Editor’s note: Changes ordered from the top at the Environmental Protection Agency continue to impress The Daily Signal’s audience. Here are some  of your comments on that, among other developments. Please write to letters@dailysignal.com—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Kevin Mooney’s story on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s changes, we need more people like Pruitt at the other taxpayer-funded agencies to help restore constitutional oversight by Congress of all powers of the purse, as intended (“EPA Chief Moves to End Reliance on ‘Secret Science’”).

Over the past several decades, regulatory powers have been given to overzealous bureaucrats with unlimited controls on taxpayers that impacted their wallets and personal lives.

Especially the EPA, which is staffed apparently by environmental extremists who aren’t interested in scientific facts and consensus but will believe a model that has been designed to reach a preconceived expectation. The blank checks should stop, and every federal agency should be required to explain why it needs more taxpayer money.

Congress should do away with the baseline budgetary process and reestablish fiscal discipline.—Brannen Edwards, Savannah, Ga.

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Scott Pruitt is reforming the EPA in a way that is so refreshing, needed, and honest. Little wonder he is under constant attack from the left, or that he might feel the need for a debugged, soundproof office from which to conduct his work.

I only can hope that future administrators will stick with some of his fundamental improvements.—Bill Pound, Bozeman, Mont.

I hope the EPA opens up the whole archive of “fake science” secrets for public debate. I hope the names of the scientists and universities behind the fake science is made public, so that we will be able to see where our money can be honestly spent to ensure accurate, believable data.

It’s been a tax money grab by the establishment deep state for too long. Thank God for President Trump. We’ve found out how dishonest the Justice Department and intelligence agencies are.—Ron Bryan

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Kevin Mooney hopefully will continue publishing articles on this issue, especially if we are able to see the science on which EPA regulations are based that has been hidden for 20 years. The public deserves to know and Mooney can make that happen. Enjoy his writings.—Susan Harlander

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Thanks for Mooney’s article on Pruitt’s decision at the EPA to allow research to be evaluated. As a long-time skeptic who tries to stay informed about opposing perspectives, I look forward to reading some of the studies and analyses behind past EPA decisions and regulations.—Alan Yankus, Oregon

Kevin Mooney reports:

In 1994, an EPA external science advisory board known as the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee requested the study data, but the agency denied the request. In 1997, Congress also asked, but the EPA again denied the request.

The following year, Congress passed legislation calling for the EPA’s scientific data to be made public, but an appellate court ruled that the law was not enforceable.

How is it that the EPA and its partners in crime are above the rule of law in Congress? Please enlighten me.—Linus Matherne, Florida

Questioning the FBI’s Conduct

Dear Daily Signal: Let me see if I have this straight: An FBI informant with ties to the CIA and British intelligence was checking out the Trump campaign (“Big Questions the FBI Hasn’t Answered on Its Conduct During the 2016 Campaign”).

A former member of British intelligence was the author of the infamous dossier on Trump, which was paid for by the Clinton campaign.

Hillary Clinton was using a private email server to conduct at least some government business in contravention of the rules. Barack Obama was aware of this.

Wow.

Intelligence agencies are important, and some of their activities have to be secret. But they are not entitled to set policy, and they definitely do not get to determine who is, or is not, president of the United States.—L. Henry

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The Department of Justice’s name should be changed to the Department of Injustice. At the point it decided that it could let a criminal skate just because she was running for president and turned around and began to investigate her opponent, the Justice Department became a political arm of the Democratic Party.

That should scare every American, because the exact same tactics could be used against you if you happen to support a person that this department does not like.—Robert McFate

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Pretty frightening to realize our government is acting like the KGB secret police. Or more like the Spanish inquisition. Time to fire all the corrupt individuals. A complete housecleaning.—M. Fowler-Helfrick

Hungary’s Democracy Experiment

Dear Daily Signal: Although Mike Gonzalez’s commentary article was very good overall, I as a Hungarian disagree that Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is an ethnic nationalist (“Hungary’s Experiment Could Rebuild a Sense of Nation in Europe”).

As to the “Hungarian enclaves,” their position is the same as that of the Palestinians. I agree with helping them, as they were never asked if they wanted to join the various countries they were arbitrarily assigned to after World War I. But even with that, it’s a good article.—Christopher Szabo

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No nation should be coerced into withering away by allowing unlimited immigration or control by foreign agencies, whether they be the European Union or the United Nations. If Hungary wishes to remain Hungarian, it is self-determination. If other nations wish to self-destruct, that is their privilege.—Lonnie Kwartler

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Orbán would be much better off building a Christian republic and imitate the U.S. Constitution with only the first 10 amendments. That would definitely cause those far-left Democrat communists to leave his country. All he needs to do is look at the USA where democracy got a foothold and learn from that failure.—Bob Shoemaker

A ‘True Legacy’ for Obama

Dear Daily Signal: In response to David Harsanyi’s commentary article, “The Obama Legacy Deserves to Be Destroyed”: Although I don’t disagree with much of it, and Harsanyi included premises for his conclusions, I believe the article title is unkind.

As a Christian (a Catholic), I don’t rejoice in the failure of another. I am not saying that is what Harsanyi said. I want to believe we would have our leaders be successful (regardless of political party) when they work in the best interests of the people they were elected to serve and work for goodness, respecting constitutional rights and faith.

As we assess any president’s legacy, I hope we give him credit for what he did that was good, just as we also must hold him accountable for what was not good, lawful, or just. Christians believe in forgiveness. Christians also believe in restitution.

As a professional in health care and higher education, I believe the Affordable Care Act was responsible for unjust actions against pro-life and pro-life Judeo-Christian health care and higher education organizations. Thankfully, with another branch of government weighing in, the Supreme Court saved Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor from these egregious violations of religious liberty.

Yet as we assess the health care law, could we say that the goals of that legislation (to have affordable care that expands access) is a worthy goal? I want to believe most people would say yes to that.

In job networking groups, they say your best work is ahead of you. This could be former Barack Obama’s true legacy. As a self-proclaimed Christian and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Obama’s greatest work could turn out to be converting the world to a culture of life, as our faith teaches.

If all people of all faiths embraced the Christian premise of sanctity of life and dignity of the human person from conception to natural death, would we not be well on our way to world peace?

That could be our former president’s true legacy. And, wouldn’t we all agree that would be a worthy goal?—Kathleen Goryl

Transgenderism in Our Schools

Dear Daily Signal: Thanks to Rachel del Guidice for her interview with Walt Heyer (“Watch a Man Who Lived as a Woman Reject the Lies of LGBT Activists”). It was informative, coming from his actual case, supporting what is obvious. Heyer’s statement about his experiences as a young boy is not obtuse or abnormal.

Many, probably most, humans go through a healthy stage of wondering about the opposite sex. We should not isolate that characteristic as something that should ultimately be determinative of some attribute that is so distinctively unnatural.

I have represented infants, toddlers, preschoolers, children, preteens, adolescents, and young adults as an attorney and guardian ad litem for 38 years; conservatively speaking, about 3,000 children.

Their parents were parties to each case by law, so I became familiar with the lives of over 7,000 people. Very, very seldom was there an issue of confusion of sexual identity during adolescence.

It has only been within the past 10 years or so that it has been a way to gain recognition with peers and maybe get 15 minutes of national recognition, i.e. the notoriety of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner.

Keep seeking and writing about truth, especially truth that is so naturally obvious—like sunlight and nighttime.—F. Way

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About Rachel del Guidice’s article on the court ruling on transgender access to school restrooms in Pennsylvania: I agree with high school senior Alexis Lightcap in questioning why the few have more rights than the majority (“School Can Force Students to Share Bathrooms With Transgender Students, Federal Court Rules”).

This is the key of the Obama policy. Two or three students want to use the girls’ bathroom and violate the privacy of the rest of the female student body. This was insane, and only a leftist SOB could concoct a policy like that. Kudos to Alexis for standing up to these leftist elitist idiots.—Antonio Urbizu

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It seems that bathrooms and changing rooms are private areas in which secret cameras are not legal to install, but eyes—and more—are granted legal entry.—Lonnie Kwartler

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Children are to learn reading, writing, and math in school, not about sex changes. They are not to be encouraged to think that if they are boys they might be girls, and if girls they might be boys.

The schools are not teaching how our country was founded, or anything of real value. They should be shut down and we should go back to when schools first got started. Kids now can’t even make change.—Dan Pardus

This and That

Dear Daily Signal:About Jarrett Stepman’s commentary, “The Left’s War Against Prosperity in Seattle,” I lived in Seattle for 43 years and left in 2010 with few regrets. Now it’s different. Today I have no regrets at all.

This may not be fair to most of Seattle’s residents and neighborhoods, but the city looks aesthetically more shabby and morally more degenerate year by year.—John Clark

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The Democrats are winning the war on voting in America. They are getting driver’s licenses or other “documents” for illegal immigrants that give them the ability to vote in our elections.

The Democrats are blocking all reasonable efforts to demand citizen ID at the polls. Now illegal immigrants are encouraged to vote with or without ID in all our elections.

They will soon take over. Next they will run their own candidates. We must stop voter fraud and demand proof of citizenship at all of our polling places.—Pat Ellis

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I believe there are more illegal immigrants than are being counted. The wall must be built before any compromise.

Just as present politicians can’t be trusted, so it will be with future politicians. In a recent week, I heard at least a half dozen Republicans say we can’t afford to build the wall. We spend $150 billion of taxpayer money per year on illegal aliens, and that will continue to increase.

I stay after my elected officials to do the right thing and secure our borders. We need the wall for multiple reasons, and the most important is cost to taxpayers for social services—especially with all our southern neighbors in political turmoil.—Brannen Edwards, Savannah, Ga.

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Have any of you reviewed the school curricula of U.S. history for any states? Ours in Tennessee does nothing but teach rights and what is wrong with our country. We start with Reconstruction for high school and go down from there.

I am very disturbed with what I see our local children being taught. I love public education, but see no way it can ever be corrected to teach the truth. You all keep doing what you are doing.—Robert Hamilton


How Are We Doing?

Dear Daily Signal: I am so appreciative. Thank you for fighting back for real journalism.

I have felt the brunt of the other here in Oklahoma. Seven years of persecution. It cost me everything: job, educational goals, and almost destroyed our family. But God sustained us through it all.

Out of the ashes, my first of many books to come (“Reconciled: Black by Experience; My Struggle for Legitimacy”). America is still the greatest nation on Earth.—Dana Clark-Jackson, Oklahoma City

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Just a note to tell you I enjoy The Daily Signal. It’s easy reading and factual. Always something new that keeps one looking for more. News that one wouldn’t find in other news reports. Very interesting stories. Thanks for keeping us up to date and well informed.—Charles LaFayette

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I love your articles. Refreshing and informational.—Rebecca Hernandez

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Thanks for keeping us informed.—Kim Seago

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I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but it seems like The Daily Signal’s articles have gotten a little more aggressive in the last month. (I like it.)—Allen Muench

Jeremiah Poff helped to compile this column.