Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Safe Zones for Conservatives
One is always hearing about safe zones being set aside for Syrians and collegiate liberals, but never even one for rational American patriots. Why is that? Why can’t we be protected from the constant barrage of insults and left-wing stupidity hurled our way? How is it that nobody ever gives us stuffed toys, modeling clay, warm blankets, sugar donuts and comfort dogs?
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Good Riddance, 2016
Viewing 2016 in retrospect — doing so is unpleasant, but less so than was living through it — the year resembles a china shop after a visit from an especially maladroit bull. Because a law says “the state of California may not sell or display the Battle Flag of the Confederacy ... or any similar image,” a painting of the 1864 Siege of Atlanta was banned from display at the Fresno County fair. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services churned out a 25-page policy statement about “the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children’s development, learning, and wellness.” That is, government should provide, as an act of grace — *systematic* grace — a role for parents in raising their children.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
The Year Ahead
Many people like to turn a new page at the beginning of a new year. We all like to forget about unfortunate events in the past. We want to jettison our problems and focus on becoming better people. New Year’s resolutions are always positive, right? Many people may be inclined to think, “Well, we won and we can all work together now on positive changes for America.” That would be nice. But it is unlikely to happen in a deeply divided America, especially if the left has anything to say about it.
Hey Parents, Malls Are for Commerce, Not Babysitting
Shoppers and shopkeepers across the nation were terrorized by rampaging mobs of teenage thugs and juvenile delinquents over the Christmas weekend.
Shining a Light on ‘Back Row’ America
Chris Arnade’s photos reveal an America that is battered but standing, atomized but holding on.
Is the Election Finally Over?
I know that liberals still can’t get their little heads around what happened on November 8th, but now that the 538 Electors have had their say, isn’t it high time they accepted the inconvenient truth that we won and they (tee-he) lost?
Friday, December 30, 2016
Cub Scouts Facing Transgender Crisis
The Cub Scouts are facing a transgender controversy after an eight-year-old born a girl but who identifies as a boy was asked to leave a New Jersey pack.
Cleaning Up After ‘Third Term’ Obama
It’s clear President Obama — despite the boos from Flyover Country — doesn’t plan to get off the national stage any time soon.
Defund the United Nations
We’ve come a long way from Daniel Patrick Moynihan excoriating the U.N.’s 1975 “Zionism is racism” resolution in one of the finer exhibits of righteous indignation in the history of American speechifying.
Americans Are No Longer on the Move
Americans see themselves as people on the move. When the going gets tough or when opportunity beckons, we get up and go. We move around a lot. Actually, we don’t — or don’t nearly so much as we used to. The percentage of Americans moving every year is less than half that of a half-century ago and down significantly since the early 1990s.
Leaving the Way They Came
There has always been a level of child-like petulance running through both Barack Obama and his administration. Friends were only tools of convenience, discarded once they were no longer useful. Laws were obeyed so long as they advanced a cause, but were ignored otherwise. The constitution was a useful instrument until it prevented the president from his goals. Bipartisanship was a worthy goal so long as it is was done his way.
Obama’s Final, Most Shameful, Legacy Moment
“When the chips are down, I have Israel’s back” (Barack Obama, AIPAC conference, March 4, 2012). The audience — overwhelmingly Jewish, passionately pro-Israel and supremely gullible — applauded wildly. Four years later — his last election behind him, with a month to go in office and with no need to fool Jew or gentile again — Obama took the measure of Israel’s back and slid a knife into it.
Defund the UN
In 22 days, Barack Obama, John Kerry and the whole crew of left-wing ideologues will be out of office. Unfortunately, the United Nations will still be here, doing its best to undermine the free nations of the world, while turning a blind eye to the acts of the thugs and dictators who make up a substantial portion of its membership.
Cultural Winners and Losers of 2016
Populism took the elites by surprise in 2016, so a review of this year’s cultural winners and losers must begin with a very long list of arrogant entertainers who thought it was completely impossible for the American people to descend into a pit of despair and ignorance and elect Donald Trump. No one believed for a second the rich-and-famous losers who promised to move their arrogance to Canada or elsewhere if the Hillary Clinton juggernaut were to tank.
Apologies to Israel, but Help Is on the Way
I am not surprised at President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s parting insults to Israel, but they are nonetheless unconscionable. Thank goodness Obama is on the way out and the restoration of our relationship will soon begin.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
The Smartest Thing I Heard in 2016
In July, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott told me this was an ‘unpollable’ election. He was spot on.
Making America 1953 Again
It is axiomatic that if someone is sufficiently eager to disbelieve something, there is no Everest of evidence too large to be ignored. This explains today’s revival of protectionism, which is a plan to make America great again by making it 1953 again.
The Resilience of Israel
Israel would seem to be in a disastrous position, given the inevitable nuclear capabilities of Iran and the recent deterioration of its relationship with the United States, its former patron and continued financial benefactor. Immediately upon entering office, President Obama hectored Israel on so-called settlements. Obama promised to put “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel — and delivered on that promise.
Freedom of Association Isn’t Just for the Rockettes
Like everything else connected to Donald Trump, even the entertainment at his inauguration is generating controversy. The stories have been a godsend to the talk-shows and tabloids. But they have also provided a reminder of something too easily forgotten: Freedom of association is a vital human right.
Obama to Israel: Drop Dead
A headline that would become famous appeared in the New York Daily News in October 1975 after then-President Gerald Ford denied federal assistance to spare the city from bankruptcy. It read: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” President Obama has told Israel much the same. By instructing his U.N. ambassador not to veto a resolution condemning Israel for building so-called settlements on disputed land, the president has aided and comforted that nation’s enemies. The U.S. abstention will inevitably invite stepped-up attacks against Israelis, as well as calls for more boycotts by the European Union, whose ugly anti-Semitic past and present is well documented.