Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Flour Power: Bakers Stick to Beliefs Despite Pressure
In a politically correct world, the costs of running a business are a lot more than dollars and cents. For Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of a small Oregon bakery, the price is their First Amendment rights. Their dream of opening a dessert shop near Portland, Oregon turned into a nightmare when two lesbians refused to take "no" for an answer on their request for a same-sex "wedding" cake. Exactly one year ago, the Kleins explained that they couldn't take the order because it would violate their faith to participate in a same-sex "marriage" ceremony. Furious, the women filed a complaint with the state. The story made national headlines, as the young couple became another face in the war on religious liberty. "We still stand by what we believe from the beginning," Aaron told reporters. "I'm not sure what the future holds, but as far as where we're at right now... it's almost as if the state is hostile toward Christian businesses."
Fact-Free Liberals
Someone summarized Barack Obama in three words -- "educated," "smart" and "ignorant." Unfortunately, those same three words would describe all too many of the people who come out of our most prestigious colleges and universities today. President Obama seems completely unaware of how many of the policies he is trying to impose have been tried before, in many times and places around the world, and have failed time and again. Economic equality? That was tried in the 19th century, in communities set up by Robert Owen, the man who coined the term "socialism." Those communities all collapsed.
Monday, January 20, 2014
IRS: Inalienable Rights Suppressor?
If you thought giving money to the IRS was frustrating, try handing it your First Amendment rights. Under the Democrats' new rule, conservative activists may have no choice. In the run up to the 2014 elections, the President's party can't hide from their scandalous record, but they can certainly keep the opposition from talking about it. That seems to be the strategy behind the greatest attack on free speech that no one is talking about. The Wall Street Journal is sounding the alarm about the rule, which was made possible (along with who-knows-what else) by the Hill's debate over the 1,600 page-beast known as the congressional omnibus.
Why Pro-Aborts Oppose Free Speech
It's no surprise why pro-abortion forces in America don't want free speech when it comes to raising awareness about this issue of, literally, life and death. The more people understand the reality of abortion, the more they don't want it as a legal, easily accessible part of American life. Now, as 650,000 plus pro-life demonstrators are about to arrive in Washington, DC for this year's March for Life on January 22, noting in protest the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court has just heard arguments on a critical case involving freedom of speech on this issue.
A Breach of Trust
Three sentences in Obama's speech defending the necessity of the NSA stood out to me. Let's examine each one. "Those of us who hold office in America have a responsibility to our Constitution." Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, America is currently enduring a Chief Executive whose contempt for the Constitution is unprecedented. Exhibit A is ObamaCare. Even as Democrats and the media hectored Americans to accept the healthcare bill as written because it was the "law of the land," Obama determined that a law passed by Congress and signed by him could be unilaterally "readjusted" to suit his political necessities. He also passed a version of the DREAM Act, unilaterally legalizing illegal aliens when Congress failed to do so. He has composed regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, intending to bypass Congress once again, and use the EPA to impose his worldview by fiat.
Opinions
It's said that everyone has opinions, but I sense that most people don't have as many as I do. Sometimes they become such a burden that I simply have to unload them the way Santa unloads his bag of toys, lest I suffer a hernia of the brain. So, to begin with, when did people forget how to write their names? Now that I'm spending an inordinate amount of time in doctors' offices, I notice that mine is the only signature on the sign-in sheets that's legible. It also makes me wonder how banks can spot forged checks when every signature is a squiggle. I'm sure that nobody makes out a shopping list that's unreadable, so what is it about signatures that bring out the illiterate or at least the illegible in people? Do they think it makes them appear important, the way people thought it did when cell phones were first coming into fashion and every cluck would walk down the street, chattering into one, with furrowed brow, as if the President was calling for advice about the Middle East?
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Caregivers and the First Amendment
The Democratic party is the party of government because it embraces a proposition it has done much to refute -- that government is a nimble, skillful social engineer -- and because government employees are a significant component of the party's base and of its financial support through government employees unions. Franklin Roosevelt, architect of the modern party, believed unionization would be inappropriate in the public sector. Today's party, however, aggressively uses government coercion to create supposed "government employees" from whom unions can extract money, some of it for the party. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the Illinois government's policy of herding home-care workers into unions violates the workers' First Amendment rights. It does.
In Defense of Inequality
During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama was asked if he would favor a higher capital gains tax rate, even if the government received less revenue as a result. His answer: Yes. When you stop to think about it, that's a remarkable answer. By hypothesis, everyone is worse off. The owners of capital are worse off. The government is worse off. Poor people who depend on government are worse off.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Business Wants Growth, Growth, Growth
Growth, growth, growth is the new mantra of the venerable Business Roundtable, whose member companies generate annual revenues of more than $7 trillion while employing 16 million workers. In past years, the BRT has put out lengthy pamphlets proposing intricate solutions for budgets, entitlements, the environment, regulations, health care and more. But this year, the BRT has gone back to basic economic blocking and tackling by bluntly saying, "If we want to control the deficit, preserve key entitlement programs, educate our children and offer upward economic mobility for everyone, we have to get our economy growing faster." Sounds like JFK. Or Ronald Reagan. Or Jack Kemp. A rising tide lifts all boats.
From The Comedy Store
President Obama called in photographers to take photos of him meeting with Joe Biden. They're photos Joe can use in the Democratic primaries in two years. In an effort to appear more presidential, Joe Biden is launching a website that doesn't work.
The Devil's in the Details
One of the things I don't get about ObamaCare is that they are overcharging young people for health care because those extra dollars are supposed to fund health care services for old folks. But at the same time, we all know that those death panels Sarah Palin warned us about will be denying meds and operations to those of us in our 70s, 80s and 90s. So what's the real purpose of that extra money? I suspect it's to pay for a few more Obama family vacations over the next three years. I admit my evidence is purely circumstantial, but it's based on five years of experience with the weasels in the White House.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Obama IRS's Crimes Against Americans to go Unpunished
Sham 'investigation' by an Obama donor claims no wrong-doing -- who's fighting back?
Racial Profiling Not the Issue
Racial profiling, which has always been a thorny issue, is about to get a lot more complicated. In a private meeting with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Attorney General Eric Holder this week promised that the Department of Justice soon will issue long-anticipated new rules expanding the definition of what constitutes racial profiling. De Blasio made his opposition to the city's tough "stop and frisk" policies a central theme in his successful campaign, alleging that the practice constitutes harassment of racial minorities. And Holder apparently agrees. Now, Holder plans to prohibit federal investigators from considering not only race, but also sex, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. What's more, Holder is expected to broaden federal prohibitions on profiling beyond criminal justice to include counterterrorism investigations, surveillance and immigration enforcement.
The Heroes of 'Lone Survivor'
A few years back, during the Media Research Center's annual gala, I was honored to pay tribute to the family of a real American hero, Michael Murphy, the Navy SEAL posthumously awarded the first Congressional Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan, and the first since the Vietnam War. Few in the room knew the story because only Fox and a handful of other outlets told it. When the medal was announced in 2007, William Kristol noted on "Fox News Sunday" that the news received a tiny fraction of the coverage given to the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel that year was awarded to Al Gore and the U.N. "climate change" alarmists. That award received endless accolades from the sycophantic press. Kristol joked about the fans oozing over "what sacrifices he made" to make a scary documentary (while making fortunes of money off the issue as well).
Now Democrats Are Questioning Your Patriotism
Preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is the stated goal of the Obama administration, P5+1 nations and Israel. How the United States can best reach this goal while avoiding war seems to me to be a rather vital debate. So it's a real shame we're not having it. So far, 59 senators, 16 Democrats, are co-sponsoring a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran and, perhaps, derail the Obama administration's recent diplomatic efforts on that front. Really, it's one of the only times we've seen any notable resistance to Barack Obama from people within his party. But, if I'm hearing the administration and punditry from the left correctly, even debating these approaches is a call for war to them. Instead, we're supposed to believe that those 16 Democratic senators (not to mention the entire GOP) are set to send Americans to die for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
John Kerry, Jihad Coddler
The myth of the poor, oppressed jihadist never dies. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is the latest Obama administration official to peddle this odious narrative. Cue John Lennon's cloying "Imagine," don your plaid pajamas, and curl up with a warm cup of deadly naiveté. While meeting with Catholic Church officials at the Vatican in Rome on Monday, Kerry expounded on their "huge common interest in dealing with this issue of poverty, which in many cases is the root cause of terrorism or even the root cause of the disenfranchisement of millions of people on this planet." In other words: If only every al-Qaida and Taliban recruit had a fraction of Kerry's $200 million fortune, they'd all be frolicking peacefully with infidels on jet skis sporting "Coexist" bumper stickers.
Revisiting the Statute of Liberty
On any given day, the line into the National Archives can stretch for blocks. Less than a half mile from FRC, hundreds of Americans wait patiently for the chance to look through thick glass at the yellowed documents that gave rise to the greatest republic the world has ever seen. There, in the dimmest of lights, the founders' handwriting is almost too difficult to make out. The irony is unmistakable, as freedom's faded text gives way to a fading reality. After more than 200 years, time has taken its toll, not just on the parchment but on its principles. In a world where two out of every three people live in regions lacking religious liberty, America is still one of the brightest lights on freedom's shore. But for how long, no one knows.
How in Good Conscience?
By early 2011, writes former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, he had concluded that President Obama "doesn't believe in his own [Afghanistan] strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his." Not his? *America* is at war and he's America's commander in chief. For the soldier being shot at in the field, it makes no difference under whose administration the fighting began. In fact, three out of four Americans killed in Afghanistan have died under Barack Obama's command. That's ownership enough.
Imperial, Lawless Obama Threatens More Unilateral Action
This week, once again, we heard President Obama defiantly pronounce that he has no intention of letting a little thing like constitutional checks and balances get in his way and interrupt his royal prerogative. "We are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we're providing Americans the kind of help that they need," said Obama. "I've got a pen, and I've got a phone." What other president has ever talked like this?
Population Declining in States With High Dependence on Govt.
The Census Bureau's holiday treat is its release of annual state population estimates, to be digested slowly in the new year. The headline from this year's release is that population growth from July 2012 to July 2013 was 0.72 percent, lower than in the two preceding years and the lowest since the Great Depression 1930s. This reflects continuing low, below-replacement-rate birth rates and lower immigration than in 1982-2007. Net immigration from Mexico evidently continues to be zero.