THE WASHINGTON TIMES

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Political correctness won’t cure disease

It shouldn't be a surprise that there is a "rare polio-like disease" infecting California children ("Polio-like illnesses called a 'rare phenomenon,' " Web, Feb. 25). Legal immigrants to the United States receive thorough physical examinations — including X-rays and all the required shots — before they enter this country. Illegal aliens, whether they be adults or children, receive no such medical examinations.

February 27, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Bearing arms a right, not a privilege

The Second Amendment reads, "[T]he right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Maryland makes it so difficult to even buy a gun (much less carry one) it should call itself the Infringe State rather than the Free State. To refer to our state as free has become a morbid joke.

February 27, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Pot regulation could kill cartels

The Feb. 24 column "Banks must just say no to drug money," by Robert B. Charles, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, was full of inaccuracies and highly suspect legal analysis.

February 27, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Holder enabling families’ dissolution

William Owens has given us an explosion of pure truth ("Holder's assault on black family values," Feb. 25). He is not asking, hat in hand, but rather is demanding accountability for the destruction of the black family.

February 27, 2014

Hillary Clinton all-in in backing Obamacare

Hillary Clinton made a full-throated defense of Obamacare on Wednesday night but also expressed openness to changing President Obama's signature health care law.

February 27, 2014

EDITORIAL: Betting against the House

When pop singer Warren Zevon sang of his gambling addiction, he begged his father to "bring lawyers, guns and money" to get him out of a jam. Some casino operators in Nevada are taking the advice to heart. One has vowed to spend "whatever it takes" to prohibit wagering on the Internet, using an army of lawyers and lobbyists. Nevada's junior senator, Dean Heller, is looking to get his favored constituents out of the jam of competition.

February 26, 2014

EDITORIAL: Another budget, another burial

President Obama's 2015 budget is due next week, and word is leaking from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to expect it to be very green, with higher taxes. The document isn't just printed on recycled paper, it's recycling the stale economics that haven't worked since he took office more than four years ago. It will proclaim an end to the age of austerity, a curious proclamation considering there's nothing austere about anything we've seen from him yet.

February 26, 2014

EDITORIAL: What did the FBI know?

Everybody knows that God protects drunks, little boys and the United States of America, and the how and why is many times a mystery. The survival of drunks, little boys and the United States depends on it. This fortunate providence works despite everything government bureaucrats can sometimes do to thwart it.

February 26, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The military needs stability

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's announcement concerning the reduction of the U.S. military is troublesome on many fronts ("Hagel plans Pentagon cuts that would take Army to pre-WWII levels," Web, Feb. 24). It is similar to the issues surrounding the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. There are many who believe that the United States either had prior knowledge of the pending attack or that we ignored the many signs that should have alerted us to the possibility of the attack.

February 26, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Christians beliefs deserve protection, too

There is a debate going on in America, and its outcome will greatly affect our religious liberties ("Pressure mounts over Arizona bill opposed by gays," Web, Feb. 24). A Christian-owned bakery in Oregon refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple because of the owner's faith, which views homosexual "marriage" as a sin (as so stated in numerous places in the Bible). Because of an Oregon ruling, the bakery faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and has had to close its doors.

February 26, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ‘Global warming’ is actually an ice age

Fourteen years ago, I sought the facts about Earth's changing temperatures. In the 1970s the "news" was that the actions of man were going to cause the Earth to freeze.

February 26, 2014

EDITORIAL: Venezuela at the edge

The convulsions racking Venezuela are predictable, and tragic. When the heavy boot of government suppresses a nation's commerce to a standstill, the people eventually go to the streets to protest their lost freedoms. This might take decades, as in the old Soviet empire, but an effective backlash against radical socialism is inevitable.

February 25, 2014

EDITORIAL: More medical waste

The Virginia General Assembly is as paralyzed as Congress. Democrats run the state Senate and Republicans the House of Delegates, encouraging disagreements similar to those shutting down the works on Capitol Hill. Richmond's inability to act is a good thing, since it's an obstacle in the way of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's costly scheme to expand Virginia's participation in Medicaid.

February 25, 2014

EDITORIAL: The congressional water works

There's a threat of flooding on Capitol Hill from a rising tide of crocodile tears. Ever eager to spend somebody else's money on something, some congressman want to relieve the suffering of rich constituents who own vacation estates where they shouldn't. Congress, in a rare burst of common sense, decided two years ago that the government shouldn't subsidize luxury vacation villas in areas prone to frequent flooding. Republican leaders in the House have scheduled a vote Wednesday on legislation to undo everything Congress did right in 2012.

February 25, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: First Amendment hijinks

Come on now, give the left a break. The First Amendment applies to Congress, not to the president or his executive branch agencies ("FCC backpedals on wrongheaded newsroom-monitoring plan," Web, Feb. 21). The First Amendment expressly bars Congress from enacting laws limiting, among other things, freedom of the press and free speech. There is nothing in the amendment limiting the president's authority to pass laws in the form of executive orders controlling news output.

February 25, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Securing peace in Cyprus

I am responding to your article, "Greece seeks debt relief with rare budget surplus, ambassador says" (Web, Feb. 18).

February 25, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: EEOC guidelines are nonsensical

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's "guidelines" on background checks for job applicants are yet another example of the liberal shibboleth that any race-neutral practice or procedure that results in fewer hires from a protected racial minority group necessarily means that illegal discrimination has occurred ("Some members of civil-rights panel accuse EEOC of overreach on racism," Web, Feb. 20). They believe discrimination has occurred even in cases where the individuals from groups who were "under-hired" happened to have been convicted felons.

February 25, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Olympic judging needs change

Certain recent occurrences at the Sochi Olympics have demonstrated the need for judges and officials to be from nations other than those with athletes competing in the game in question. This would rule out the possibility of favoritism.

February 25, 2014

EDITORIAL: Cornered by Obamacare

Like a cornered animal, Democrats threatened by Obamacare are turning vicious. One Democratic congressman, now running for the U.S. Senate, last week threatened to use a federal agency to drive a television station out of business if it allowed a cancer patient to share her story of how Obamacare took away her insurance.

February 24, 2014

EDITORIAL: A president without supervision

The Obama administration cries out for adult supervision. Instead of enforcing the laws, President Obama skips the tedious and inconvenient legislative responsibility and makes national policy with executive orders, public statements and press releases. The Republicans, especially in the House, must apply the discipline assigned by the Constitution.

February 24, 2014