Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Census and the Constitution
The Census Bureau estimates that the life cycle cost of the 2010 Census will be from $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion, making it the costliest census in the nation's history. Suppose you suggest to a congressman that given our budget crisis, we could save some money by dispensing with the 2010 census. I guarantee you that he'll say something along the lines that the Constitution mandates a decennial counting of the American people and he would be absolutely right.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Plagiarizing a War
Plagiarism, as defined by dictionary.com, is "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." In 1987, then-senator and presidential candidate Joe Biden was accused of plagiarizing from a speech by then-British Labour Party Leader Neil Kinnock. Biden eventually withdrew after a media firestorm, which was egged on by the eventual 1988 Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis. Now Vice President Biden is involved in a more serious act of plagiarism. He is trying to take credit for progress in the Iraq war, which he, then-Senator Barack Obama and many Democrats opposed, calling it a failure.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Big Brother Out of Control
The Audi motor company's idea of an environmentally-correct America, to judge from the TV commercial it spent several million dollars to air during the Super Bowl, is one in which homeowners could be arrested for using incandescent light bulbs, customers choosing plastic bags at the supermarket would be manhandled by the Green Police, and anyone tossing an orange peel into the wastebasket could find himself in the beam of a searchlight, hearing a voice bark through a loudspeaker: "Put the rind down, sir! That's a compost infraction!"
Security Risk: Eric Holder's Latest Folly
How much time, do you suppose, has Eric Holder spent as attorney general of the United States explaining that he meant no harm by all the harm he's done? His not very acceptable explanations began even before he was confirmed as attorney general. That's when he was quizzed about his role in approving a pardon for Marc Rich, international fugitive and big giver to various political causes. Mr. Rich was but one of various dubious types Bill Clinton pardoned just before he left the White House, and The Hon. Eric Holder cleared the whole, smelly deal.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Sure-Fire Legal Recipe for Airport Insecurity
Last August, Nicholas George, 22, was getting ready to fly from Pennsylvania to Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., when TSA agents found Arabic-English flash cards in his pocket -- the 200 cards included such words as "bomb" and "explosive" -- two stereo speakers in his carry-on bag, a Jordanian student ID card and a passport that showed he had visited Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sudan. TSA agents detained George for questioning. They determined he was not a security threat and released him less than five hours later. Now, he is suing.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Washington, D.C., Disconnect
The disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country has never been greater. Why can't the political class in the District of Columbia produce a fiscal product that voters, taxpayers and investors are willing to consume? According to The Washington Post, voters want smaller government and fewer government services by a large 58 percent to 38 percent margin. Pollster Scott Rasmussen reveals that 61 percent of voters believe tax cuts help the economy, that 59 percent think tax cuts are a better job-creation tool than increased government spending and that another 59 percent believe higher deficits hurt the economy.
