Nothing up Their Sleeves

20 May 2005



Washington's Antics Drowned out by Judicial Filibuster Row

Misdirection is the main tool of nightclub magicians, con men and politicians. While the big news from Washington is about the filibuster fight over a handful of reactionary judges, other events are not getting the media attention they deserve. If policy talks currently underway become policy actions, the US will permit the FBI to subpoena records without court approval (making the judicial appointments moot), “weaponize” space, force a uniform standard on the four major sports leagues to test for drug use, and fudge whether women can be in combat.

Starting with the subpoenas, Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) is working on a renewal of the misnamed Patriot Act that would allow the FBI to issue administrative subpoenas to get hold of electronic data and other evidence to be used in anti-terrorist investigations. Recipients of the subpoenas could challenge the writs in court (most likely after the fact and at significant expense), and twice a year, the administration would have to explain the use of these unconstitutional tools to congress. Evidence that an investigation has been hampered by the lack of this power would make the case more reasonable, but for two years, congress has denied the FBI this power – for good reason. It is an unnecessary intrusion and a circumvention of the Fourth Amendment.

Across the Potomac, the Pentagon, and specifically the US Air Force, wants to start putting weapons in orbit. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, has said this isn’t a “substantial shift” in policy. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty only bans weapons of mass destruction from orbit, so apparently, regular bombs and weapon platforms would be OK. This is supposed to keep America’s satellite system safe and secure. Sounds great until one listens to the Russians. Vladimir Yermakov, a Soviet diplomat in Washington, told the Financial Times that any American combat weapon in orbit would result in a Russian response that could include force. That doesn’t make the US or its satellites more secure, does it?

And House Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) is working on a bill that will require Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and the National Hockey League to follow the Olympic model for drug testing. Apparently, he has forgotten that being a Republican means getting government out of the workplace and letting private enterprise solve problems. If the Olympics were drug-free, one might be convinced, but all it seems is the substitution of one standard for another so a congressman can showboat.

Meanwhile, the House Armed Services committee has backed off proposals that would prevent women from serving in “forward support companies” just as they are banned from “direct combat.” Whether one supports the idea of women in combat or not, 35 women patriots have died in Iraq, begging the question of whether anyone is indictable over those deaths. For the record, the Kensington Review believes that combat service on one’s record is an advantage in a military career, and there is no reason not to permit women to volunteer for it.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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