Air traffic controllers, pilots, and cops

[WritersBlock]

Just a few of the many professions in which employeess must undergo random drug tests. All of these are positions of responsibility, in which the office-holder's good physical and mental condition is vital for the safety of others.

Yet, responsible as they are, none of them carry the suitcase or can send our military into combat.

But we've got an employee who can.

And I want that employee to undergo a comprehensive drug test immediately.

And I want the results of that test verified and made freely available to us, his employers.

We have a right - in fact, we have a responsibility - to know if our employee is a substance abuser.

And if he is, then we have a right - in fact, we have a responsibility - to relieve that employee of his duties.

[Mythsaje]

1. They don't drug test congress either...

You know why?

They object that it violates their privacy.

Uh-huh.

[WritersBlock]

4. I think we could argue that he has no right to privacy in this instance.

I hear what you're saying. I felt my privacy was violated, too, every time I suffered the indignity of having to pee into a jar while some stranger stood just outside the open stall door.

But it was a job requirement, so I did it.

I'm just suggesting we require the same of our employee. :)

[Mythsaje]

5. Oh, that would be nice...

Not going to happen, though...

They have more rights than we do, obviously...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. George, take this little jar....

If people who work in some safety-critical professions flunk a drug test, they will probably be fired, or at least suspended, on the spot. Yet the guy who has access to the nuclear launch codes can ingest God only knows what kind of substances with impunity. That's lunacy.

[WritersBlock]

3. Exactly. n/t

[WritersBlock]

6. Kicking before leaving for my cube this morning

I'm serious about this.

[canetoad]

7. Deserves a kick

and complete agreement.

Politicians forget they are there by the grace of the people, paid by the people. They are not masters, but servants and should be subject to the same oversights as any person in the employ of another.

[WritersBlock]

8. Thank you. Evening kick. Still serious about it. n/t