Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
The Most Dangerous Addiction of Them All: Entitlements
All addictions — whether to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex or cigarettes — are very hard to escape. There is one addiction, however, that may be more difficult than any other to escape, in part because it is not even regarded as an addiction. It is entitlements addiction, the addiction to getting something for nothing.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Ditch ObamaCare, and Don’t Stop There
To hear the liberal denunciations of the proposed American Health Care Act — House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan to replace Obamacare — you would think the GOP had set out to wreck a brilliant and much-loved social reform that Americans couldn’t imagine living without.
The Justice Department’s Latest Misbehavior
For the past decade, John Fund, J. Christian Adams, and I have been writing about the misbehavior, unethical conduct, and lack of professionalism exhibited by lawyers inside the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, including the Voting Section. The situation apparently has not improved, given the serious accusations of unprofessional conduct made by 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith in a recent redistricting opinion out of Texas, Perez v. Abbott.
Conservatives Do Believe in Social Justice. Here’s What Our Vision Looks Like.
Last month, America lost a great defender of freedom, Michael Novak. Novak was committed to rightly ordered liberty and cared deeply about the principles and practices that produce it. His enormous body of work emphasized the cultural prerequisites for political and economic freedom, as he stressed that economic conservativism and social conservatism are indivisible.
The Lunacy Persists
As you may have noticed, in spite of my increased efforts, the amount of insanity in our society continues to expand at an alarming rate. For instance, just the other day, March 8th, America experienced something called “A Day Without A Woman,” as part of the International Day of Women, an event invented about a hundred years ago, by the Russians. (There is a reason, you see, why women were encouraged to wear the color red.)
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Thanksgiving in Nepal
Last week week I returned from a two week trip to Nepal with a team of five guys. Our adventure flew us from Atlanta to Doha, Qatar and on to Kathmandu, Nepal. I’ve been to quite a few countries over the years, and oftentimes my travels have taken me to a number of places with very low standards of living. But as soon as we ventured from Tribuhaven International Airport into the streets of Kathmandu, I knew that I was in for an experience like none other.
Questions for Judge Gorsuch
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will question Neil Gorsuch about the judiciary’s role. Herewith some pertinent questions.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Libs Try to Bounce Conservatives From UN
There are times when conservatives would actually like to be proven wrong. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was certainly hoping for that in his 2015 dissent in the Obergefell same-sex marriage case. But unfortunately for him — and millions of other Americans — his predictions are coming true in the most painful way possible. Like us, he feared that redefining marriage would ignite a firestorm of persecution against anyone who believed otherwise. Any opposition to the Court’s ruling, he prophesied, would be used as a license to “vilify those who disagree, and treat them as bigots.” “We are seeing this come to pass,” he said soberly during a speech to the Catholic group Advocati Christi. “It is up to all of us to evangelize our fellow Americans about the issue of religious freedom... A wind is picking up that is hostile to those with traditional moral beliefs.”
Trump Convinces Conservatives
Nobody knows exactly what happened, but there was breaking news Friday morning from the White House that President Trump has secured the support of more than a dozen key House conservatives for the leadership’s Obamacare repeal bill.
Reach Across the Aisle, Mr. President
For health-care reform to succeed, it requires buy-in and compromise from both parties.
How Intelligence Works (When It Does)
The performance of our country’s intelligence service is the latest example of an issue exploding into the headlines and becoming a shouting match, while failing to clarify anything about the issue itself.
‘Suffer the Children’
The following is a Q&A with Professor Gary S. Smith and his wife, Jane Smith, about their new book, “Suffer the Children: How We Can Help Improve the Lives of the World’s Impoverished Children.”
The Meddling Media
The way that the media carries water for the Democrats, you have every right to wonder who signs their checks – their bosses at the NY Times, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, the Washington Post, or the DNC.
Obama, the Democrats’ Desperation and Organizing for Action
If you think you’re going crazy from non-stop news coverage of unruly behavior and disruptive protests across the country since Donald Trump was elected president, rest assured there are veiled reasons for the current madness.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Make the Democrats Own ObamaCare
At my age I’m pretty sure I don’t need maternity care. At her age I’m pretty sure my granddaughter doesn’t need health insurance for her end-of-life needs. But what do I know? I’m just a dumb citizen. According to the architects of Obamacare — if you can call the Democrats who designed President Obama’s signature failure “architects” — I can’t be trusted to buy my own health insurance.
How The GOP Crackup Happens
Less than two weeks after the unveiling of the GOP Obamacare replacement, the party is already staring into the abyss. The bill has had the worst rollout of any major piece of legislation in memory, and failure is very much an option. If the proposal falters, it will be a political debacle that could poison President Donald Trump’s relationship with Congress for the duration.
What 2 Obama Judges Got Wrong in Striking Down Travel Executive Order
The decisions by Derrick Kahala Watson in Hawaii and Theodore David Chuang in Maryland should shock no one — not because the judges are correct, but because their decisions follow the same pattern as prior decisions in Washington state and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over the first order.
Perceptions Are That Trump’s Policies Are Working
Perceptions matter. People make decisions, even life-altering decisions, based on what they perceive as likely to happen. To the extent that public policy affects such decisions, the perception of likely policy change can affect behavior even before the change happens — even if it ends up never happening.
Chuck Schumer’s Attacks on Neil Gorsuch Are Un-American
If Democrats want to filibuster President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, they’re entitled to do it. In fact, Democrats are free to try and stop federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation for any reason they desire, whether ideological or personal, or even no particular reason at all. There is nothing in the Constitution that compels senators to vote on judicial nominees the president forwards.
The Real World of ObamaCare Repeal
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, but for governments it’s not that easy. Once something is given — say, health insurance coverage to 20 million Americans — you take it away at your peril. This is true for any government benefit, but especially for health care. There’s a reason not one Western democracy with some system of national health care has ever abolished it.