Right Opinion

Cultural Roots of a Fiscal Crisis

We ought to think about the cultural roots of the budget crisis in Washington. The political left says the shut down is all about an ideological tantrum of a handful of Republicans. Certainly Tea Partiers have an ideology and vision about what ground rules would produce a more prosperous, freer, and fairer America.

Apathy Leads to Unaccountability

Some columns are easy to write. This will not be one of them. In the process of making a larger point, I am forced to defend people of questionable character demeanor and/or sanity, because they are no longer able to defend themselves. They have been killed by law enforcement officials under questionable circumstances. Following each shooting, there was a promise that a thorough investigation would be conducted. Yet if the latter investigation proceeds as the former one has, one may be forced to conclude that government investigators are engaged in one thing and one thing only: running out the clock on a reliably distracted public.

Lower Forms of Animal Life

Having spent a good deal of my life studying the behavior of politicians, particularly those in our nation's capital, I have concluded that the Potomac River gives off noxious fumes. It's the cause of the common malady known as Potomac fever. The usual symptoms are a loss of mental faculties, a diminished moral sense and a swelled head. We're all aware of the ways it affects the likes of people like Obama, Biden, Reid, Pelosi and John McCain. But even lesser lights exhibit signs of contamination. For instance, Jay Carney used to be a respected journalist, or at least as respected as a Time magazine reporter could possibly be. But once he went to work as a press secretary, he has learned to lie for a living. And not just once in a while, but every single time he finds himself standing at a podium.

America, 2013

The United States isn't going to the dogs, which would be a good thing. Instead, it's going to the dolts. You want proof? Okay, ABC asked a group of typical voters three questions. One: Is ObamaCare a socialistic program? (Yes, they replied.) Two: Is the Affordable Care Act a socialistic program? (No, they said.) Three: Is the Affordable Care Act better than ObamaCare? (Definitely, they decided.)

A 'Wonderland' Moment for the Court

The marble friezes above the Supreme Court chamber depict 18 great lawgivers, including Moses, Solomon, King John and William Blackstone. Come Tuesday, as the bemused -- or so one hopes -- justices listen to oral arguments in a case from Michigan, they might wonder why Lewis Carroll is not included. He would have relished the Alice-in-Wonderland argument the justices will hear, which is as follows. Although the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment says "No state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," the following provision of Michigan's Constitution violates the Equal Protection guarantee: No public university, college or school district may "discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

Millions Losing Their Health Insurance

"If you like your health insurance you can keep it," Barack Obama promised the voters on many occasions. About 20,000 part-time employees of Home Depot recently found out how false that promise is. The company announced that it is ending its health insurance coverage for its employees and sending them to the new health insurance exchanges. They will be joined by employees of McDonald's, Disney, CVS Caremark, Staples, Blockbuster, and many others.

Anything Can Happen and Probably Will

And CO2 will be blamed

Crime Watch

Barack Obama insisted he would not negotiate with House Republicans so long as they allow the government shutdown to continue because they were holding a gun to the heads of the American people. Have you noticed how everything with this schmuck comes back to guns? As I sit here, I have no idea how the shutdown will play out. But speaking of guns, I hope the Republicans stick to theirs. For one thing, I don't see any harm in an occasional shutdown. For another thing, it's always a relief when politicians aren't on the job, creating mischief. For a third thing, I get a kick out of it when they separate bureaucrats into essential and non-essential, and I'm always left wondering what possible excuse there is for allowing the non-essential ones to return from their paid vacations.


ObamaCare's Day One and D-Day

When President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, it was the starting gun for a massive federal effort to get the new system up and running. The administration had deliberately allowed for three and a half years for the launch, October 1, 2013. That's a long time. It's 1,288 days. You would think in that length of time, we could have brought a system online that would not be bedeviled with "glitches." And more glitches.

From The Comedy Store

Cincinnati Reds skipper Dusty Baker blamed his firing on President Obama's low job approval. Neither did well with millionaires. Every time Dusty Baker asked his players to lay down a sacrifice they'd quote Ayn Rand right back at him and swing away.

In Praise of Partisan Media

As much as it pains me, let me take a few moments to defend MSNBC. Media bias is a perpetual grievance of the right -- for obvious reasons. But maybe the only way to improve on the situation is to champion more openly ideologically driven political journalism. By any measure, it's a lot less destructive than what we had for decades: media feigning impartiality.

Fight Worth Having

Republicans and conservatives are clearly in the mood for a fight. That martial spirit is part of what has brought us to the standoff in Washington. It's odd then, that the battle for the governor's mansion in Virginia, which pits a solid conservative attorney general against a Democratic moneyman and back-scratching liberal Clinton pal, should be so neglected. Ken Cuccinelli is currently being buried in campaign spending by Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe, who may not know much about Virginia, or about how to govern a state, but who certainly knows how to raise money, is outspending Cuccinelli two to one.

Obama's Confession of Indifference

Last week I wrote a column accusing the president of having a vindictive streak -- of deliberately trying to make the lives of average Americans worse just so he could score ideological and political points. We already knew from how he handled the budget sequester that Obama liked this approach. He ordered Cabinet secretaries not to do their jobs -- i.e., to manage as best they could under spending restraints -- but instead to find ways to make the cuts needlessly painful for innocents caught in the Beltway crossfire.

The Way Out

For all the hyped indignation over GOP "anarchism," there has been remarkable media reticence about the president's intransigence. He has refused to negotiate anything unless the Republicans fully fund the government and raise the debt ceiling -- unconditionally. For all his protestations about protecting the full faith and credit of the United States -- jittery markets are showing that his brinkmanship could have precisely the opposite effect -- the president's real intent is to score a humiliating victory over the GOP.

GOP: Stay the Course

I respect -- but disagree with -- those who believe that the Republican Party is on a suicide mission by refusing to agree to either a continuing resolution or a lifting of the debt ceiling without some meaningful inroads into Obamacare. If I understand it correctly, they are convinced that it's a dead-end mission guaranteed to hurt the GOP, mainly because polls indicate that people will primarily blame the GOP for the shutdown (and government default, should that occur).

One Man's Obamawreck Nightmare

Behold the Hollywood bubble. This week, actress Olivia Wilde starred in an Obamacare propaganda video targeting young people. "You can sign up for health care online in 10 minutes," her co-propagandist chirped as she cheered. Cue the laugh track. Back on planet Earth, Americans nationwide are still struggling with the $634 million online health care exchange nightmare. One reader asked me to share his story. Like me and 22 million other citizens in the private individual market for health insurance, he recently received his You Can't Keep It cancellation notice. Here's what happened when he went online to find alternatives.

Children Majoring in Techno-Mayhem

As video games grow ever more violent and realistic, the latest sign of "progress" is the arrival of female characters you can take into combat in the latest version of the war game "Call of Duty." You may watch a hundred commercials selling this product, but no one tells the audience what's really in it. There's a reason: You'd be shocked.

Voters to Politicians: Both Parties Are Blundering

What to make of all the polls on the government shutdown? You know, the ones that say that, to varying degrees, congressional Republicans are being blamed more than Democrats and Barack Obama. Let me give a roundabout answer, based on a theory that people sometimes try to send messages through their responses to poll questions. I developed this theory after watching British political polls since the 1960s.

Holding Both Parties Accountable

How is it possible that the president of the United States has decided he does not have to negotiate with the speaker of the House of Representatives over government spending, and yet the public blames the GOP for the current D.C. stalemate? Like it or not, polls show that two-thirds of Americans view the Republican Party unfavorably (while only 49 percent hold unfavorable attitudes toward the Dems, according to the latest Gallup poll). Worse, Republicans are twice as likely to say they hold unfavorable attitudes toward their own party than Democrats are.

Make Obama End This Charade