John Block Reports from Washington

"Tally Ho" -- the hounds, the horses, the red coated hunters blowing horns race over the hills and through the valleys in pursuit of the fox.

At least they used to do that in England. Fox hunting in Britain has been a time honored sport for more than 300 years. But just this month, the British Parliament voted to outlaw the hunt after all these years. Hunt enthusiasts were outraged.

My first reaction is -- why did the government get involved in this? Don't they have something important to deal with? Looks to me like getting rid of a few foxes might just be a service to farmers raising sheep and chickens. But of course there are those urban members of Parliament that don't understand or appreciate the tradition of the rural country. They cry and whine about the cruelty to the fox and the hounds and horses that have to run after the fox. Pardon me while I wipe away my tears.

But the controversy does not stop there. You know how we use hidden cameras to catch thieves that might want to rob a bank, or on a busy street to catch a speeder. Get this, the British police plan to put spy cameras in the trees and on the fence posts to catch the hunters, the horses and hounds in the criminal act of chasing a fox. This intrusion will not be well received. I can imagine the lens of the cameras painted over with paint, or ripped out of the trees, and smashed under horses' hooves.

The story behind this is that governments in affluent countries often

try to justify their job by imposing unnecessary, costly, stupid regulations.

The setting of this story is Britain, but we have our own examples of liberal do-gooders that would like to micromanage our lives. Just like the fox hunters of rural England up against the liberal elite of London, the battle goes on and on.

Until next week, I am Jack Block from Washington.