Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Pfizer and the Flight From Punitive Taxes
For all the attention it's gotten, the anticipated merger between Pfizer Inc., the New York-based pharmaceutical giant, and its British rival AstraZeneca is far from a done deal. Pfizer has yet to make a formal offer, as its CEO told a parliamentary hearing last week; it has only broached informal proposals that AstraZeneca has so far rebuffed. But if the merger does go through, Pfizer makes no bones about its intention to shift the company's legal domicile to the United Kingdom, thereby saving a fortune in taxes. As a US business, Pfizer's foreign earnings are subject to a combined 42.1 percent corporate tax rate -- the 35 percent federal rate plus New York's 7.1 percent. As a British company, its top tax rate would fall to 21 percent. The difference could amount to $1.4 billion a year.
IRS Files Chapter Levin
Judicial Watch wasn't too busy exposing the White House on Benghazi to let down its nets on another scandal: the IRS targeting ring. Late Thursday, the organization announced that it may have caught another big fish in its latest expedition. And according to emails, last week's catch comes direct from Lake Michigan: U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D). Based on this new bombshell, the IRS's headquarters for political harassment may have had a satellite office in Congress. In a series of letters (the first of which came seven months before the 2012 presidential election), Senator Levin openly leaned on the agency to crack down on conservative groups whose nonprofit status he felt was excessively partisan. Not once, not twice, but several times, Senator Levin pressured government officials to punish organizations for being "engaged in political activities more appropriate for political organizations claiming tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C.&527."
Blacks, Evangelicals Will Continue Fight for Traditional Marriage
In 1831, a French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in America and spent several years travelling and studying life in the communities of the new nation. He produced a book called Democracy in America which Harvard professor of government Harvey Mansfield calls "at once the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America." Tocqueville looked at America with open eyes and saw its strengths and its flaws. He reported with honesty about the human damage caused by slavery. But he also saw the beginnings of a great country in which human potential could be realized through freedom. And he recognized the crucial role that morals and religion play in making this possible.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Obama Blocks Keystone to Start Energy Takeover
After successfully bringing more than 30% of the U.S. economy -- the health care and financial services industries -- under political control during his first term, President Obama made it clear last week that a priority of his second term is to go after the energy sector -- another 10.5%. The purpose of the White House's orchestrated release of the National Climate Assessment on May 7 was to set the stage to drive energy markets and fossil fuels under the heel of more government regulation. Most Americans would celebrate knowing that the U.S. is on the cusp of oil and gas energy independence and the lower prices that will follow -- especially with memories of OPEC's oil embargo and the cartel's ongoing ability to manipulate markets.
LBJ's Bifurcated Legacy
Standing on his presidential limousine, Lyndon Johnson, campaigning in Providence, R.I., in September 1964, bellowed through a bullhorn: "We're in favor of a lot of things and we're against mighty few." This was a synopsis of what he had said four months earlier. Fifty years ago this Thursday, at the University of Michigan, Johnson had proposed legislating into existence a Great Society. It would end poverty and racial injustice, "but that is just the beginning." It would "rebuild the entire urban United States" while fending off "boredom and restlessness," slaking "the hunger for community" and enhancing "the meaning of our lives" -- all by assembling "the best thought and the broadest knowledge."
Hey, Dude
I was delighted that by a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court recently decided it was constitutional for city governments, such as the one in Greece, NY, to open its public meetings with a prayer. It's not that I'm religious, but I am always happy to recognize and praise commonsense on those rare occasions I encounter it. Speaking of the Court, I wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts a couple of months ago. I was waiting for him to respond before sharing it, but he seems to be preoccupied with other matters, which, I suspect, includes dealing with Sonia Sotomayor's hissy fits. Boy, talk about your sore losers!
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Immigration Reform Is Pro-Growth and Pro-GOP
Tea-party activist Sal Russo offered an eye-opening remark this week. He said "Conservatives should be leaders in the immigration-reform movement." Then tax-reform activist Grover Norquist organized a media conference call, in which he reinforced his support of immigration reform. American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas joined in that call, as did Robert Gittelson, president of Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In recent days, support for legal status for undocumented immigrants was also voiced by Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- all GOP presidential contenders.
Fossil-Free Isn't Folly Free
If Oklahoma prison authorities had been able to carry out Clayton Lockett's execution using sodium thiopental, his death on April 29 would likely have been swift and relatively painless. The powerful sedative used to be part of the standard lethal-injection drug combination, but when its only American manufacturer stopped production in 2010, European governments barred pharmaceutical companies on the other side of the Atlantic from exporting sodium thiopental to the United States. As the British business secretary, Vince Cable, made clear at the time, the point of the ban was to strike a moral pose. "This move underlines this government's and my own personal moral opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances," he said. The practical effect, however, has been to drive death-penalty states to devise new lethal injection protocols, sometimes with gruesome results.
From The Comedy Store
Barack Obama was interrupted by a car alarm at a Bel-Air mansion fundraiser while he was denouncing income inequality. It was embarrassing. You'd think if the Democrats really believed in ending income inequality they'd turn off the alarms and let the thieves have the cars.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Science Friction Heats up D.C. Debate
Liberals must like their science the way they like their ideology: full of inconsistencies. For years, the Left has treated truth like an endless buffet, picking and choosing what they want based on the debate du jour. They use "science" to prop up their environmental straw man -- but when it comes to human personhood or fetal pain, they're suddenly allergic to the facts. It's the kind of hypocrisy that conservatives like Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) might find funny if it weren't so destructive to the debates on abortion or global warming. The Florida leader couldn't help but point out the incongruity of the Left when he started taking heat for views on the environment that a majority of Americans share. "I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it," Sen. Rubio told reporters, "and I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy..."
The VA's Deadly Bureaucratic Drones
At least 40 American veterans are dead thanks to bureaucratic delays at Veterans Affairs clinics. But you wouldn't know it from VA Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki's bland and bloodless demeanor at a Senate hearing Thursday. He droned on like an apathetic office manager fielding complaints about the copier being jammed. Shinseki told the Senate panel he "can't remember" getting warnings from federal watchdogs last fall about ghost clinics and double-scheduling schemes. He said he was "not aware" of explosive book-cooking allegations like the ones at a Fort Collins, Colo., VA facility, where employees were ordered to make their records show that veterans got appointments within 14 days of the day requested, whether or not it was true.
Barbara Walters, Queen of Softballs
You can always tell when a network legend is retiring. His/her network blocks out most of a Friday night so they can remember all of the legend's glory days. At 84, ABC's Barbara Walters is taking a bow, and she's certainly as synonymous with television as Johnny Carson or Walter Cronkite. Walters was a pioneer for female journalists on TV. She's also an archetype for our liberal feminist media. In recent years, she's competitively elbowed out other contenders in providing leading Democrats with the most comfortable of softball interviews. A holiday tradition at the Obama White House is a visit from Walters, who stays as sweet as pumpkin pie.
Tell Me Again, Why Is Marco Rubio a Presidential Front-Runner?
On Sunday, Marco Rubio informed Jonathan Karl on ABC's "This Week" that he is ready to be president. "I think a president has to have a clear vision of where the country needs to go and clear ideas about how to get it there," he went on. "And I think we're very blessed in our party to have a number of people that fit that criteria." And Rubio seems a plausible option for Republicans in 2016. Falling somewhere between Jeb Bush-Chris Christie and the purportedly unelectable Rand Paul-Ted Cruz, Rubio is the sort of comfortable choice Republicans tend to decide on. As National Review's Eliana Johnson points out, experts see numerous advantageous aspects to a Rubio presidential candidacy: He's a proven conservative with a moderate demeanor. He's comparatively youthful with a strong presence. And he has the ability to engage in Hispanic outreach. Hailing from an important state doesn't hurt, either.
Moral Compass Points Toward Retribution in Nigeria
Here's a question. If -- and this is a big if -- the United States could dispatch a swarm of heretofore secret super-drones to find and kill every member of the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram, would you be in favor of doing it? I'll even modify it for those of you who are squeamish about killing terrorists who slaughter men, women and children with abandon. What if the drones could simply paralyze the terrorists long enough for the U.S., or the Nigerians or some duly authorized force of U.N.-sanctioned "good guys," to apprehend them? Would you favor it then? I phrase the hypothetical question this way because it avoids some of the usual objections to the U.S. "imposing" its values militarily. Chiefly, it avoids the concern about risking American lives for causes that many believe aren't in our vital national interest. It also avoids concern about civilian casualties.
For-Profit Schools Not the Problem
Give the Obama administration credit for consistency if nothing else when it comes to targeting the for-profit education sector. In March, the Department of Education proposed new rules (whose public comment period ends May 27) that may put some for-profit schools out of business for no good reason. A federal judge struck down similar rules in 2012, but that didn't stop the department from trying again. The question is: Why? Not everyone benefits from being born to wealthy parents who can afford to pay for college. Increasingly, middle-income students must borrow if they want to further their education after high school. And the problems are even more severe for nontraditional students who are older, poorer and often the first in their family to receive post-secondary education. Those in the latter group seek opportunity in the for-profit education sector because it meets their needs better than traditional universities or colleges. But they may soon find this avenue blocked, as well.
'Pro-Choice' Is a Tool for Propagandists
Congratulations to pro-abortion advocates for understanding the power of language and employing the art of propaganda to dupe much of the American public into believing that their motivation is "choice" and that abortion is "reproductive care." No mean feat. Pro-abortionists are fit to be tied over the Missouri Legislature's approval of a bill that requires women to wait 72 hours after first seeing a doctor before having an abortion. Gov. Jay Nixon has not yet indicated whether he'll sign the bill. The bill's supporters argued that women need more time to digest information they receive from a doctor about abortion.
Making College Affordable
There's a debate among economists about why a college degree is worth so much. That the credential is valuable is not in doubt. According to the Pew Research Center, college graduates earn about $17,500 more annually than high school grads. Why? The "human capital" school believes that students learn valuable skills in college that employers are willing to pay for. The "signaling" school doubts that the content of a college education is really that marketable. They argue that employers are interested in the traits -- diligence, intelligence, self-control -- that a degree reflects. For decades, politicians have bought votes with promises to make college "more affordable." They passed legislation with names like the "College Cost Reduction and Access Act" and the "Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act." There are Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, and much more besides.
Angry Conservative Birds Need to Flock Together
Stop listening to so much conservative talk radio. Take a break. Watch a cartoon. Go to a ballgame. Do anything else for a while but think, talk or argue about politics. Do what I do and listen to country music instead. I guarantee you won't be so angry all the time. That's what I told a bunch of rile-up conservatives the other day when I ran into them at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The Revolt of the Wingers in British and American Politics
In recent times, British and American politics have often flowed in parallel currents. Margaret Thatcher's election as prime minister in 1979 was followed by Ronald Reagan's election as president in 1980. As Charles Moore notes in his biography of Thatcher, the two worked together, albeit with some friction, reversing the tide of statism at home and ending the Soviet empire abroad. They seemed to establish British Conservatives and American Republicans as their nation's natural ruling parties. In time, Democrats and Labour responded. Bill Clinton's "New Democrat" politics prevailed in 1992, and Tony Blair's New Labourites, adapting Clinton's strategy, won the first of three big national landslides in 1997.
The Sound and the Fury – and the Tweet
Mass schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria -- to tweet or not to tweet? Is hashtagging one's indignation about some outrage abroad an exercise in moral narcissism or a worthy new way of standing up to bad guys? The answer seems rather simple. It depends on whether you have the power to do something about the outrage in question. If you do, as in the case of the Obama administration watching Russia's slow-motion dismemberment of Ukraine, it's simply embarrassing when the State Department spokeswoman tweets the hashtag #UnitedForUkraine. That is nothing but preening, a visual recapitulation of her boss's rhetorical fatuousness when he sternly warns that if the rape of this U.S. friend continues, we are prepared to consider standing together with the "international community" to decry such indecorous behavior -- or some such.