What Science Is and How We Get People on Board

Atul Gawande on the growing mistrust of science and what we can do about it:  THE MISTRUST OF SCIENCE.

Atul Gawande

What is the legal precedent for government authorized murder?

We must have a number of lawyers and legal experts who sporadically participate on this blog. I know President Obama and his administration have petitioned for and, apparently, been granted the power to kill U.S. or other citizens and not be prosecuted for such crimes actions. How did these powers come about? Do other countries legalize government murder? Do any other self-stated democracies participate in killing by executive order? What precedent allows our justice department to silently authorize these killings?

Yes, I freely admit that politically (and rationally) I am against this policy as a very undemocratic thing to do, but I wonder how a so-called democracy arrives in this position. I understand how the fear arrives to allow such a situation, but how does the law allow it?