Charlene Barshefsky, United States trade negotiator, was turned in by her assistant for illegally purchasing 40 Beanie Babies on the Beijing black market and then smuggling them into the U.S. when she returned with President Clinton from China.

The U.S. Customs Service, at the request of Ty Inc., the Illinois-based importers of Beanie Babies, has limited the number of Beanie Babies that an American family can purchase to one per visit. Barshefsky has claimed ignorance of the law.

Even if we are to assume that Barshefsky had no idea that she was engaging in illegal activity while rooting through the product stalls of Beijing’s black market, it is highly unlikely that she was unaware of the $50 billion trade deficit with China which it was her job to concentrate on while in China.

Even James White, attorney for Ty Inc. has stated that he would grant her a waiver if she requested one.

This story has been presented as a funny, little human interest story by almost everyone except Republican National Committee Chairman, Jim Nicholson, who paints an excessively sinister picture. But whether the product in question is a cute little stuffed toy or an ominous Cuban stogie, the issue is the same: it seems that once again we have been presented with a fine example of how one set of standards applies to our rulers while another one suffices for us.

U.S. Congressmen and CEOs of the largest American corporations can get away with taking their yachts on fishing vacations straight to Cuba. But John Q. Public is routinely told that even ignorance of the law is no excuse for violating it.

Those with the power and money to flaunt the law do so with impunity while the common man can languish in our geometrically-expanding prison systems for minor, victimless offenses.

Our nation’s universities turn into profit-making enterprises and our primary schools are forced to accept corporate sponsorship just to make ends meet. It is high time someone in power was held accountable for such a flagrant violation of U.S. trade laws. It is just one more example of the routine abuse of power.