Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Attack on Teachers
As the new school year begins, you might like to be updated on some school happenings that will no doubt be repeated this academic year. After this update, I have some questions one might ask the black leadership. The ongoing and escalating assault on primary- and secondary-school teachers is not a pretty sight. Holly Houston is a post-traumatic stress specialist. She counsels teachers in Chicago public schools and reported, "Of the teachers that I have counseled over the years who have been assaulted, 100 percent of them have satisfied diagnostic criteria for PTSD." It's not just big-city schoolteachers traumatized. Dr. Darlyne Nemeth, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said last year, "I have treated many teachers with PTSD, and I am currently following a few of them."
Better School Choices for Less
Another school year is underway, and more parents than ever are using school choice to ensure the best education for their children. Or should I say trying to use them? Some groups, after all, are trying to thwart them. Who, you ask? Just ask parents in Nevada. The Silver State is one of five nationwide (along with Arizona, Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee) to have Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) that enable families to deposit their child's state per-pupil funding in an account that can be used for a variety of education options.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Does Allowing Noncitizens to Be Counted in Redistricting Violate One Person, One Vote Standard?
When states, counties, and towns redraw political districts, is it constitutional for them to include individuals who are ineligible to vote, such as noncitizens? Or does that dilute the vote of eligible citizens and violate the one-person, one-vote standard that the U.S. Supreme Court established for all redistricting fifty years ago in Reynolds v. Sims (1964)? The Supreme Court is set to finally decide this issue in Evenwel v. Abbott — something it has avoided for decades up until this year.
Biden Being Biden
While Hillary Clinton's team of consultants is locked in a room somewhere trying to figure out how she can project authenticity, Joe Biden is out doing it. The vice president's interview on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" last week was compellingly human, as Biden talked of the tragic loss of his son Beau and his decision whether or not to make a late entry into the Democratic presidential race.
Europe's Refugee Crisis
The refugee crisis bedeviling Europe has dominated headlines for the past week. European nations are struggling to manage the flood of humanity and they have responded in varying ways. Last week, President Obama committed America to taking in 10,000 more refugees from Syria, but there are hints the figure could be closer to 100,000.
Why Have Elections?
In a country with more than 300 million people, it is remarkable how obsessed the media have become with just one — Donald Trump. What is even more remarkable is that, after six years of repeated disasters, both domestically and internationally, under a glib egomaniac in the White House, so many potential voters are turning to another glib egomaniac to be his successor. No doubt much of the stampede of Republican voters toward Mr. Trump is based on their disgust with the Republican establishment. The fact that the next two biggest vote-getters in the polls are also complete outsiders — Dr. Ben Carson and Ms. Carly Fiorina — reinforces the idea that this is a protest.
American Greatness Can Be Rediscovered
Let's be crystal clear about what happened one day before America commemorated the 14th anniversary of the worst domestic attack in our nation's history: the Party of Treason aided and abetted by the Party of Cowardice made Obama's despicable deal with Iran a reality. Even more insulting, the process took place in defiance of the law as written and without a vote. In short, the effort to accommodate Iran, accurately described as the word's foremost sponsor of state terror, represents one of the darkest days in American history.
The Establishment Birthed Trump
Much of the establishment's criticism of Donald Trump comes from its failure to comprehend the reasons for his soaring popularity. Establishment types seem untroubled by the problems facing America, so they can't understand the urgency that fathered Trump's rise. Minor adjustments to the Hindenburg's dining room menu just aren't going to get it. Their overwrought analysis, their hand-wringing and their contemptuousness for Trump betray a disdain not only for Trump but for Americans who recognize the gravity of America's predicament — and who, in desperation, have turned to Trump for bold action.
Europe Is Making a Fatal Mistake
Allowing millions of Syrians and others from the Muslim Middle East into Europe will end up a catastrophe for Europe, and therefore for the West. This may be the most difficult sentence I have ever written. Little seems more obviously moral than to allow these benighted Syrians, Iraqis and others to flee from hell into heaven. Therefore, arguing against allowing large numbers of them into Europe (and the United States) seems to be advocating for something that is heartless and just morally wrong.
Haley's Comment: Gov. Fires Back at Planned Parenthood
Not everyone agrees with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) that Planned Parenthood is "one of the finest organizations in America!" Just ask Governor Nicki Haley (R-S.C.). Like several other states, South Carolina was so appalled by the group's black market for baby parts that it launched its own internal investigation of Cecile Richards's group. What it found was nothing short of shocking. According to the state government's report, the President's favorite abortion group exhibits the same disregard for laws that it does for lives. The state's Department of Health and Environmental Control [DHEC] discovered so much wrongdoing that it had to temporarily shut down operations.
Trump Is 'Lonesome Rhodes'
Rarely and perhaps not in modern times has a presidential campaign more resembled the classic 1957 film, "A Face in the Crowd." Written by Budd Schulberg and starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau, the storyline follows an Arkansas hayseed named Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Griffith), whom Marcia Jeffries (Neal) discovers in a county jail. Jeffries has a local radio show on which she interviews interesting characters. She finds Rhodes irresistible and puts him on the air. Rhodes becomes a sensation, eventually climbing the ladder to his own network TV show and then, as politicians approach him for endorsements, a self-described kingmaker.
Anatomy of a Failed Liberal State
When I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago in the 1960s and '70s, Illinois was still a financial and industrial powerhouse. The Land of Lincoln had a low-rate flat income tax, the property taxes were reasonable, the state ran budget surpluses, and Illinois was the home of such iconic mega-employers as Caterpillar, Sears Roebuck and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The public schools were pretty good back then and a dedicated corps of teachers put kids first — they didn't walk out on strike, and they didn't have the fat pensions they can get now when retiring at age 55.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Planned Failure
Over the last several months, video evidence has documented that the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, may have been selling baby parts for profit. The evidence also suggests they may be harvesting organs from babies who are still alive. Congress now gives Planned Parenthood over $500 million from federal taxpayers every year, but a growing number of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortion and the sale of tissue and organs from aborted babies. The editors of The Wall Street Journal, reflecting the cowering position of the Republican Washington establishment, recently wrote an editorial pre-emptively waving the white flag on the growing movement to stop taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. And they harshly criticized all those who would try to stop the funding of these barbaric practices.
The Iran Deal Bait-and-Switch
Barack Obama has never made a secret of his determination to reach a deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Very early in his run for the White House, he announced that he was prepared to meet, without preconditions, with the rulers of Iran and other hostile regimes. "I think it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them," he said during a 2007 debate with Hillary Clinton. As president, Obama's outreach to Tehran began on Day 1. "We will extend a hand," he promised in his inaugural address, "if you are willing to unclench your fist." By 2011, he had dispatched then-Senator John Kerry to open a secret dialogue with Iran.
Markets Take Stock of Capitol Clash
If you think GOP leaders are catching flak from inside the Capitol, you should hear what the rest of the city is saying! Congress isn't the only one jittery over a potential budget showdown over Planned Parenthood. K Street, the major thoroughfare in D.C. for corporate lobbing, is a nervous wreck over the possibility that the government's money could dry up by September 30. Already, the collective hand-wringing is having an effect on the debate under the dome. "We cannot have another shutdown," said a spokesman of Financial Services Roundtable. "Don't do something that disrupts the markets. We've got enough volatility right now. It's okay to have the debate. It's okay to have the fight. But at the end of the day you've got to get the government funded."
Take That, Founding Fathers!
In case you haven't noticed, America is doing everything it can to not only trash the Constitution, but to eliminate from the national landscape some of the major players in the creation of the United States. For openers, Alexander Hamilton is on the verge of being replaced on the ten dollar bill, and the Democrats are about to quit calling their annual fund-raising soirees Jefferson-Jackson dinners. I'm not sure why Hamilton has fallen out of favor, but apparently the Democrats, who can't win an election unless every black person in America turns out to vote a couple of times, have decided they can no longer pay homage to Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson because they owned slaves.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Why Is There So Much Economic Illiteracy? Paul Krugman Is One Reason
Stanford University economist Thomas Sowell was asked the other day whether the understanding of basic economics has been elevated in political discussions over time. His answer? Economic literacy hasn't gotten better. It's gotten worse. "At one time you had a lot of people who hadn't had any economics saying foolish things. Now you have well-known economists saying foolish things," he said. Although he didn't name names, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman must rank high on the list of guilty parties. There was a time, not long ago, when The New York Times called for a zero minimum wage and Krugman agreed with them. The reason? A minimum wage law isn't just a restriction on employers. It's also a restriction on workers.
Heterosexuals Are to Blame for the Breakdown of Marriage
In recent days, many Americans have reveled in the hypocrisy of a number of well-known people revealed as subscribers to the Ashley Madison pro-adultery website. But there is a far more important revelation from the hackings: the alarming number who signed up for the site — 33 million people. That startling statistic reminds us that no one is immune to sexual temptation. It also shows how far modern society has drifted from the idea that marriage is a permanent and exclusive union. Some people may be inclined to blame the breakdown of marriage on gays and lesbians, but as the Ashley Madison hack should make clear, heterosexuals are to blame for the breakdown of marriage.
Redeeming the Remainder of a Life
The man at the front of the room in the prison here is talking about the institution's culinary and hospitality training that will help some of his fellow inmates "give back to the community." He will never get back to any community; he is serving a "double life" sentence. But because he is not going anywhere, he can provide leadership to those who are. Some will go to the 35 Cleveland restaurants that are eager to help themselves, and reduce recidivism while doing so, by hiring those who learn in prison to serve the food plate from the left and to remove it from the right. Small things learned inside can help people stay outside.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
How an Alabama Woman Used Voter Fraud to Get Her Boyfriend Elected
In Dothan, Ala., the verdict is in: it was election fraud. Last week, a jury convicted 66-year-old Olivia Reynolds on 24 felony counts of absentee ballot fraud in the contested 2013 election for the Dothan City Commission. Reynolds worked on the re-election campaign for District 2 incumbent Amos Newsome. During the tainted 2013 election, she forged and altered enough absentee ballots to guarantee victory for her boss and boyfriend. The verdict will only come as a shock to those who still insist that voter fraud simply doesn't exist in the U.S. In 2013, Newsome narrowly won reelection to his office, besting challenger Lamesa Danzey by a scant 14 votes.