Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Requiem for a VA Victim
What does a suffering military veteran have to do to force an unresponsive government to change its ways? How about self-immolating in front of his VA clinic? Hello, paper-pushers and desk jockeys? Are you there? Would the heat, the smoke and the smell of burning flesh rouse you in the least? Nope. Apparently, even this horror is not enough to move the inert bureaucrats at the Department of Veterans Affairs — let alone the indifferent tango dancer-in-chief.
Obama in the Ladies Room
We told you yesterday how Big Business, thoroughly coopted by the sexual revolutionaries of the left, is attempting to browbeat the people of North Carolina and their elected representatives. Today we are witnessing the marriage of Big Government and Big Business as five agencies within the Obama Administration are threatening to withhold funding from the families of North Carolina.
John Kasich: The Candidate Who Wouldn't Leave
There was an old "Saturday Night Live" fake movie trailer narrated by horror movie veteran Christopher Lee. John Belushi played a houseguest who couldn't take a hint from a couple that just wanted to go to bed. The husband tells Belushi, "Look, I don't want to be rude, but my wife is VERY tired!" Belushi responds by picking up the TV Guide and saying dismissively, "Yeah. ... Hey, there's a good movie on tonight! I think I'll call up some friends and watch it over here!"
Stephanopoulos: Still an Open Ethical Wound
Less than a year ago, ABC's George Stephanopoulos admitted that he had made $75,000 of undisclosed contributions to the charitable foundation/campaign operation of his former employers, Bill and Hillary Clinton. He then personally pledged he wouldn't moderate a Republican primary debate this year. But ABC News later issued a statement of support for Stephanopoulos, insisting it wouldn't take punitive action against him.
Miss. Guided by Facts, Not Fear
Thanks to Governor Phil Bryant (R), facts — not fear — won out in Mississippi! [Yesterday], Bryant signed the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" into law over the threats from corporate America and LGBT activists. After the Left's tantrum over North Carolina, where leaders denied men access to girls' restrooms and showers, most people started to see the liberal agenda for the extremism it is. Now, with the enactment of H.B. 1523, Mississippi is responding by passing religious liberty legislation that should be a model for every state.
Houses of Worship Are More Than Pews and Prayerbooks
In 1953, the Catholic Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette established a shrine and spiritual retreat on a 199-acre lot in Attleboro, Mass. The shrine's motto — "Come nearer, my children" — is reflected in the array of opportunities it offers worshipers and pilgrims to draw close to God. Among them: daily Masses, religious conferences, a soup kitchen for the hungry, and a Festival of Lights at Christmastime that attracts 400,000 visitors.
Freedom to Disagree
"Should a Jewish baker be *forced* to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding?" I asked that strange but important question during last week's debate between three Libertarian presidential candidates. You can see the second hour of that debate Friday, on my Fox Business Network TV show. If you're disappointed by Democrats' and Republicans' eagerness to limit your freedom, I urge you to check out the libertarians. Presidential candidate Austin Petersen, founder of LibertarianRepublic.com, says individuals should be free to discriminate — for example, refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple if gay marriage violates their beliefs.
A Time for Real Republican Leadership
After the 2012 election, when Americans re-elected Barack Obama, Republican Party leadership rightly did some soul searching. Republicans were in shock that Americans could re-elect a man they saw as clearly bad for the country, weakening us at home and fueling instability abroad. Polls showed that Obama's signature law, the Affordable Health Care Act — Obamacare — was not popular. It was clear that economic recovery was moving far too slowly, and that the economy was of top concern to Americans.
Campus Lunacy, Part II
Professor Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He recently wrote an article titled "The hypocrisy behind the student renaming craze." Students, often with the blessing of faculty, have discovered that names for campus buildings and holidays do not always fit politically correct standards for race, class and sex.
Big Biz Wins, Georgians Lose Re: HB 757
Easter Monday didn't bring good news to citizens in the peach state. Instead, corporate bullying killed a religious liberty bill. Big business and special interests successfully pressured Gov. Deal to veto legislation offering common-sense solutions to the challenges of a changing culture. It's not unique to Georgia. And it's bad news for all Americans.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
16 Democrat AGs Begin Inquisition Against 'Climate Change Disbelievers'
Beginning in 1478, the Spanish Inquisition systematically silenced any citizen who held views that did not align with the king's. Using the powerful arm of the government, the grand inquisitor, Tomas de Torquemada, and his henchmen sought out all those who held religious, scientific, or moral views that conflicted with the monarch's, punishing the "heretics" with jail sentences; property confiscation; fines; and in severe cases, torture and execution.
Newspaper Compares Supporters of Bible Bill to Ayatollahs
There are a lot of gun-toting, Bible-clinging patriots in my home state of Tennessee. So it was not all that surprising when lawmakers recently named the Barrett M82 as the official state firearm. Nor was it all that surprising when they launched an effort to make the Holy Bible the official state book. The proposed language is pretty straightforward: "The Holy Bible is hereby designated as the official state book." State Sen. Kerry Roberts told The Tennessean that the legislation is meant to commemorate the historical nature of the Good Book — referencing George Washington's inauguration.
Dangerous Donald Trump
Donald Trump's victories in the Republican primaries may make him seem like a sure winner. But those victories have been achieved by receiving either somewhat less than 40 percent of the votes or somewhat more than 40 percent, but never a majority. The fragmenting of the Republican vote among many candidates in the primaries made this possible. But victory in the general election for President of the United States in November is going to require a lot more than 40 percent of the votes. And polls consistently show Mr. Trump to be the most negatively regarded of any of the candidates in either party.
Can't We Do Better?
Occasionally I am asked if I ever considered running for political office. My response: "I did once, but I took two aspirin, lay down for a while and the feeling went away." Besides not wanting to accept a pay cut, why would I want to put myself through the agony of exposing the smallest misdeed and bad decision to political opponents and a ravenous media who could turn my public image into something no family member would recognize? Not to mention the amount of money I would have to raise that would go up exponentially the higher the office sought. With each donated dollar a little piece of my soul, character and integrity must ultimately be exchanged. Why else do people donate if they don't expect something in return? Might that something somehow dilute whatever virtues I am perceived to possess?
Are Trump Voters Really Victims?
What you hear when you listen to many fervent supporters of Donald Trump is that they are victims — victims of globalization and trade agreements that have sent their jobs to Mexico or China. Victims of competition from illegal immigrants from Mexico willing to work for starvation wages. Victims of a Republican establishment that promised to get rid of lots of things they don't like and then failed to deliver. Their complaints, in some cases, have some validity, but not always and not a lot. Economist Gordon Hanson writes that without the ability to move lower-wage jobs to Mexico after NAFTA was ratified in 1993, "there might not be much left of Detroit at all." Which is to say, the U.S. wouldn't have the 800,000 relatively high-wage auto-sector jobs it has today.
Why Do Liberals Hate America?
The idea of American exceptionalism has been embedded in our collective DNA for generations. It is the faith-based belief that, as Ronald Reagan put it, America is a "shining city on a hill." Do modern liberals believe that? I almost never try to get into the other side's head or ascribe ill motives to those on the left. They are, I've always believed, misguided, not malign.
Trump's Strengths Are His Achilles' Heel
Six months ago, I warned that Donald Trump's strengths could also be the weaknesses that would destroy his campaign. I think we're beginning to see that play out now. Trump has repeatedly said he is a counterpuncher — that he won't initiate attacks against his rivals but if they were to hit him first he would hit back much harder. He seems to take pride in this, as if it proves his toughness — an essential part of the image he's cultivated. It's not just abstract machismo that he sells but muscularity in promoting the policy issues that form the centerpiece of his campaign.
Obama's Iran Scandal
I told you Friday about the Obama administration's latest concession to Iran — granting the Islamic Republic's financial institutions access to U.S. dollars. Members of Congress aren't happy. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the second highest ranking House Democrat, blasted last week's announcement, saying, ". . .the Administration had indicated that there would be no further concessions beyond those specifically negotiated and briefed to Congress. I do not support granting Iran any new relief without a corresponding concession."
A Note to Conservatives Who Are Secular
The most profound thinkers in America are conservative. There are, of course, bright liberal and leftist thinkers, but I can't think of one who approaches the depth and wisdom of the best conservative writers and thinkers. What liberal historian, for example, approaches the understanding of life and history that author Paul Johnson has exhibited in his many works of history? Who on the left matches psychiatrist/writer Theodore Dalrymple's insight into the underclass? What left-wing columnists understand human nature, the state of mankind, or contemporary America as do George Will, Charles Krauthammer and Thomas Sowell, or many of the leading columnists at publications such as National Review, City Journal, Commentary Magazine or the Wall Street Journal?
N.C. in the Bully's Eye
North Carolina is about to square off with a big opponent — and it has nothing to do with college basketball. While the Tar Heels are celebrating the chance to play for a national title, the federal government is showing whose team it's on with new threats over the state's money. Furious that Governor Pat McCrory (R), a bipartisan legislature, and 70 percent of voters dare to block grown men from girls' bathrooms, the president's team is looking at ways to bankrupt the state into submission.