Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Liars & the Lies They Tell
(Ebola, the IRS, Thomas Duncan, Leon Panetta, Bill Clinton, Roe v. Wade)
Is Christie Running?
Gov. Chris Christie could be forgiven if he had chips on both shoulders as big as those shoulders. This year, the first of his second term, has been overshadowed by often partisan investigations, more protracted than productive, of the involvement of several of his former aides -- he fired them -- in the closing of some access lanes to the George Washington Bridge. Nevertheless, Christie today radiates serenity. His critics, including many Hillary Clinton enthusiasts, hoped the last 12 months would be for him a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. He has, however, thrived.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Disaster of 'Gender Norming' Ground Combat
The Obama administration’s plan for a new military quota system and lowering standards.
One Million More Americans Have Dropped Out Of Work Force Than Have Found a Job
President Obama declared last week during a speech at Northwestern University that he has turned the economy around and that while he might not be on the ballot in November midterm elections, his "agenda will be." Democrats across the country cringed when they heard that one. Right now Michelle is a lot more popular than he is on the campaign trail -- much like Laura Bush was more in demand than George W. in his final years as president. To be sure, there is some good news on the economic front. Employers are really starting to hire again. We got a very good employment report on Friday when it comes to jobs created. The economy picked up 248,000 new hires in September and another upward revision for July and August brings the total to more than 300,000. GDP was bumped on in the second quarter of 2014 to 4.6% after a negative first quarter.
No Local Option on Gay Marriage
Federalism Is No Longer a Viable Approach to Same-Sex Unions, If It Ever Was
Bill Maher vs. Chris Hayes
Bill Maher is no one's idea of a disinterested scholar on religion. He's long been the loudest, most obnoxious barroom brawler for atheism. What makes his argument toxic is that it isn't an intellectual defense of atheism. It is a sophomoric, boorish attack on religion, wholly dependent on yuk-yuk lines. These attacks have drawn little attention of late, perhaps because he's so predictable, but in the last few weeks, Maher has drawn new attention for singling out Islam as the worst of all them all. He almost sounded pro-Christian (by comparison) in a surprisingly contentious PBS interview with Charlie Rose wherein he slammed militant Islam. Then he fought with Ben Affleck on his HBO show on Oct. 3. Suddenly the liberal media discovered Maher's argument ... and rushed to side with Affleck.
Ebola Policy Put Homeless American at Risk
When people travel from Ebola-stricken nations to the United States, there is one certain way to prevent them from transmitting that virus here: Quarantine them long enough to know they are not infected. Then there is a way that puts Americans at risk: Let people travel here from stricken regions. Let them roam freely -- until they show symptoms. Then trust that you can rush them into isolation before they expose others. Which is the prudent -- and compassionate -- policy?
Ebola, Electronic Medical Records and Epic Systems
A Dallas hospital's bizarre bungle of the first U.S. case of Ebola leaves me wondering: Is someone covering up for a crony billionaire Obama donor and her controversy-plagued, taxpayer-subsidized electronic medical records company? Last week, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital revealed in a statement that a procedural flaw in its online health records system led to potentially deadly miscommunication between nurses and doctors. The facility sent Ebola victim Thomas Duncan home despite showing signs of the disease -- only to admit him with worse symptoms three days later.
Speak Now or Forever Forfeit Marriage
The Supreme Court may be running away from the marriage issue, but conservatives certainly aren't. In the hours after [Monday's] non-decision decision, GOP leaders from governor's mansions to senate seats filled the silence left by the SCOTUS's justices with an indignation of their own. Most were incensed that the high court turned down -- not one, but *five* -- state marriage cases, leaving voters to fend for themselves against out-of-control judges who seem quite content substituting their own view for that of the law and those elected to make it. "Because of the Court's (actions) today," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) fumed, "11 States will likely now be forced to legalize same-sex marriage: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. And this action paves the way for laws prohibiting same-sex marriage to be overturned in any state. This is judicial activism at its worst."
Teacher Indoctrination
Students at several Jefferson County, Colorado, high schools walked out to protest the school board's recently proposed curriculum review committee that seeks to promote patriotism, respect for authority, free enterprise, plus the positive aspects of U.S. history. The teachers union, whose members forced two high schools to close by calling in sick, is against the implementation of performance-based pay. The union has encouraged and applauded student protests against what it's calling academic censorship. The average parent and taxpayer has little idea of what is being taught to our youngsters. In February 2006, I wrote a column titled "Indoctrination of Our Youth," followed in March with "Youth Indoctrination Update." Both columns focused on rants that a student secretly had recorded of a geography teacher at another Colorado school -- Overland High School in Aurora. The teacher was Jay Bennish.
Poverty
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared "War on Poverty." It sounded great to me. I was taught at Princeton, "We're a rich country. All we have to do is tax the rich, and then use that money to create programs that will lift the poor out of poverty." Government created job-training programs for the strong and expanded social security for the weak. It seemed to work. The poverty rate dropped from 17 percent to 12 percent in the programs' first decade. Unfortunately, few people noticed that during the half-decade *before* the "War," the rate dropped from 22 percent to 17 percent. Without big government, Americans were already lifting themselves out of poverty!
Rise of the Barbarians
On Friday night, a Huntington Beach man, 43, was walking back to his car after the Los Angeles Angels played the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series. Three men accosted him, and then proceeded to beat him senseless. He is currently in critical condition at a local hospital after police found him unconscious. I didn't find the story particularly shocking, given that I took my father and two younger sisters to the Angels-Royals game on Thursday night. Throngs packed the stadium -- the team announced the attendance at 43,321. We had bleacher seats, which sold for $68. The team must have also sold standing room tickets, since behind the bleachers -- lines of fans stood three deep, watching the game.
Liberals Storm California's Bedrooms
I have a slightly different take on California's recent decision to regulate college sex. Don't get me wrong: I think it's beyond idiotic, unworkable, even borderline Orwellian. We'll get to all that. But I also think it's incredibly useful. You see, for years I've been railing and ranting about the ridiculous myth that liberalism is socially libertarian; that liberals are "live and let live" types simply defending themselves against judgmental conservatives, the real aggressors in the culture war. That thinking runs counter to most everything liberals justifiably take pride in as liberals. You can't be "agents for change," "forces for progress," or whatever the current phrase, and simultaneously deny that you're not the aggressors in the culture war. For instance, just in the last decade, liberals have redefined a millenniums-old understanding of marriage while talking as if it were conservatives who wanted to "impose" their values on the nation.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Damn Yankees!
I knew it. There is another reason the Yankees are referred to as the "Evil Empire" by so many people that follow baseball, and it's now obvious -- global warming. The chart below shows the so-called "link" between global temperatures and CO2. The CO2 is in parts per million, and you can see it is marching up. But temperatures in the United States over the last century? Well not so much...
Dr. Emanuel's Death Wish
The elderly are such a pain, aren't they? Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel thinks so. Half of those older than 80 have "functional limitations," the prominent health policy analyst and key ObamaCare architect writes in the October issue of The Atlantic. One in three Americans 85 and up has Alzheimer's. Old people are more likely to be disabled, or at least "faltering and declining." They lose their creative mojo. They don't "contribute to work, society, the world." Instead of being regarded as "vibrant and engaged," they grow "feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic." Especially disagreeable are old parents, who can be *so* irritating: "They set expectations, render judgments, impose their opinions, interfere, and are generally a looming presence for even adult children," Emanuel complains. By living too long, parents blow their chance to impart "the right memories" to their kids. Nothing could be worse, he insists, than being remembered not as we were in our prime, but as old and decrepit -- "stooped and sluggish, forgetful and repetitive, constantly asking, 'What did she say?'" To leave behind memories of our frailty "is the ultimate tragedy."
'I Wanted to Be Free'
No matter how adventurous your teenage years were, chances are you had nothing on Joshua Wong. Labeled "a threat" an "extremist" and "an infiltrate" by authorities in Beijing, the 17-year-old was arrested, assaulted and released last month for his role in leading the demonstrations underway in Hong Kong. It's easy to shrug off the images of another protest on the nightly news, but it's important to understand what sparked the uprising in this nation off the Chinese mainland; namely, a desire for freedom.
Beijing Should Let Hong Kong be Hong Kong
Back in 1997 when control of Hong Kong was ceded from the British to the Chinese, the question was whether the Chinese governing system would take over Hong Kong, or Hong Kong capitalism would take over China. Well, now we know the answer -- or at least the answer that the repressive leaders of China are seeking. The tragedy of Beijing blocking Hong Kong's right of self-determination isn't just a setback for the island, but perhaps more so for mainland China itself. It is a declaration to the world that Beijing still doesn't get the freedom thing. The hope had always been that economic liberalization in China and the abandonment of 60 years of savage Maoist autocratic communism would lead to an inexorable march toward political freedom and an elevation of human rights.
SCOTUS Turns Down Marriage Proposal
For once, it isn't what the Supreme Court said that's making news -- but what it *didn't* say. After weeks of speculation, the justices surprised everyone by sidestepping what most people thought was a sure thing: a hearing on state marriage laws. What was supposed to be the biggest political hot potato of Chief Justice John Roberts's 10th year was instead left in the laps of the appeals courts, where both sides continue to slug it out over state sovereignty and the rule of law. As usual, there was no explanation for the Court's decision, which will have an immediate impact on at least five states -- Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Utah -- where "weddings" had been on hold in hopes the justices would intervene. While the Left races to spin the news as a victory for its cause, the reality is that yesterday's announcement doesn't mean that the justices would rule against marriage. What it does show is that the Court is hesitant to jump into the fray and impose a Roe v. Wade-type decision on a nation still sharply divided on the issue.
The Lord and the Courts
The idea of unelected judges defining norms and basic values has never been an appealing one, but it's a role modern judges seem generally to welcome. Witness the Supreme Court's seeming step-back on same-sex marriage: its refusal to wade into the issue by hearing seven appeals on same-sex marriage bans in five states. The justices define America -- for now -- as divided over the question. But they appear to see supporters as likely to prevail in the end as lower court after lower court comes down on the side of those arguing that the bans represent unconstitutional discrimination. The court sees where this thing is going; a probable majority of members wants to let nature, as it were, take its course. Far be it from our highest federal tribunal, as presently constituted, to affirm the up-to-now unbroken, uncontradicted testimony of civilization concerning matrimonial ends that can be served only by the union of man and woman.
Bill Maher, Ben Affleck and Islam
Last Friday night a rare dialogue/debate took place on American television. It was rare because it involved criticism of Islam, one of the many taboo subjects that are labeled "politically incorrect." And it took place on the program "Real Time with Bill Maher," a show not generally known for taking politically incorrect positions. But on this night the host, Bill Maher, along with atheism-advocate Sam Harris, had a vigorous debate with Actor Ben Affleck, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.