Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The Time to Limit NSA Snooping Is Now
Reauthorizing an Unamended PATRIOT Act Would Be Reckless
What Creates Jobs
I took a camera to Times Square this week and asked people, "What creates jobs?" Most had no answer. One said, "stimulus!" What? Government creates jobs? No! I suppose it's natural that people think government creates jobs because politicians always say that. "We've now created more than 10 million," said President Obama. But that just meant that he took office at the start of the recession, and finally job creation resumed. He didn't cause that. In fact, his taxes and complex regulation *slowed* job creation.
The Clintons Lower the Bar — Again
I once had a boss who gave me some great advice, not just for managing people but for judging politicians: You forgive mistakes; you punish patterns. Everybody screws up. But if someone won't learn from his mistakes and try to correct his behavior, then he either doesn't think it was a mistake, he just doesn't care or he thinks you're a fool. The one indisputable takeaway from Peter Schweizer's new book, "Clinton Cash," is that Bill and Hillary Clinton fit one or all of those descriptions. Let us recall Marc Rich, a shady billionaire indicted for tax evasion and defying trade sanctions with Iran during the U.S. hostage crisis. Rich fled to Switzerland to escape prosecution. He hired Jack Quinn, a former Clinton White House counsel, to lobby the administration for a pardon. Quinn sought help from then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, who advised Quinn to petition the White House directly — advice Holder later regretted. On the last day of his presidency, Bill Clinton pardoned Rich.
Ignoring Personal Responsibility Is a Riot
Hours after residents of Baltimore, Maryland, set the city aflame, President Barack Obama took to the Rose Garden to explain in professorial style just why America, under his administration, keeps watching young black men loot buildings and attack police officers. "We have seen too many instances of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals — primarily African-American, often poor — in ways that have raised troubling questions. And it comes up, it seems like, once a week now, or once every couple weeks," Obama said, proclaiming that police brutality against blacks amounted to a "slow-rolling crisis." He added, "This is not new, and we shouldn't pretend that it's new." Obama's disgusting implication was, of course, that a massive trend of police violence mirroring the racist police violence of the 1950s has broken out across America. That's false. Your chances in America of being killed by hornet attack are 1 in 56,000; your chances in America of being killed by a police officer if you are a black man are 1 in 60,000. Nonetheless, Obama continued by suggesting that police forces had to "do some soul searching," that "some communities ... have to do some soul searching," and that America as a whole had to do some "soul searching."
California's Water Problem
Californians are experiencing their third year of drought. Headlines read: "Current California Drought Is Driest In State's History; Scientists Fear 'Megadroughts' On Their Way." "Global Warming Upped Heat Driving California's Drought." Then there are scientific claims such as, "There's a rapidly growing body of scientific research finding that California is in the midst of its worst drought in over a millennium (and) global warming has made the drought worse." A Stanford University study said, "Human-caused climate change helped fuel the current California drought." One news outlet summarized the conclusions of a group of environmentalists this way: "California's severe and ongoing drought is just a taste of the dry years to come, thanks to global warming." Let's examine a few drought facts. California experienced eight major droughts in the 20th century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. They ranged from two years to as long as nine years, such as that which occurred from 1928 to 1937. In the previous century, there was the bitter drought of 1862-65, which was a catastrophe for the state of California — made worse by a smallpox epidemic. Scott Stine — professor of geography and environmental studies at California State University, East Bay — said that all of these modern droughts were minor compared with California's ancient droughts of 850 to 1090 and 1140 to 1320. One wonders whether California Gov. Jerry Brown and his cadre of environmental extremists would attribute those ancient droughts to man-made global warming.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Marriage Hits a Hopefuls Note
The best barometer of what matters to voters isn't what's coming out of the media's mouth — but the candidates'. For months, the press has tried to persuade the nation that marriage is not only a settled issue, but an unimportant one. This past weekend's Faith and Freedom Coalition event blew that theory to bits, as every presidential hopeful but one almost tried to be more outspoken on the issue than the others. Polling has its place, but generally speaking, candidates don't lead the voters — voters lead *them*. And the fact that heading into a major presidential election cycle, almost every official and potential GOP candidate has publicly thrown their support behind marriage is the best indication of where voters truly stand. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who hasn't shied away from a single question on the issue, reiterated his opinion that "There is no federal constitutional right to same sex marriage. There isn't such a right. You have to have a ridiculous reading of the U.S. Constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex." Other stalwarts like Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), haven't budged from their position — despite the slings and arrows from the Left.
About Those Smoking Guns
In January, Robert F. McDonnell, 71st governor of Virginia, was sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release after his conviction on 11 counts of public corruption. He, and especially his wife, behaved badly. But it's worth taking a closer look at what was considered criminal in McDonnell's case, because, at least so far, some in the press are suggesting that Hillary Clinton's conduct must meet a much higher threshold to be considered problematic. When ABC's George Stephanopoulos interviewed Peter Schweizer, author of "Clinton Cash" on Sunday, Stephanopoulos played the informal role of Clinton defense attorney. Skipping right over the truly squalid appearance of conflict of interest inherent in the Clinton Foundation accepting contributions from nations and firms having business before the State Department while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, Stephanopoulos focused only on law breaking. "Do you have any evidence that a crime may have been committed?" he demanded. When Schweizer said he thought the material he, the New York Times and others unearthed certainly merited further investigation, Stephanopoulos jumped on it: "But a criminal investigation? ... Is there a smoking gun?"
Fallout From a Bad Deal With Iran
A diplomatic breakthrough could come at the expense of a nuclear breakout
The Court and Marriage
Well. I really can't believe I am saying this. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to tell us what marriage means. Not speculate; not explain. Tell: as in, "Wipe that smile off your face and listen to what I'm telling you." We are at a remarkable moment in human affairs: one we would hardly have predicted 50 years ago at the start of our cultural upheavals. Historic understandings that drew, for the most part, support and sympathy no longer have footing, which is fine with the kind of folk — they are in leadership roles all around us, including judgeships and presidential candidacies — who think we're in the business of inventing a whole new way of life, atoning in the process for ancient sins. And what would be considered an ancient sin? Preferring one ideal or mode of conduct over another one. Talking a lot about Truth. Those would be some of the more salient sins.
I Want My Country Back
A little over three months ago wrote a column,"The GOP Will Stand or Fall on These Two Issues." It was essentially an open letter to the GOP following their rout of Democrats in the 2014 election, not because American love Republicans, but because they wanted the Democrat Party's odious agenda stopped dead in its progressive tracks. I noted that both issues are going to define Republicans "as fighters for ordinary Americans, or as the go-along-to-get-along, elitist, ruling class wimps you have been for quite some time." The two issues? Defunding the portion of the DHS budget enabling President Obama's amnesty-by-executive-order agenda, even if it meant invoking the nuclear option to do so, and preventing the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States. In March the GOP caved on issue one, passing a budget with no strings attached. Last Thursday they doubled down on their cravenness, confirming Loretta Lynch as Eric Holder's successor. In short, millions of American voters were betrayed by elitist, ruling class wimps passing themselves off as an opposition party.
Puffed-Up Leftist Tyranny Punishes Dissenters
Forget for a moment the ever-failing economy, the implosion of our foreign policy coherence, and our virtually unilateral withdrawal in the war on terror under Barack Obama's presidency. If liberty lovers don't start fighting back soon, we'll forfeit our freedom of thought and religious expression under the assault of fascist leftist activists in our culture. Let's just look at two of the many recent events that should have us very concerned. As you may have guessed, they revolve around the controversial matter of same-sex marriage. At the outset, let me say that this issue is no longer about same-sex marriage or gay rights; it is about our basic liberties. First, we read via The New York Times that "Ian Reisner, one of the two gay hoteliers facing boycott calls for hosting an event for Senator Ted Cruz, who is adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage, apologized to the gay community for showing 'poor judgment.'"
Bipartisanship Is Busting Out All Over
Like spring, bipartisanship is busting out all over. Even more so maybe: Washington in a time of alleged global warming is suffering through a chilly, wet springtime, but bipartisanship is sprouting up like gangbusters. Exhibit A is the Corker-Cardin legislation, passed unanimously in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, providing for limited congressional review of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. Exhibit B is the legislation combating human trafficking, passed unanimously by the Senate last Wednesday. Exhibit C is the elimination of the annual "doc fix," engineered by Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. These legislative achievements came despite great partisan differences. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., worked out a deal with ranking Democrat Ben Cardin, D-Md., that overcame many Senate Democrats' reluctance to buck the Obama administration on this issue. Obama withdrew his veto threat in the face of the committee's unanimous vote.
Why Is Pakistan More Legitimate Than Israel?
Whenever I have received a call from a listener to my radio show challenging Israel's legitimacy, I have asked these people if they ever called a radio show to challenge any other country's legitimacy. In particular, I ask, have they ever questioned the legitimacy of Pakistan? The answer, of course, is always "no." In fact, no caller ever understood why I even mentioned Pakistan. There are two reasons for this. First, of all the 200-plus countries in the world, only Israel's legitimacy is challenged. So mentioning any other country seems strange to a caller. Second, almost no one outside of India and Pakistan knows anything about the founding of Pakistan.
Another Signpost on the Road to Destruction
When future historians analyze the decline of America they need look no further than the trivialities increasingly occupying our time and concerns instead of substantive matters seriously threatening our existence. The latest in a long list of examples is the two-hour ABC special last Friday devoted to former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner and his coming out as a transgender person. Two hours! Neither ABC, nor any other media giant, has paid that much attention to international threats from Russia, China and the rapid rise of Islamic fanaticism, not to mention the Bill and Hillary Clinton financial empire. What is wrong with us? This constant feeding of our lower nature and fixation on what not long ago was regarded as bizarre, even perverted, is contributing to a warped culture and the devaluing of the qualities necessary to stabilize society. It is as if a lid has been lifted from the sewer and all the waste is now flooding the streets, posing a threat to our national well-being.
Anti-Trust Law and Lawlessness
We all make mistakes and some of us learn from them. What is even better is to learn from other people's mistakes, where they pay for those mistakes while we learn free of charge. Many Americans who say that we should learn from other people, especially Europeans, mean that we should imitate what they did. That may make those who talk this way feel superior to other Americans. But let us never forget that the most disastrous ideologies of the 20th century — Communism, Fascism and Nazism — all originated in Europe. So did both World Wars. More recently, Europe has been belatedly discovering how unbelievably stupid it was to import millions of people from cultures that despise Western values, and which often promote hatred toward Western people. Maybe that is a mistake that we can think about when Congress finally decides to do something about our open borders and our immigration laws that we refuse to enforce.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Politicians, 'Profiteers' and Public Health
Naloxone isn't magic, but its power to rescue a heroin user from the brink of death can certainly seem miraculous. The anti-overdose drug, also known by the brand name Narcan, is easy to administer and has saved thousands of lives. First responders are often awestruck at how swiftly it can revive a dying addict. "It's just incredible," the deputy fire chief of Revere, Mass., marveled in a public-radio interview last year. "There's somebody who's on the ground who's literally dead. They have no pulse. Sometimes they're blue, sometimes they're black. And you administer this stuff and sometimes in a minute or two or three, they're actually up and talking to you." Free markets aren't magic either. Yet their ability to generate a life-saving drug like Naloxone, supplying quantities sufficient to make it widely available even when the need is great, can seem even more miraculous. That miracle is not enhanced when politicians rebuke the entrepreneurs who manufacture or distribute such wonder drugs for charging a price that the market will bear.
Sue Chef: Court Fines Bakers $135,000
If you thought it was expensive to *buy* a wedding cake, try not baking one! Aaron and Melissa Klein found out just how expensive [Friday], when — after two long years — an Oregon judge finally told the young parents of five exactly how much living by their beliefs would cost them: *$135,000*. Their dream of owning a dessert shop near Portland, Oregon turned into a nightmare when two lesbians refused to take "no" for an answer on their request for a same-sex "wedding" cake. Sued, harassed, vandalized, and threatened to the point that the couple had to close their doors, the Kleins still didn't budge. Found guilty by an administrative court earlier this year, the Kleins spent four sleepless weeks wondering what the government — the same one that guarantees them the freedom of religion — would charge them. Now that they've been ordered to pay up to $135,000 in fines, Aaron and Melissa have made it clear that they are willing to pay a far steeper price to stand up for Christ.
How the Sierra Club’s Lexus Liberals’ Agenda Hurts Poor Americans
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and the whole gang of Democratic leaders claim that one of their highest priorities is to lift up the middle class and reduce the income gap between rich and poor. That goal collides with what they admit is their very highest priority: stopping climate change. Their agenda is driven by the millionaire and billionaire Democratic donors who make the party possible. But the agenda also involves making energy, home heating, transportation and just about everything else less efficient and more expensive to the middle class and poor. The people who lose their jobs when the climate-change Stalinists prevail are the people at the bottom and the middle of the income ladder. The billionaire club members don't seem to mind this collateral damage. Last week billionaire Tom Steyer convened the uber-rich liberal donor base at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle — nice — to pontificate about how much they care about polar bears, the Arctic ice caps and rising sea levels.
The Uncivil War to End All Wars
There is a war taking place in the Middle East that pits Muslims against Christians, Jews and those Muslims who belong to a different cult. Here in America, there is a war taking place that pits liberals and homosexuals — to the extent there exists a smidgen of difference between them — against Christians. One merely has to look at every situation in which Christians attempt to defend their religious rights. Whether it's companies that don't wish to provide birth control in the form of contraceptives or provide funding for abortions; or devout individuals, who are even willing to accept homosexuality as an optional life style, but draw the line at playing any role in a same-sex wedding, the gays and their journalistic, corporate and political, henchmen will unite to put them out of business.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Media, Environmentalists Were Wrong: How the Gulf Coast Roared Back After Oil Spill
Five years ago this week a blowout of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig 40 miles from the Gulf Coast tragically claimed 11 lives and spilled 3 million barrels of oil from the damaged wellhead into the Gulf. It's hard to forget the video images of thick oil day after day gushing into the region's waters. It was a horrific accident that caused substantial damage to the ecology and commerce of the region. Gulf area wildlife, portions of the shoreline, tourism, fishers and shrimpers, and energy sector employment suffered large losses in the aftermath of the spill. BP has paid close to $27 billion in penalties, payments to aggrieved parties, and clean up costs in one of the largest payouts for an accident in American history. This is enough money to hand every man, woman, boy, and girl in Chicago or Houston a $10,000 check. In addition, as the result of a court ruling last fall finding BP acted with willful misconduct and gross negligence leading up to the spill, BP could have to pay another $13.7 billion in Clean Water Act penalties.