Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Cruciphobia at Mt. Soledad: The Cross the Left Can't Bear
Consider this: Taylor Swift wasn't even born yet when the fight over the Mount Soledad cross began. How much longer will it drag on? Disgruntled atheists first filed suit over the memorial at a veterans park in San Diego in the summer of 1989. The fringe grievance-mongers have clung bitterly to their litigious activities for nearly a quarter-century. It's time to let go and bring peace to the city. The historic 43-foot cross has stood atop Mount Soledad on public land since 1954. The Mount Soledad Memorial Association erected the monument to commemorate the sacrifice of American soldiers who died in the Korean War, World War I and World War II. The cross has long carried meaning for the city's residents far beyond religious symbolism.
Drive Free
If you saw a fat man in a sleigh distributing presents this week, he was in violation of several government regulations. The Federal Aviation Administration has complaints about his secret flight path. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources might shoot his unauthorized reindeer the way they shot a baby deer named Giggles at an animal shelter this year. His bag of gifts definitely violates numerous charity tax rules. In real life, government barely lets people give each other rides in cars. But now the Internet has given birth to some exciting new businesses that challenge this conceit.
'Duck Dynasty' and a Free Society
Normally at this time of year, the culture-war fight is over a guy with a white beard. That's true again this year. What's different is that Phil Robertson has taken Santa's place, and instead of a war on Christmas, we have a war on "Duck Dynasty." The patriarch of the popular A&E reality show said some crude things about homosexuals to GQ magazine. A&E was sufficiently offended that it suspended him from a show about his own family.
Vaping Gives Politicians the Vapors
A few weeks ago, as the New York City Council's health committee considered a ban on using electronic cigarettes in public, several fans of the battery-powered devices sat in the audience, demonstrating their operation. "I'm watching puffs of vapor go up in this room," said Councilman Peter Vallone. "It is confusing." Last week Vallone and 42 of his colleagues demonstrated their confusion by voting to treat vaping like smoking, meaning e-cigarettes will be banned from bars, restaurants and other indoor spaces open to the public, along with outdoor locations such as parks and beaches. Although that arbitrary edict may relieve the discomfort of politicians bewildered by a new technology, it probably will mean more smoking-related disease and death, the opposite of their avowed goal.
Dumb Politicians Won't Get Elected
Politicians can be progressives, liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, and right-wingers. They just can't be dumb. The American people will never elect them to office. Let's look at it. For years, I used to blame politicians for our economic and social mess. That changed during the 1980s as a result of several lunches with Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., which produced an epiphany of sorts.
Disasters Sprouting Like Mushrooms
Only a stumblebum like Obama would think that signing an agreement with Iran that basically caves to an evil nation would be a good way to distract people from the catastrophe known as the Affordable Care Act. Just because Obama can't do two things at once -- or even one thing if it requires anything beyond reading words off a Teleprompter -- he assumes other people can't recognize that he is as toxic on the world stage as he is domestically.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
At Christmastime: Opinions and Realities
What a great tool for promoting your religion -- a mid-winter feast where everybody eats copious amounts of food, receives interesting gifts and hears or hums constantly your theological message. "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the Incarnate Deity," is hardly street lingo, but repetition over the years lends familiarity and, conceivably, respect; besides which it was written by a great genius in terms of preaching through sing-able poetry -- Charles Wesley. Then think of the angels! A secret, sometimes public, affection for angels wells in every human breast.
Most Jews Wish You a Merry Christmas
As a Jew, and a religious one at that, I want to wish my fellow Americans a Merry Christmas. Not "Happy Holidays." Merry Christmas. I write, "my fellow Americans" because, as reported by the Pew Research poll released just last Wednesday, nine in 10 Americans say they celebrate Christmas.
Encouraging Lessons From the 'Duck Dynasty' Imbroglio
A&E's suspension of Phil Robertson for expressing his politically incorrect, Bible-based opinion on homosexual behavior has turned out to be a blessing in disguise and serves as an object lesson for Christian and other social conservatives, as well as other lovers of liberty. The politically correct left has built a culture and network of intimidation against all who refuse to accept their views and especially those who are vocal in standing their ground.
Faces of Religion
I wouldn't volunteer to be Phil Robertson's speechwriter. He chooses his words too carelessly. But with Christmas arriving, it's worth pausing a moment to consider two other faces of Christianity today. Many who are hostile to religion are eager to portray the "Duck Dynasty" star's comments about homosexuality as the essence of Christianity. Because the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin akin to adultery, the argument goes, the Bible is clearly bigoted, and those who quote the relevant verses are morally objectionable as well.
A Gift That Will Keep on Giving
Each year during the period of conspicuous consumption known as Christmas shopping, I try to think of a gift that will not be returned, exchanged or forgotten before next Christmas. One year it was a goat for a poor African farmer through World Vision. Another year it was a sewing machine for a woman in Ghana who wanted to lift herself out of poverty by starting a small business. This year it is The Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF), started by the late John T. Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and the late venture capitalist Ted Forstmann, to help free poor students from failing public schools and offer them a path to a better life by benefit of a private school education.
Duck Dynasty & Christmas Under Attack
*What do *Duck Dynasty* and Christmas have in common?* *Duck Dynasty*, the most-watched cable television show of all time, is a cultural phenomenon. The reality show follows the lives of the Robertson clan, a Louisiana family that made a fortune developing and selling duck calls and hunting products. The members of the *Duck Dynasty* are not only unlikely millionaires but also unlikely TV stars -- from their shaggy beards to hippy-style clothing to sincere Christian faith. But their plainspoken ways and outspoken beliefs have generated a tremendous following.
Bill to Increase Sanctions on Iran
Sometimes it seems like things are upside down. Barack Obama and his Obamacare administrators are continually making laws, through blogpost (suspending the employer mandate) and bulletin (suspending the individual mandate). This, even though the Framers of the Constitution said that it was Congress that would make the laws; the president is just supposed to faithfully execute them.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Fa La La La Law to Protect Our Troops
Long before "Duck Dynasty," other camouflaged Americans were being persecuted for their beliefs: U.S. service members. Now, thanks to Congress, our brave men and women will finally have the legislative armor they need. It took until almost midnight, but when the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill, it was worth the wait. After a year-long struggle against the forces of political correctness, leaders stood together in defense of our troops' right to speak and act openly on their faith.
A Duck Dynasty Christmas
Phil Robertson, star of A&E hit reality show Duck Dynasty, has been suspended from the show because of "anti-gay" remarks he made in an interview with GQ Magazine. Explaining Robertson's suspension, A&E indicated that "A&E Networks ... have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community." But, as far as I read the interview with Robertson, he wasn't responding to a question about homosexuality. He was responding to a question about sin.
Another Slip Down the Slope From Gay 'Marriage'
The federal court decision this month that struck down most of Utah's anti-polygamy law as unconstitutional is a fresh reminder that slippery-slope arguments, so frequently ridiculed, deserve more respect than they get. "Conservatives foresaw polygamy ruling," a story in the Washington Times was headlined last week. It cited the "we-told-you-so" reactions of several longtime opponents of same-sex marriage, who have long argued that the radical transformation of marriage wouldn't end with gay wedlock.
Dueling Distractions
Just before he left for vacation, President Obama invited the GOP to commit political suicide, urging the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to get behind the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill. "There are a few differences here and there, but the truth of the matter is that the Senate bill has the main components of comprehensive immigration reform that would boost our economy, give us an opportunity to attract more investment and high-skilled workers who are doing great things in places like Silicon Valley and around the country," Obama said. "So let's go ahead and get that done."
Hip Hip Hooray for Kryptonite!
For nearly five years, I waited and wondered if anything would ever puncture the Teflon shell surrounding Obama. Nothing seemed capable of even denting the fortress erected by the media, the DNC and all his henchmen in Congress. The irony is that it was a weapon of his own making, the Affordable Care Act, that finally exploded the man and the manufactured myth.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Bernanke Gets Taper Call Right but the Fed Still Has No Rules
So Fed chairman Ben Bernanke finally pulled the taper trigger this week. And it was the right thing to do. Stocks soared. And even with some back-and-forthing, gold, commodity indexes, and the dollar were basically stable. In other words, financial markets approved -- especially stocks, where investors believe Bernanke is telling them the economy is strong enough to weather a pullback in Fed bond buying. Actually, if the Fed shaves $10 billion in bond purchases at each of its next seven meetings, QE3 will end in October 2014 -- or perhaps sooner if the economy holds up.
Papal Economics
"Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as 'a new tyranny,'" reads the lead of the Reuters story by Naomi O'Leary. She is referring to the *Evangelii Gaudium*, the latest apostolic exhortation from the Holy Father. Similar headlines appeared at NBC, at the Daily Kos, in the Nation and elsewhere. But as Robert Ramono points out, nowhere did the pope actually say those words. Still, the document is a mixed bag. It does contain some anti-capitalist rhetoric, using phrases familiar on the left. But it is also full of anti-statist, anti-collectivist exhortations. On balance the entire document looks like it was written by a committee whose members all have different views.