Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Boykin Bounced: Fort Riley Cancels Hero’s Prayer Breakfast Speech
A Kansas military base abruptly canceled an upcoming prayer breakfast that featured retired Lt. General Jerry Boykin after complaints were lodged that Boykin is anti-Muslim and anti-gay. Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Mikey Weinstein told Army Times that Boykin’s invitation had caused great angst among soldiers at Fort Riley – leading some to break down in tears.
The Therapists Win in the Bathroom Debate
In light of the recent Obama Bathroom Edict and ensuing law suits by eleven states, it is a fair question to ask, “Is being a man or a woman really reduced to where you go to the bathroom?” Do external circumstances dictate internal biology? Does standing in a garage make you a car?
Lovable Bernie Whacks Israel
Part of Bernie Sanders’ charm is that for all of his arm-waving jeremiads, he appears unthreatening. He’s the weird old uncle in the attic, Larry David’s crazy Bernie. It’s almost a matter of style. Who can be afraid of a candidate so irascible, grumpy, old-fashioned and unfashionable? After all, he’s not going to win the nomination, so what harm can he do? A major address at the party convention? A say in the vice presidential selection? And who reads party platforms anyway?
Hell in 140 Characters or Less
In January of 2007, I joined a new web service that had all sorts of technical problems. It was called Twitter. In 140 characters or less, I could share thoughts and eventually pictures about my day, the news or whatever struck my fancy. I could, in 140 characters, show how awful I could be among other things. Twitter seems to draw out the worst in everyone, myself included, and it takes unusual restraint to walk back from the precipice.
Can We Reconcile the Trump Phenomenon With America’s Founding Principles?
Apart from the endless question of who always will, who probably will, who may and who never will vote for Donald Trump, I’d like to call a temporary truce between the believers and the skeptics and warn against any conscious abandonment or neglect of our founding principles. I sense that the Trump movement in some ways presents a false choice — that we either temporarily abandon our principles to save America or preserve our principles and lose America. To the contrary, even if we take drastic action, we must always do so within the constraints of the Constitution — being mindful that to restore America’s greatness, we must reclaim our founding principles.
Obama Touts Accomplishments
[Wednesday], President Obama held a town hall event in Elkhart, Indiana, to tout his economic accomplishments. Obama’s speech was full of contradictions and inconsistencies. For example, he blamed conservative media for people believing the economy is in bad shape. Obama said, “It is the story that is broadcast every day on some cable news stations, on right wing radio. It is pumped into cars and bars and VFW halls all across America. . .” What is he talking about?
The Dogs That Aren’t Barking — and Those That Are — in 2016
Let’s look back on the primary campaign — completed for Republicans, still ongoing for Democrats — and see if we can identify what Sherlock Holmes referred to as dogs that didn’t bark. For what’s unusual about this campaign is not only that unexpected things happened — improbable candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders getting more than 40 percent of their parties’ popular votes — but that things everyone has come to expect did not.
The ‘War On Salt’ Is Bad Policy Based on Bad Science
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, one of the few openly authoritarian organizations functioning in the United States, once sued the Food and Drug Administration for refusing to regulate Americans’ salt intake. No worries. This week, the Obama administration finally embraced CSPI’s junk science and allowed the FDA to set new “guidelines” to “nudge” companies into treating a perfectly harmless ingredient as if it were a dangerous chemical.
Katie Couric, More Reality TV Star Than Real Journalist
In these days of news cycles measured in minutes, if not seconds, the Katie Couric scandal may seem almost as stale as Katie Couric herself. But bear with me. It’s a big deal, and not just because she lied. But let’s begin with the lie. Serving as host and executive producer for an anti-gun “news” documentary, “Under the Gun,” Couric held a focus group with members of a gun rights group called the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
Banned of Brothers
FRC’s Lt. General Jerry Boykin has spent his career staring down cowards — and he isn’t about to stop now! Not even when the same Army he served is trying to take away the freedom he sought to protect. Fresh off of winning his position back at Hampden-Sydney College (over the protests of LGBT activists), the radical Left still hasn’t learned its lesson. Desperate to discredit the Special Forces vet, a familiar foe is pulling his typical stunts — this time at Kansas’s Fort Riley, where General Boykin was scheduled to speak at a base prayer breakfast next Monday.
America’s Wrong to Love Football?
Football and its most powerful organization, the National Football League, have faced a serious public relations problem regarding concussions. The NFL settled a massive class-action lawsuit brought by former players (and now, another former player is suing). Retired NFL star Junior Seau committed suicide, and was later found to have shown abnormalities associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The Last Full Measure
“The last full measure of devotion.” That’s what President Lincoln called the ultimate sacrifice as he dedicated the cemetery at Gettysburg in 1863. It’s what Memorial Day is all about: remembering those who laid down their lives to defend their families, their friends, their country. They’ve done it in such great numbers over the years that the magnitude of it almost washes over you. From the American Revolution, through the Civil War, the world wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War and Iraq, hundreds of thousands marched off to fight and didn’t come back alive.
DOJ Wants to Hide the Names of Illegal Aliens Granted Amnesty
The Justice Department is resisting a judge’s order to provide ethics training for its lawyers and is objecting to turning over to the court the names of illegal aliens who were granted what amounts to administrative amnesty (“deferrals”) in stark violation of an injunction issued by the court.
No Greater Love
On this Memorial Day, our collective thoughts as Americans turn to those men and women throughout the history of our nation who gave their all so that we might continue to enjoy the “blessings of liberty.” Whether those unselfish patriots laid down their lives in 1776 as a result of “the shot heard ‘round the world” or perhaps more recently as our fellow citizens gave their lives half way around the world, or even here in Chattanooga last July, there is no greater act of love, sacrifice or commitment than the one they demonstrated.
Trump Hits on the Media
Donald Trump is still no conservative and never will be. He still hasn’t figured out that the mix of insults, bluster and off-the-cuff political statements that won him the Republican Party primary won’t work in the general election.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Give Husband Who Beat Would-Be Rapist a Medal, Not Charges
A New York City man could be facing a manslaughter charge for defending his wife against a would-be rapist. Mamadou Diallo received a frantic call from his wife. A man identified as Earl Nash forced his way into the Diallos’ apartment, according to the brave husband. The intruder took off his pants and attacked Mrs. Diallo, tearing off her clothes and telling her she was about to be raped, according to reports.
Vietnam in the Rear View Mirror
There were 2,709,918 Americans who served in the Vietnam War. Of that number approximately 850,000 are alive. The youngest is 54. Because there were senior officers and non-commissioned officers in Vietnam who fought in World War II, the oldest are past the century mark. Forty-two years ago the last American serviceman, probably a U.S. Marine, died fighting the Khmer Rouge at Koh Tang Island on May 15, 1975. I served my tour in the relative comfort of Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand in 1970 and 1971. I turned 25 before going over. I am now 70. My first wife, who served with me, died of cancer at the age of 35. Some claimed the cancer was Agent Orange related. Who knows? Her war ended in 1981. Vietnam is in my rear view mirror.
Snoop Dogg Is Right
My musical tastes do not include rap and hip-hop, but when Snoop Dogg comments on the “Roots” remake, saying he is tired of movies about slavery and would prefer a series “about the success that black folks are having,” he is singing my song. The original “Roots” drew a phenomenal 130 million viewers when it aired on ABC in 1977. The remake, now playing on The History Channel, will probably draw far fewer viewers, just because it is on cable and most are familiar with the storyline. The filmmakers apparently are targeting a younger generation.
Walls and Immigration — Ancient and Modern
When standing today at Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, everything appears indistinguishably affluent and serene on both sides. It was not nearly as calm some 1,900 years ago. In A.D. 122, the exasperated Roman emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of an 80-mile, 20-foot-high wall to protect Roman civilization in Britain from the Scottish tribes to the north. We moderns often laugh at walls and fortified boundaries, dismissing them as hopelessly retrograde, ineffective or unnecessary. Yet they still seem to fulfill their mission on the Israeli border, the 38th parallel in Korea and the Saudi-Iraqi boundary, separating disparate states.
Keep the Labor Market Flexible to Maintain Productivity
One of the assets of the American economic model is a relatively flexible labor market, especially when compared with labor markets in many European countries. It explains some of the consistently lower U.S. unemployment rates and higher economic growth. Unfortunately, this flexibility is increasingly threatened by government policies that would increase the cost of employing workers. These policies include the Department of Labor’s recent overtime rules, the call for employer-paid family leave and a minimum wage increase.