Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
A Movie for Clintonites
A couple of weeks ago I heard the National Symphony Orchestra perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphony commemorating war and revolution, his Symphony No. 11. There was not much lyricism to it, not even a dulcet tune one could whistle while leaving the symphony hall. It was ominous rumbling and groaning, the tympani madly thundering away. Nonetheless, it was very affecting. After all, the 1957 work commemorated Russia’s events on the road to the Bolshevik Revolution. Rumble on. Rumble on.
Iran Demands Reparations
Iran is now demanding reparations from the United States. The Iranian parliament [Tuesday] voted 174-to-7 in favor of legislation seeking compensation for “spiritual and material damage” caused by U.S. policies over the past 63 years. According to Majid Ansari, Iran’s vice president for Parliamentary Affairs, Iranian courts have issued judgments of at least $50 billion against the United States.
All Health Breaks Loose on Gender Mandate
What kind of country forces Marines to scavenge parts to keep their planes flying, but has no problem paying for *new* parts for the gender-confused? Yours! Welcome to the sick world of the Obama administration, where taxpayer-funded sex changes are just the latest example of a presidency completely off the rails.
Lack of American Commitment Makes This a Dangerous Time
In 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Ãdouard Daladier warned Adolf Hitler that if the Third Reich invaded Poland, a European war would follow. Both leaders insisted that they meant it. But Hitler thought that after getting away with militarizing the Rhineland, annexing Austria and dismantling Czechoslovakia, the Allied appeasers were once again just bluffing.
A Sneaky Corporate Welfare Balancing Act
Corporate welfare takes many forms: a tax break to a particular industry, a tariff against foreign sugar producers to shelter domestic producers from competition, a loan guarantee program for exporters, etc. It can also take the form of lawmakers forcing the Department of Defense to provide New Balance athletic shoes — and only New Balance athletic shoes — for new military recruits.
Hamilton: Lessons From the Man and the Musical
The popularity of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” offers us all an opportunity to consider the wisdom of one of our most prolific Founding Fathers — while we wait in line for tickets. Alexander Hamilton, like the rest of our Founders, provided the solution to dysfunctional, overreaching and costly government, long before it became dysfunctional, overreaching and costly.
A Cold Can of ‘America’
Because advertising is a barometer that often accurately measures America’s psychological atmosphere, attention must be paid to this: From May 23 through the presidential election, Budweiser beer will bear a different name. Eager to do its bit to make America great again, the brewer will replace the name “Budweiser” with “America” on its 12-ounce bottles and cans.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Her Today, Him Tomorrow: The Transgender Lie
One would have to be asleep at the wheel these days to not recognize the all out assault on some of the most basic truths of life. One truth under such attack is that the two distinct sexes, male and female, are determined solely at conception. Whether you arrive at this conclusion biologically, theologically, or both, this truth has been known and understood from the beginning of time. But if you’re ever unsure, you need only undress in front of a mirror for self-validation. The evidence is indisputable.
The Bathroom Putsch
The authors of The Federalist Papers neglected to explain the fearsome powers that inhere in the “Dear Colleague” letter under our system of government. It is the instrument by which middling bureaucrats impose their will on the nation, as the assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education and the principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice just did in the matter of transgender bathroom policy in our schools and colleges.
The Left’s Jihad Against American Energy
This election season has created an unprecedented alliance between the environmental Left and the anti-free market movement. The result is a well-funded juggernaut adept at conducting coordinated and sophisticated assaults on American businesses while attempting to influence crucial elections. Their goals are nothing short of shuttering our American manufacturing industry, halting the production of affordable energy and placing a ruling clique of radicals in office.
Time to Shut Down the Department of Education
The Department of Education was created under President Carter in 1979 under the same misguided pretense that has driven much of the growth of our massively bloated federal government — that if there is something we really care about, we should give more money and power to Washington bureaucrats. It would be good news if the Department of Education just wasted the money it gets from our hard-earned taxes. But it uses the money to do real damage.
Despite the Rise of Trump, Conservatism Isn’t Dead Yet
Sell your Adam Smith ties, everybody, and smash your busts of Ronald Reagan. It’s all over. Why? Because we have entered a new era of “nationalism,” or “patriotism,” or simply “Trumpism,” and the GOP will never be a traditionally and ideologically conservative party ever again.
Nasty Politics
This presidential election is like no other. Most election years around this time, I do a TV show on nasty political commercials. Pundits explain which ads worked, which didn’t, and who won because he raised more money and spent more on negative ads. Among Republicans this year, says Ad Age, Jeb Bush’s campaign and supporters spent the most, $80 million, followed by Marco Rubio’s at $70 million. It didn’t seem to help.
Did Tehran Terrorize U.S. Sailors?
The Obama administration’s deception in selling the nuclear deal with Iran was the subject of a hearing on Capitol Hill [yesterday]. The White House refused to allow Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes to testify about his role in manipulating the media. Rhodes can talk to the New York Times Magazine but not members of Congress?
The Shameless New York Times
The New York Times proclaimed the results of its six-week “investigation” of Donald Trump’s behavior with women on the front page of the Sunday paper. It discovered that Trump is kind of sleazy around women. The Times wants us to know this right now — as opposed to six months ago — when it’s clear he will be the Republican nominee running against Hillary Clinton.
Obama Soldiers Responsibility for Radical Military
While most Americans’ work day is almost over, the House’s is just beginning. Members have been gearing up for an all-nighter since last week, when the two Armed Services Committees sent their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the floor, where the caffeine will be flowing until the wee hours of Wednesday.
TSA’s Union Power Grab: Thousands Slowing Down Airports
When it comes to public employee unions, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. All you travelers stuck in mile-long TSA security lines are pawns. Convenient political pawns. Big Labor bosses want more power and more money. Stranded travelers are just the latest victims in this age-old game of D.C. extortion.
The Media Have Destroyed Hillary Clinton
On Tuesday, The Hill ran a piece with the hilarious title “Hillary’s unlikely ally: The media.” The media, of course, have been in Hillary Clinton’s camp since the start. The vast majority of media figures are Democrats, and one of them, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, has written openly of his love for his former boss. But here’s the irony: The media have destroyed Clinton.
Scalia School of Law
George Mason University School of Law has just been renamed the Antonin Scalia School of Law in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Accompanying the name change was a receipt of a $30 million gift: $10 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and $20 million from an anonymous donor. The combination of the names of Scalia and Koch has led to a number of George Mason University faculty getting their panties in a bunch — and understandably so. Let’s look at it.
Barack Obama’s Bathroom Overreach
I can’t believe that I’m writing an article about using the bathroom. But then, I can’t believe that at a time when our country is faced with immense challenges such as international Islamist terrorism and fiscal and monetary insanity in Washington, the current presidential administration is obsessing about who uses which bathrooms, going so far as to order public schools nationwide what their bathroom-use policy must be.