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...on the abuse of power by both unelected bureaucrats and Congress:
Dear Editor,
The revelation of the abuses of power by several departments of the Obama Administration
has raised two fundamental questions about the way we are being governed.
First of all, how is it that Congress can give to unelected bureaucrats powers, which are
not even granted to Congress by our Constitution? By granting to Federal regulators the
power to invade our privacy, to seize our property without due process of law and to violate
our freedom of religion, of speech and of press, Congress has abused or abdicated its proper
Constitutional mandate. We are supposed to be a nation of the people, by the people and for
the people. But over the years, Congress has allowed our government to gradually go through
a fundamental transformation, whereby we have become a nation of the bureaucrats, by the
bureaucrats and for the bureaucrats. And these bureaucrats are so protected by civil service
laws as to be de facto a class of nobility. As a result, our representatives and senators are
often relegated to acting merely ombudsmen/women, who serve us by begging for special
favors or exemptions to be granted to their constituents by these bureaucrats.The second question is raised by the bureaucratic abuses that are coming to light. Why are
we willing to give such bad example to our children? Many of our schools are vigorously
implementing anti-bullying campaigns. Yet we, as voters, have for years tolerated various
forms of bullying by bureaucrats in the Internal Revenue Service, in the Justice Department,
in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services and
numerous other Federal agencies. For example, the Department of Homeland Security was
so busy ensuring that its TSA agents could check out the genitals of children and the elderly
at our airports that it ignored clear warnings on the terrorists planning to set off bombs at the Boston Marathon. And the Treasury Department has been so busy targeting Christian and Tea Party groups for special scrutiny and harassment that it has been ignoring its procedures that allow billions of dollars in illegal payments to be sent to criminals and dead people.
Sadly, when anyone questions the legality of such abusive practices, that person can be arrogantly threatened with special scrutiny, harassment or even prosecution by government bureaucrats. A man once defined a bully as being a coward with power. Sadly, the revelations of abuses of power now coming to light indicate that there are quite a few such persons firmly ensconced in our federal bureaucracy. The problem of bullying, then, does not seem to be confined to our schools.
Finally, the abuses of power that are coming to light demand that those in power be held
accountable. What is being revealed is not merely inappropriate behavior or poor customer service, but rather obscene abuses of power. President Obama has promised on numerous occasions that his would be the most transparent and corruption-free Administration in American history. It would be an insult to the dignity of his person and of his office for us
not to hold him and his Administration accountable for the prompt and thorough fulfillment of this promise. Only in this way will we be able to wrest governmental power from the control
of tyrannical bureaucrats so as to restore a government guided by the consent of the governed.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Thomas Collins
Sacred Heart Church
Covington VA
The revelation of the abuses of power by several departments of the Obama Administration
has raised two fundamental questions about the way we are being governed.
First of all, how is it that Congress can give to unelected bureaucrats powers, which are
not even granted to Congress by our Constitution? By granting to Federal regulators the
power to invade our privacy, to seize our property without due process of law and to violate
our freedom of religion, of speech and of press, Congress has abused or abdicated its proper
Constitutional mandate. We are supposed to be a nation of the people, by the people and for
the people. But over the years, Congress has allowed our government to gradually go through
a fundamental transformation, whereby we have become a nation of the bureaucrats, by the
bureaucrats and for the bureaucrats. And these bureaucrats are so protected by civil service
laws as to be de facto a class of nobility. As a result, our representatives and senators are
often relegated to acting merely ombudsmen/women, who serve us by begging for special
favors or exemptions to be granted to their constituents by these bureaucrats.The second question is raised by the bureaucratic abuses that are coming to light. Why are
we willing to give such bad example to our children? Many of our schools are vigorously
implementing anti-bullying campaigns. Yet we, as voters, have for years tolerated various
forms of bullying by bureaucrats in the Internal Revenue Service, in the Justice Department,
in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services and
numerous other Federal agencies. For example, the Department of Homeland Security was
so busy ensuring that its TSA agents could check out the genitals of children and the elderly
at our airports that it ignored clear warnings on the terrorists planning to set off bombs at the Boston Marathon. And the Treasury Department has been so busy targeting Christian and Tea Party groups for special scrutiny and harassment that it has been ignoring its procedures that allow billions of dollars in illegal payments to be sent to criminals and dead people.
Sadly, when anyone questions the legality of such abusive practices, that person can be arrogantly threatened with special scrutiny, harassment or even prosecution by government bureaucrats. A man once defined a bully as being a coward with power. Sadly, the revelations of abuses of power now coming to light indicate that there are quite a few such persons firmly ensconced in our federal bureaucracy. The problem of bullying, then, does not seem to be confined to our schools.
Finally, the abuses of power that are coming to light demand that those in power be held
accountable. What is being revealed is not merely inappropriate behavior or poor customer service, but rather obscene abuses of power. President Obama has promised on numerous occasions that his would be the most transparent and corruption-free Administration in American history. It would be an insult to the dignity of his person and of his office for us
not to hold him and his Administration accountable for the prompt and thorough fulfillment of this promise. Only in this way will we be able to wrest governmental power from the control
of tyrannical bureaucrats so as to restore a government guided by the consent of the governed.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Thomas Collins
Sacred Heart Church
Covington VA
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