Stephen Lynch, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, regularly beats his wife, molests his children, and sells poisoned milk to local elementary schools. I have no evidence of any of this, and it’s probably not true, but the thing is, you don’t know, and in Congressman Lynch’s world, that’s enough justification for imposing martial law:
The NBA’s steroids policy was branded “pathetic” [by Lynch] and “a joke” by lawmakers Thursday, and the head of a congressional panel said he will propose a law creating drug-testing standards for the four major professional sports leagues . . .During the hearing, Lynch pointed out that the NBA’s current program calls for in-season testing of veteran players only if there is “reasonable cause.” Noting that one of the effects of steroid use is violent behavior, the congressman asked Hunter whether the melee involving players and fans at a game in November between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons constituted such cause.
That led to the most contentious exchange of the day, with Hunter calling Lynch’s question “a quantum leap.”“I’m not saying it was caused by steroid use. I’m saying you don’t know,” Lynch said.
They went back and forth, interrupting each other, before Stern joined in.
“On behalf of the players of the National Basketball Association, I would like to say that the guilt that you seek to attribute to them on the basis of this policy is ill-taken and very unfair,” Stern said.
That drew a retort from Lynch, to which Stern responded: “It’s a free country, and I would just like to disagree with your approach, that’s all.”
It won’t be a free country for long, however. Lynch—the name is chillingly apropos—and his fellow House members are prepared to ram a draconian drug testing law that would give the Bush administration unlimited power to decide what athletes can put into their bodies, and it would strip players of all constitutional protections against warantless searches and self-incrimination.
But drug testing in sports is merely the appetizer. The main course is a bill being shepherded by House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner that would expand mandatory prison sentences for most federal drug offenses. The bill will also make it a crime, punishable by a mandatory two-year prison sentence, for anyone to fail to report certain drug crimes, such as marijuana possession on a college campus. Parents will also face prison time if they fail to turn in their child for any drug offense. These provisions effectively force every American citizen to become a terrorist—after all, if a citizen can face imprisonment for drug offenses without ever having used drugs, there is a strong incentive to simply make up stories and go to the police so that you’ll be perceived as the government’s “ally”.
If I were the commissioner of the NBA, my response to the congressmen at today’s hearing would have been simple and direct: Turn us into an agent of the state, and I’ll shut the league down immediately. See how the American people react when 30 NBA arenas go dark and thousands of people who make their living on the NBA find themselves out of work.
Congress is a bully, perhaps the biggest bully in human history. You don’t defeat a bully by appealing to a sense of reason and compassion that was abandoned long ago. Congress is in the business of initiating violent attacks against American (and foreign) citizens. Resistance is the only means of protecting human life and liberty.
When congressmen issue broad indictments against American citizens without any factual basis, they have ceased to hold any right (assuming it ever existed) to govern in our name. Indeed, such people cannot even claim the rights of citizenship in this country.
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Oliva, be careful! Such talk will get you labeled an “extremist”! You’ll never fly again.
I never fly anyway.
Thanks for pointing this out. I just scanned the bill, and yikes, it does say if you don’t report your kid when you discover he’s using, you’re a criminal.
“…If the person who witnesses or learns of the violation is the parent or guardian, or otherwise responsible for the care or supervision of the person under the age of 18 or the incompetent person, such person shall be sentenced to not less than three years or more than 20 years”
Holy crow.
`FAILURE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DRUG TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES
`SEC. 425. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who witnesses or learns of a violation of sections 416(b)(2), 417, 418, 419, 420, 424, or 426 to fail to report the offense to law enforcement officials within 24 hours of witnessing or learning of the violation and thereafter provide full assistance in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the person violating paragraph (a).
`(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to not less than two years or more than 10 years. If the person who witnesses or learns of the violation is the parent or guardian, or otherwise responsible for the care or supervision of the person under the age of 18 or the incompetent person, such person shall be sentenced to not less than three years or more than 20 years.’
I think we should just throw Congress in jail and see if that solves social problems.
– John O.
Can we? It sounds worthwhile to try.
I’ll second the throwing Congress in jail, at the very least we should vote out all of those frauds.
Rather than throwing congressmen in jail–which is essentially retribution at taxpayer expense–I would prefer seizing their assets and permanently expelling them from the country. The seized assets can then be used to provide modest restitution to the many victims of congressional violence. (Admittedly figuring out who is owed what would be an accounting nightmare, but it’s worth a try.)
I’ll second the throwing Congress in jail, at the very least we should vote out all of those frauds.
Yeah, just to see them replaced with another crop of frauds.
The U.S. was founded by a group of anti-tax secessionists.
It was a good idea then; it is a better idea now.
Now more than ever.
Seriously.
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