Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
President Obama's Arab Spring Nightmare
With the Egyptian military killing Muslim Brotherhood in the streets and Muslim Brotherhood members burning down churches and parading nuns through those same streets, President Barack Obama took to the microphone from a golf course in Martha's Vineyard to clarify America's perspective. Here were his inspiring words: "America cannot determine the future of Egypt. That's a task for the Egyptian people. We don't take sides with any particular party or political figure. I know it's tempting inside of Egypt to blame the United States or the West or some other outside actor for what's gone wrong."
It's August. Jack.
August. The silly season. When events that would never even be covered during the other 11 months of the year (the other 3 months if you're counting by Congressional work days) get a spinning police light on Drudge, are featured on Google News, and trend on Twitter. Here are a couple. Sen. Ted Cruz (Tea Party-Tx) apparently holds dual citizenship -- U.S. and Canadian.
Banished: Proof of Jihad in Hasan Trial
An absurd ruling -- and how it will affect the prosecution's case.
Targeting the Tea Party
The harassing of political opponents is government gone astray
Did Bush-Obama Policies Begin the End of Christianity in Arab Lands?
When the despotic King Herod plotted to kill Jesus by sending his agents to slaughter every boy under the age of 2 in and around Bethlehem, an angel appeared to Joseph and told him, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt." That, says the Gospel of Matthew, fulfilled what God said through the prophet Hosea: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Now, two millennia later, we may live in a time when Christians must flee for their lives out of Egypt -- not into it. They do not fear being slaughtered by King Herod, but by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The RNC Chair's Horrific Open-Borders Pandering
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus had a message last week for outspoken conservatives who support strict immigration enforcement policies: Shut up. Yes, the head of the RNC is more concerned about protecting the party's Hispanic vote-pandering campaign than protecting law-abiding citizens from the devastating consequences of illegal immigration.
Seattle Gives Pot Peace a Chance
Crossing the West Thomas Street Overpass into Seattle's Myrtle Edwards Park on Friday afternoon, I hear a guy remark, "Next year, I'll be turning 23, and so will Hempfest!" His companion seems unimpressed by this discovery. "That's because Hempfest started the same year we were born," he says. The first guy persists, undaunted by his friend's lack of enthusiasm. "I know," he says with a broad smile. "Crazy, right?" It is pretty crazy, actually, that Hempfest, the world's largest marijuana "protestival," has been around longer than many of its participants. The three-day event, which features music, food, drug policy speeches and hundreds of cannabis-related vendors, attracts about 250,000 people, a good portion of whom can be seen (and smelled) smoking pot at any given moment. Yet the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has learned to live with this annual affront to prohibitionist sensibilities, providing a lesson in tolerance for other cities.
Beware Warrior Cops
We need police to catch murderers, thieves and con men, and so we give them special power -- the power to use force on others. Sadly, today's police use that power to invade people's homes over accusations of trivial, nonviolent offenses -- and often do it with tanks, battering rams and armor you'd expect on battlefields. In his book "Rise of the Warrior Cop," Radley Balko recounts the rise of police SWAT teams (SWAT stands for Special Weapons And Tactics) armed with heavy military equipment. SWAT raids began as rarely used methods of dealing with violent situations, like hostage-takings. But government always grows.
Run, Joe Biden Run!
Not counting rumors that Anthony Weiner's marriage has hit a rocky patch, it may be the worst-kept secret in politics: Joe Biden wants to be president. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the vice president's inner circle is swabbing the decks, battening down the hatches and hoisting the mainsails for USS Bidenpalooza 2016. "Everyone involved in his world," a Democratic official told the Journal, "is engaged in taking all the steps that make sense to prepare for a run, if he does run." Biden's people are apparently willing to go for it even if the allegedly inevitable nominee, Hillary Clinton, decides to run.
Progressives and Blacks
Sometimes I wonder when black people will reject the patronizing insults of white progressives and their black handmaidens. After CNN's Piers Morgan's interview with the key witness in the George Zimmerman trial, he said: "Rachel Jeantel is not uneducated. She's a smart cookie." That's a remarkable conclusion. Here's a 19-year-old young lady, still in high school, who cannot read cursive and appears to be barely literate. Morgan may have meant Jeantel is smart -- for a black person.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Just How Corrupt Is the Obama Administration?
Is there anyone with the guts to take on the White House?
Dogs, Strangers and God
A few weeks ago a human-interest story from South Africa was reported internationally. As described in the Wall Street Journal this past Friday: "On Aug. 4, Graham and Sheryl Anley, while yachting off the coast of South Africa, hit a reef, capsizing their boat. As the boat threatened to sink and they scrambled to get off, Sheryl's safety line snagged on something, trapping her there. Instead of freeing his wife and getting her to shore, Graham grabbed Rosie, their Jack Russell terrier. (One media account reported that Sheryl had insisted that the dog go first). With Rosie safe and sound, Graham returned for Sheryl. All are doing fine."
Confused and Adrift
The world was never in better shape than when the British Empire was in full flower. So on from one abiding truth to another: Things never go well unless and until the good guys and the top dogs are one and the same. What follows is an argument from common sense and precedent in favor of American supremacy in every aspect of international life.
The Myth of Liberal Compassion
What will it take for the country to wake up to the destructive ravages of liberalism -- and finally do something about them? Liberals continue to masquerade as exclusive proprietors of compassion, but their policies stubbornly undermine their possessory claim. Indeed, Obama's "fundamental transformation" of America is nothing less than America's decline and destruction in the name of compassion and fairness. You can't scan a day's news without seeing proof of this. Let's look at just two items in today's news digest.
Soccer Mom or Football Dad? What Kind of a Model Are You?
Nearly 60% of children participate in organized youth sports. No surprise. Sports are an excellent way to strengthen a child's character, fitness, and confidence. And when almost 20% of children are obese, not merely overweight, it's no surprise that parents turn to competitive sports to keep their children moving and healthy. But what happens when things become toxic on the sidelines?
Scotland the Brave No More
In Duck Soup, one of the stuffy characters responds to Groucho's raillery with the protest: "I didn't come here to be insulted!" to which Groucho quips "Oh really? Where do you usually go?" I went to Scotland. Don't misunderstand, the Scots were delightful hosts -- friendly, accommodating and, of course, a delight to the ears. The country is as beautiful as advertised, and the castles, museums and lochs live up to their billing.
The Speech, the Dream and Me
It was an atypical August summer day in Washington, D.C., 50 years ago next week. Temperatures were in the low 80s, about 10 degrees cooler than normal. Skies were partly cloudy. Most government officials were vacationing. I was a young copyboy at the NBC News Washington bureau. Correspondent Jack Perkins asked me to accompany him to hear a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial.
Use Private Capital for Roads and Bridges
This Congress has been criticized for not passing many laws -- and praised for that in some quarters. And it's true that in quantitative terms its productivity has been low. A major case in point is transportation. Neither the Democratic-majority Senate nor the Republican-controlled House has passed a reauthorization of what was once known as the highway bill, which used to be done every five or six years. This failure can be ascribed in part to partisan warfare and to intra-party differences. But it's also due to the obsolescence of the federal funding scheme used since the Interstate Highway System was first authorized in 1956.
Reality Versus Mirages in Egypt
Nothing symbolizes the Utopianism of our times like both liberals and some conservatives calling for us to cut off aid to the Egyptian military, because of the widespread killings in what is becoming a civil war in Egypt. Such utter lack of realism from the left is not new, but hearing some conservatives saying the same things takes some getting used to. President Obama's call for the Egyptians to end the violence and form an "inclusive" government, with all factions represented, may sound good to many Americans. But there is not a snowball's chance in hell that it will happen.
Monday, August 19, 2013
The Jew-Hating Dem Behind the 'Million Muslim March'
When M.D. Rabbi Alam isn't stoking Islamophobia paranoia, he's accusing Jews of perpetrating 9/11.