Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Place Your Bets
Want to bet on tomorrow's NFL game between Chicago and Dallas? I do. Newspapers and websites all over America tell their readers that Dallas is favored by three points. That's the "spread" posted by bookies. Millions will be bet on that game, and *billions* will be bet on other games this weekend -- college football, NBA games, NHL matches, UFC events ... Most of these bets are illegal. This is not a good thing. Recently, National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver became the first major professional sports commissioner to endorse legalizing sports betting.
Sounding the Alarms on Obama's Amnesty Agenda
Now that President Barack Obama announced his intentions to violate the Constitution and grant amnesty to 5 million illegal aliens through executive amnesty, Congress is in a rush to respond. Obama's actions are a threat to the America's democracy, and it is up to the American people to demand enforcement of America's immigration laws. After returning from recess on Monday, conservative Republicans in the U.S. House circulated draft legislation which would stop Obama's plan dead in it's tracks. The language, which was inserted into an upcoming spending bill, uses Congress' power of the purse and expressly prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from using any funds or fees may by "any agency to implement, administer, enforce or carry out any of the policy changes" announced by the Obama White House. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently confirmed, in a letter to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that Congress has the full authority block Obama's shameful amnesty actions.
The Real Racist Conspiracy in Ferguson
After a grand jury in St. Louis, Missouri, voted against the indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old black man Michael Brown, President Obama gave a short address to the nation. In it, he said he understood why some would feel disappointed at the verdict -- an odd statement, given that all available evidence showed that Brown had robbed a convenience store, attacked Wilson in his vehicle, attempted to grab his gun and charged Wilson before Wilson shot him. Then Obama dropped a doozy: "We need to recognize that this is not just an issue in Ferguson, this is an issue for America ... there are problems and communities of color aren't just making these problems up."
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Why Gasoline Prices Are Down
American ingenuity has made the U.S. the world’s top producer
GOP Quacks the Whip on Lame Duck Session
If there's one thing Republicans are anxious to wrap up this Christmas, it's Democratic control. Conservatives were hoping to put a bow on the failed majority of Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a more relaxed atmosphere, but thanks to a perfect winter storm of executive orders and funding debates, members are bracing for a flurry of activity over the next 10 days. As usual, the two parties put themselves in a holiday jam by kicking the government funding bill to this month, when peace and goodwill are sure to be in short supply. Instead of in-depth conversations on each agency's needs, Sen. Reid has almost never allowed spending measures to come to the floor -- forcing both chambers to pass short-term patches to keep the lights on.
You Can Kill, but Not Murder: The Case for the Ten Commandments
Ask almost anyone to recite the commandment in the Ten Commandments that prohibits taking a life and you will be told, "Thou Shall Not Kill." That is the King James translation of the sixth commandment. It is a magnificent translation. But this one has led to much moral confusion. Yesterday, PragerUniversity.com, which has had more than 20 million views this year, released 11 courses (each five-minutes long) -- the Ten Commandments and an introduction.
Will Body Cameras Solve the Ferguson Problem?
In the immediate aftermath of Michael Brown's shooting, before we learned that he had not been shot in the back, that he had not had his hands up, that he had, in fact, attempted to grab Officer Wilson's gun, I wrote in favor of requiring more police to wear body cameras. Assuming nothing about Wilson's guilt or innocence, I wrote, "Cameras cannot repeal aggression, bias, rage or stupidity -- but they can certainly diminish them. And with cameras, justice for the guilty -- cop or civilian -- is more attainable." In the wake of the grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson, Brown's parents have called for police to wear body cameras. I remain in favor, but the outright denial displayed by so many opinion leaders in this case makes me doubtful that even video evidence would be enough to calm the next storm if the victim of violence is black and the perpetrator white.
What? Another 'Conversation About Race'?
"Race," you said? A "national conversation" about race and the variant understandings and byplays that result from our differences? A sit-down in front of the cultural mirror to inspect the origins of community anger, as reflected in riots and police shootings? A talk about -- let's get down to it -- Ferguson, Missouri? The media are beating that drum, with accompaniment from the White House, where the nation's first black (if you like, mixed-race) president held a cabinet meeting Monday, with follow-up gatherings involving parties interested in this sort of thing. The non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson, and the ensuing riots, have set the nation up for an intensive examination of, as usual, white racism.
Administration Exploits Ferguson to Undermine Race Relations and Rule of Law
I wish there were a way to address the Ferguson controversy without generating further controversy. But that's not an easy task. I have believed for some time that the Obama administration has fanned the flames of racial tension in this country rather than attempt to extinguish them, despite its claims to the contrary. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, in my view, have been the main culprits, which is exceedingly unfortunate, considering the opportunity their historic roles present for making great strides toward racial harmony. The question is: Do these gentlemen truly want to promote racial harmony?
Progressivism's Last Gasp
Early Sunday morning, 32-year-old Bosnian man Zemir Begic was killed in a hammer attack in the Bevo Mill neighborhood of St. Louis, MO. The murderous assault was perpetrated by three or four teens, described as "black and Hispanic." Approximately 50 people, mostly, if not all Bosnians, staged a demonstration on Gravois Avenue at Itaska Street on Sunday night to protest the killing. No stores were burned, no businesses were looted. The mainstream media was nowhere to be found. A picture of Begic can be seen here. And while he is clearly of the Caucasian persuasion, the media that have covered the story prefer to use the term "Bosnian" to describe him. More than likely that is the case because the word "white" would force them to consider the possibility that Begic was killed because of his race, or as a spillover reaction to the jury verdict and subsequent rioting in Ferguson.
Tax in the Form of a Billy Club
Taxes have always been something that normal people resented. It's not simply because the money raised is often wasted by those in power, whether those people happen to be kings, czars or congressmen, but because, as individuals, we resent many of the things our money goes to support. But something else that everyone should resent is the use of taxes as a means by which those in power can punish others without having to involve judges and juries. For instance, cigarettes, which used to cost 25 cents a pack or $2.50 a carton now sell for $7.50 a pack or $75 a carton. It's not because the price of tobacco, paper, plastic or cardboard, have increased by 3000%, but because the elitists wish to punish those who smoke. In the same way, they want to punish those who use fossil fuel, so they gouge you at the gas pump every time you fill up.
Democratic Takeover of Senate in 2016 Possible but Not a Slam Dunk
Even as Republicans are about to regain a majority in the Senate after eight years in the minority, the conventional wisdom around Washington is that Democrats are likely to win back that majority again in 2016. That's certainly possible, but it's short of a slam dunk. Superficially, the field of Senate seats up in 2016 looks as unfavorable for Republicans as the field of Senate seats up this year looked for Democrats. Of the 36 seats up in 2014, Democrats were defending 21, including seven in states carried by Mitt Romney. Of the 34 seats currently up in 2016, Republicans will be defending even more, 24, including seven in states Barack Obama carried in 2012.
Response to Ferguson Rioters: Restitution and Shaming
No matter whose side you are on in the upheaval following the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, everyone should agree on the profound sadness of it all: sadness that an 18-year-old boy-man walked a path that led to his destruction; sadness that a police officer felt the need to defend himself by shooting another human being; sadness over the rioting and looting that followed a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Wilson; and for some, sadness that Wilson was not indicted. Much of the sadness was encapsulated in a sound bite I saw on one TV network. An African-American business owner, surveying the destruction of his store, plaintively asked, "How am I going to feed my kids?"
Opinions Versus Facts
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri. But, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say, "You're entitled to your own opinion but you're not entitled to your own facts." Soon after the shooting death of Michael Brown, this 285-pound young man was depicted as a "gentle giant." But, after a video was leaked, showing him bullying the owner of a store from which he had stolen some merchandise, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed displeasure that the video was leaked. In other words, to Holder the truth was offensive, but the lie it exposed was not.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Conservative Reforms to Prevent Future Fergusons
Pain is part of life as is, hopefully, joy. As we read in the book of Ecclesiastes, there is "a time to cry and a time to laugh." But real tragedy is disaster we bring on ourselves. Disaster that comes from refusal to learn from mistakes. How many of us know someone clearly on the path to destruction, but refuses to listen, to learn? Then the inevitable happens. This is what we've got on our hands with the Ferguson, Missouri debacle that now dominates the news.
As Two-Parent Families Decline, Income Inequality Grows
Few political debates in this country are as freighted with emotional, cultural, and ideological baggage as those that touch on the choices people make in forming families. When public discourse turns to decisions about wedlock and child-rearing -- think of Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 report on "the breakdown of the Negro family," or the uproar over Murphy Brown during the 1992 presidential race, or the modern push for same-sex marriage -- civility is too often swept away amid a storm of hurt feelings and self-righteousness. All the more reason, then, to welcome two recent studies -- one national in scope, one focused on Massachusetts -- on the effects of single parenthood and the decline in marriage. Both lay out the data with clarity, while avoiding moralizing or disapproval.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Lower Oil Prices Are a Free-Market Victory
Seldom has so much good news been portrayed so negatively. Oil prices continue to fall in the U.S. and around the world, but nearly everyone in the media is grumpy about it. The headlines today are among the silliest I've seen: Energy-company stocks are declining, oil deflation is an economic threat, the Fed might raise rates much later than expected, OPEC is dissolving, shale companies are going bankrupt, Russia is going bankrupt(!), and on and on. Well, most of this is just humbug. Lower oil prices are unambiguously positive.
Liberals Are All Scaredy Cats
There is a very good reason why liberals rarely become cops or join the military. It's because they could get hurt. They will lie and pretend that it's because they're so very smart and prefer careers that call for them to use their brains. But I'm Jewish, so I know a great many liberals first hand. In addition, I live in California where you can't swing a cat without hitting a bunch of them, which explains why I carry a couple of cats every time I leave the house. I first became aware of this during the Vietnam War when just about every guy I knew at UCLA suddenly became a devout pacifist. Some of them even preferred falsely identifying themselves as homosexuals -- getting left-wing psychiatrists to confirm their lie -- as an easy way out. Anything was better than having army sergeants shout at them or having the Vietcong shoot at them.
Did ObamaCare Cost the Democrats the Election?
As I wrote at Forbes yesterday, New York Senator Charles Schumer has placed the blame for the Democrat's disastrous defeat in this fall's election squarely at the feet of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Speaking at the National Press Club the other day, the third-ranking Democrat in the US Senate said that whatever the merits or demerits of health reform, it was bad politics.
A Case for Self-Restraint
America's Newtonian Constitution might again function according to Madisonian expectations if a provoked Congress regains its spine and self-respect, thereby returning our constitutional architecture to equipoise. But this is more to be hoped for than expected. Even without this, however, the institutional vandalism of Barack Obama's executive unilateralism still might be a net national benefit. It will be if the Republicans' 2016 presidential nominee responds to Obama's serial provocations by promising a return to democratic etiquette grounded in presidential self-restraint. Not since the off-year elections of 1938, when voters rebuked Franklin Roosevelt for his attempt to pack the Supreme Court by enlarging it, has the electorate made constitutional equilibrium a central concern. James Madison, however, hoped institutional balance could be self-maintaining: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place."