Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Death, Taxes and Trash
In the old days, an expression one often heard was that the good die young. I don't know how it began or why, unless it was an acknowledgment of the fact that in wars, it was generally the young who were most often called upon to sacrifice their lives. That still holds true, and if further proof were needed that the expression is close to gospel, we need only realize that, at 80, corrupt Charley Rangel is still going strong, and that, at 84, 86 and 86, so are Fidel Castro, Frank Lautenberg and Jimmy Carter.
The 'Real' Cam Newton
Shortly before the Wrights Mill Road Elementary School in Auburn, Ala., would welcome its students back from summer vacation, principal Lynda Tremaine was surprised one morning to see a 6-foot-6 goliath of a young man standing in her doorway.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Shock and Awful Art
Rocco Landesman is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Boy, does he know how to spin the official line on offensive art. In a recent interview in Cincinnati, he was asked vaguely about controversy. "The best art taps into deep feelings, sometimes to comfort and sometimes to confront. Art can be very uncomfortable," Landesman said. "That can lead to strong reactions. For some of us, it draws us into the arts over our lifetimes and careers. For others, it creates strong negative feelings."
What Should a Republican Majority Do?
Many are preoccupied speculating about the magnitude of the impending Republican electoral victory, but I don't think it's putting the cart before the horse to caution that we also ought to be concerned -- now -- about what Republicans will do if they do recapture control.
High Heels and High Hopes
Maybe the radical feminists deserve a little pity, or at least a bit of tea and sympathy. Some of them are still living among "Mad Men."
Fools Rush in Where Europe Rushes Out
As of this writing, France is paralyzed. By the time you read this, it might be in flames. In Britain, where politics is more polite but the problems are perhaps just as dire, the government is proposing budget cuts on a scale not seen for nearly a century.
Mr. Fix-It
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has replaced an old axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," with one of its own: "If it ain't broke, fix it till it is." That's certainly what the O-Team is doing to the U.S. military.
'Dogs Don't Bark at Parked Cars!'
That's some of the wisdom my Dad taught me. I thought of that saying when I read the attacks on Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. There's a concerted effort to marginalize those who think marriage is important. In doing so, the left wants to shut out millions of Americans at the grassroots. But Mr. Perkins never runs from a fight. He's out in front, leading. And all the dogs are barking at him.
Williams Isn't to Blame
National Public Radio fired its longtime news analyst Juan Williams this week for saying something that many Americans feel. Williams, who also works as a Fox News Channel contributor (as I do), told FNC host Bill O'Reilly that when he gets on an airplane and sees someone in Muslim garb, he gets "nervous."
Free the Taxpayers: Defund State-Sponsored Media
In the wake of commentator Juan Williams' feckless firing by National Public Radio, supporters on the Internet sounded a cheeky rallying cry: "Free Juan!" But Williams has now been liberated from the government-funded media's politically correct shackles. It's taxpayers who need to be untethered from NPR and other state-sponsored public broadcasting.
Tim Geithner, Dollar Protector?
The falling dollar is on most everybody's mind, especially in financial markets here at home and globally. A currency war? World protectionism? Race to the bottom?
Obama Underappreciation Syndrome
WASHINGTON -- In an increasingly desperate attempt to develop a narrative for the coming Democratic collapse, the Democrats have indulged themselves in what for half a century they've habitually attributed to the American right -- the paranoid style in American politics. The talk is of dark conspiracies -- secret money, foreign influence, big corporations, with Karl Rove and, yes, Ed Gillespie lurking ominously behind the scenes. The only thing missing is the Halliburton-Cheney angle.
Is Barney Frank?: Part II
Among long-time politicians who are being seriously challenged for the first time this election year, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts best epitomizes the cynical ruthlessness which hides behind their lofty rhetoric.
Confessions of a Pollster
I didn't set out in life to be the CEO of a company that conducts public opinion polls. Heck, I stunk at math back in school. And polls are all about numbers.
Great Teachers We Have Known
Dear Close Reader, It was wholly a pleasure to learn that something I wrote got you to thinking about a great teacher you once had. What I'd written was: "We can still remember the piercing, unblinking blue eyes of a professor of biology who could look right through you, and see every vacuum of knowledge you were so desperately trying to cover up in class."
Thursday, October 21, 2010
But Enough About Me
President Obama reminds me of the type of man so many single women complain about on a date. He only wants to talk about himself: "But enough about me, now what do you think about me?"
Is Barney Frank?
You would be hard pressed to find a politician who is less frank than Congressman Barney Frank. Even in an occupation where truth and candor are often lacking, Congressman Frank is in a class by himself when it comes to rewriting history in creative ways. Moreover, he has a lot of history to rewrite in his re-election campaign this year. No one contributed more to the policies behind the housing boom and bust, which led to the economic disaster we are now in, than Congressman Barney Frank.
Obama's Setting Himself Up for a 'Chubbing'
Barack Obama is the latest Harvard liberal to give us the "Chub" treatment. His comments about the American people ("they") show how out-of-touch he is. During the '08 campaign, he dismissed the folks who live in what liberals call "flyover country."
It Is Over
WASHINGTON -- The Democrats are about to be beaten by something that they do not in their heart of hearts think exists, a huge national majority. At this late hour, with the storm clouds gathering and the livestock getting restless, they see only sunshine. Yes, there is "foreign money" out there. Yes, the media have bungled broadcasting the purity of the Democratic message. And naturally, angry voices can be heard. Yet surely there is no majority gathering to unseat the party of decency and good deeds. Well, there is, and it is nothing like how the Democrats describe it.
Three Wars, Little News
It is a busy time in America. The Major League Baseball playoffs are competing with the upcoming midterm elections for the public's attention. The rescue of courageous miners in Chile has for a time overshadowed even the latest psychodramas of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.