Columnist.
They say there's no such thing as bad press — but what about bad praise? GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump seems to be testing that theory after Planned Parenthood applauded him for what the group considers a more moderate approach to abortion. Back in August, Cecile Richards's group cast plenty of doubt on Donald's pro-life credibility when they applauded his position as a reasonable one.
The stakes of the presidential race were put in sobering perspective over the weekend with the sad passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In an election where the courts have been a backseat issue for everyone but former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the country's eyes are now fixed on the empty, black-draped chair of Justice Scalia.
Donald Trump isn't the only one being told to watch his language. Apparently, the Left is just as offended by the Cruzes' use of the f-word: faith. In a bizarre twist, liberals are bashing Ted's wife, Heidi, for daring to talk about their family's Christianity in a radio interview this week. Of all the things to attack the Cruzes for, their religion seems like a stretch. The son of a pastor, Senator Cruz has made faith a cornerstone of his campaign since Day 1. In fact, it would probably more be shocking if he and Heidi didn't talk about their religious convictions to the press.
What could a petri dish have to do with national security? A whole lot, according to U.S. intelligence officials. As far as our top spy, James Clapper, is concerned, that's where the world may be building the latest weapon of mass destruction (WMD). Like most technology, genetic engineering is a blessing in the right hands — and a threat in the wrong ones. Nuclear energy is a perfect example. On one hand, it gives us the power to heat our homes — and on the other, the capability to destroy millions of others'.
It's tough to find two states with less in common than Iowa and New Hampshire — and in last night's presidential primary, voters showed why. The candidates didn't just swap farms for forests, they moved from values-motivated conservatives to fiercely independent moderates. But that didn't mean the results were any easier to predict (just ask Hillary Clinton).
In debates where most of the surprising comments have come from Donald Trump, the single greatest surprise of Saturday's was when Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Governor Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), and Governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.), all fathers of girls, couldn't point to a single reason why American women shouldn't be forced to serve in the military. Among other things, it would mean assigning women to ground units with the mission to destroy the enemy through brutal means like hand-to-hand combat. With five daughters between them, their answers shell-shocked voters who struggled to understand what's happening in our country when even Republicans would order women into harm's way in a misguided attempt at parity.
If you thought the Super Bowl was rough, you should have seen the contest the night before. Plenty of GOP presidential candidates took a bruising during Saturday's Manchester debate, the eighth of the Republican race. Voters who were looking for some clear points of distinction between the front-runners got their wish, thanks to Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The Florida leader, who is fighting for a share of the evangelical support, didn't do himself any favors with his answers on the military draft. After some strong moments defending life ("I would rather lose an election than be wrong on the issue of life") and marriage ("I don't believe that believing in traditional marriage the way I do makes you a bigot or a hater"), Rubio stunned conservatives by announcing that he's in favor of the president's push to draft women.
Chief Justice John Roberts said he isn't bothered "at all" by the criticism of the Supreme Court — which is good, because there's plenty of it. Heading into the 2015-16 term, public disapproval of the Court had never been higher. And with a stack of social issues before the bench this spring, last year's numbers may look good come June. Religious liberty, ObamaCare mandates, and abortion regulations are awaiting their turn before nine justices who haven't been winning popularity contests for their impartiality these days.
"What kind of nation forces its sisters, daughters and granddaughters onto a battlefield against their will?"
Anyone who says President Obama doesn't believe in the freedom of religion is wrong. It is evident by his actions that he *strongly* believes in that freedom — at least for Muslims. And Wednesday, he stood in a mosque just outside of Washington that has record of radicalism to prove it. With a compassion he rarely demonstrates for the Christian faith, the president stunned plenty by spending the day before the National Prayer Breakfast legitimizing an ideology at war with the world.
Be careful what you wish for. That's the message from Marine Corps leaders about the president's phony push for women's "equality" in the ranks. Yesterday, Senate Armed Services Committee members heard plenty of sobering testimony about the repercussions of opening up combat jobs to females — and none should sicken Americans more than the news that drafting our girls is next. Sixty-five hundred U.S. girls turn 18 each day — and every one of them will be eligible for selective service if the Obama administration gets its way. Unfortunately, that's all but inevitable after Defense Secretary Ash Carter's decision to ignore the advice of his military chiefs and bring women into the most dangerous, grueling roles in the service.
If a blizzard was supposed to scare away Iowa voters, they didn't get the message! [Monday's] presidential caucus shattered turnout records in the state — a sign that people are more engaged than ever in the search for the next president. More than 184,000 Iowa Republicans flooded the caucus sites despite the nasty forecast — a 63,000-vote increase over 2012. Evangelical Christians made the biggest statement, clocking in at a whopping 64 percent of the GOP caucusgoers (up seven points from 2012) and solidifying their place as one of the most influential voices in the Republican nomination.
For those vying to replace Barack Obama as president, the process started months ago, but for voters who are tasked with selecting the next leader of the free world, that process begins today. Let me give you some good news about the influence of your vote. While evangelicals are a little over one-third of the voting population, they represent nearly half the votes cast in the primary process. This means evangelicals have a tremendous opportunity to direct the future of our nation by whom they support. The not-so-good news is that a large number of evangelicals appear to being using the same criteria for choosing a leader as non-evangelicals.
There's been a lot of talk about [Thursday] night's GOP presidential debate and whether anyone actually won it. If you ask me, there was one clear winner: evangelicals. Sure, a lot in the field held their own — but it was the emphasis on God, faith, and values that carried the day. Of course, no one can be sure what impact Donald Trump's absence had, but we do know that the seventh contest of the 2016 race was a substantive one on key issues. Among them, life, religion, and family. Chris Wallace made sure of that, bringing up the hefty influence of evangelicals, which, as he reminded people, make up 60 percent of Republican caucus-goers. Pointing to the influence of the movement in the primaries, he opened an entire line of questioning to values issues.
When people think of the European Union or Council of Europe, the word "conservative" doesn't usually come to mind. And yet, they certainly seem so next to President Obama's one-sided view of religious persecution. While the rest of the West decries the violence directed toward Christians in the Middle East, the White House still stubbornly refuses to call it what it is: faith-based genocide.
Five months after the world's eyes were opened to the dark business of baby organ trafficking, a grand jury is finally holding someone accountable. Unfortunately, that someone isn't Planned Parenthood. It's David Daleiden, the man behind the undercover videos that exposed the nation's largest abortion provider. In a shocking turn of events, a grand jury in Harris County, Texas has indicted the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) chief as part of an investigation that started as a probe into Planned Parenthood's wrongdoing. Now, instead of throwing the book at Cecile Richard's group, Daleiden and one of his associates is being charged. According to the report, he's been implicated in two crimes: tampering with a government record (using a fake ID) and a misdemeanor for attempting to buy fetal tissue.
ObamaCare was supposed to give Americans more health care coverage. There's just one problem: no one wants it! That's the conclusion of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which added to the law's heap of troubles with its latest projections. Turns out, even hefty fines can't persuade Americans to buy into the president's system, as millions opt not to enroll. After predicting business would top 20 million people, CBO broke the bad news that enrollment would miss the mark by a whopping 40 percent.
While the rest of the capital braces for a whiteout, thousands of pro-lifers spilled into the D.C. streets convinced that the real state of emergency is our culture. While the federal government, local schools, and area businesses hurried home to beat the blizzard, a generation undeterred by ice or snow continued their pilgrimage to the Supreme Court — determined to stir the conscience of America and end 43 years of government-sanctioned bloodshed.
Eight years of President Obama will be more than enough for most Americans. But unfortunately, the administration's radicalism won't end when his term does. Hundreds of political appointees are already making life difficult for their successors. Nowhere is that more obvious than the U.S. military, where the next president will inherit a mess of morale, readiness, political correctness, and social confusion.
Hillary Clinton is running all right — *for* president and *from* allegations. Serious ones, if the Inspector General's report is any indication. The former First Lady, who has years of practice dodging scandal, is desperate to do so here, now that the Intelligence Community is confirming what most people suspected: Clinton, as Secretary of State, didn't just break protocol — she risked American lives — storing top secret information on her private server. The bombshell, which broke this week, suggests that Clinton's emails didn't just contain classified subjects — but *highly* classified ones.
