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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. |
