Lostinspace


 

Science fiction writers often
talk about something they call ‘parallel universes’.




In
their opinion what we experience here on Earth is mirrored
in reverse in some other time and or space compendium (I
think this is the right word).



Sometimes I think the members of our elected congress are
the present day examples of that parallel reverse universe
somewhere out in space.



For example, last week or so the FBI raided the offices of a
Louisiana congressman, named William Jefferson. Now, I’m not
a big fan of the FBI, but in this case they had a legal
search warrant and some pretty creditable evidence to
support their plea for a warrant. Namely the confessions of
a couple of the congressman’s aides who were in the midst of
plea bargaining to get their sentences reduced for bribery
charges.



According to the story, Congressman Jefferson had received
the sum of $100,000 from someone wanting some political
favors. This transaction was videotaped by the FBI. $90,000
of the $100,000 was found (serial numbers matching) in the
congressman’s freezer at his apartment. Based upon this
information the search warrant was issued to allow the FBI
to search the congressman’s office.



Nothing wrong so far..right ? Wrong…



Both sides of the aisle are up in arms over this alleged
breach of the Constitution which supposedly protects the
members of congress from harassment from the executive
branch of government. I suppose this was put into place to
protect the congress from being placed in jail when a vote
was coming up.



But in this case the good congressman wasn’t arrested or
held up from any important legislative business, just a
search of his office and the confiscation of some documents
and possible proof of his involvement in the bribery matter.




Several members of congress are enraged that they weren’t
told of the search prior to it being executed. Congressman
Jefferson has reportedly said he is upset they didn’t tell
him they were coming.



I’m sorry, but don’t you think maybe some of the evidence
might disappear if you knew the feds were going to be
knocking on your door at 5pm. Get real, if some drug dealer
had 50 pounds or kilos or whatever they package their stuff
in, and the same sense of fairness applied to drug dealers.
Do you think if the DEA or whoever called the bad guys and
said something like….”We’d like to search your house, office
and apartment at 5PM today, can you be available so we can
talk to you?” Do you really think they’d find anything? I
don’t think so. Isn’t one of the prime reasons for a search
warrant the element of surprise?



Anyway, in the interest of fairness, the President has
locked up the evidence for some days to come in the hopes
that all will work out and he can get on with the business
of leading the nation. Lord knows we need to get on with the
business of this nation.



Meanwhile Congressman Jefferson has vowed that he is
innocent of any wrongdoing and that the 83 page affidavit
used to support the petition for the search warrant is all
politically motivated. I think Ken Lay said something
similar along those lines as well.



I don’t know about you, but I am getting somewhat tired of
“them versus us”. We seem to have morphed into a ‘do as I
say, not as I do” form of government. The rules that we have
to adhere to don’t apply to our elected officials. If the
FBI wanted to search your house or mine, do you think we
would get a courtesy call telling us they are on the way? I
don’t think so.



As some well known congressional pundit said the other
day…”We make the laws, we don’t expect to live under them…”




These words warn the cockles of your heart don’t they? I
know I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I hear that kind of an
attitude.



Perhaps there really is a parallel universe, we’re in one
side, reality and the congress is living in the other side.




Lost in space.