There's a flag on the field

My letter to the Everett Herald published August 6, 2013

When a football player violates a rule of play the referee throws a flag, calls the infraction and applies the penalty.

When a basketball player elbows a player the referee blows his whistle points to the aggressor and applies the penalty.

When a baseball player gets caught running to the next base and a fly ball is missed or dropped, chances are he'll get thrown out before he retreats to the safe base. He's called out. Rules have been in place for decades and are followed to achieve fairness and maintain order. I get that.

Politics doesn't seem to work that way. Rules are broken, special rules are made up on the spot and the team manager gets to override the referee. And while the players and fans boo and call foul, the game continues. And nobody stops the game. Nobody calls the team manager to task. The fans and players are frustrated and the game loses its appeal. American justice is ignored.

So Congress passes by the slimmest of margins a massive takeover of one-sixth of the economy and forces all Americans to comply with an impossibly complex and confusing set of laws. No, wait, not all Americans must comply: The rule makers get a pass, and the largest contributors to the manager's bank account get a pass. Rules are violated and new ones are written by the manager in favor of his team.

There are flags all over the field and nobody stands up to halt play and apply the penalties. And nobody stops the game. Nobody calls the team manager to task. The masses are frustrated and the faith and confidence of Americans for the rule makers falls like a stone into the muddy waters.