The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. - Marcus Tullius Cicero. Benewah County knows firsthand what it is like to deal with the federal government on natural resource issues. Just ask our county commissioners or our natural resource board. However, the federal assault on state sovereignty and local control does not end there. Recently, I became aware of another so called federal assistance program called the Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA). A trial project has been set up in the Treasure Valley area, with plans on bringing all of Idaho on board. According to the federal proposal, the purpose of SAUSA is to prosecute offenders in federal court instead of state court. The crimes to be targeted by SAUSA are gun crime, gang crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, identity theft and immigration offenses. The list is a who’s who of media buzzwords guaranteed to excite even those without a pulse. Who isn’t concerned about those issues, right? Just like a TV commercial, the federal government promises to come to our rescue with the cure for all of Idaho’s law enforcement ills. The proposal promises increased convictions. But wait. There’s more. If you sign up today, your savings per inmate could be a whopping $20,382 per year. The proposal even promises to save counties the prosecution costs if criminals are tried in federal court, as opposed to state court. Never mind that federal courts were originally intended to deal with a very limited set of federal controversies, with crime almost universally defined at the state level. Federalization of state and local issues has proven disastrous for freedom. Local objection to federal authority is simply ignored with grievances going unaddressed. The proliferation of federal laws practically insures that everyone is born a felon. There is no better way to control an unwilling population than to divert jurisdiction and/or subvert local agencies, many of which are now publicly declaring their opposition to the epidemic of federal abuse. Once again, by promising Idaho taxpayers monetary incentives, Idahoans are being duped into surrendering local control of legal proceedings and law enforcement to the federal government. With growing local and regional opposition to gun control and other unconstitutional actions of the federal government the federal government is now doing what it does best: bribing local officials into surrendering their responsibility. If dealing with the Forest Service is any indication of how this will turn out, we’re in trouble. It is now next to impossible to address any concerns about local natural resources with the Forest Service. Imagine how difficult it will be to address legal issues with Obama’s justice department. This is just the latest move on behalf of the federal government to eliminate local control and destroy what is left of state sovereignty and individual liberty. Local control means local accountability - something government at all levels hates. We must insist that local and state officials reject SAUSA and retain local accountability, regardless of cost. Ken De Vries St. Maries
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 19:28:29 +0000
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