Scott Lurndal wrote:

I agree. For example, the piece mentioned, not for the first time,
Dubya's seeming ducking of his National Guard obligations. I have
yet to see, in the dozens of accounts I've read about this failure
to participate, how his actions deviated from the usual and accepted
practice of the time.

This is the "everyone else does it" argument. Doesn't make it right.


In many cases, yes it does. The Uniform Commercial Code recognizes that the
"usual and accepted practices" of an industry have the force of law. The
Bible says "Fair weights and measures you shall have" but "fair" depends on
the community [in one community a "container" may be "heaping" and in
another community it will be "level"].

Methinks you may be painting with too broad a brush when you condemn the
excuse in its entirety.