Following the Money: “The September 11th attacks have been put to all sorts of uses by interest groups with preexisting agendas. Some of the claims are patently absurd: Some legislators, for instance, are trying to push the Farm Security Act, which protects such things as peanut butter sandwiches, as more necessary than ever in the wake of an attack on American soil.

But it’s the claims that appear reasonable that may prove to be the most damaging to freedom in the long run. The inverse relationship between laughability and lethality is easily explained: The serious claims deal with government police powers, which are necessary to ensure our domestic security but also contain the most potential for abuse. That’s certainly the case with the anti-terrorism bill Attorney General John Ashcroft has been attempting to rush through Congress. It’s just as true of money laundering legislation that may be bundled into the anti-terrorism bill or considered as a stand-alone package.” –Michael Lynch, Reason