Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Rigid Party Strategies Pave a Lane for an Outsider
“The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before,” the president declared in a series of tweets Monday morning, and that “will never change.” Many observers were quick to point out that this assertion isn’t borne out in the polls.
State Department Divided on Mission
As part of what he calls a “redesign” of the State Department, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has surveyed more than 35,000 State employees on the most fundamental questions facing the organization.
Is College Education Worth It?
August is the month when parents bid farewell to not only their college-bound youngsters but also a sizable chunk of cash for tuition.
Jim Acosta Can’t Handle the Facts
CNN reporter Jim Acosta pitched another fit in the White House briefing room on Aug. 2, asserting that President Trump’s immigration policy was refuted by a poem engraved on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
The Value of Al Gore’s Movie: Rekindling the Bravery of Irena Sendler
I liked “An Inconvenient Truth” right up there with “The Wizard of Oz” for Wild Weather Fantasy representation. But with the advent of Al Gore’s new movie, it brought back a much more serious travesty: his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize over Irena Sendler.
School: Honors Classes Will Be Decided by Skin Color, Not Intelligence
A Virginia high school sent a disturbing letter to parents and students announcing it would be selecting students for Advanced Placement and honors classes based on skin color instead of intelligence. Martin Luther King, Jr. must be turning over in his grave.
My Mother’s Death, Summer and Forgiveness
Summer is filled with anniversaries of life-changing events for me. As I wrote about last week, I met my husband one glorious day in July. But it was also in the summer, now 15 years ago, that I lost my amazing mother to metastasized breast cancer.
Trust and the Media
It’s no secret that public trust in news sources — traditional TV, cable, newspapers, even social media — has declined to all-time lows. But when questioned about the particular sources respondents typically access, the trust numbers go way up. This is a dangerous combination since it tends to polarize groupthink at the expense of more balanced debate fueled by unbiased news. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? Perhaps some perspective could help explain the former.
15-to-0
The United Nations Security Council voted 15-to-0 this weekend in support of tough new sanctions against North Korea. The sanctions, drafted by the United States, come in the wake of repeated ballistic missile tests that have revealed shocking advances in the Stalinist regime’s capabilities.
The ‘Anti-Diversity Screed’ That Wasn’t
The first thing to know about the instantly infamous “anti-diversity screed” written by an anonymous Google software engineer is that it isn’t anti-diversity or a screed. The loaded description, widely used in the press and on social media, is symptomatic of the pearl-clutching over the memo, which questions the premises and effectiveness of Google’s diversity policies.
Common Sense Uncommon in Washington
Sometimes what used to be called “common sense” can seem radical in Washington, which is used to practicing senseless policies and funding programs that don’t work.
The Trump Economy: Progress and Peril
Well, finally we are getting that “summer of recovery.” The July jobs report released Friday was a blockbuster — solid job gains across the economy, the lowest unemployment rate in more than a decade and a nice bump in wages.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Why God Matters
I have often confessed that I am not religious. At the same time, I have no use for atheists. That may seem like a contradiction, but it isn’t.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Knights to the Rescue
Maybe it was the Iraqi-born bishop praying the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke. Maybe it was being in the same venue here where Pope John Paul II spoke in 1999. Maybe it was my whining about multiple silly inconveniences and humiliations earlier in the day. Maybe it was seeing the men visibly moved by their membership in an organization that is doing real good in the world.
The GOP’s Southern Gothic Page-Turner
Southern Gothic is a literary genre and, occasionally, a political style that, like the genre, blends strangeness and irony. Consider the current primary campaign to pick the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Mueller Goes Nuclear
News broke late Thursday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington, DC. Subpoenas related to last year’s meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer have reportedly been issued. Grand jury investigations are supposed to be secret, so this news was obviously leaked by someone on Mueller’s staff or in the Justice Department in order to damage the president.
Leave and Learn: Senate Heads Home to Regroup
The Senate only had one working day left — and it made the most of it. After months of sandbagging President Trump’s nominees, Democrats finally agreed to cooperate on an up-or-down vote for dozens of appointees. “Democrats made it their goal in life to obstruct everything that we tried to do,” said a frustrated Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). And they proved it, suddenly agreeing to move every appointee by voice vote — meaning they had no objections.
Trump Is Woody Allen Without the Humor
Half his tweets show utter weakness. They are plaintive, shrill little cries, usually just after dawn.
Texas Governor Urges SMU to Restore 9/11 Memorial; University Says No
Southern Methodist University will not budge on its decision to move a 9/11 memorial — ignoring the urgings of students, alumni and even the governor of Texas.
Colluding With the Pakistanis
While the Democrats have been devoting all their time and attention to connecting the Trump campaign to Russia, they’ve been ignoring, and in fact impeding, an actual scandal involving four Pakistanis and national security.