Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Carson's 'Scandal'
Dr. Ben Carson is in deep trouble according to the media mavens. Did they discover his missing emails containing classified material? Was he caught trying to get the IRS to audit his political enemies? Did he threaten, if elected president, to use executive orders to ram through his agenda? No, Carson's "scandal" is bigger than any of those.
The Rachel Dolezal-ation of the Oregon Killer
Here's the narrative: mass killers are almost always white men. The Daily Kos recently published a piece with this headline: "How come we can't tell the truth about the White Mass Killer Problem?" It asks, "Just what the fracking hell is the matter with all these mass-murdering white people?" Certainly mass killers are almost always men. But they're not almost always white men. Overrepresented? Perhaps. But almost always white? No.
What Is to Be Done?
Regarding last week's mass murder in Oregon, what is there to say that is new? There was a day in America when such an atrocity was almost unheard of. There were family feuds, mafia murders, and I guess what were called juvenile delinquent murders, though they were comparatively rare and for the most part ignored.
Barack Obama, Jackass
Last week, in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, President Barack Obama took to the microphones to deride anyone who did not agree with his gun control agenda. Stating that it was only good and right to "politicize" the Oregon shooting, Obama stated, "This is a political choice that we make to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families, who lose their loved ones, because of our inaction." Obama then called for "modest" gun regulations, without specifying the nature of those "modest" gun regulations.
Speak Now, Congress, or Forever Maintain the Status Quo
The House of Representatives is looking for a new speaker. Such times of change present a perfect opportunity for Congress to reflect on what it should aspire to achieve. On top of the list is getting control of our fiscal situation by restraining government spending in ways that are consistent with a healthy and vibrant private sector. This will also make better tax policy more likely and help restrain debt levels.
The 'New' Hillary
Hillary Clinton is borrowing from Richard Nixon, a man she worked to impeach while a staff member of the House Judiciary Committee in the early 1970s. Like Nixon, whose handlers successfully fooled a majority of voters by trotting out a "new Nixon" after his election defeats in 1960 and 1962, Hillary Clinton is trying to change her public image with voters, a majority of whom finds her "Unlikeable," to borrow from the title of Ed Klein's new book.
Army Puts Charles in Discharge
In the Obama military, you can celebrate immorality — but you can't confront it. That's the lesson the Army is trying to teach the Green Beret's Charles Martland. A hero by both record and reputation, Sergeant First Class Martland is about to lose his career over something that any parent or decent American would have done: intervene in the violent rape of an innocent boy. When Martland confronted the attacker (a member of the Afghan police), the rapist laughed off the soldier's horror, insisting it was "just a boy."
Tethered to Technology — Escaping the IT Trap
Increasingly, we often expect each other to be smartphone-available nearly 24/7. Or we act as if this is the case. Over time, this can lead to feelings of exhaustion and a sense of entrapment. Time to just focus on our families, our worship, our hobbies, and so on without endless "work" interruption seems to be harder to come by. And even if it only takes five minutes to read and respond to an email or text, this kind of thing puts us back into "work track" mentally and emotionally.
Beware Putin and His 'Anti-Hitler Coalition'
Contrary to the principles of American foreign policy of the last 70 years, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry tacitly invited Russia to "help" monitor things in the Middle East. Now they are learning that there are lots of Middle East scenarios far worse than the relative quiet Iraq that the Obama administration inherited in January 2009 — and soon abandoned. Russian President Vladimir Putin liked the American invitation so much that he now has decided to move in permanently. Putin now wants the West to join his new Syria-Iran-Hezbollah-Iraq axis against the Islamic State — or to at least sit back and allow Russia to straighten out the Middle East as it sees fit.
Charlatans and Sheep: Part III
The prevailing social dogma of our time — that economic and other disparities among groups are strange, if not sinister — has set off bitter disputes between those who blame genetic differences and those who blame discrimination. Both sides ignore the possibility that groups themselves may differ in their orientations, their priorities and in what they are prepared to sacrifice for the sake of other things.
The Problem Isn't Guns or White Men
The media act as if they're performing a public service by refusing to release details about the perpetrator of the recent mass shooting at a community college in Oregon. But we were given plenty of information about Dylan Roof, Adam Lanza, James Holmes and Jared Loughner. Now, quick: Name the mass shooters at the Chattanooga military recruitment center; the Washington Navy Yard; the high school in Washington state; Fort Hood (the second time) and the Christian college in California. All those shootings also occurred during the last three years.
Impeach the IRS Director
"Look," wrote Lois Lerner, echoing Horace Greeley, "my view is that Lincoln was our worst president not our best. He should [have] let the [S]outh go. We really do seem to have 2 totally different mindsets." Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, was referring to Southern secessionist states when he urged President-elect Lincoln to "let the erring sisters go in peace." Greeley favored separating the nation from certain mindsets; Lerner favors suppressing certain mindsets.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
How Noncitizens Can Swing Elections (Without Even Voting Illegally)
In an article in Politico, Mark Rozell, acting dean of the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs at George Mason University, and Paul Goldman, a weekly columnist for the Washington Post, point out a fact that should greatly concern all Americans: that the presence of millions of noncitizens, both legal and illegal, could tilt the presidential election toward the Democrat Party and decide the election in favor of the eventual Democratic nominee.
Iranian Terrorist Attack Against U.S. Revealed
How Bill Clinton concealed it from the public and U.S. intelligence.
Houston Still Has a Problem
Houston Mayor Annise Parker (D) promised not to make homosexuality an issue in her administration. Instead, she's made it *the* issue — around which everything else revolves. As the leader of the fourth largest city in America, Parker jumped at the chance to use her power in support of her own personal LGBT agenda. An open lesbian, the mayor has tried to bypass the laws on marriage, declared Valentine's Day "Freedom to Marry Day," and forced through the most radical piece of special rights legislation the city has ever seen.
We Already Have a Free-Trade Deal: It's Called the Constitution
When the founders of this nation wrote the Constitution they created a charter for the greatest and truest free-trade zone in history — and they did not seek its approval on a fast track. It is instructive to look at some of the basic differences between our Constitution and the free-trade zone it created and President Barack Obama's proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Pelosi vs. Pro-Life Press
In January, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was asked by a reporter if an unborn baby at 20 weeks is a human being. She shot back that when she was a new member of Congress, someone quipped, "Nancy Pelosi thinks she knows more about having babies than the pope." She added, "Yeah. That would be true." That same smarter-than-the-pontiff feminist arrogance unfolded again on Oct. 1, a few days after Planned Parenthood boss Cecile Richards testified to Congress regarding that group's fetal body parts-for-profit scandal.
Gitmo Extended Stay America Suites in Colorado? Hell No!
Liberal readers have scoffed at my repeated warnings about the dangerous prospect of an enemy combatant dump on American soil. Over the years, I've flagged the Obama administration's scouting forays in Illinois, Kansas and South Carolina. Now, the White House is considering my adopted home, Colorado, as the new digs for the dregs of Gitmo. If there was ever a time for Coloradans of all political stripes to unite under the "Not in My Backyard" banner, this is it.
Putin's Power Play, Radical Islamists Target Christians, Poll Position
During a press conference last week, President Obama said that Russia's Vladimir Putin was acting in Syria "not of strength, but out of weakness." If Mr. Putin gets any weaker, he may end up controlling the entire Middle East! Multiple reports today indicate that Putin has deployed shock troops known as the Spetsnaz into Syria. These troops are "extremely aggressive and highly trained."
Republicans Should Court Black Voters With Traditional Values
An ongoing point of contention in the Republican Party has been the extent to which clear identification with traditional Judeo-Christian values is a good idea. My sense is that, when we add to the equation the growing impact of non-white voters, standing strongly for these traditional values — which would put Republicans in stark contrast to Democrats — would be a win-win for Republicans.