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Melanie Scarborough
Melanie Scarborough: ‘Colorblind’ government a joke
- Ah, the fruits of prosperity. The federal government is so flush with our money that it not only pays for 800,000 “nonessential” employees; our money sends them to training conferences that are worse than nonessential.
Melanie Scarborough: Additional laws needed to limit peeping government
- Imagine trying to go about your business every day, walking around the city with a stranger dogging your steps, hovering within inches of your face and constantly taking your picture.
Melanie Scarborough: Leftist activists unsympathetic to polygamist women in Texas
- It all comes down to good PR. Sporting their prairie dresses and pompadours, the women of that Texas polygamist sect just aren’t cool enough to attract sympathy from the usual defenders of “non-traditional families.” Rosie O’Donnell isn’t running her bilious yap. The American Civil Libeties Union hasn’t filed any amicus briefs on behalf of the plural wives. Brad Pitt hasn’t vowed not to marry the mother of his children until polygamists also are free to wed.
Melanie Scarborough: U.S.’s only unregulated killing industry
- A judge on Thursday refused to dismiss the five felony and three misdemeanor charges against Daniel Navarro, one of the two workers from a California slaughterhouse charged with abusive treatment of cows. In the weeks since a videotape exposing the mistreatment became public, Congress has held hearings demanding assurance that the strict laws governing animal protection are being enforced elsewhere.
Melanie Scarborough: FAA crackdown leaves a bitter taste
- Imagine taking a test and earning an “A” — but receiving a failing mark because you didn’t follow the irrelevant instruction to use a No. 2 pencil. That is the manner in which the federal regulatory behemoth often operates. Even when no harm is done or the mistake is unintentional, the government levies Draconian penalties for disobeying arbitrary edicts.
Melanie Scarborough: Secret Service goes far beyond ‘reasonable precaution’
- If John McCain is elected president, the first thing he should do is fire Mark Sullivan as head of the Secret Service. Last week Sullivan revealed publicly that the Republican presidential contender had not asked for Secret Service protection, even though he is entitled to it by law. Announcing that McCain was unprotected placed the senator in greater danger, and by the weekend, McCain had agreed to submit to Secret Service protection.
Melanie Scarborough: Making the Tidal Basin lot inaccessible hurts everyone
- At least this time they didn’t claim it was a “security measure.” But the National Park Service’s arbitrary decision to close the main parking lot at the Tidal Basin during Cherry Blossom Festival, when the Tidal Basin gets more visitors than any other time of year, was ridiculous nonetheless. It represents one more instance of the Park Service ignoring the notion that it exists to serve — not inconvenience — the public. The agency’s excuse was that everyone wants to land one of the 180 spots at the Tidal Basin, so — they’ll show us! — the Park Service shut down the entire parking lot. With no one cruising through hoping to land a spot, the NPS says there should be no attendant congestion at the lot’s exit point (congestion that is minimal at the worst of times, since traffic immediately empties onto Interstate 395).
Melanie Scarborough: Bush, Cheney are disregarding democracy
- Dick Cheney has been dismissive of other people for so long that his lips curl in a permanent sneer. Still, it was stunning to see his response to an interviewer who pointed out that polls show two-thirds of Americans oppose the war in Iraq.
Melanie Scarborough: Hassling everybody equally
- To the consternation of those who believe sentimentality should trump law, the recent crackdown on illegal immigration in Prince William County, Virginia, appears to be having the desired effect. Anecdotal evidence — such as fewer children enrolled in English-as-a-second-language courses, and Hispanic soccer leagues losing their players — suggests that illegal residents are self-deporting, if only to neighboring counties.
Melanie Scarborough: Ashcroft deserves most credit for homeland security
- With profuse self-congratulations, the Department of Homeland Security observed last week the fifth anniversary of its creation. And while it is truly remarkable that there has not been another major terrorist attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, that is hardly the result of more expansive and authoritarian bureaucracy.
Melanie Scarborough: Hillary isn’t willing to say no to more government if elected
- On a recent edition of “The CBS Evening News,” Katie Couric asked the presidential candidates what book — other than the Bible — they would bring with them to the White House, if elected.
Melanie Scarborough: Obama on Obama is scary truth
- One can only hope that the majority of Barack Obama’s supporters are not as inane as actress Susan Sarandon, who announced last week that she supports Obama for president and “can’t wait to see what he stands for.”
Melanie Scarborough: Protect America Act won’t
- Here’s the thing about the Protect America Act of 2007, which expired this past Saturday after the House refused to extend it, despite protests from the Bush administration: Nowhere in the law does it mention “terrorists” or “criminals” — or even “evil-doers.”