The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
New Survey Shows Americans Want Financial Privacy
English Summary
A new survey indicates that a significant majority of Americans (74%) value financial privacy, a sentiment consistent with earlier findings that 83% believe warrants should be required for government access to financial data. The article argues that despite this public consensus, current federal laws (such as the PATRIOT Act and the third-party doctrine) grant the government sweeping, often warrantless, access to personal financial information. The authors urge Congress to reconcile this gap between public opinion and current policy, advocating for legal reforms that restore constitutional protections and give individuals greater control over their financial data.
中文摘要
一份新的調查顯示，絕大多數美國人（74%）重視財務隱私，這一情緒與先前發現一致，即有83%的人認為政府存取財務資料應要求搜查令。本文指出，儘管存在公眾共識，但現行聯邦法律（例如《愛國者法案》和第三方原則）仍賦予政府廣泛的、且常無需搜查令地存取個人財務資訊的權力。作者呼籲國會彌合公眾輿論與現行政策之間的落差，倡導進行法律改革，以恢復憲法保障，並讓個人對其財務資料擁有更大的控制權。
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