Regarding the US Congress, all you need say is "ethanol subsidies". Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms should be a neighborhood convenience store, not a Bureau (incompetent that it is) of the Department of Homeland Security.
Sorry I've not reviewed the last few chapters, I've managed to return to the land of the gainfully employed and getting readjusted to a morning schedule and the lack of spare time has kept me from several things. I'll post a more indepth review later.
Author's response
Hey hey hey! It's good to hear from you again, Cat! I was afraid you'd stopped breathing!
While I agree...reluctantly.../there is some good from Alcohol, Tobacco meets all the criteria of a class II narcotic (in that is is highly addicting and has no medical value whatsoever) but until very recently was treated like an over the counter medicine.
As for the BATF and the DHS, we are of a mind there. Both are throwbacks to the earliest days of the Secret Service, the Pinkertons and the FBI. In all three cases, they were established with poorly defined lines of focus and unlimited power. As a result, corruption and officious interference is rampant. BATF alone, is responsible for more violations of the US constitution than all other agencies, federal and local, combined.
Don't worry about the reviews. It's just good to hear from you again.
Alorkin