Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Moral Abdication
My high school, sophomore son was grumbling as he read his world history textbook. He pointed me to this paragraph about the encounter between European and Mesoamerican civilizations. "The American Indian societies had many religious ideas and practices that shocked Christian observers, and aspects of their social and familial arrangements clashed with European sensibilities . . ."
If Israel Strikes
The headlines are stark indeed. "Israel Readies a Pre-Emptive Strike." Israeli Prime Minister is said to be working to persuade reluctant members of his coalition Cabinet to go along with such a militaryoption against Islamist Iran. The Huffington Post's British edition reports Netanyahu saying this: "One of those regional powers is Iran, which is continuing its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran would constitute a grave threat to the Middle East and the entire world, and of course it is a direct and grave threat on us." One day later, defense minister Ehud Barak, struck a similar tone. "A situation could be created in the Middle East in which Israel must defend its vital interests in an independent fashion, without necessarily having to reply on other forces, regional or otherwise," he said.
The Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street
President Obama recently compared the Tea Party to the Occupy Wall Street protests, telling ABC News’ Jake Tapper, “in some ways they’re not that different.” We beg to differ. The Tea Party and the protestors are almost exact opposites. The president is in a dilemma. He sympathizes with the protesters because many of their goals are also his. He thus wants to associate the Occupiers with the Tea Party, a movement that has resonated with the American people.
The Sound of Music
I was just a bystander and had nothing to do with it. That much should be made clear from the first. It was a most improbable occurrence. But I can testify it took place. I was there. And was as awestruck as everybody else. It wouldn't have been at all unusual in Dallas or New York, or in any of the country's great metropolitan centers. But this took place some 25 years ago in Pine Bluff, Ark. -- population 60,000 at the time. A small Southern river town that was getting smaller all the time. As small Southern river towns will.
The British Empire -- Vindicated
As many Americans no longer believe in American exceptionalism and others believe America's greatness is guaranteed to extend perpetually, we could all benefit by reviewing the history of the British Empire, the realm from which we sprung and acquired so much. By the time most baby boomers were born, the British Empire had declined. The Nazis and Japanese had been defeated in World War II, and two major military powers -- the United States and the Soviet Union -- were faced off at the beginning of a nearly half-century-long struggle we call the Cold War.
Why We Need Not Envy China
Up to 40 million Chinese people still live in caves. That's more than the populations of Texas and Illinois, combined. In fairness, a fraction of these caves are apparently pretty nice, complete with electricity and well-compacted dirt floors. But that's grading on a curve because, well, they're still caves. Meanwhile, 21 million Chinese live below what the Communist Party calls the "absolute poverty" line. That sounds pretty good if you have in mind our poverty line, which is just under $11,000 per year for an individual and roughly $22,000 for a family of four. The absolute poverty rate in China is $90 a year, or $7.50 per month. And 35 million live on less than $125 per year. Hundreds of millions of Chinese live on $1 or $2 a day.
Media AWOL on Sexual Indiscretion -- When Jesse Jackson Was Front-runner
Charles Krauthammer of Fox News: "Do you think that race, being a strong black conservative, has anything to do with the fact you've been so charged (with sexual harassment)? And if so, do you have any evidence to support that?" Herman Cain: "I believe the answer is yes, but we do not have any evidence to support it." Playing the race card is vulgar, whether done by Al Sharpton or President Barack Obama -- as he did to contain the Rev. Wright scandal. Especially when, as here, the complainant admits he lacks evidence. If Cain were not a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination -- a shock probably even to him -- the media wouldn't bother. But when the quest goes from curiosity to conceivable, the scrutiny increases exponentially. And who knows how the media got the information, possibly from one of Cain's presumably non-racist GOP rivals.
Who Are These Fat-Cat Few at the Top?
First lady Michelle Obama the other day railed at "the few at the top," who do all sorts of bad things. A few months ago, we began hearing of the "1 percent" who are responsible for the current economic mess. "They" apparently make all their money at the expense of the other 99 percent. Are they the same as last year's villains, who had not paid "their fair share" in making over $200,000 in annual income? Do they include the greedy doctors, who, the president once asserted, recklessly lop off limbs and yank tonsils for profits? Is my urologist a dreaded one-percenter? He found out what was causing my kidney stones but probably makes good money. Was a nearby farmer one, too? I bet he makes over $200,000 but, like many other growers in this area, has found a way to produce beef and cotton more cheaply and efficiently than farmers in almost any other part of the world, thereby enriching his county, state and nation.
Ecclesiastes on a Bicycle
The old boy walked the bike out the door of his house in Little Rock and into Heaven, aka fall in Arkansas. In all its burning-tree glory. It was hard to tell which golden view high above the winding Arkansas River he preferred. One after another, the great oaks were turning into splendor. He knew others would burst forth any day. His favorite tree, he decided, would be the next to turn. As with all good things, anticipation may be the sweetest part.
No Shame
Reporter: 'We're Not Going To Get Into Details Of Exactly What Happened'... Fmr. Secy: Not the Cain I know... CAIN FLASHBACK: 'I'M READY FOR HIGH-TECH LYNCHING'... Coulter: 'They Are Terrified Of Strong, Conservative Black Men'... RUSH: 'Unconscionable Racially Charged Attack'... 'Occupy Politico'... The stories behind these headlines illustrate why good people no longer want to run for the presidency of the United States.
Diversity's Compulsory Conformity
WASHINGTON -- Illustrating an intellectual confusion common on campuses, Vanderbilt University says: To ensure "diversity of thought and opinion" we require certain student groups, including five religious ones, to conform to the university's policy that forbids the groups from protecting their characteristics that contribute to diversity. Last year, after a Christian fraternity allegedly expelled a gay undergraduate because of his sexual practices, Vanderbilt redoubled its efforts to make the more than 300 student organizations comply with its "long-standing nondiscrimination policy." That policy, says a university official, does not allow the Christian Legal Society "to preclude someone from a leadership position based on religious belief." So an organization formed to express religious beliefs, including the belief that homosexual activity is biblically forbidden, is itself effectively forbidden. There is much pertinent history.
Scandal in the White House in Times Past
WASHINGTON -- A presidential election looms on the horizon, and already the nation's great organs of opinion -- and occasionally of fact -- are gearing up to serve the commonweal and, ever so quietly, their own biases. Already we're told that Herman Cain -- the non-politician seeking the Republican nomination -- had two untoward incidents in the 1990s with ladies who were not his wife ... or maybe he did not. He pleads innocent. His wife does too.
Life Under Obama
When liberals insist that the reason Obama is faring so badly in the polls is because most of us are racists, does it never occur to them that they're like the boy who cried "Wolf!"? Let us say that, unlike Michael Bloomberg, Henry Waxman and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, you're not a career politician, but merely a run of the mill Democrat. Wouldn't it ever occur to you to wonder why it is that if we're all racists, how it is that Obama won the election three years ago? And how is it that a guy who's much blacker than Obama, Herman Cain, is doing so well with conservatives? And how is it that the likes of Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Walter Williams, Ward Connerly, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas and Allen West, are universally liked and admired by Republicans?
How to Handle the 'Occupiers': America's New Great Mayor
ATLANTA -- Kasim Reed is a Democrat. He supports President Obama. He's no candidate for converting to the GOP. But whether one is a Republican or Democrat, they should be following the career of this young and vibrant man who is teaching the rest of America how to handle a crisis. Like mayors in many other cities, Mayor Reed of Atlanta was confronted with hundreds of protestors who took to the city's most prominent downtown park and made it their home, to live, eat and protest against all types of groups and for all kinds of causes.
Why Our Blacks Are Better Than Their Blacks
The surge in conservative support for Herman Cain confuses the Democrats' story line, which is that Republicans hate Obama because he's black. Cain is twice as black as Obama. (Possible Obama campaign slogan: "Too Black!") This is why the liberal website Politico ran with a story on Cain that had everything -- a powerful black man, a Republican presidential candidate, the hint of sexuality -- except facts.
Cain Catches Flak, but Will It Sink His Candidacy?
Washington was all a-Twitter (literally) Monday over Politico's story about the sexual harassment charges against Herman Cain -- and about Cain's serial self-contradictions. Faithful Fox News viewers saw him in the afternoon saying he didn't know the terms of a settlement reached with the complainants and then saw him tell Greta Van Susteren in the 10 p.m. hour that he did. The Politico story, quoting no named sources, described Cain's alleged misconduct as "conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature" and "physical gestures that were not overtly sexual."
Herman Cain's Gauntlet
When it comes to sex, the media apply different standards to Republicans and Democrats. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton allegedly trolled for women, using state troopers as his procurers. As president, Clinton engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. He lied about it under oath and was impeached, though later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Other sexual accusations tainted Clinton, including one that he raped one Juanita Broaddrick. That "everybody lies about sex" and "it was just sex" and didn't affect his public responsibilities, were just two of the exculpatory statements from Clinton's Democratic defenders. James Carville slimed Paula Jones, one of Clinton's accusers, by saying you never know what you'll find "when you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park."
Herman Cain: 9-9-9 Meets 1-2-3
Who wants to be Paula Jones? Or Kathleen Willey or Anita Hill? All three women have accused political icons -- Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton and Clarence Thomas -- of sexually harassing them. And what did they get for sticking out their necks? Jones squared off against skater Tonya Harding on "Celebrity Boxing." Willey and Hill wrote books. They can't prove their allegations, and for the rest of their lives, they will have to live with the consequences. They are not in an enviable position.
Occupiers, Tea Partiers, and the Tenth Commandment
At the Occupy Phoenix demonstrations, fliers encourage protesters to violently resist police officers, asserting that "you will usually have only two options: submit, or kill the cop." At Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, an Occupy Wall Street protester was sexually assaulted in her tent; according to the New York Post, a woman was raped at the same site a few weeks earlier. In Denver, "Occupy" activists turned on the police, screaming obscenities and knocking a motorcycle cop to the ground. Occupy Oakland grew even more violent, as police were pelted with bottles and rocks, and had M-80 firecrackers thrown at them. And in cities from Boston to Berkeley, Occupy encampments have coincided with surges in vandalism, assault, and theft.
Occupy Oakland's Dangerous 'Strike' Follies
The next stage of the Aimless Occupation of America is upon us: On Wednesday, rabble-rousers in the San Francisco Bay Area will walk off jobs they don't have and encourage everyone else around the country to abandon work to protest high unemployment. The Occupiers are calling their organized day of inaction a "Mass Day of Action." The Carpenters Local 713, the Service Employees International Union, the United Auto Workers and the Industrial Workers of the World have all endorsed the "general strike." Longshore workers and their union agitators are rooting for the shutdown of the Port of Oakland. Teachers unions will push students and educators to play hooky. Their posters urge: "No Work. No School. Occupy Everywhere."