Amazing, What A Small Club Can Do!

[rkumetz]

As you pointed out, there are a lot of areas of modern life with restrictions tied to them. However, the constitution has set forth several restrictions that cannot and shall not be trodden upon. We are speaking about two at the moment. Various government agencies have tried to make the argument that you voluntarily relinquish rights to do an activity, and the courts have been crystal clear that this is not allowed.

I am curious what government agencies you know of that have not proven capable of overreach and excessive abuse of power.

Given that the courts have been clear that this is not allowed, it would seem more prudent to present that case law to the agencies in question and handle abuses on a case by case basis.

It is much easier to make a case for a violation of one's constitutional rights when an agency has abused its power and stepped across constitutional boundaries than to deal in hypothetical
situations. Americans are not easy to get excited about hypothetical anything. They require Youtube videos with dramatic footage. Then they start tweeting and all that sort of crap and
before long you have the electronic version of the villagers with the pitchforks and torches.

On the other hand litigating just to thump one's chest and make some point about looking out for everyone's rights might backfire.

I am not naive. I am fully aware that there are some in government who abuse their power. I regularly have to deal with an FAA security geek who introduces himself as "Special Agent (name omitted to protect the stupid)" instead of "John Doe" etc. You immediately know when you deal with someone like that you are dealing with someone who is stoned on his own power or perceived power and yes, he does abuse it whenever he has a chance. He also gets pissed off when you call your congressional delegation. In his words "I really hate getting calls from congressional offices". On the other giving him a wedgie by stepping on his ego too hard or unnecessarily is not likely to be productive. Where I am I going with this? Fighting a war because you expect a skirmish may not be prudent. Wait until you need to fight and when practical try to be diplomatic. I haven't always been this way. I used to be motivated to go head to head whenever I perceived some injustice. I have simply learned that you need to pick your battles.

Am I comfortable with individuals or organizations engaging USFWS and other agencies in a dialog about how the regs may overstep those constitutional boundaries as well as being unnecessary to enforce the spirit of the law? Absolutely.

Am I comfortable with them becoming confrontational and claiming to do it for all falconers? No. I am not and I hope they don't try to help me fix the regs in my state.

And yes, I am tremendously offended by the implication that if I don't agree with their strategy that I am not a staunch defender of my and others' constitutional rights. That
more than anything raised my hackles.

We have talked about a lot of this stuff and I think you know where I stand.