Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Missing: A Foreign Policy
What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may eventually be discovered, but there is something else that has been missing for much longer and its "disappearance" has far greater implications for America. It is our foreign policy. Can anyone say what it is? With Russia's Vladimir Putin behaving like a modern Catherine the Great in his efforts to annex Crimea and possibly all of Ukraine, what is our policy toward Russia, which is behaving increasingly like its former, supposedly dead, communist self? In a New York Times op-ed column last week, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain wrote: "...Crimea has exposed the disturbing lack of realism that has characterized our foreign policy under President Obama. ... For five years, Americans have been told that 'the tide of war is receding,' that we can pull back from the world at little cost to our interests and values. This has fed a perception that the United States is weak, and to people like Mr. Putin, weakness is provocative."
The Price We'll Pay for Obama's Re-election
Most Americans who are dissatisfied with President Barack Obama's leadership are thinking about the poor economy and the misbegotten health care law. That disillusionment is justified -- if not tardy. But the foreign policy failures of this administration are likely to be far more consequential, lasting and possibly catastrophic. What we are seeing is the collapse of American influence in the world. Permitting people like Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Hagel and John Kerry to deal with the brutal realities of world politics is like putting Richard Simmons into the ring with Muhammad Ali.
Baker and Couple Find Civil Solution
At one Indianapolis shop, 111 Cakery almost turned into a 911 for religious liberty. Like most Christians in the wedding business, Randy and Trish McGath knew the risks of turning down an order for a same-sex ceremony. In their industry, word was spreading fast about the price of standing up for your faith -- from florists and facilities rentals to caterers and bed and breakfasts. They'd heard the horror stories of photographers, who were dragged before human rights commissions and another baker under threat of jail -- all for operating their businesses under the same values that they have lived out all their lives.
Buds of the Socialist Spring
While Vladimir Putin, Stalin's spawn, ponders what to do with what remains of Ukraine, remember: Nine years before the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, at which the Nazis embarked on industrialized genocide, Stalin deliberately inflicted genocidal starvation on Ukraine. To fathom the tangled forces, including powerful ones of memory, at work in that singularly tormented place, begin with Snyder's stunning book. Secretary of State John Kerry has called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "a 19th-century act in the 21st century." Snyder reminds us that "Europeans deliberately starved Europeans in horrific numbers in the middle of the 20th century."
Democratic Strategists in 2014 Are Like French Generals in 1940
It is reminiscent of the quandary faced by Gen. Maurice Gamelin on the evening of May 15, 1940. Suddenly he realized that German panzer troops had broken through the supposedly impassable Ardennes. French troops to the north were cut off and rendered useless, troops to the south were falling back in disarray on all sides and no reserves were available between the front and Paris. "Yes," he told the prime minister, "it means the destruction of the French Army." Now, analogies between military history and politics are never exact, and no one in American politics remotely resembles the Nazis. But there is some resemblance between the plight of Gen. Gamelin and the plight of Democratic strategists in key Senate and congressional races this year.
A Tiger of a Book
Professor Amy Chua of the Yale law school is better known as a "Tiger Mom" because of her take-no-prisoners, tough love approach to raising children. She and her husband Jed Rubenfeld (a fellow Yale law professor) have written what may turn out to be the best book of this year. It is titled "The Triple Package" because it argues that three qualities are found in spectacularly successful groups in America. These three qualities, they say, are a superiority complex, insecurity and impulse control. Whether you buy their theory or not, you will be enormously enlightened by their attempts to prove it. In the process they shoot down many of the popular beliefs about upward mobility in America and about the kinds of people who succeed.
Make Democrats Pay for ObamaCare and Obamanomics
My humble advice to the GOP: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Don't fail to grasp the significance of the Florida election. Make Democrats pay for their president and their shared agenda. Don't listen to any in the liberal media, the Democratic Party spin machine or any establishment Republican types who tell you Obama didn't get his metaphorical head handed to him in the Florida special election for a House seat last week. Ignore those who tell you that you can't tie this anchor around Democratic candidates who either supported Obamacare when it was being pushed or defiantly stand by it now. Rejoice that White House officials and many Democratic apparatchiks are denying that Obamacare was "on the ballot in Florida" and are applauding without an ounce of credibility that Obamacare has now turned the corner because the government's website is allegedly now functioning more efficiently.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Under Obama: Are We Austria-Hungary?
The centenary of World War I is upon us. That Great War began in August, 1914. We can expect a flood of new books and documentaries on what some then called "the war to end all wars." The rising power of the United States was not fully felt in Europe then. In fact, some German militarists unwisely dismissed the U.S. "They won't land a single soldier in France," one of their admirals vainly told his Kaiser. "Our U-boats will sink their troop ships." One new book on the sudden outbreak of the war is attracting attention and critical praise. Diplomatic historian Margaret MacMillan's new work, *The War that Ended Peace*, has been "blurbed" by no less a figure than former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Madame Secretary says this book "tells the story of how intelligent, well-meaning leaders guided their nations into catastrophe."
The Punchline Is the President's Dignity
A witless and undignified stunt? Or an amusing and effective public-relations exercise? Opinions differed on Barack Obama's parody interview with comedian Zach Galifianakis on the website Funny or Die last week, and not just along party lines. Dan Pfeiffer, a top Obama strategist, told The New York Times that even within the West Wing there were debates about how unconventional the president could be in trying to promote his message to young people. Staffers joked that some of the more outrageous gambits "were going to give David Gergen a heart attack." Gergen, a longtime Washington insider who has advised presidents of both parties, most recently Bill Clinton, hasn't gone into cardiac arrest, but he did confirm that he's "no fan of presidents appearing on shows" like Galifianakis's. Mike McCurry, who spent four years as Clinton's press spokesman, likewise cautioned that Obama should "worry about the dignity of the presidency."
Air Force Academy: Ad-Verse to Scripture?
The hot seat just got hotter for Air Force officials at Friday's House Armed Services hearing. With the backdrop of Scripture scrubbing and Christian harassment at the branch's Academy, a routine budget debate turned into a fireworks display over the Air Force's growing hostility towards faith in the ranks. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Walsh were originally scheduled to talk about branch spending until conservatives intervened, demanding a detailed explanation of the events that unfolded at the Academy. Representatives from Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) to Democrat Mike McIntyre (N.C.) took turns grilling the duo on the incident, which ultimately resulted in a cadet erasing Bible verses from his dorm whiteboard.
Silence of the Left
The topic du jour on the left these days is inequality. But why does the left care about inequality? Do they really want to lift those at the bottom of the income ladder? Or are they just looking for one more reason to increase the power of government? If you care about those at the bottom then you are wasting your time and everyone else's time unless you focus on one and only one phenomenon: the inequality of educational opportunity. Poor kids are almost always enrolled in bad schools. Rich kids are almost always in good schools. So what does the left have to say about the public school system? Almost nothing. Nothing? That's right. Nothing. I can't remember ever seeing an editorial by Paul Krugman on how to reform the public schools. So I Googled to see if I have missed something. The only thing I found was a negative post about vouchers. And Krugman is not alone.
Strengthen the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act
One year ago, on March 18, 2013, the trial of abortion monster Dr. Kermit Gosnell began in Philadelphia. Two months later Gosnell was convicted on three charges of murder, 21 felony counts of performing illegal late-term abortions, and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent laws. Gosnell's convictions really just reflected the tip of the iceberg of what was going on in that clinic. Until inspectors showed up in February 2010 as result of investigation into suspected illegal drug prescription use, Gosnell's facility operated uninspected for 17 years. According to the Grand Jury report, the last state inspection, before the 2010 raid, had been in 1993.
A President in Name Only
Last Friday, after six fruitless hours of negotiations, talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry broke down. Barring an unforeseen development, Russia will absorb Crimea and who knows how much more of Ukraine before Russian President Vladimir Putin is finished. Pretty serious stuff. So where was President Barack Obama Friday morning, and what was he talking about? Appearing on the "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" show, Obama talked about his trip to a Gap store, attacks on his dad jeans and his appearance on an equally insipid show, "Between Two Ferns."
Proud to be a Flat Earther
As you have probably heard, John Kerry, who is nearly as screwy as Al Gore, has announced that climate change "is the most dangerous, most fearsome, weapon of mass destruction." Inasmuch as Obama and his underlings have once again dragged out this bugaboo in hopes of currying favor with their base and redirecting attention away from the stench of the Affordable Care Act, it would be better described as a weapon of mass distraction.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
How to Keep Them Down on the Farm
Someone who is determined to disbelieve something can manage to disregard an Everest of evidence for it. So Barack Obama will not temper his enthusiasm for increased equality with lucidity about the government's role in exacerbating inequality. In the movie "Animal House," Otter, incensed by the expulsion of his fraternity, says: "I think this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture." Such thinking gives us minimum wage increases that do very little for very few. Meanwhile, there are farm bills, like the one Obama signed last month at Michigan State University.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Republicans Hammer Away on the Growth Theme
Sizing up last week's unexpected congressional win by Florida Republican David Jolly, Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal wrote, "The Republicans who win this fall will be those who have serious answers to the attacks leveled on them -- about Obamacare, the economy, women's and seniors' issues." Sound advice. A few weeks earlier, pollsters John and Jim McLaughlin argued that to win big in November, the GOP cannot rely on Obamacare alone, unpopular as it is. More sound advice.
From The Comedy Store
President Obama this week appeared on an online comedy show hosted by Zack Galifianakis which is called Between Two Ferns. Celebrities love to get together to use each other. President Obama was there to plug his online comedy show which is called Obamacare.
Obama the Impaler
Several centuries ago, Vlad III, the king of Romania, was so notorious for his cruelty that he singlehandedly put his birthplace, Transylvania, on the map and was nicknamed the Impaler for his preferred means of torture and execution. Years later, he served as the model for Bram Stoker's Dracula, thus providing everyone from Bela Lugosi to George Hamilton with a handsome livelihood. In his own way, Barack Obama reminds me of Vlad. For one thing, he is merciless when it comes to his enemies. And he regards anyone who is not a friend, aka a contributor to his war chest, as an enemy.
Friday, March 14, 2014
I've Figured Out the AGW Strategy
I am starting to think the AGW/climate change/climate disruption/carbon pollution agenda is to simply make such outrageous comments that my side gets tired of having to deal with it. This hit me a couple of nights ago when I tried to watch five minutes of the "all nighter clim-a-thon" being staged by a select group of senators. After a couple of minutes -- and I will not say what I heard or who said it to set me off -- I decided it was enough, so I watched something with more substance -- Dallas -- on TNT. Oddly enough Bobby Ewing stopped his nephew JR Jr from fracking his part of Southfork by saying there was an endangered species on the property (the lean Prairie Chicken I think it was). Even Dallas has an energy-based debate going on. Interestingly enough Southfork, which in the show is a working cattle ranch, is also in the cross hairs of climate change since, after all, we all know cows cause increases in methane which is one of those dreaded greenhouse gasses that, if left unchecked, will take the Earth to Venetian temperatures (sarcasm).
Obama Deserves Share of Blame for Millennial Cynicism
In case you hadn't heard, young people these days -- aka "the millennials" -- are the most cynical and distrusting generation ever recorded. Only 19 percent think most people can be trusted. According to a big study from the Pew Research Center, they are less attached to marriage, religion and political institutions than Gen Xers, baby boomers and the other demographic flavors journalists love to use. They like their friends, their digital "social networks" and their toys, and that's about it. Not even a majority will call themselves "patriotic." Probably more dismaying for liberals: Of any living generation, they are the least likely to call themselves environmentalists. Now, I should say that I often find generational stereotyping pretty annoying. For instance, there was no "greatest generation." Sure, there were a bunch of great Americans who stormed the beaches of Normandy. But is some guy who was in jail in 1943 for petty larceny deserving of special respect because he was born around the same time as a guy who won the Medal of Honor during WWII?