Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Exposing the Palestinian 'Refugee' Charade
The truth behind the demographics chicanery bolstering the war against Israel.
Enemies to the Left of Me
A fact known to most people is that when you get a lower tier job in show business, a job that a lot of people covet simply because they seem glamorous from the outside, a job that generally combines the duties of a nanny and an errand boy, the pay is going to be minimum wage even if your boss is making millions. That's simply life in Hollywood, and one would assume the same would hold true for people who get to brag that they work in the White House. But much to my chagrin, I saw a list recently of the 20 White House jobs that received the largest raises since 2008. Before the Obamas moved in, four of the jobs paid less than $50,000, while another seven paid between $50,000 and $62,500. Four of the positions paid between $100,000 and $130,500. These days, nobody is making less than $70,000 and half of them are pulling down between $100,000 and $172,200.
A Good Day for the GOP in Wisconsin and California
We pundits have been busy crunching the results in last Tuesday's Wisconsin recall election and have noted that the public-employee unions sustained a huge defeat. Some have also looked west, to California, where San Diego and San Jose voters Tuesday voted 66 and 69 percent to cut back public-employee pensions. Those cities voted 63 and 69 percent for Barack Obama in 2008. But there's something else worth noting in the California returns. State voters adopted a new primary procedure, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election. Washington state had a similar primary system in the 1990s, and the primary results tended to be replicated in November. For example, the 1994 primary results enabled some to forecast that Democrats would lose six of nine House seats in November.
Subprime College Educations
Many parents and the children they send to college are paying rapidly rising prices for something of declining quality. This is because "quality" is not synonymous with "value." Glenn Harlan Reynolds, University of Tennessee law professor, believes college has become, for many, merely a "status marker" signaling membership in the educated caste, and a place to meet spouses of similar status -- "associative mating." Since 1961, the time students spend reading, writing and otherwise studying has fallen from 24 hours a week to about 15 -- enough for a degree often desired only as an expensive signifier of rudimentary qualities (e.g., the ability to follow instructions). Employers value this signifier as an alternative to aptitude tests when evaluating potential employees because such tests can provoke lawsuits by having a "disparate impact" on this or that racial or ethnic group.
A Rogue's Gallery
These days, thanks to all the two-legged vermin scurrying around our nation's capital, it's easy to overlook the fact that those on the left were creating tons of mischief and mayhem long before Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Biden, Dodd and Frank, took control of the government and the propagandists at the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC, NBC and CBS, showed the boys at Pravda how it's done when true professionals decide to ballyhoo their glorious leader. For instance, during World War II, Vidkun Quisling made his last name synonymous with treason when he showed Hitler that even a Norwegian could be a loyal Nazi. On the other side of the world, Iva Toquri D'Aquino, better known as "Tokyo Rose," was an American who, as a radio broadcaster for the Japanese, attempted to destroy American military morale in the South Pacific. What made these two individuals so contemptible was that in a time of war they collaborated with their nation's enemies.
From The Comedy Store
President Obama said he needs a second term in order to re-write his health care reform law if the Supreme Court strikes it down. It's only right. In America we're taught that everyone deserves a second chance whose first chance was ruled unconstitutional.
President Obama's Third Party Ties
National Review’s Stanley Kurtz ties the president to membership in the hard-Left New Party.
Disney's Cynical Pro-Obama Ploy
On the heels of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest stupid regulations commanding a shrinkage in the size of sugary drinks in restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums, the Walt Disney Co. has announced it will ban ads for products on its broadcast and online platforms that it has scientifically determined are "junk food" and do not meet the company's nutrition standards. Curiously, Disney announced that it would begin this new effort immediately -- wait, no, at some time in 2015. So why announce this now? It would seem so that Disney could be praised and honored by first lady Michelle Obama -- or the other way around. It just smells. It carries a distinct aroma of campaign 2012. Imagine that: Michelle Obama praised Disney to the skies because "As parents, we know that whatever is on TV is what our kids are going to want. I remember, as (Disney boss) Bob (Iger) has discussed, going to the grocery store with the kids, and the minute you walk down the aisle the kids are singing some jingle, or they're pulling on your leg begging you, pleading you for whatever they saw on TV."
The Only Difference
At Pointe-du-Hoc in Normandy with The Lad, Reed, for the annual D-Day commemoration the clouds were roiling, the rain was steady, and the wind was blustery. Just like June 6, 1944 when 270 Rangers were ordered to destroy the German 155 mm heavy gun emplacements atop the cliffs. The craters from bombs and naval bombardment -- some well over 10 feet deep even after 68 years -- were still visible. As were the huge chunks of reinforced concrete that one moment had been a heavily fortified bunker, and the next were a series of giant blocks strewn about like a child's Legos. It was just like it had been. The difference was, we were standing atop the cliffs looking down at the beach, not standing on the pebbled beach staring up the face of the cliffs. We were wearing cameras and light rain gear, not 70+ pounds of soaked equipment.
The Passing of a Patriot
MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The classical definition of a hero is a person who puts himself at risk for the benefit of others. That certainly describes Adolfo Calero, who died June 2 at the age of 80. The obituaries of this remarkable man hardly do justice to his courage, perseverance, faithfulness and humility. Here is the Adolfo Calero I knew, admired and called a friend for nearly three decades: A graduate of Holy Cross High School in New Orleans and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., he was a devout Roman Catholic and educated to be a businessman, not a soldier. But after he was jailed twice by the Somoza regime and then by the Marxist Sandinistas, who overthrew the Nicaraguan dictator in 1979, Calero quietly joined the armed resistance in an effort to liberate his country. Threatened with arrest for anti-regime activities in 1982, he and his family escaped and watched from exile as the Sandinistas seized their property. The following year, he was chosen by his countrymen to lead the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, or FDN. By 1984, it had become the largest insurgent army ever fielded in the Western Hemisphere -- more than 20,000 freedom fighters under arms.
Who Will Protect the Freedom to Blog?
Free speech is under fire. Online thugs are targeting bloggers (mostly conservative, but not all) who have dared to expose a convicted bomber and perjuring vexatious litigant who is now enjoying a comfy life as a liberally subsidized social justice operative. Where do your elected representatives stand on this threat to our founding principles? On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, bravely stepped forward to press this vital issue. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Chambliss decried the "harassing and frightening actions" of Internet menaces who recently have gone after several conservative new media citizen journalists and activists. GOP Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas added his voice, telling Holder in a statement that he is "very afraid of the potential chilling effects that these reported actions may have in silencing individuals who would otherwise be inclined to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech." And the American Center for Law and Justice, a leading conservative free speech public interest law firm, announced it was providing legal representation to the National Bloggers Club -- a new media association that has provided support and raised funds for targets of this coordinated harassment. (Full disclosure: I volunteer on the National Bloggers Club board of directors.)
Will Obama's Personal Popularity Save Him From His Record?
On my book "tour" to promote my new book, "The Great Destroyer," hosts keep asking me to explain how President Obama can maintain high personal approval ratings when his policies are unpopular and his record is abysmal. I first want to challenge the underlying assumption. I don't believe that President Obama is as well-liked or, at this point, even as likable as he is reputed to be. He hasn't behaved in office as a person most would consider "likable." Assuming these polls are being accurately reported, I tend to think that many people are responding favorably to the question of whether they like Obama personally largely because the media narrative has been and remains that he is likable. When the media keep pounding us with the notion that he is likable, people may fear they are revealing their own personal failings if they confess that they aren't particularly fond of him. It could make them look out of step or expose them as negative people.
Big Lesson for Labor in Wisconsin Election
Gov. Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election this week was no surprise to anyone but Big Labor. Unions were furious when Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature cut back their right to bargain on anything beyond wages. Democratic legislators fled the state for several weeks in 2011 in order to try to prevent a final vote from taking place. Demonstrators took over the state capitol, and when that didn't work, unions and left-leaning groups gathered signatures to force a recall vote. The national Democratic Party initially saw what was happening in Wisconsin as a popular revolt against Republican excesses and a key to preventing Republicans from building on their success in the 2010 congressional and gubernatorial elections. But as time for the recall neared, even party hacks were nervous. Still, organized labor pressed on, sure that they could count on Democrats, young people, minorities, and -- especially -- union households to turn out in greater numbers and vote to kick out Walker.
Searching for a Surrogate
Watching Bill Clinton act as Barack Obama's "No. 1 surrogate," in the words of National Public Radio, is as exquisitely painful as watching a runaway monkey with a paintball gun at a museum. Most of the pundits have focused on Clinton's motivations for refusing to read his lines from the White House script. That's understandable given that Clinton is a one-man reality show whose diversity of motives makes the ladies of the "Real Housewives" franchise seem nun-like in their simplicity. But asking "Why?" of Bill Clinton is a sucker's game. Sure, he may give you an answer for why he did what he did, but any answer he gives you will be the verbal equivalent of an ice sculpture: impressive, but not expected to last long in the light of day. When he said that Mitt Romney is qualified to be president and had a "sterling business career," he might as well have dropped the microphone and walked offstage, "Clinton out."
What Wisconsin Means
WASHINGTON -- Tuesday, June 5, 2012, will be remembered as the beginning of the long decline of the public-sector union. It will follow, and parallel, the shrinking of private-sector unions, now down to less than 7 percent of American workers. The abject failure of the unions to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker -- the first such failure in U.S. history -- marks the Icarus moment of government-union power. Wax wings melted, there's nowhere to go but down. The ultimate significance of Walker's union reforms has been largely misunderstood. At first, the issue was curtailing outrageous union benefits, far beyond those of the ordinary Wisconsin taxpayer. That became a nonissue when the unions quickly realized that trying to defend the indefensible would render them toxic for the real fight to come.
Walker Victory: This Is What the Tea Party Is About
Though it hasn't been celebrated as such, Scott Walker's victory in Wisconsin represents the full flowering of the tea party movement. It is also a sign -- among others -- that the Republican Party has recaptured its ideological core. The tea partyers are often mischaracterized as extreme right-wingers. Thus, proponents of same-sex marriage or unrestricted abortion will invoke "tea party" elements as those most opposed to their efforts. That's off target. Though many in the movement may have conservative social views, those weren't the issues that spurred them to organize, demonstrate and vote. No, the tea partyers -- judging by their signs, speeches and writings -- were alarmed about irresponsible government spending, bailouts of the undeserving and spiraling debt. The tea partyers are actually the 21st century "goo-goos" -- good government types -- the label that was attached to progressives in the early 20th century. They aren't anarchists, racists (as in the more febrile accusations of their opponents) or culture warriors. They simply want to see government scale back and perform its essential functions fairly, efficiently and honestly.
Why Stocks Love Scott Walker
You didn't see it in the mainstream financial media Wednesday morning. But stocks loved Gov. Scott Walker's spanking of public-sector unions and Democrats in Wisconsin. The Dow jumped about 165 points right at the opening on Wednesday and was up over 200 points later in the day. There really was no other news. There was some speculation about central bank stimulus in Europe and the United States. Blah, blah, blah. But there was nothing specific or concrete. So it's an easy point to make: Markets love the Scott Walker landslide. Tuesday night on "The Kudlow Report," two investment gurus predicted a bullish market if Walker won. Art Hogan of Lazard Capital and Mike Ozanian of Forbes both forecasted a Walker rally. And that's just what we got Wednesday morning. The logic? Well, mainly, a big Walker win opens the door to a Wisconsin victory for Mitt Romney this fall. Think of Walker as the leading indicator for November.
The Fate of Syria's Christian Minority
Four years ago, Israeli “dove” Avi Primor cooed over the prospects for a comprehensive peace settlement in the Mideast. The “key” to peace, wrote Israel’s former Ambassador to Germany, lies in Damascus. Amb. Primor wrote if Israel would only agree to give up the Golan Heights she had captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, Syria might yet come around to accepting the existence of the Jewish state and break its dependence on the mullahs in Iran. Hope soared on the wings of a dove. Negotiations between Israel and Syria, although conducted through a Turkish intermediary, seemed promising. The incoming Obama administration, buoyed by the President’s Nobel Peace Prize, celebrated the new direction in world geopolitics by sending an ambassador to Damascus. No more refusals to talk. Now, we would see action on a peace agenda. Hollywood doves Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie shared the hopeful mood and flew into Damascus for a visit to refugees from Iraq. They were, of course, roundly criticized for their photo shoot with the dictator’s fashionable wife, Asma al-Assad. Still, it’s worth noting that Angelina is a UN representative for refugees. The couple was at least urging the world not to forget the thousands of Iraqis who had fled that war-torn country to find a precarious haven in Syria.
The Other Union Takedown
The aura of invincibility government unions have long enjoyed has been irreparably damaged.
The Recall Heard Around the World
I watched the Wisconsin returns on MSNBC Tuesday night, and it came right down to the wire between "the Democrats were outspent 7-to-1" and "Republicans are stripping union rights!" As we go to press it's still too close to call. President Obama wanted to go to Wisconsin, but he just didn't have time. He's been doing so many campaign fundraisers lately he barely has time to play golf. The left's "outspent" argument is ridiculous. Unions take money by force from members, hire hundreds of political operatives and give them salaries to work on campaigns, then call them "volunteers" so their work isn't reported as a campaign contribution. Luckily for them, government employees' non-punishing work schedules leave them plenty of time to be in a constant state of grievance, demanding recalls after any election they lose, and mobilizing voters.