Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Is There Any Precedent in History for Donald Trump?
In November 1964 a crowd of 5,000 attended the opening of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, then the longest suspension bridge in the world. Presiding were New York Mayor Robert Wagner, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and transportation and parks czar Robert Moses. Also in the crowd was a teenager named Donald Trump. Trump later told a New York Times reporter that he remembered that on that occasion no one mentioned the name of 85-year-old Othmar Ammann, designer of New York's famous bridges for more than 50 years. "I realized then and there that if you let people treat you how they want, you'll be made a fool," he told the Times. "I don't want to be anyone's sucker."
Monday, September 28, 2015
DC Has Lost Another Gun Rights Case
Seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, D.C. has lost *another* gun case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia — one that involves the very same plaintiff, Dick Heller. In the latest case, Heller v. District of Columbia, a three-judge panel has thrown out several gun registration requirements that were clearly intended to discourage gun ownership and make it more difficult to own a gun in the nation's capital.
The Latest Poll Results
I would like to thank all of you who took part in my recent poll. The question was which three Republican candidates you liked best and which you disliked the most. Although there were many more men than women who took part, there wasn't much of a gender divide when it came to those you preferred and those who would force you to hold your nose in the voting booth when casting your vote against Hillary, Joe or Bernie, in 2016. Although there is no exact way to measure the difference in enthusiasm between a first place vote and a third place vote, the top first place vote-getters were Cruz (58), followed by Fiorina (29), Carson (21) and Rubio (20. The only other contenders in double figures were Walker (19), Trump (16) and Jindal (10).
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Bulger Wasn't Hardwired to Be a Murderer. No One Is.
On the Jewish calendar, Wednesday is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It marks the culmination of the Days of Awe, the solemn period of introspection that began 10 days ago on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Like many Jews, I have been thinking about the themes of this season — repentance and forgiveness, wrongdoing and reconciliation. I have also been thinking about Johnny Depp.
The Bobblehead Campaign
America's loopy left is enamored of someone who becomes cranky about bobblehead figurines. Sober Democrats are queasy about nominating Hillary Clinton, who has much to apologize for but no aptitude for apologies. Those Republicans who hope she is denied the nomination are perhaps imprudent. And even Republicans who recoil from Donald Trump's repulsiveness might want to defer the delicious pleasure of witnessing his apoplexy when he joins, as surely he will, the ranks of those he most despises — "losers." In 2011, Bernie Sanders said "we've got some very, very serious problems" because the Founding Fathers bobbleheads sold at the Smithsonian Museum of American History were made in China. He exclaimed: "A museum owned by the people of America — a museum which talks about our own history — cannot even have products manufactured in the United States by American workers?" In a hilarious video assembled by the high-spirited folks at Reason.TV, Sanders summons Smithsonian officials to his office to grovel and promise to mend their ways. Sanders' wrath did not produce a complete purge: The museum still sells imported gimcracks.
Capitalism, Socialism and the Pope
Pope Francis's visit to Cuba and the United States and his previous efforts to bring about a rapprochement between the two countries brings the world's attention to three facts. First, Cuba is one of two remaining communist countries in the world — countries dedicated to the belief that individuals have a duty to live for the state. Second, although the United States does not have the freest economy in the world (Hong Kong and Singapore get that honor and we now rank number 16!), it is the symbolic fountainhead of capitalism — a country whose founding document proclaims the right of everyone to pursue their own happiness. Three, there are still people in the world who contend that communism is better.
Fiorina a Rising Conservative Star: Some Folks Need to Deal With It
Recently some detractors and uninformed people have called Carly Fiorina's conservatism into question. While I'm unaffiliated with any campaign and uncommitted to any candidate, I do think it's imperative to state Ms. Fiorina has more than earned her conservative stripes. First and foremost, Carly's pro-life credentials are outstanding and she's proving it consistently on the campaign trail. As the hideous Planned Parenthood videos have circulated, no candidate has been more vocal in calling for defunding Planned Parenthood than Carly. In spite of the national media's refusal to cover the videos, Fiorina forced the issue onto the national agenda with a powerful, moving indictment of Planned Parenthood in the CNN debate.
Failure Theater in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote for Monday that would fund the government through Dec. 11. The vote would *not* end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, but rather kick the can down the road for two-and-a-half months. Make no mistake: If Planned Parenthood is not dealt with now, Congress will have zero political will to take up the cause in December. America's largest abortion provider, which performs an abortion every 90 seconds, is currently embroiled in a controversy stemming from a series of undercover videos. Delaying the debate until Christmas break is a time-tested tactic to avoid wrestling tough budgetary issues.
This New Lawsuit Against Obamacare Has Legs
For those who thought that the lawsuits challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) were at an end, think again. On September 9, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the federal district court for the District of Columbia refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the entire U.S. House of Representatives against the Obama administration over its funding of certain aspects of Obamacare. This is a historic lawsuit and a historic decision. In the past, individual members of Congress have filed a number of (unsuccessful) lawsuits against sitting administrations. But this is one of the few occasions when such a suit has been pursued by the *entire* House of Representatives as an institution.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of National Abortion Federation Over Pro-Life Group That Created Planned Parenthood Videos
This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) in a discovery dispute with the National Abortion Federation. CMP is the group of citizen journalists responsible for producing the undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood's practice of selling baby parts. This decision may end up being a costly one for CMP because it allows the National Abortion Federation to attempt to bury the group with discovery requests. Discovery is a pre-trial procedure in which parties can seek to obtain evidence for their case.
Cherry-Picking Pope Francis
While papal visits to the United States are increasingly common, what is uncommon is to see political-ideological battle lines drawn around a pope. The tendency this time is especially acute among liberals, who eagerly frame Francis as one of them — a categorization Francis has resisted. "I'm sure that I haven't said anything more than what's written in the social doctrine of the Church," he said as his plane approached U.S. soil. To some degree, liberals are certainly justified in linking Pope Francis to many of their concerns — climate change, wealth redistribution, poverty. And even many conservatives seem to concede this pope to the political left. In truth, however, both sides lack a full picture. To illustrate the point, I'll focus on the subject area that brings Pope Francis here to America to begin with: a major international Catholic Church synod on family and marriage.
Having Fun at the 'Moral Action on Climate Justice' Rally on the National Mall
The Earth Day Network hosted what it touted as a major rally for action to stop "climate change" today (timed to coincide with Pope Francis's visit with President Obama yesterday and his address to Congress) on the National Mall in Washington. Only it wasn't. It was reported that organizers said beforehand they expected "up to 200,000 people" to attend. Well, I guess what they said was true. The number didn't exceed 200,000. By my guess, it didn't exceed 5,000 or 6,000, but I'm no expert at estimating crowds, so though by my naturally generous nature I thought to give them double that — 12,000 — I now find that their faithful allies at ClimateProgress gave them only "hundreds." So I'll let that suffice.
The Speaker Steps Down
Speaker John Boehner stunned the D.C. political establishment [Friday] morning when he announced that he would resign from Congress at the end of October. Conservatives have grown increasingly frustrated with his leadership. So much so that Rep. Mark Meadows filed a resolution at the end of July to "vacate the chair" — the speaker's chair.
Iran: Withdraw the Welcome Mat for Rouhani at the UN
The United Nations officially came into existence exactly 70 years ago when its charter was ratified. It was supposed to be a force for peace, coexistence and respect for human rights. According to the Preamble of the UN charter, "We the peoples of the United Nations determined … to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war … to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person." Fast forward 70 years.
Coming Around on Trump
I am still not on board for Donald Trump, but there's a part of me that almost wishes he gets the nomination so I can watch Jeb Bush have to live up to his pledge to support the GOP nominee after Trump has given him, by actual count, 4,819 verbal noogies and another 1,734 wedgies. Inasmuch as Trump has so far provided so many of the crowd-pleasing sound bites that Republicans are obviously hungry to hear, I am surprised that he hasn't reprised his offer from some years ago to boot the U.N. out of America and convert its building into a first class hotel. Frankly, I'd be in favor of his turning the building into a trailer park, a wading pool or, perhaps more appropriately, a garbage dump. If there is a more corrupt organization in the world, at least outside the city limits of Washington, D.C., I haven't heard of it.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Liberals Are Done Debating
Not always. Not everyone. But enough. This week, for example, while thinking about the pope's take on global warming, I tweeted out this comment: "Celebrate climate change, an externality of the greatest poverty destroying program in the history of mankind." There is plenty to disagree with in my observation, I admit. Although I believe what I wrote to be true, I sent it out partly to elicit exactly the sort of reaction my tweet got — with one person calling me a psychopath (a Slate writer, not some anonymous critic) and another calling me sociopathic, among other things. I don't mind the insults (perversely, in fact, I sort of enjoy them), but I do mind that the debate is over.
Redistribution: The Unconquerable Delusion
"A pope that mentions Dorothy Day is a pope that rocks," tweeted Neera Tanden of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Tanden might have wished to reel back that praise if she had known that Day, though a prominent pacifist and socialist, was also a fervent opponent of abortion, birth control, Social Security and the sexual revolution. It's fitting that Pope Francis should have invoked Dorothy Day among his pantheon of great Americans — she's a symbol of where leftists always go wrong. This pope is going wrong in the same way. The left's delusions of "social justice" seem indomitable — impervious to evidence.
President of Hypocrisy, Ayatollah Demands More, Refugee Crisis
I couldn't help but notice President Obama's remarks [Wednesday] at the White House. With Pope Francis seated just a few feet behind him, Obama had the audacity to claim, "You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely. Here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty." This president brought the full weight and power of our massive federal government to bear on the Little Sisters of the Poor and more than a dozen Catholic dioceses, trying to force them, under penalty of crushing fines, to violate the teachings of their faith.
The Pope-Exploiter in Chief
Normally, the issue of the pope's infallibility wouldn't much concern me, but it does get my attention when opportunists attempt to leverage his heft to advance their political agenda. As an evangelical Christian, I don't subscribe to the view that the pope is infallible, but I respect Catholics who do and have no desire to offend them in the slightest. So let's put aside the question of whether the pope is infallible and assume, for argument's sake, that he is. The next question is on what range of issues is he deemed infallible? Without researching the matter too deeply, I think we can safely assume that it is only on doctrinal matters. But where do we draw that line? The question is interesting because theology often overlaps with politics and because everything in our society seems to be about politics these days.
'Bacha Bazi': Obama's Silence on Afghan Military's Child Rape
American soldiers are being punished for blowing the whistle on the systematic rape and enslavement of young boys at the hands of brutal Afghan Muslim military officials. Honorable men in uniform risked their careers and lives to stop the abuse. Yet, the White House — which was busy tweeting about its new feminism-pandering "It's On Us" campaign against an alleged college rape crisis based on debunked statistics — is AWOL on the actual pedophilia epidemic known as "bacha bazi." On Thursday, Obama administration flacks went out of their way to downplay Afghan child rape as "abhorrent," but "fundamentally" a local "law enforcement matter."