Wow.

A few days ago, I posted about an elderly woman who adopted several special needs children prior to 1999 (when New York state policy on adoption was more lax than it is now) to reap the governmental benefits in the form of $55 a day per special needs child. She then proceeded to lock the kids up, chain them by the wrists and feed them nothing but noodles. The children were left for hours and days on hand, often sitting in their own filth because they weren't released to use the restroom. This went on for almost a decade, undetected, until last week, when one of the adopted children wandered off and was discovered at a gas station many miles away.

With the government's allowance, these children fell through the cracks. It reminds me of the 50s and 60s, where "special" children were institionalized and forgotten, dismissed out and away from the public eye. Out of sight, out of mind ... when matched with a home, these children were no longer the government's problem--all they had to do at this point was write a check. Where are the social workers?

I hear stories like this and wonder how the government can be so dismissive, so irresponsible on one hand, and on the other hand, beat certain matters to death.

National security should be a priority nowadays ... I don't think that many people would deny that. I also believe that due to the current state of affairs, the U.S. government has the right to exercise extra caution when it comes to dealing with Middle Eastern countries. But there should be limits to the madness. Yesterday, Moroccan Ahmedyassine Boujrad, 3, arrived at Reagan Airport and into the arms of his father and mother, a U.S. citizen and legal resident, respectively, after two years of immigration delays and red tape.

While immigration officials did not give a clear explanation as to why it took two years for the toddler's papers to clear, the Council on American-Islamic Relations are certain it's because of his first name, Ahmedyassine. It bears a striking resemblance to Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, who was assassinated in 2004. The saddest part? Ahmedyassine's poor parents didn't even who the Hamas leader was and had never heard his name. Read more about it here.

Let's give the U.S. government a hearty round of applause for their careful caution. Only they can keep a baby with potential ties to terrorism (really??) away from his loving parents for two years, while allowing special needs orphans to fall into the hands of any old American, just to get them out of the way. Bravo.