From: "Bull Moose" <bullmoose at mail.conservativereform.org> To: <updates at conservativereform.org> Subject: More Testosterone = Less Cipro Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 08:39:27 -0400
PROJECT FOR CONSERVATIVE REFORM http://www.conservativereform.org
The Moose issues this breaking news bulletin to our libertarian friends - big government is not the enemy, radical Islamic/Arab terrorism is.
The Moose is still suffering from Tourette's over the House GOP foot dragging on the airline security bill. Infused with a libertarian sensibility, these erstwhile conservatives act as if an expanded Federal Aviation Administration is a greater threat than the Al Qaeda organization. These yahoos worry more about John Sweeney than Osama bin laden!
We should not only federalize airport security, but perhaps militarize it as well. However, the House Majority Whip acts as if he is facing down Hillary Health Care rather than an international terrorist threat.
This week, a House-Senate conference will meet on a rather modest anti-terrorist package. The bill has already been watered down to accommodate the House ACLU right. The House Republicans, who demand permanent tax cuts, insisted that the anti-terror law sunset in five years. Are potential tax cut reverses really a greater threat to our national security than radical Islamic terror?
David Tell pointedly writes in the current Weekly Standard, "Amazing. Five thousand-plus people are slaughtered by a foreign terrorist attack on the United States, and the House Republican party's first instinct is hysterical recoil from the vigorous exercise of federal authority. Such a political party is fundamentally unserious, dangerously unmoored from reality. And a fundamentally unserious party is a party that cannot be trusted to hold power in the nation's legislature, especially at a time, like this, of genuine emergency."
Amen, Brother Tell!
Yet, even this limited legislation is running into some obstacles in the House. Once again the likely K Street and libertarian suspects are the culprits. It appears that the banking lobby objects to the money laundering provisions in the Senate bill. Once again, the dollar prevails over the flag in the world of the money right.
The Moose fears that despite the 9/11 attack we are still not on a domestic war footing against terrorism. For example, there is not yet a serious reexamination of our immigration policies. The Moose is no immigrant basher. However, our borders and our visa policies are far too porous.
Congress must move to reassess our visa policies, dramatically increase border protection and conduct an oversight investigation of the fifth column of domestic organizations and individuals which have supported terrorist causes. Although national identity cards are not a panacea, they should be issued immediately with the latest technology to make life more difficult for our foes. If the civil libertarian Alan M. Dershowitz can live with them, why can't they be acceptable to the law and order right?
In addition, to address the concerns of a bio-chemical attack, Congress must also significantly improve and expand our public health infrastructure. At this point, Americans are correctly not confident that their government is prepared.
The point here is that we need to be serious about the domestic front in the war, and we're not yet. If we inject more testosterone into our domestic battle against terror, we might not need so much Cipro.