Time to End the Occupation

It’s only a matter of time before Washington, DC follows New York City in randomly searching subway passengers. This would be on top of the assault-weapon-toting police and bomb-sniffing dogs we have to put up with on days of heightened security. Not to mention the stress of knowing that the police who patrol our subways can arrest our children for eating french fries and tackle women to the ground for eating candy bars with impunity.

While Reason’s Jacob Sullum has a great op-ed in today’s Washington Times in opposition to random police searches, he doesn’t address the root of the problem. DC residents, like Iraqis, have to live in fear of being blown up because the U.S. government occupies our territory. If Congress and the White House moved to Texas (or some other oil-soaked state) no terrorist would even want to visit DC not alone kill its residents. There would be many fringe benefits to ending the occupation of DC as well. For instance, not having our town associated with Hilary Clinton and Rick Santorum.

Sure a lot of my favorite bars and strip clubs might go out of business without the likes of Ted Kennedy being around. But, a few less nipples in my life is a price I’m willing to pay to not have to explain to subway police why they found handcuffs, opium, and pictures of a fat Britney Spears in my backpack. And who knows, maybe us Washingtonians would become full-fledged citizens with the right to vote once the federal government no longer occupies our town.