Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Is the Constitution for Everybody?
According to The New York Times, the American Constitution is losing popularity with people around the world. "The Constitution," writes Adam Liptak, "has seen better days ... its influence is waning." Liptak points out that in 1987, over 160 of the 170 countries on Earth had cribbed from the Constitution -- but today, few countries do. Why? Liptak suggests, quoting Professor David Law of Washington University in St. Louis, that our Constitution is "Windows 3.1." It's difficult to amend, and it doesn't guarantee so-called "positive rights," such as healthcare, housing and education. Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia said that he relies more on the legal framework of India, South Africa and New Zealand than on that of the United States.
A U.N. – but for Good Guys
The governments in Russia and China very much want to uphold the principle that every now and then the state must crush people who want freedom. That is why they worked together to veto a fairly toothless United Nations resolution condemning the regime in Syria and calling for President Bashar Assad, the lipless murderer who runs the place, to step down.
Super PAC-Men: Obama Bundlers Gone Wild!
The White House didn't blow a dog whistle for deep-pocketed liberal donors on Monday. No, the administration whipped out a supersized vuvuzela. Blaring message: Let loose the campaign finance-bundling hounds of super PAC war! President Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, who served as White House deputy chief of staff for operations before assuming 2012 re-election duties, announced the super PAC super-flip-flop in a mass e-mail to supporters and a blog post published on the left-wing Huffington Post website. In a related conference call to major campaign finance bundlers, Messina encouraged these high-dollar donors to start funding Priorities USA Action. That's the Democratic super PAC founded by former White House staffers Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney.
Government Can't Make Us Happy
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson called the pursuit of happiness an unalienable right. This was a radical idea. For most of history, most people didn't think much about pursuing happiness. They were too busy just trying to survive. Then came the liberal revolution based on the idea of individual freedom. Only then did they start thinking that happiness might be possible on earth.
Behind the Phony Jobs Numbers
As most Americans are probably aware, president Barack Obama's re-election chances are largely dependent on the success of the economy between now and next November. Thus, last week's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report that the unemployment rate had dropped to 8.3 percent, and total non-farm payroll employment rose by 243,000 was great news for the administration. Yet to put it as charitably as possible, the BLS has done a rather remarkable job of "massaging" the numbers. In short, any unemployment rate can be lowered when the number of people counted as unemployed is dramatically reduced.
Bogus Busts: New York City Continues Its Illegal Crackdown on Pot Smokers
Thirty-five years ago, New York's legislature decriminalized marijuana possession. Numbers released last week show the New York Police Department continues to flagrantly flout that policy, wasting resources on a pointless, unjust and illegal crusade against pot smokers. Under the Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, possessing up to 25 grams of cannabis (about nine-tenths of an ounce) is a citable offense similar to a traffic violation, punishable by a maximum fine of $100. But if the marijuana is "burning or open to public view," that's a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail. An officer who uses intimidation or coercion to convert the former offense into the latter, thereby providing a pretext for an arrest, is breaking the law.
The Time Is Now: Defend Religious Liberty for All
Folks, we have reached the point where Christians may be called to actively defy the government of the United States. This is a shocking and sobering statement, but I'm sorry to say it's true. If you've read the Manhattan Declaration--and I pray you have read it and signed it -- you'll know that we predicted this time would come. We just had no idea it would come so soon.
Ganging Up on Ginsburg -- Way Too Quickly
During a visit to Cairo last week, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was asked whether she would advise Egyptians drafting a constitution for the post-Mubarak era to look to other countries' basic charters as a model.
The '1 Percent' Exodus
James Cameron, director of mega-hits such as Titanic and Avatar, is moving to New Zealand. His plans were revealed late last week when New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office showed Cameron was granted permission to purchase two separate properties, totaling 2,634 acres, in a region called Wairarapa, northwest of Wellington. "I grew up working on my grandfather's farm in Canada and my wife Suzy's family own a farm in Oklahoma," said Cameron. "We want to raise our kids with the values we had when we were growing up, close to the land and with a strong work ethic." Some posit the director's departure "fits the trend of wealthy Americans pulling their money out of the country and reinvesting it to buy land in the southern hemisphere, escaping spiraling tax rates and protecting themselves against the potential for widespread social dislocation." Is such an assessment a conspiracy theory, or is there any truth to it?
Removing Planned Parenthood's Fig Leaf
Planned Parenthood would appear to have won this latest skirmish in the abortion wars. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation having first decided to withdraw future grants to the world's largest abortion provider, quickly retreated under a barrage of accusations, complaints and threats. No fewer than 26 Democratic senators signed a letter to Komen saying, in part that, "It would be tragic if any woman --let alone thousands of women -- lost access to these potentially life-saving screenings because of a politically motivated attack. We earnestly hope that you will put women's health before partisan politics and reconsider this decision . . ."
Planned Parenthood's Grand Delusion
Go the website PlannedParenthood.org. You know, Planned Parenthood, around whose rippling banner enlightened opinion rallied last week when news broke that Susan G. Komen for the Cure would, in the near future, cease granting it money. PP -- just a big-hearted service organization for women, fighting breast cancer and other female afflictions with might and main. One could buy into that sales pitch on the basis of the Category 5 hurricane that PP caused to sweep across the landscape.
Obama Says He Deserves a Second Term; Let's Consider
President Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer in an interview Sunday, "I deserve a second term." Well, let's see. He had the courage to tell the Supreme Court off for daring to defy him in its campaign finance law ruling. And he did it during his State of the Union speech, when they weren't in a position to object, showing just what a marvelous tactician he is.
The President's 'Social Gospel'
For 60 years the National Prayer Breakfast has been a nonpolitical event where speakers put aside their earthly biases and focus on a Higher Authority. Last Thursday, President Obama departed from that tradition to claim the endorsement of Jesus for raising taxes. It beat the endorsement of Mitt Romney by Donald Trump.
A Defining Moment
Governor Mitt Romney's statement about not worrying about the poor has been treated as a gaffe in much of the media, and those in the Republican establishment who have been rushing toward endorsing his coronation as the GOP's nominee for president -- with 90 percent of the delegates still not yet chosen -- have been trying to sweep his statement under the rug. But Romney's statement about not worrying about the poor -- because they "have a very ample safety net" -- was followed by a statement that was not just a slip of the tongue, and should be a defining moment in telling us about this man's qualifications as a conservative and, more important, as a potential President of the United States.
Strike, Israel! Strike Now
The recent high-level comings and goings between Jerusalem and Washington remind us of nothing so much as all those "consultations" between top-level officials of two other democratic allies seventy-six years ago. In 1936, everyone wanted to stop the German army coming into the de-militarized Rhineland, but no one was willing to use force to prevent it. Hitler sensed this weak resolve in the Americans and the British. The Americans were still in the throes of isolationism in 1936. Britain wanted to talk about Hitler's move into the Rhineland, but it did not want to use force, or even allow the threat of force.
Mauling the Military
"Freedom isn't free." We usually hear this on occasions such as Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. It's meant to remind us of the brave American troops who put their lives on the line daily to protect our liberty and preserve our security.
Numbers Don't Lie, Liberals Do
Republicans are worried sick that the Democrats will be able to use all the nasty sound bites from the GOP debates in the general election. I'm not too concerned for a number of reasons, but the main one is that the GOP will merely have to produce ads in which we show Barack Obama saying, "I'm pledging to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office" and "If I don't get the unemployment rate under 7%, I deserve to be a one-term president."
What's So Good About a Long GOP Primary Fight?
"46 STATES To Go." That was the sign on Newt Gingrich's podium in an Orlando ballroom last Tuesday, when the former House speaker faced supporters after losing the Florida primary and defiantly conceded nothing. "We are going to contest every place, and we are going to win," Gingrich said, "and we will be in Tampa as the nominee in August."
Komen Caves: An Object Lesson for All of Us
No doubt you've been watching the unfolding drama of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation's decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood -- and then its stunning reversal. What you saw last week was a concerted, intentional effort by an ideological minority -- the radical pro-abortion forces -- not just to make their case in public, but to destroy the opposition. Using incendiary language, accusing Komen of endangering the lives of women, they made no pretense to pursue civil discourse.
Box-Checking Obama in a Liberal Cocoon
It's unusual when a reporter sympathetic to a politician writes a story that makes his subject look bad. But Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker has now done this twice. The first time was in an article last April on Obama's foreign policy in which he quoted a "top aide" (National Security Adviser Tom Donilon? It sounds like him) saying that the president was "leading from behind" on Libya. Not what most Americans expect their presidents to do.