Over the weekend of the 22-23 of April, the Justice Department raided the home of Elian Gonzalez's Miami cousin in an attempt to reunite the boy with his Cuban patriot father. People have speculated that such an act may or may not have been the best for him psychologically, or that maybe his relatives had valid concerns about returning him to Cuba, or that perhaps his father is not the best person for the boy to live with. Controversy abounds as to what the right thing to do was. There is only one answer to that: A solution that should not have involved a government invasion of a private home.

Perhaps what is more bothersome than the fact that 150 armed men and women were at the scene to assist the few who entered, is the idea that, according to the April 25 USA Today, more than half the country seems to believe that it was the right thing to do. People thought it was a good thing for Federal Agents to storm into someone's home, who were involved in nothing more than what would normally be an average custody dispute, armed and end negotiations without warning.

One could argue that the boy was being held against his will. One could argue that he was in fact kidnapped. But one cannot say that if in a similar circumstance, albeit less publicized as nothing could have more coverage, they would want agents to invade their home.

spudWorks is against the recent Justice Department action and believe that it was an abuse of power and authority which has taken one more step in destroying the public's confidence in their government. A government founded on the idea of rights and privacy.

- The Editors