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Common Sense

Unsafe in Session

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An anonymous wag once said: “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” How true. I get the worst of three worlds. Living in the Washington, DC area through no fault of my own, mind you I read not only about the D.C. City Council, but also about the legislatures of both Maryland and Virginia. That’s a triple whammy.

For instance, I constantly read complaints by the D.C. City Council about the dictatorial control of the city by Congress and the lack of any real representation for the people of D.C. in that Congress. But what does the Council really care about the people? They’ve routinely repealed election reforms passed by citizen initiative and are now gearing up to repeal term limits passed by 62 percent of D.C. voters.

In Maryland, the legislature has been rocked by numerous scandals with several lobbyists going to prison and politicians looking . . . well, corruptible. Legislators passed the usual feel-good nonsense in response. Now lobbyists must fill out additional paperwork and cannot under any circumstances lobby a legislator from prison. Hey, that’ll help.

In Virginia, the legislature’s been even busier. There’s a bill to require school kids to recite the pledge of allegiance, unless they have a religious or philosophical excuse. We’re one big happy nation now! Another bill mandates that we can sleep only in the bedrooms of our home. My wife has complained about my napping on the couch, but I didn’t think she had that kind of pull.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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