If the United States truly practiced the concept of "liberty and justice for all," retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Al Martin would be the one with the national radio talk show and prestige, and Ollie North would be having to hide out in a remote site, or better yet, in prison.

George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, George Bush Sr., Richard Armitage, and others sure would not be in the positions of power they are. Some people would not be sitting in prisons for what they knew about the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. Other people would not have died under odd circumstances since then, possibly because someone was afraid they’d talk too much, or find out too much.

And two books I’ve recently read, Al Martin’s "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran-Contra Insider" [National Liberty Press, LLC, P.O. Box 43, Pray, Montana 59065, Toll-free 1-866-317-1390, http://www.almartinraw.com, 2002] and Uri Dowbenko’s "Bushwhacked: Inside Stories of True Conspiracy" [Conspiracy Digest, Pray, Mont., Toll-free 1-866-317-1390, http://www.