Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Drowning in a River of Words
WASHINGTON -- You step onto an airport's moving walkway, a flat metal conveyor belt that conveys travelers down an airport concourse, sparing them the indignity of burning a few calories by walking a bit. And soon a recorded voice says: "The moving sidewalk is coming to an end. Please look down." Well, yes. Pretty much everything does come to an end, doesn't it? Besides, we can actually see what we already knew -- the moving walkway does not go on forever. So, is that announcement about it ending really necessary? Whatever happened to the rule, "Do not speak unless you can improve the silence"?
If I Were a Liberal...
If I were a liberal, I would have spent the last week in shock that a Democratic audience in Flint, Mich., cheered Vice President Joe Biden's description of a policeman being killed. (And if I were a liberal desperately striving to keep my job on MSNBC, I'd say the Democrats looked "hot and horny" for dead cops -- as Chris Matthews said of a Republican audience that cheered for the death penalty.) Biden's audience whooped and applauded last week in Flint when he said that without Obama's jobs bill, police will be "outgunned and outmanned." (Wild applause!)
Bobby Jindal's Triumph
Republican Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana last weekend won re-election with a staggering 65.8 percent of the vote in a state that remains heavily Democratic. It is, the governor's office contends, the highest percentage achieved by a candidate since the state's open primary was created. Jindal won all of the state's 64 parishes, increasing by four the number of parishes he won in 2007. One might expect this to be big news beyond the state, but most newspapers and TV media outside Louisiana either buried Jindal's win on inside pages and deep into their newscasts, or ignored it.
Occupy Wall Street Demands Life Without Hardship
"Don't touch me!" the man in the wheelchair shouted to stop me from placing my hand on what used to be his left arm. "I'm sorry -- I was just -- " "I know what you were doing," he said calmly. "You were showing me you care. I get it. But you have no idea how much pain I'm in. Don't feel bad. People are always touching me -- and because my left arm is gone and most people are right-handed, well ... Doctors, believe it or not, are the worst -- always touching me there. You'd think they of all people would know better. But they don't." He laughed.
The Case for Republican Panic
Republicans, beware. In 2007 and 2008, Democrats assured one another, "Anyone would be better than Bush." Now you hear the Republican version: "Anyone would be better than Obama." Such talk raises impossible expectations. "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek," Barack Obama proclaimed in 2008. Very inspirational, but it left Democrats disillusioned and flat-footed when President Obama took his oath of office and the seas did not part.
Those Demonstrators in the Park
WASHINGTON -- It's called the Taranto Principle, and it's now being employed by the Kultursmogists to blanket the country in a preposterosity: namely that the Tea Partyers and the Occupy Wall Street crowd have much in common. So go ahead, loyal Democrats, and take up the Occupiers' anger. Giving presidential voice to the Occupiers' complaints will be a sure winner for President Barack Obama in 2012.
Flat Tax or Flat-Out Dead
Despite the recent chatter about a flat income tax -- a tax that every income earner pays regardless of their level of income -- the idea is dead unless its supporters figure out a way to get together and support the idea that a flat tax is a fair tax. I believe we can unite. In a system of flat taxation there is only one level of taxation. Everybody pays the same rate no matter how much money they earn. Taxpayers are not punished for having succeeded by being taxed at rates higher than that paid by the lowest earners of income.
Profits Are for People
First, let's get both the definition and magnitude of profits out of the way. Profits represent the residual claim earned by entrepreneurs. They're what are left after other production costs -- such as wages, rent and interest -- have been paid. Profits are the payment for risk taking, innovation and decision-making. As such, they are a cost of business just as are wages, rent and interest. If those payments are not made, labor, land and capital will not offer their services. Similarly, if profit is not paid, entrepreneurs won't offer theirs. Historically, corporate profits range between 5 and 8 cents of each dollar, and wages range between 50 and 60 cents of each dollar.
What a One-World Government Looks Like
"Imagine there's no countries," John Lennon warbled in his inane song "Imagine." "It isn't hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for ... Imagine all the people / Living life in peace / You may say that I'm a dreamer / But I'm not the only one / I hope someday you'll join us / And the world will be as one." They believed in those pathetic dreams in Europe. In the aftermath of World War II, facing the prospect of Soviet domination and wanting to keep the defeated Germans from completing a World War trilogy, the European community, aided by the United States, created the European Coal and Steel Community. A federal Europe was the goal; the original plans included a European Defense Community and a European Political Community, both of which fell through. Eventually, this grew into the European Economic Community.
From Arab Spring to Tunisian Fall -- Islamists Enter the School of Democracy
The people of Tunisia, Arab Spring 2011's first revolutionaries, have earned their chance to struggle with one of the 21st century's most essential political, social and cultural questions: Will democracy moderate political Islamists, or will political Islamists undermine democracy? Note I wrote "struggle," not "answer." The Tunisian people have embarked on a murky process that will take years (perhaps decades) to conclude. Exaggerated optimism as to the outcome is as foolish as exaggerated pessimism, though I am certain the threats of militant violence and sleazy, destructive corruption will haunt every passing second. Violence and corruption haunt every revolution.
When Liberals Rewrite History
The Communists rewrite history all the time, with grand flourishes and straight faces. And many American liberals do too. First it was California, which recently mandated public schools to inflate -- incorporate, they say -- the contributions of homosexuals to California state history and United States history. This indoctrination begins as young as kindergarten and, according to Tim Donnelly, a Republican state lawmaker, essentially forbids the educational system to portray homosexuals "in anything other than a positive light."
Perry and Gingrich Recklessly Disregard the Importance of Judicial Review
Why is Newt Gingrich running for president? Two words: "under God." I exaggerate only slightly. "One of the major reasons that I am running for president," the former House speaker said at this month's Value Voters Summit, "is the Ninrth Circuit Court decision in 2002 that 'one nation under God,' in the Pledge of Allegiance, was unconstitutional. That decision to me had the same effect that the Dred Scott decision extending slavery to the whole country had on Abraham Lincoln."
Just Call 9-9-9
It's no secret that the country is in a foul mood -- somewhere between sour and utterly disgusted. A general feeling of dissatisfaction pervades the national discourse. A dissatisfaction with the president and his administration, certainly, but with his critics in Congress, too. Poll after poll reflects unhappiness with what's called the direction of the country, though a better term for it might be drift.
Joe Biden: Beltway Bubble Boy
Last fall, before the midterm shellacking, Vice President Joe Biden admonished rank-and-file Democratic voters to "stop whining." Uncle Tough Guy should practice what he screeches. The 2012 campaign has barely begun, but Biden's thin skin makes a spring roll wrapper look impenetrable.
Time to Cut off NPR
National Public Radio continues to define itself in every way as a taxpayer-funded nest of leftism. NPR couldn't just supportively report on the Occupy Wall Street protests. A fire-breathing spokeswoman for the "Occupy D.C." protests against capitalism was also an NPR host. From late 2000 to early 2002, Lisa Simeone was an NPR anchor for their weekend version of the newscast "All Things Considered." Now this radical was leading protests as she hosted a radio documentary series called "Soundprint" and an arts show, "The World of Opera."
The Administration Slithers Away From Reality
I offer up George Orwell' second quote in possibly partial defense of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's assertion on "Meet the Press" Sunday that as the United States Government orders the final, complete retreat from Iraq, the United States government remains resolved to support Iraqi democracy. Are Clinton's words designed to make lies sound truthful, or does she actually believe things she knows to be untrue?
Hyde Was Right, Bush Was Wrong
Events unfolding in the Middle East are proving that Henry Hyde was right and George Bush was wrong on the wisdom of a foreign policy focused on promoting democracy. When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared in Hyde's House International Relations Committee on Feb. 16, 2006, she presented written testimony touting Bush's messianic policy. "In his second inaugural address, President Bush laid out the vision that leads America into the world: 'It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,'" said Rice.
School Competition Rescues Kids
For years, American education from kindergarten through high school has been a virtual government monopoly. Conventional wisdom is that government must run the schools. But government monopolies don't do anything well. They fail because they have no real competition. Yet competition is what gives us better phones, movies, cars -- everything that's good.
American Imperialism? Please
And so it ends. The United States is leaving Iraq. I'm solidly in the camp that sees this as a strategic blunder. Iraqi democracy is fragile and Iran's desire to undermine it is strong. Also, announcing our withdrawal is a weird way to respond to a foiled Iranian plot to commit an act of war in the U.S. capital. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong and President Obama's not frittering away our enormous sacrifices in Iraq out of domestic political concerns and diplomatic ineptitude. Still, there's an upside. Obama's decision to leave Iraq should deal a staggering blow to America's critics at home and abroad.
Gadhafi Bites the Dust; What's Next?
Forgive me if I don't join the State Department, American officials and world leaders in their euphoric Hallelujah Chorus celebrating the demise of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi. Oh, I'm happy he's dead, but I have as much faith that things will change for the better in Libya as I do in the Great Pumpkin rising from the pumpkin patch on Halloween night (sorry, Linus).