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Politics : About that Cuban boy, Elian -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (4049)	5/3/2000 11:25:00 AM
From: chalu2	Respond to of 9127

This article deserves to be printed here in fall. The storm-trooper/jack-booted thug language is an absolutely disgrace, and could lead to a dissolution of the social order we all will deeply regret: The Time Seems Right to Say a Word in Defense of 'Jackbooted Thugs' By Mike Causey Monday, May 1, 2000; Page B07 I had lunch the other day with a "jackbooted thug," a k a a retired federal law enforcement offer. He now works as a volunteer with disabled children. He could have made more in corporate security but said he decided to spend his retirement--"giving something back." He's a disgrace to thugs everywhere. I've known lots of federal agents (they are called 1811s in the trade) over the years. Most of them are very nice. And very good at--and dedicated to--their jobs. They've done a lot more to beautify America than any newspaper columnist--or member of Congress. So I was surprised last week when House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Tex.) referred to some Immigration and Naturalization Service officers--who raided the Miami home of Elian Gonzalez's great uncle--as "jackbooted thugs." Heretofore, I had always associated that term with Nazi storm troopers, or Stalin's KGB. Recently, I ran into an about-to-retire Treasury agent. He's going to "help out" with his grandchildren. Gee, I hope his thuggish ways don't rub off on the tykes. During the federal health insurance open season last fall, I talked with lots of jackbooted thugs--about their insurance, their sick wives, kids with serious medical conditions. They sure fooled me. They sounded like fathers and mothers. Jackbooted thugs don't have much imagination. They don't make laws (Congress does). The policies they carry out are sent down by political appointees named by the president. All these thugs do is what they are told--under law--to do. Every federal law on the books, every single one, was passed by Congress. The charter of every federal law enforcement agency--and its jurisdiction and money--was approved by Congress. The Senate will hold hearings this week on the Miami "raid." Several politicians--for whatever reasons--have picked up the chant about jackbooted thugs. That prompted one reader to comment: "Here's an unsolicited view from an anonymous fed: "Is this any way to speak about federal employees who are doing their tough, legal job?" This quote is from an Associated Press story filed on April 25. It quotes House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Tex.) as referring to the Immigration and Naturalization Service agents who raided the house of Elian Gonzalez in Miami as being 'jackbooted thugs.' "It is statements like this that created the contempt for law and federal employees that led to the bombing in Oklahoma City. "You can bet if the feds had gone in meekly and touched off a riot where Elian and others were hurt, these same folks would be demanding to know why the Justice Department had blundered by not making a strong enough show of force. Instead, there was property damage . . . and no one was badly hurt. "This is no way to treat federal employees who are enforcing the law. The villains are those who say, since they don't like that particular law, it should not be obeyed. "But as a veteran myself, whose father really deserved the title (he fought from Normandy to Munich in World War II), and whose wife's family includes numerous Holocaust survivors, I would say, without hesitation, that federal employees are not 'jackbooted thugs,' and it is unfortunate that anyone would characterize them as such. "If Elian was one of those congressional leader's sons, and was being held in a foreign nation by shirt-tail relatives, I wonder what they would call the 'jackbooted thugs' sent by the Pentagon or other federal agencies to get him back." -- No name. (I work for these guys.) In July 1998, a gunman burst into the U.S. Capitol and killed two federal agents: U.S. Capitol Police officer Jacob J. Chestnut and Detective John M. Gibson. Both men died doing their jobs, which was to protect the public and members of Congress. No politicians were hurt. One year after the two brave federal officers died, there was a ceremony to commemorate their bravery and their ultimate sacrifice. Perhaps the most moving words said were the following: "Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson put themselves between a gunman and [my staff] and me. That is bravery under fire. God bless our fallen heroes." Amen. The man who spoke those words about the brave federal agents--in case you hadn't guessed--was Rep. Delay. Amen, again. Monday, May 1, 2000