Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
'I Was on the Titanic!'
Okay, I wasn't on the Titanic. But had I been born 40 years earlier and had my parents been English and decided to sail to America, I could have been on the doomed ship. Apparently that is the sort of thing that passes for the truth in certain liberal circles. So when Brian Williams, the NBC news anchor, claimed for years that his helicopter had been shot down in Iraq, he was merely channeling his inner Hillary Clinton, who insisted in 2008 that she and Chelsea had come under enemy fire during a visit to Serbia. She, in turn, was merely channeling her inner John Kerry, who fibbed about being sent into Cambodia during the Vietnam War and compounded the sin by lying about his war-related injuries and his undeserved Purple Hearts.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
From The Comedy Store
American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper as U.S. Army sniper Chris Kyle was ripped by Michael Moore again who questioned the bravery in killing terrorists with sniper fire. The filmmaker is nothing if not consistent. Michael Moore saw the Hobbit and declared afterwards that all archers are cowards.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Obama's Morally Confused Prayer Breakfast Lecture
I find it very odd that a president notably lacking in humility and frequently riding his own high horse would lecture American Christians about those subjects because they presumably condemn acts of barbarism by Islamists. Talk about a string of disconnects. While we're at it, let's note one more. Obama, at the National Prayer Breakfast, also exhorted us to "uphold the distinction between our faith and our governments -- between church and between state." Last time I checked, it was not Christians, unless you believe that Obama is a Christian, who were using government power to restrict religious liberties of others. Obama, however, has conspicuously infringed on the conscience rights of Christians in supporting mandates that require religious organizations to pay for contraception and abortifacients.
At Prayer Breakfast, Obama Serves Up Controversy
NASCAR hall-of-famer Darrell Waltrip drove home the gospel message this morning at the 63rd National Prayer Breakfast. To a crowded room, he shared his testimony about how a serious accident "knocked him conscious" of his spiritual state of being lost. In a moving testimony, Waltrip said he asked Jesus to forgive his sins and become his Savior, a decision that transformed his life. President Obama followed the NASCAR legend on the program, and the cautionary flags came out almost immediately. "We see faith driving us to do right," he said. "But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge -- or worse, sometimes used as a weapon… We see ISIL -- a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion…" If the President had stopped there or juxtaposed the present fruit of Islam with that of Christianity, we could have ended on a high note. But he didn't.
Barbarians at the Gate
I would not watch the video of Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh being consumed by fire, because to do so was exactly what the Islamist barbarians who produced it wanted. They wanted not only to kill their captive in the most horrific way imaginable, but also to burn the images of his immolation into the minds of those who oppose them. Terror is their most effective weapon. The only way they can achieve victory is by frightening people into submission. Scare off those who would join an alliance to fight the Islamic State, and ISIS wins. But barbarity also has a way of inspiring courage. King Abdullah II of Jordan, no stranger to combat as a former attack helicopter pilot and commander of Jordan's special forces, has vowed a "relentless" fight against ISIS. If the terrorists thought they would make fellow Arabs retreat, they may be in for a rude awakening.
The Challenge: When Words Fall Short
When a friend loses a loved one and you want to comfort him, but don't know where to begin; when you're truly sorry but know your words won't make the wrong "right"; when that emotion you feel is so powerful but the four letters in "love" seem so small; when your words are needed most -- you begin to fear their inadequacy. Sometimes, you're so afraid of having your words fall short that you shrink back and don't speak at all. "It's not my place." "It won't change anything." "She doesn't want to hear it." "He already knows." "I wouldn't know what to say."
The Plight of the Yazidis
The world looks away as a genocide against a people continues apace.
The Fallon-ization of Freaky-Deaky Dunham and Lyin' Williams
Comedian Jimmy Fallon is a celebrity fraud's best friend. He's an answer to normal America's question: How do creepy stars get away with their grotesqueries? If you're lucky enough to sit by his late-night throne and join his cool-kid games, all your troubles will melt away. Funnyman Jimmy is not just a bread-and-circuses buffoon. He's the keeper of the pop culture immunity necklace. A few weeks ago, "The Tonight Show" host bestowed his boob-tube shield upon grotesque actress Lena Dunham -- a favorite repeat guest who famously declared an "obsessive crush" on Fallon. This time, they played "perverted Pictionary." The main gag involved foot-long hot dogs.
The Consequences of Your Vaccination Decision
California is experiencing an entirely new disturbance in the Force. The Magic Kingdom has become the Measles Kingdom. Disneyland is ground zero for the largest outbreak of measles in the last 15 years. So far more than 100 cases have been reported since the initial exposure, some from as far away as Boston. (Rest assured, Mickey and Goofy are still fine.) This makes last year's fear of an Ebola outbreak spreading across the nation look even more prescient and the sleepy, lethargic response of the CDC look even worse.
Borrowed Valor
Let me see if I understand this: Chris Kyle was not a hero, but Brian Williams was? What do we make of Williams' attempt to snatch some vicarious honor? The response to "American Sniper" should not surprise us. Bill Maher called Chris Kyle a "psychopath patriot." It's more than likely that Maher thinks all patriots are a bit unhinged. Lindy West, writing in The Guardian, called Kyle a "hate-filled killer," and The Atlantic's Megan Garber wondered whether "heroism is still heroism when you're motivated by hatred." Spawned in the Vietnam era, the modern left cut its teeth defaming America. That included a campaign of vilification and slander against Americans who served in Vietnam. The chief spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War was none other than Secretary of State John F. Kerry. In testimony before Congress, young Kerry claimed that American forces in Vietnam had committed atrocities "in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan." He claimed that they "randomly shot at civilians ... raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power..." and so forth.
Obama's Comparison of Christianity, Radical Islam Defies Logic
On Tuesday, the so-called Islamic State released a slickly produced video showing a Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a steel cage. On Wednesday, the United Nations issued a report detailing various "mass executions of boys, as well as reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive" at the hands of the Islamic State. And on Thursday, President Obama seized the opportunity of the National Prayer Breakfast to forthrightly criticize the "terrible deeds" ... committed "in the name of Christ." "Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history," Obama said, referring to the ennobling aspects of religion as well as the tendency of people to "hijack" religions towards murderous ends.
When Liberals Ignore Science
The New York Times claims that the vaccine controversy we're all talking about raises important questions about "how to approach matters that have largely been settled among scientists but are not widely accepted by conservatives." Well, here's another question: How do we deal with the false perception that liberals are more inclined to trust science than conservatives? Also, how do we approach the media's fondness for focusing on the unscientific views of some conservatives but ignoring the irrational -- and oftentimes more consequential -- beliefs of their fellow liberals? Though outing GOP candidates as skeptics of science may confirm the secular liberal's own sense of intellectual superiority, it usually has nothing to do with policy. However, if you walk around believing that pesticides are killing your children or that fracking will ignite your drinking water or if you hyperventilate about the threat of the ocean's consuming your city, you have a viewpoint that not only conflicts with science but undermines progress. So how do we approach matters that have been settled among scientists but are not widely accepted by liberals?
A Candidate With Appeal to Both Suburban and Countryside Republicans?
Can a single speech at an Iowa political event change the course of a presidential nomination race? Maybe. It actually has happened. Barack Obama's November 2007 speech at a Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Des Moines is generally credited with giving him a lift toward winning the caucuses there two months later and putting him on the path to the presidency. Perhaps it happened again, ten months earlier in the 2016 cycle, when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker spoke January 24 at the Freedom Summit sponsored by Citizens United and Congressman Steve King in Des Moines.
Does the Barbarism Have a Logic?
Why did they do it? What did the Islamic State think it could possibly gain by burning alive a captured Jordanian pilot? I wouldn't underestimate the absence of logic, the sheer depraved thrill of a triumphant cult reveling in its barbarism. But I wouldn't overestimate it either. You don't overrun much of Syria and Iraq without having deployed keen tactical and strategic reasoning. So what's the objective? To destabilize Jordan by drawing it deeply into the conflict. At first glance, this seems to make no sense. The savage execution has mobilized Jordan against the Islamic State and given it solidarity and unity of purpose.
Mike Huckabee vs. Beyonce
Republican presidential candidates usually avoid any criticism of Hollywood, ever since Vice President Dan Quayle attacked "Murphy Brown" in 1992 for choosing to be a single mother on TV. There are two reasons. The first is the "objective" media will hand you your head, as Quayle found out -- even if later, experts and even reporters themselves admitted Quayle was right about the social harm being caused by the glorification of single motherhood. The second is a version of the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) Syndrome. Just as Americans despise Congress, but not their own Congressman, so, too, do they deplore Hollywood's decadence while admiring their favorite performer, no matter how decadent. Mike Huckabee, the once and future presidential candidate, is finding this out all over again for attacking Beyonce and her gangsta-rap husband Jay-Z in his new book "God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy."
Why Bernie Goldberg & I Are Phffft
For quite a long time, Bernard Goldberg, Bill O'Reilly's go-to guy on media matters, carried my articles on his blog. But, recently, he let me know that would no longer be the case. I had been dumped before, most notably by Townhall. But whereas Townhall never told me why, Bernie, who's a stand-up guy, made his reasons clear. So in case that's where you were reading me, here is why you no longer will: After paying me a few nice compliments, Bernie wrote: "I just don't have time to worry about what you're going to say next about blacks or Muslims or gays or whomever." In response, I wrote: "I can't argue with you, except to state that where blacks are concerned, I believe I have differentiated between the good and the bad on many occasions. On the other hand, when it comes to Islam, I admit I find it difficult to differentiate between those who massacre and those who merely dance in the streets to celebrate massacres.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough
It's good to see conservatives have gotten back to letting The New York Times choose their nominees for them. The only silver lining to Mitt Romney being pushed out of the presidential race -- temporarily, I hope -- is that the media's preferred GOP candidate, Jeb Bush, is catnip to the stupidest influence-seekers, so Wall Street will be wasting all kinds of money over the next few months. Then, Shemp Bush will declare and knock Jeb out of the running, only to be replaced by Zeppo Bush. I wouldn't be putting a lot of money on another President Bush, unless we're talking about the next president of Mexico. Most candidates for office at least wait to get elected before betraying voters on immigration, because who doesn't like surprises? Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, has spent his entire Washington career pushing amnesty, after saying repeatedly when he was running: "I will never support -- never have and never will support -- any effort to grant blanket legalization, amnesty, to folks who have entered this country illegally."
The Tax-Cutting Boon Sweeping the States
While the prospects for tax reform in Washington are dim, as many as 20 Republican governors are moving forward with their own pro-growth tax-relief initiatives. This is on top of the 14 states, including Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, whose 2014 tax cuts will take effect this year. Arizona's new Gov. Doug Ducey says his goal is to eventually eliminate the state income tax -- joining the nine states that already don't tax their residents' wages and salaries. Mr. Ducey has promised income-tax cuts "every year I'm in office." He announced his first cuts, indexing tax brackets for inflation and expensing for business capital spending, this month. To offset phasing out the income tax, he wants to close some of the state's hundreds of sales-tax exemptions.
State of the Ark Park
At a new Kentucky theme park, Christians are the ones getting taken for a ride. Construction is already underway in Williamstown for a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction by our friends at Answers in Genesis (AiG). The organization behind the Creation Museum is working on a built-to-scale Ark Encounter -- but so far, all they've encountered is intolerance. Ken Ham, the group's President and CEO, had the support of plenty of key leaders to bring Noah's story to life, including Governor Steve Beshear (D-Ky.). But now, after pressure from a few vocal secularists, the state is stripping the tax incentives it gave preliminary approval to last year. Under a new Kentucky law, projects like AiG's are eligible for huge tax rebates, upwards of $18 million in this case. Essentially, this is money that would be returned to the theme park over a period of 10 years from sale taxes they collect.
Personal Liberty and Measles
Two potential Republican presidential candidates caused mild palpitations amongst the press corps this week in expressing their misgivings about state-mandated children's vaccinations. The press's concern could be a precursor of what Republican candidates might experience in the coming primaries. Ostensibly a mild outbreak in measles is the cause of the journalists' alarm. Governor Chris Christie, speaking in the United Kingdom, and Senator Rand Paul, speaking on radio and TV talk shows, expressed their reservations about this public health policy. Christie called for "some balance of choice" between health officials and parents. Paul said most vaccines should be voluntary.