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It’s baseball season, but in Washington when you hear “three strikes and you’re out” it’s usually about getting tough on crime.

But is the principle of “Three Strikes/You’re Out” really that tough? Some experts think it’s too tough on non-violent offenders, but too lenient on violent predators. Why should a murderer, rapist or child molester get a second or third opportunity to destroy another person’s life?

We hear a lot of talk from politicians about getting tough on crime, but consider a few facts:

• The average time served by convicted rapists is only 5 and 1/2 years.
• Convicted murderers average less than 8 years behind bars.
• And each year, murderers and sex offenders that have been released commit more than 14,000 murders, rapes and sexual assaults.

Representative Matt Salmon is taking action to stop violent criminals by providing incentives for states to keep violent offenders in jail. His legislation would require a state to compensate a second state if a murderer or sex offender they release goes on to commit another violent crime in another state.

The principle of “three strikes, you’re out” actually applies to Congressman Salmon. He’s limited his service in Congress to three terms. This has him working a little harder than his careerist colleagues, and on things that really matter.

Representative Salmon’s legislation isn’t as catchy as “three strikes, you’re out” but working to stop violent predators from destroying the lives of innocent people is more important than a media sound bite. And it’s not a game.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Representative Mark Sanford says: “Musical chairs is a great children’s game, but not one that I would recommend for committee chairmen.” Washington politicians often act like children and they’re doing it again when it comes to term limits for committee chairmen. Like spoiled brats they’re refusing to share power.

When Republicans took over the Congress in 1994 they promised to shake up the corrupt fiefdoms of powerful committee chairman and share the power through term limits. Those term limits on committee chairs were the most important reform they made. Now that the limits are coming up, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert announced that chairmen can simply swap committees so that the same small clique-averaging over 20 years in Washington-can keep their stranglehold on power. Self-limiter Matt Salmon of Arizona called Hastert’s decision “slight of hand” and Joe Scarborough of Florida said, “This absolutely subverts the spirit of the term-limit rule we voted for in 1994. A lot of things have apparently changed around here since then-and not for the better.”

The House Republican leadership has found a way to thwart their own most trumpeted reform by playing musical chairs, so that power can be hoarded in the hands of a few career politicians. In so doing, they’ve once again become the very enemy that they claimed they would run out of town.

This game of musical chairs isn’t over. The Republicans have a very slim majority. Come the 2000 elections, Republicans may find the music has stopped and they’re short a seat.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

There’s a new word in the English language: to “Nethercutt.” To nethercutt means to go back on one’s word; to say one thing in order to get elected to public office and then to do the opposite once elected. It means to be dishonest, a hypocrite, an opportunist.

The word comes from Congressman George Nethercutt, who defeated the Speaker of the House on a pledge to serve no more than three terms in Congress. Nethercutt has now broken his word to the voters and plans to keep running to cash in on a career in Washington.

The Seattle Times defines “Nethercutting” as, “the cynical, self-serving hypocrisy of someone who exploits others for personal gain.” In stark contrast to Nethercutt, Representative Matt Salmon and seven others who made term limit pledges have kept them. When asked about Nethercutt’s excuses for breaking his word, Salmon said bluntly: “I don’t buy those arguments and I can trump all of them with one card: if you give your word you ought to keep it end of story.”

The sports pages recently carried a story about the kind of integrity Mr. Nethercutt lacks. Felipe Alou is the manager of the Montreal Expos, a baseball team that has been down on their luck this year. Alou turned down an offer to go to another team, saying: “I always said I would not leave this organization . . . I had to keep my word. It doesn’t matter if you are winning games or losing games. We die with our word.”

No wonder people like sports better than politics. There’s less chance you’ll get “nethercutted.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Abe Lincoln told us that “a House divided against itself cannot stand.” Today, we so often see the public sector pitted against the private sector. This only divides our country, weakening all of us.

Too many politicians never experience what it means to work in the private sector. So how can they represent the majority of Americans who do? On the other hand, many congressional districts don’t have a living soul who has ever served in Congress other than the incumbent. That denies us the kind of shared knowledge we need to have an informed debate.

Consider the 16th district of Michigan, represented for the last 44 years by John Dingell. Mr. Dingell’s father held the seat for 22 years before that. So for the last 66 years no one else in this part of Michigan was able to gain experience in the Congress. No wonder there’s such a wide gulf between the public and private sector!

It would help if those who represent us in Washington know that one day they’ll be private citizens again. We also need to give more people a chance to serve in public office. Term limits is now accomplishing this in 18 state legislatures and can do the same in Congress.

As Americans, our strength has always been our ability to bring people together from different nationalities, religions and philosophies through a common belief in individual freedom and equal opportunity. Career politicians divide us. And history tells us that united we stand, divided we fall. Old Abe had a point.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Some people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. What I’m worried about are folks forgetting the true meaning of the Fourth of July.

We don’t celebrate July 4th for the sake of the date itself. July 4th is important because it’s Independence Day the day that our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was unveiled to America and the world.

On July 4th 1776, America was born as a separate and independent nation, and the first nation ever conceived in liberty for every person. Our experiment with self-government began on July 4th. But it didn’t stop there.

We had to build a new government, brick by constitutional brick. The patriots who built that government did a great job, but they weren’t perfect.

One thing they failed to provide for was term limits. Thomas Jefferson was unable to attend the

Monday, June 21, 1999

Constitutional Convention. He worried that without term limits the new government would slowly change from one representative of the people to a government benefiting the politicians. Jefferson said: “Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on office, a rottenness begins in his conduct.”

For a century and a half, few legislators served for long periods. But then the power and perks of office began to grow, and today, career politicians cling to office like barnacles to a rusty hull. Since 1776 we have continued to fight to protect and expand freedom. That’s something we should remember on Independence Day.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

A while back, I told you about Congress legislating smaller toilets that perform so poorly that a black-market has developed for the old outlawed toilets that actually work. It’s outrageous that the politicians think they can dictate every aspect of our lives, and in the process take things that work and break them.

Well, our federal government is at it again. Our career Congress has given the Department of Energy the authority to regulate our household appliances. It seems that the bureaucrats at the D.O.E. don’t like washing machines in which clothes load from the top. They say front-loading machines use less energy. The problem, however, is that consumers want top-loading machines. 95 percent of consumers purchase these washers. The front-loading machines have been on the market for years, but they cost more and they just don’t work to the satisfaction of consumers.

Too bad, say the politicians and bureaucrats. The Department of Energy is in the process of regulating our popular washing machines right out of existence. Of course, the makers of the politically favored washers are happy. Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute reports: “Producers admit that they don’t even have to worry about consumer satisfaction since the public would no longer have a choice.”

If career politicians knew anything about washing machines, there wouldn’t be so darn much dirty laundry in Washington. Tell them to leave our washing machines alone. And our toilets too while you’re at it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.