FBI: Business as usual

It's a pity Congress didn't talk to any drug reformers before they stampeded themselves into passing the (un)Patriot Destruction of Civil Liberties Act.

Then, perhaps, they wouldn't be so shocked and appalled by the Fibbie's arrant (and probably illegal) misuse of National Security Letters. They have snooped and gathered personal information about hundreds of thousands of citizens without reasonable suspicion or any oversight whatsoever.

I'm sorry, but there is nothing shocking about this affair. It is only another dark chapter in a long, dismal history. Remeber Cointel Pro of the 60s and 70s with dossiers of thousands of honest citizens? How about the "black bag jobs" of the 50s through 80s -- or the cooperation with HUAC, McCarfthy, and the red-hating blacklisters of the 1940s or 50s? And don't forget the sexual files on Martin L. King, Jr., members of Congress, and even presidents.

But as observers and warriors in the War on Drugs, we can tell them all about the police. Police, in general, have way too much descretion and too little oversight. With no civilian oversight and no supervision by any independent agency, police work always degenerates into forced confessions, planted evidence, professional informers, no-knock raids and illegal searches. Wearing suits does not make the FBI any different from other police organs. Remember Lord Acton's warning that all power corrupts.

There has been a lot of talk about trransparency in government lately, but no branch of government needs it more than the police. In this situation, the FBI didn't even need to get a judge's signature -- a very weak check on abusive searches.

No police action should be screened from the public. Everyone should be entitled to know what every police officer is doing every minute (I might concede a week's delay in releasing the information to protect tactical information). Some elected body, not connected to the police, the prosecutors, the courts, or the legislature, should have oversight of the police (including FBI, DEA, ICE, and the rest of the federal alphabet soup) with subpoena power and the power to prosecute.

Anything less just means more of the same.