the terrorists win.

The notion is that the Bill of Rights matters -- primarily when it suits those in power.  Governor Christie's comments at that same debate fall into the same category: he embraces the 10th Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."). Except for when doing so gets in the way of his views, in this case, horror at states choosing to legalize marijuana. Sigh.

Boy did that debate make me cranky!

Oh well, enough of that. It was a good action novel.


Code of Conduct: A Thriller (Scot Harvath Book 14)