Melanie Scarborough: Who gave D.C. cops so much power?

Reacting with the hysteria that is now standard — and probably permanent — among police forces in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department recently closed down entire blocks of downtown to manage a few hundred protesters.

Ostensibly demonstrating against the policies of the World Bank, the group actually was little more than a hodge-podge of haranguers yipping about everything from global warming to meat consumption. They’re silly, but they haven’t proven dangerous; most of their altercations are with overbearing police.