[matt4077]

criminal law != civil law. And the law in fact doesn't apply retroactively, but it would apply to events in the future, that were determined in the past, based on certain assumptions.

Yes, the only reason the government is hiding time machines from us is their inability to finish the tax laws that would apply :)

Analogy: If congress raises gas taxes (nobody said analogies have to be realistic), everyone would have to pay more at the pump. But that doesn't mean the tax is applied retroactively.