Whether a government agency can use public funds to directly weigh on referenda and ballot initiatives should be a decision that Congress deliberates openly and candidly. When a back door is opened for an agency to quietly slip through and challenge historical precedents on federal electioneering, someone has to blow the whistle. It's disturbing that the bill has gotten this far without a voice of protest: This bill should be halted and discussed, and should not breeze through the markup process.
Huh? What's that about? Well, the House is marking up a bill reauthorizing the mission of the nation's anti-drug agency to "give the drug czar authority to use taxpayer dollars to pay for media campaigns directly targeting state ballot measures."
This is aimed at referenda calling for the medical legalization of marijuana for patients with AIDS, cancer, and some of the other illnesses the nasty weed has been proven to help. So a citizens group may manage to get a referendum on the ballot (usually a difficult struggle in itself) asking the voters if the medical use of marijuana should be legal, but the federal drug agency can advertise heavily (the dollars could add up to as much as $1B) against it. States rights, anyone? (via TalkLeft).
Lest you think that's enough questionable behavior on the part of federal law enforcement, DOJ's own Inspector General issued a highly critical report about the detention of immigrants post-September 11 today. Among other things, INS rules governing the length of time a suspect can be held while his/her bona fides are being examined were apparently changed to suit Justice's timetable.
Posted by Linkmeister at June 3, 2003 10:14 PM