Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo
History is lurching in the Middle East, perhaps forward, possibly backward. Consequently, some see the newly minted revolution in Tunisia and the unfolding one in Egypt (and possibly Yemen, Jordan and elsewhere) as hopeful news, and others as worrisome. Color me hopeful.
A Christian Business in the Left's Crosshairs
Here's a modest proposal for liberals who say they support job creation: Stop smearing successful, law-abiding private companies whose values don't comport with yours. I'm looking at you, New York Times.
The Media Never Loved Reagan
Is it not amazing that it's taken the news media exactly 100 years to discover that Ronald Reagan was a role model? While he lived and even after he died, they shot every arrow and dropped every bomb they could on this man and his reputation. Now that it's his 100th birthday and America is celebrating, they find him useful. They're trying to rub Reagan's magic all over a floundering Obama.
Why America Always Gets Revolutions Wrong
Revolution is the word of the day in the Middle East. The reaction in the American media and government is pure puzzlement. Who is revolting? Why? Should we support them or oppose them?
Obama Should Be Careful What He Wishes for in Egypt
An American in Cairo in the mid-1980s could not have failed to notice the ubiquitous young men in black uniforms, holding rifles and standing as generally inattentive and slump-shouldered sentries in front of major embassies and public buildings. The reassuring rumor was that their rifles were not loaded.
Bernanke and Ethanol Sink Egypt
Decades of autocratic government and a lack of free elections are, of course, the main drivers of the political upheaval in Egypt. But did the sinking dollar and skyrocketing food prices trigger the massive unrest now occurring in Egypt -- or the greater Arab world for that matter?
Islamist Mensheviks Versus Islamist Bolsheviks -- Egypt's Next Crisis?
Egypt's complex rebellion is rushing toward revolution. For the near-term, how the Egyptian military promotes, thwarts, and/or negotiates the inevitable redistribution of power among individuals and factions within the country is the most critical issue. Even if the current president, Hosni Mubarak, survives, his personal authority will be drastically diminished.
Support Mubarak: Down the Revolution, Up Orderly Progress!
Whatever may happen in the hours after I write this column, two things are certain: The next chapter in the magnificent and ancient civilization of the Nile will be yet to be known. And the role that America plays in Egypt's great, unfolding story remains also in doubt.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Spilled Milk
Despite the old saying, "Don't cry over spilled milk," the Environmental Protection Agency is doing just that. We all understand why the Environmental Protection Agency was given the power to issue regulations to guard against oil spills, such as that of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska or the more recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But not everyone understands that any power given to any bureaucracy for any purpose can be stretched far beyond that purpose.
How Far Can Congress Really Go?
In news stories about Obamacare, the usual journalistic formulation is, "This will be," "That will be," "Citizens will," "Companies will," etc. The assumption is that you will, or he will, or whoever will, because as duly enacted and signed into law, Obamacare will -- that word again -- descend on us at a date certain. A more cautious formulation would be "would" -- the subjunctive case. Maybe, maybe not, is its meaning.
Put Left-wing Speech Control in the Cross Hairs
The most common left-wing objection to the right is that it wants to control others' lives. But, both in America and elsewhere, the threat to personal liberty has emanated far more from the left.
Liberal 'Tolerance' Toward Bristol Palin
Though tolerance is not the highest virtue and hypocrisy is not the lowest sin, liberals have a dearth of the former while demanding it and an abundance of the latter while forbidding it.
Culture Challenge of the Week: Child Pornography on TV
Danny Flaherty, a 17-year-old actor in the new MTV series, Skins, is described by his TV Director as "sweet, shy ... ready." Ready for what?
Egypt Aflame
The turmoil in Egypt must not be seen in isolation from other events in the world. Neither is it an aberration. It is the next scene in a long-running play whose final act is the domination of the world by radical Islamists.
Liberals Make Revolutions; Extremists Benefit from Them
Do we sympathize with the tens of thousands of Egyptians marching to topple the regime of Hosni Mubarak? It would be churlish not to. Poverty, insecurity, lack of basic services (the tap water in Cairo is reportedly unsafe to drink), endemic corruption, and political repression have characterized life there for as long as anyone can remember. The military regime lacks legitimacy, having governed since 1967 under a state of emergency.
A Spending Problem and a Debt Problem
"We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem." That's a Republican mantra often used to explain why the answer to Washington's deficit spending is not a tax increase, but more spending cuts.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sticks and Stones
In spite of Barack Obama's belated call for civility in political discourse, we had Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) comparing Republicans campaign to repeal ObamaCare to Goebbels' use of Nazi propaganda to bring on the Holocaust. Some people wondered why, after this vulgar display of obvious lunacy, the president didn't call him on the carpet. I suspect it was because Rep. Cohen might have said something pertinent about pots insulting kettles.
Politics by the Numbers: Good Omens for the GOP in 2012
Numbers can tell a story. Looking back on Barack Obama's second State of the Union message, and looking forward to the congressional session and the 2012 elections, they tell a story that should leave Democrats uneasy. Start off with the audience in the House chamber. Not all members of Congress attended; Obama briefly and Paul Ryan at greater length in his otherwise brief rebuttal both appropriately noted the absence of Gabrielle Giffords.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Where Judicial Activism Morphs Into Disregard
Four times this month, the U.S. Supreme Court has slapped down the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Four times the Big Bench unanimously reversed Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions. Unanimous is a big deal. It means that there's no left-right political divide in the Big Bench's findings -- just right on the law and wrong on the law. I take unanimous seriously. When the California Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that stayed a scheduled execution, I feared yet another over-reaching judicial fiat. But then I saw that all the justices were on board. The law had to be unambiguous.