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Freedom Action of the Week
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k
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Edited by Thomas L. Knapp. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and
other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
----- Featured Action of the Week -----
Fourth Week of October, 2001
Czar out, man
The denouement of Arthur C. Clarke's _2001: A Space Odyssey_ is eerily
prophetic. As he approaches the deep space monolith around which the story
revolves, astronaut David Bowman gasps "My God -- it's full of stars!"
Change that to "czars" and you have a pretty good idea of what the
increasingly monolithic government of the United States is trying to make
itself into in the real-life 2001. There may be more "czars" --
presidential appointees with far-reaching powers over particular public
policy areas -- than there is available office space in Washington to hold
them.
Technology czars. Privacy czars. Health care czars. The newly created
"Homeland Security" czar. And, of course, the position that started this
"Russian revolution on the Potomac" (with all its parallels to the first
one on the far Volga): the drug czar.
The drug czar is largely responsible for setting the tone of public policy
regarding drugs. He or she heads the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, lays down the government line on treatment or decriminalization
versus prosecution and interdiction, and generally champions whatever
direction the current administration intends to pursue.
Since the elder Bush's appointment of Bill Bennett as the first "drug
czar," the United States has found itself saddled with a succession -- not
of enlightened monarchs, but of would-be "warriors." They admit to no
conception of drug policy other than arrest, arrest, arrest. The younger
Bush's prospective appointee, John Walters, seems to be cast from the same
mold.
This week, I'd like you to give some consideration to -- and take some
action on -- the issue of the appointment of "drug czars." I am not asking
you to oppose the confirmation of John Walters by the Senate Judiciary
Committee; that's for you to decide. Instead, I hope you'll take a broader
approach that questions the wisdom of having anyone in such a job.
When it comes to nominations, specifically, the Lindesmith Center's Drug
Policy Foundation has assembled an array of information and action aids for
your use. If you live in a state represented on the Senate Judiciary
Committee (Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky,
Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, or Wisconsin), you
may want to contact your Senator to weigh in with an opinion.
What's more important, however, is that we focus in on the larger issues of
drug policy and the centralization of that policy in the person of the drug
czar. The better approach -- or at least an additional one -- is to
cultivate contact with your legislators in order to influence them against
allowing such power to be conferred to _any_ individual.
It might also be worthwhile to contact the ONDCP itself, regardless of who
is in charge there next week or next year. While an individual opinion may
seem insignificant in and of itself, the weight of many such opinions can
influence the judgment of the czar and his office. Even bureaucracies
tremble at the prospect of widespread public opposition.
I've included links below to the ONDCP, as well as the House and Senate
sites. Each of these sites provides contact information. Take the time to
communicate your thoughts to your representatives as well as the appointed
public servants (bureaucrats) whose every action affect our lives.
The Lindesmith Center's Drug Policy Foundation on John Walters:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/DailyNews/10_12_01WaltersAction.html
The Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
The U.S. House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/
The U.S. Senate
http://www.senate.gov/
Action of the Week archive:
http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
----- Alternate Actions -----
The Freedom Action of the Week Club: Commit yourself to doing one
action per week. If the action above doesn't appeal to you, consider
one of the alternate actions at:
http://www.free-market.net/features/action/
If you know about another action or organize one of your own, e-mail
Tom at tlknapp@free-market.net so we can tell the rest of the group
next week.
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