Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A Disaster of Biblical Proportions
Over the past couple of years, I made a couple of prophecies. The first was that in spite of Obama's threats, Bashar al-Assad would remain in power longer than Obama would. The second was that although America could probably survive another four years of Obama, I doubted if the nation could survive an electorate that would re-elect him. Nothing I've seen in the intervening months since last November has caused me to change my mind. Apparently, according to polls, even if the Republican House agrees to fund everything but ObamaCare and Obama then shuts down the government in a fit of pique, the majority of voters will hold the Republicans responsible if their Social Security checks are a week late. I mean, just how dumb are we as a nation?
The Best Defense Your Money Can't Buy
Although the federal government accuses Kerri and Brian Kaley of trafficking in stolen medical devices, it has been unable to identify any victims of this alleged criminal scheme. That has not stopped the Justice Department from freezing the assets they need to defend themselves. Today the Supreme Court is considering whether the Kaleys have a constitutional right to challenge the order blocking access to their money before it's too late for them to mount an effective defense. A ruling in their favor would help limit the government's ability to deprive people of their liberty by depriving them of their property.
Forty Years of OPEC Manipulation
Four decades ago this month, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) launched an oil embargo against the United States in retaliation for our steadfast support of Israel in her hour of need. As the Jewish State fought off the Soviet-backed Egyptian and Syrian armies in what would become known as the Yom Kippur War, the OPEC cartel's actions sent the price of oil soaring and our economy into a recession.
Racial Trade-Offs: Part II
Last week's column discussed the political trade-offs made by black politicians and civil rights organizations that condemn whole generations of black youngsters to failing schools. Similar political trade-offs in labor markets condemn many blacks, particularly black youths, to high rates of unemployment and reduced economic opportunities. Let's look at this, starting with a few historical facts.
Longing to be a Victim
These days, being seen as a victim can be useful. You immediately claim the moral high ground. Some people want to help you. Lawyers and politicians brag that they *force* others to help you. This turns some people into whiners with little sense of responsibility.
Media: Tea Party Is Racist, Evil, Should Die!
This week, massive crowds of veterans descended onto Washington, D.C., to protest the Obama administration's vindictive shutdown of open-air memorial sites -- sites that require no guards but were fenced off simply to make Americans miserable as a bargaining chip in the government shutdown negotiations. Veterans, including many wheelchair-bound veterans from World War II, overturned the barricades placed at memorials by the administration and proceeded to carry them to the White House. The media covered the men and women who attended the so-called Million Vet March by suggesting that they were racists and terrorists and hoping that politicians allied with them would die.
Redskins: No Harm, No Foul, Mr. Costas
"Think for a moment about the term 'Redskins,'" NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas exhorted viewers in his halftime tirade during Sunday's Cowboys-Redskins game. "Ask yourself what the equivalent would be, if directed [at] African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or members of any other ethnic group. When considered that way, 'Redskins' can't possibly honor a heritage or a noble character trait, nor can it possibly be considered a neutral term.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Glitch? IRS Funnels Billions to Illegal Aliens
While the agency refuses to change its ways.
The 'Bums' Aren't the Problem: We Are
A new Associated Press-GfK poll reveals some troubling statistics for members of both major political parties, if they can be troubled, given what looks to be their lack of concern for what they are doing to the country. The poll finds fewer people approve of President Obama's job performance (confirmed by a new Gallup Poll, which shows a 37 percent approval rating), but that Republicans score even worse at 5 percent approval. The AP-GfK poll "finds few people approve of the way the president is handling most major issues and most people say he's not decisive, strong, honest, reasonable or inspiring." It looks like hope has vanished. We can't say we weren't warned.
The New York Times: America Sucks
This past Saturday, the New York Times published an article, "Behind Flurry of Killing, Potency of Hate," on the roots of monstrous evil. The article largely concerned a former paramilitary member of the Irish Republican Army, and as such was informative. But when it ventured into a larger discussion of evil, the moral confusion and contempt for America that characterize leftism were on display.
President Know-It-All
Unto the jungle gods of politics we commit the bodies of our Republican brethren -- earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust -- in sure and certain hope of these ignoramuses' political extinction ... Well, now, isn't that the media narrative as to the hooting and hollering in Washington, D. C., over debt ceilings, government shutdowns and so on and so on?
The United States of America, R.I.P.
The Democrats apparently think they can get away with anything simply because the major media outlets are in the tank for them, and perhaps they can. I suppose we'll have to wait until the mid-term elections to find out if America really is prepared to pull the plug on itself. Clearly, Obama and his gang thought it wouldn't cost them any votes if the Department of Defense suspended death benefits to the widows and children of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Apparently, they were equally copacetic about shutting down the outdoor World War II Memorial to military veterans, while throwing open the National Mall for a demonstration by illegal immigrants and some of their publicity-crazed supporters in the House.
Time for GOP to Quit Kicking the Can Down the Road
Every time we have a congressional impasse over budgetary issues, we hear from liberals predicting Shutdown-mageddon. Why don't they ever join us in expressing concern over the inevitable financial collapse that will result from their policies? We always seem to hyperventilate over these mini-crises involving the temporary shutdown of small parts of the precious federal government, while we totally ignore the real financial catastrophe we're headed toward unless we begin to move in the direction Sen. Ted Cruz and other congressional Republicans are insisting on in these budgetary battles -- defunding Obamacare, reining in spending and reforming unsustainable entitlements.
What to do About America's Low-Skill Workforce
Some bad news for America, not on the political front this time, but on what corporate executives call human resources. It's from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's report on adult skills, based on 166,000 interviews in 24 economically advanced countries in 2011 and 2012. The verdict on the United States: "weak in literacy, very poor in numeracy, but only slightly below average in problem-solving in technology-rich environments."
The Hammer in Republicans' Hands
Liberals constantly lecture, more in theatrical sorrow than in actual anger, about their eagerness to compromise with Republicans, just not with Republicans who are -- liberal moderation expresses itself immoderately -- hostage-taking terroristic anarchistic jihadist suicide bombers. But Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins, the very model of moderation, spoiled the Democrats' piety charade by demonstrating its insincerity when she suggested this compromise...
A Return to Keynes?
The nomination of Janet Yellen to become head of the Federal Reserve System has set off a flurry of media stories. Since she will be the first woman to occupy that position, we can only hope that this will not mean that any criticism of what she does will be attributed to sex bias or to a "war on women." The Federal Reserve has become such a major player in the American economy that it needs far more scrutiny and criticism than it has received, regardless of who heads it.
Republicans' Secret Ally Against Obamacare
It's clear to all but the most blinkered that the "Defund Now!" strategy for blocking the implementation of Obamacare has been worse than a failure. Obamacare will be funded, but the fight has exacerbated the already low standing of the Republican Party. Obama's approval rating has ticked up during the shutdown, while Republicans are now competing with the Taliban in approval. Architects of the shutdown plan assured us that when Republicans took a stand on principle, the voters would be impressed. The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed that 51 percent of respondents believe the president is putting his own political agenda ahead of what's best for the country. Pretty good? Not really. Seventy percent say that about congressional Republicans.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Vets v. Obama
Anyone old enough to remember Viet Nam can remember how the country felt toward the man and women who were sent to Southeast Asia to prosecute that war. They were treated like [as this is a family column] garbage. We have discussed before how, in the National Guard during those days, it was suggested that we wear civilian clothes to and from drills.
The Fallacy of Replacing ACA With Medicare-for-All
Now that the problems with implementing ObamaCare are becoming increasingly apparent, Progressives are touting "single payer" health insurance as a replacement for ObamaCare. For those who haven't been following the debate for the past 50 years, "single payer" is what we used to call "national health insurance," and before that "socialized medicine," and before that "government-provided health care." Proponents often explain single payer to lay audiences simply as Medicare-for-All. By the way, advocates of single payer, who now call themselves "progressives," used to call themselves "liberals," and before that "socialists," all in the hope that continual relabeling will somehow make their ideas seem sensible.