Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
A Few Bad Apples
When it comes to Islam, people like George W. Bush, Barack Obama and our corrupt State Department, insist the jihadists are an aberration and should not be the cause of slandering an entire religion. To which, I say a heart-felt "Baloney!" When it comes to the followers of Islam, we're not talking about a few rotten apples; we're talking about a toxic orchard. In much the same way, our leaders keep pretending there's a world of difference between Sunni and Shite, or between Al Qaeda, the Khorasan Group, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Boko Haram and the Muslim Brotherhood. They even pretend that CAIR, the propaganda arm of the Brotherhood here in America, is any better or has any other function than the Nazi Bund had in the 30s and early 40s, prior to our entry into World War II. The problem is that the past two administrations have refused to acknowledge that Islam is at war with us.
Officially Killing Americans
The Food and Drug Administration can make two types of errors. It can approve a drug that has dangerous unanticipated side effects, or it can reject or delay approval of a drug that is safe and effective. Let's look at these errors, because to err on the side of under- or over-caution is costly. It's in an FDA official's self-interest to err on the side of over-caution. People who are injured by incorrectly approved drugs -- and their families -- will know that they are victims of FDA mistakes, or under-caution. Their suffering makes headlines. FDA officials face unfavorable publicity, perhaps congressional hearings and possible termination.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Vouching for the Visa Waiver Program
Halting a system for screening out adversaries is no way to enhance U.S. security
Ebol-ISIS
My fellow Americans, the past seven days have shown us that elections truly do have consequences. A despicable stew of incompetence, outright lying and a stomach-chruning level of political correctness has colored two crises, both of which could produce disastrous consequences. Today, Americans find themselves afflicted with "Ebol-ISIS."
Beware of the Perfect Storm
I've always felt as if I've known renowned Christian apologist Josh McDowell through his many excellent books, but I finally got to meet him in the flesh, and what a blessing it was. As I mention in my latest book, "Jesus on Trial," I read his book "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" many years ago as I was seeking God and was impressed by his comprehensive treatment of so many issues that trouble skeptics. He is nothing if not thorough; he leaves no stones unturned in his exhaustive presentation of numerous topics concerning the authenticity of Christianity's truth claims.
Don't 'Vote for the Candidate'
There is a noble-sounding attitude that many Americans hold regarding whom they vote for. "I vote for the candidate," they say. It sure sounds good. Voting for the best candidate, rather than the party, sounds as American as apple pie. But as the Democratic Party has become a doctrinaire left-wing party, this sentiment is no longer noble. It is actually foolish and dangerous. There was a time when there were terrific Democrats whom an independent and even a Republican could vote for. Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman was such an example. He was a liberal -- he believed in the good that he thought an expanding government could provide -- but he was a hawk on foreign policy.
Rebuilding Gaza for the Next Attack
After World War II, the Marshall Plan helped rebuild a devastated Europe. The key word in that sentence is "after." Last weekend at a conference of donor nations held in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss rebuilding Gaza, following the latest exchange of rockets between Hamas and Israel, Secretary of State John Kerry pledged an additional $212 million in U.S. aid for the project, nearly doubling the total U.S. commitment (so far). The Palestinian Authority claims rebuilding could cost $4 billion.
Answering Ted Olson
Appearing on "Fox News Sunday" to discuss the Supreme Court's decision to let stand a number of judicial rulings overturning the acts of legislators and/or voters in 16 states, famed advocate Ted Olson offered the kind of reasoning that, in his former incarnation as a conservative, he would have scorned. "Over 59 percent of Americans now believe that marriage equality should be the law of the land," he proclaimed. Seconds later he seemed to contradict himself: "We have a Constitution and Bill of Rights precisely because we want protections from majority rule." Which is it: a fundamental right that ought to be recognized without regard to majority views, or a popular view that deserves to be enshrined in the Constitution by the courts just because it's polling well? If it's true that large majorities have changed their minds on same-sex marriage, why not leave the matter to state legislatures and voters rather than undemocratically taking the question out of their hands?
When Duty Doesn't Call
Americans will cease arguing over the federal Voting Rights Act and its intricacies -- oh, I imagine around the time Texas starts exporting ground water to Minnesota, or the Lord returns to judge the quick and the dead. Mandatory voter ID laws passed by Republican legislatures in Texas, Arkansas and Wisconsin have been under legal assault by Democrats. A lower federal court order expanding statewide early voting and same-day registration in Ohio got overturned by the Supreme Court -- which had before it, at the same time, an appeal from North Carolina asking affirmation of its right to eliminate same-day registration and voting, along with out-of-precinct voting.
Will Independent Candidates' Support Dissipate in Kansas and South Dakota?
One question I'm asked in every electoral cycle is, "What are the surprise races in this election?" My answer in recent years has been, "There are no surprises, because any unexpected development becomes universally known in seconds." There have been two such developments in this cycle. One in Kansas: the emergence about five weeks ago of independent Greg Orman (and the withdrawal from the ballot of the Democratic nominee) as a strong competitor against 34-year Capitol Hill veteran Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. The other was in South Dakota: a poll showing Larry Pressler, a former Republican senator running as an independent, within the statistical margin of error of Republican nominee Mike Rounds and ahead of Democrat Rick Weiland.
Local or National Elections?
Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill once said, "All politics is local." That may have been true in Tip O'Neill's day, but some elections are decisively on national issues -- and the Congressional elections this year are overwhelmingly national, just as the elections of 1860 were dominated by one national issue, namely slavery. In 1860, some abolitionists split the anti-slavery vote by running their own candidate -- who had no chance of winning -- instead of supporting Abraham Lincoln, who was not pure enough for some abolitionists. Lincoln got just 40 percent of the vote, though that turned out to be enough to win in a crowded field. But what a gamble with the fate of millions of human beings held as slaves! And for what? Symbolic political purity?
Monday, October 13, 2014
Will Blacks in North Carolina, and Elsewhere, Continue to Buy the Liberal Line?
Republicans need to pick up six seats in November to gain control of the Senate. Consensus to date points to good prospects of this happening. But one state where the picture remains unclear for Republicans is North Carolina. Republican challenger, speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Thom Tillis, has failed to pull ahead of Democrat incumbent Senator Kay Hagan and average of latest polling shows him behind 3 to 4 points. Mitt Romney won North Carolina in 2012 by three points. In the last ten presidential elections, Republicans prevailed in North Carolina eight times.
Did Juneau That Marriage Is Being Argued in Alaska?
There isn't exactly a shortage of wedding chapels in Las Vegas -- and [Thursday] night, homosexuals kept the Elvis impersonators busy. The odds haven't exactly been in the Left's favor on marriage in Sin City -- but that all changed Monday with the Supreme Court's abandonment of state laws. And unfortunately, what happens in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas when it comes to trampling the will of the people. In Juneau, voters are hoping the Last Frontier doesn't become the final frontier for redefining marriage, as a fresh round of arguments kicked off in federal court [Friday] morning. For locals, the case is especially meaningful since Alaska was the first U.S. state to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and woman. Like so many leaders, Alaska's are determined to keep fighting. "The definition of marriage," it insists, "is an issue for the states and the will of the voters of each state should govern -- regardless of whether the federal government or a federal court agrees."
Wrong Sperm, Right Baby. Why the Lawsuit?
Jennifer Cramblett of Uniontown, Ohio, is the mother of an adorable 2-year-old girl named Payton, whom she and her partner call a "dream come true" and love with all their heart. "She's made us the people that we are," Cramblett says. "Never trade it for the world." If that's the case, Payton will doubtless wonder once she's old enough to Google her own name, why did Cramblett sue the Chicago-area sperm bank that enabled her to get pregnant with her wonderful daughter? Why did she demand tens of thousands of dollars as compensation for breach of warranty and for what the lawsuit calls Payton's "wrongful birth?"
Consequential Kvetching
We all have things to complain about. We always have and we always will. But it strikes me that the things we have to gripe about have become increasingly important over the past 30 years or so because so often they leave America and the world in worse shape than before. Our education system, once the envy of the world, has become hostage to progressive teachers, professors, administrators, fascistic student bodies and Islamic pressure groups. Our mass media, which at one time, at least made the attempt to deal objectively with the news has, in the wake of Woodward and Bernstein's enormous success, tossed off even the pretense of being anything other than a propaganda outlet for a liberal agenda.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
ObamaCare for Dummies
Is there any place you can go to find an objective, understandable explanation of how ObamaCare works? That's not easy. Mostly what you find is completely one-sided. Either there will be an exposition about all the benefits. Or there will be a litany of problems and harms. Is there any such thing as an objective look at health reform? Yes. It's my new book, *Living with ObamaCare: A Consumer's Guide*. It's based on the book *Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis* (Independent Institute), but it's much shorter and easier to read.
Liberty Opportunity for the Court
Come Tuesday, the national pastime will be the subject of oral arguments in a portentous Supreme Court case. This pastime is not baseball but rent seeking -- the unseemly yet uninhibited scramble of private interests to bend government power for their benefit. If the court directs a judicial scowl at North Carolina's State Board of Dental Examiners, the court will thereby advance a basic liberty -- the right of Americans to earn a living without unreasonable government interference. The board, whose members are elected by licensed dentists and dental hygienists, regulates the practice of dentistry in North Carolina. To the surprise of no one acquainted with human nature, the board wields its power for the benefit of fellow members of the cartel of licensed dental practitioners.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
From The Comedy Store
The Dallas Morning News reported Ebola patient Tom Duncan lied on his questionnaire at Liberia's airport. He denied having Ebola symptoms so he could fly to the U.S. Word of this reached Obama in Chicago where he immediately demanded stronger questionnaires.
How About a Little Optimism?
So President Obama gives a major economics speech toward the end of last week, and the next week stocks get clobbered. It was the worst correction in many months. There's probably no direct cause and effect here. But it's worth noting that the president has been speaking out of all sides of his mouth during the market volatility. In that speech a week ago he swore that he's not anti-business. He said, "I actually believe that capitalism is the greatest force for prosperity and opportunity the world has ever known." You know, that sounds a lot like my opening line on "The Kudlow Report," where for nine years I said "Free-market capitalism is the best path to prosperity." (Hah!)
Obama's Porous Borders and Security Moms
An incident in suburban Maryland occurred this week that should serve as a wake-up call to all concerned mothers (and dads). An Anne Arundel County, Maryland, school bus was stolen by two drunken pranksters who said they were looking for cigarette money. Bus 874 was trashed and smashed up and left in the woods in Davidsonville. Local moms are incensed -- and they should be. How can we know that these people would not have driven around picking up special needs kids? For them the bus would have seemed a safe and welcoming sight. How could anyone gain access to a school bus parking lot under cover of darkness and make off with a bright yellow vehicle without being stopped at locked gates? We should remember that our open society and our free press give ample coverage to such capers. They seem to us a one-day story. But to terrorists who have crossed our porous borders, these stories give ideas. Let's not forget that the 1971 airline hijacking by "D.B. Cooper" gained worldwide publicity. Soon, Yasser Arafat's PLO guerrillas and their subcontractors were hijacking commercial jets and taking their passengers hostage to advance his political agenda.