Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Boxer's Fiction vs. Fiorina's Facts
There aren't a lot of walls around Carly Fiorina. While politicos have marveled at the missteps of Meg Whitman's $140 million Titanic of a campaign, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO has made herself accessible to journalists in her bid to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer.
The Perils of Overreach
WASHINGTON -- Promoting his new book, Jimmy Carter, whose version of Christianity allows ample scope for what some Christians consider the sin of pride, has been doing something at which he has had long practice -- praising himself. He is, he says, "probably superior" to all other ex-presidents, and would have enacted comprehensive health care if a selfish Ted Kennedy had not sabotaged his plan.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Jobs Tepid, Dems Out, Stocks Up?
Friday's unemployment report for September, the last before the election, brought more bad news for the Barack Obama Democrats.
Reviewing a Tea Party
I had attended a couple of Tea Party get-togethers, but I'd never spoken at one until Pat Boone invited me to do so at the event he was hosting in Beverly Hills. I must confess you have a very different perspective when you're actually part of the program. One big difference is that you feel compelled to show up. With the party scheduled to go from 2-4 on a day the temperature was in the high 90s, I suspect I would have come up with a very good excuse for staying home with the air conditioner helping me to maintain my sanity.
From The Comedy Store
California GOP governor candidate Meg Whitman denied Democratic charges that she knew her maid was an illegal alien. Both sides are dug in. Republicans will certify their maids when Democrats can certify their presidents, until then it's a Mexican stand-off.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Hollywood Bullies Against Bullying?
America was horrified by the story that erupted in the national news that Rutgers college freshman Tyler Clementi threw himself off a bridge because his new roommate used a webcam to tape a homosexual encounter in which he'd engaged. Media outlets quickly dispatched their cavalry to find the experts to explain why America is a land of incessant bullying.
Dorky Digital and 'the New Cool'
Every generation seeks a hero or an anti-hero, a trend or counter-trend, a fashion or non-fashion to define itself in both politics and the culture, pop and otherwise. Recall Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock in the movie "The Graduate," lolling about in his parents' swimming pool, fins and all, with no place to go. Quintessential '60s.
On Winning
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- For reasons not altogether clear to me, only brief snippets of Fox News Channel's broadcasts are carried on the satellite signals available on U.S. military installations here in Afghanistan. That means that if I want to watch the news over here, it has to be one of the "major network" shows carried on the American Forces Network -- or the 24/7 broadcasts of CNN International and Al-Jazeera.
The British Try To Climb Out of the Ditch
Three and a half weeks from now, Americans will decide whether to pull the emergency brake on a train that is headed to bankruptcy. Across the pond in Great Britain, which got aboard that train following World War II, the sparks are flying as the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government attempts a very tardy, and accordingly much more painful, reversal.
The Mysterious Appeal of Polygamy and Obama
I have never watched a TV series called "Big Love," which deals with a polygamous family, so I have no opinion of the show. However, I was at a dinner party recently where a few people were discussing it. Nothing, I hasten to add, that was said made me want to tune in. Besides, between an occasional old movie, Bret Baier, The Factor and keeping up with the New York Yankees, I'm already watching more than enough. But it did get me thinking about the practice of polygamy.
Green Fervor, Red Blood
By now you may have heard that the man behind such heartwarming chick flicks as "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" has come out with an environmental snuff film.
The Colbert Democrats
WASHINGTON -- A president's first midterm election is inevitably a referendum on his two years in office. The bad news for Democrats is that President Obama's "re-elect" number is 38 percent -- precisely Bill Clinton's in October 1994, the eve of the wave election that gave Republicans control of the House for the first time in 40 years.
Of Course Obama Hasn't Yielded to Americans' Will
Just in case anyone mistakenly believes Obama has heard (or gives a rip about) the loud voice of the American people rejecting his socialism, appeasement, unconstitutional abuses of power and unpresidential combativeness and divisiveness, let me share a few tidbits.
Stocks Gallup Higher
Could it have been the new Gallup poll that drove stocks up almost 200 points on Tuesday? That blockbuster survey, regarded by many as the blue-chip gold standard for election forecasting, pointed to an unprecedented Republican landslide tsunami in the generic congressional race. That blowout could include a GOP House gain of 65 to 70 seats, and a bare-majority 10-seat pickup in the Senate.
Hispanics' Missed Opportunity
A new poll out from the Pew Hispanic Center suggests that even though a large majority of Hispanic voters favor the Democrats, it may not mean much come November. Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the country, making up more than 15 percent of the total population. But they constitute a smaller percentage of those actually eligible to vote -- only 9 percent -- because a larger proportion of them are under 18 years of age or are not citizens.
The Green War on Children
Halloween isn't for another three weeks, but environmental ghouls are on the haunt. A sadistic video released by global warming fear-mongers reveals an inconvenient truth about eco-radicals: They despise the very children for whom they claim to be saving the planet.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Not Your Average Joe
My friend Joe Sobran died last Thursday, and the world lost its greatest writer. To my delight, some obituaries noted that he had influenced my writing style. I only wish I had known he was so close to the end so I could have seen him again to let him influence me some more.
An Open Letter to Democrats on Jobs
Dear Democrats: I write to you today because I am concerned that you do not understand what jobs are (other than Bill Clinton-type jobs, which are another category entirely). What else am I to gather from your constant refrain that the private sector is somehow to blame because it is not creating enough jobs?
To Obama's Chagrin, Young Voters Get Serious
"Repeatedly stabbing the air with his finger," a visibly frustrated Barack Obama complained to Rolling Stone: "It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election." The very "idea that we've got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible. ... If people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place."
Sumo Wrestling With Deficits
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the four-term Texas Republican, hopes it is true that, as has been said, Americans invariably do the right thing -- after exhausting all the alternatives. Regarding the fiscal imbalance that is driving the national debt toward 90 percent of GDP, Americans are running out of alternatives.