Category: Column

An unsigned and undated Justice Department white paper, obtained by NBC News, reports The New York Times, “…is the most detailed analysis yet to come into public view regarding the Obama legal team’s views about the lawfulness of killing, without a trial, an American citizen who executive branch officials decide is an operational leader of […]

The House Republicans, in serious trouble with public opinion as they blinked facing the “fiscal cliff” over New Year’s, seem suddenly to be playing a more successful game — or rather, games — an inside game and an outside game. The inside game can be described by the Washington phrase “regular order.” What that means […]

Put on your shocked faces: Since my bipartisan call last week for Democratic women to join the Ladies Against Senator Sleaze-Bob movement, not a single Democratic woman in Washington has signed up. Here’s the thing. The brewing scandal involving N.J. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is not […]

I like to bet on sports. Having a stake in the game, even if it’s just five bucks, makes it more exciting. I also like playing poker. “Unacceptable!” say politicians in much of America. “Gambling sometimes leads to ‘addiction,’ destitute families!” Well, it can. So politicians ban it. It’s why we no longer see a […]

Not long after President Obama proclaimed in his second inaugural that “an economic recovery has begun,” we learned that the U.S. economy actually shrank in the last quarter. Many economists believe this is a temporary setback. This recovery may be the weakest in American history, but the economy isn’t cratering either. Still, you can bet […]

Barack Obama won re-election by perpetrating three frauds: 1. He sold the American people on the idea that we were in the midst of a slow recovery. Given time, he assured us, we would grow our way out of the recession and all would be fine. Nonsense. We now learn — three months after the […]

PARIS — The anti-war types are unhappy with France’s foray into Mali to help that country’s troops eradicate balkanizing terrorism at the request of the Malian government. If even the French aren’t “allowed” to go to war — and under a Socialist president, no less — then who can? It would indeed be nice if […]

During the 2012 election cycle, Tea Partiers were told by their supposed betters that their ignorance of everyday politics meant that they should take a back seat to the Republican Party establishment. Brandishing the so-called Buckley Rule with quasi-religious fervor — the notion that Republicans should run the most conservative candidate who can win — […]

People on both sides of tax issues often speak of such things as a “$300 billion tax increase” or a “$500 billion tax decrease.” That is fine if they are looking back at something that has already happened. But it can be sheer nonsense if they are talking about a proposed increase or decrease in […]

Now that the federal government is playing an ever larger role in the economy, a look at Washington’s track record seems to be long overdue. The recent release of the Federal Reserve Board’s transcripts of its deliberations back in 2007 shows that their economic prophecies were way off. How much faith should we put in […]

In the past two weeks, I’ve highlighted ways we can reduce violent crime in the U.S. But I’ve saved the best and most powerful solutions for last because they work from the inside out. In Part 1, I revealed how rational and rewarding it would be to post armed guards at our schools. In Part […]

The Senate’s “advice and consent” role doesn’t require it to rubber-stamp a presidential appointee for secretary of defense who senators believe would weaken America in this increasingly dangerous world. Notwithstanding former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s diminished view of the post — “I won’t be in a policymaking position” — the secretary of defense is an exceedingly […]

Last week, the Washington Post published an opinion piece by a Marine captain titled, “I Killed People in Afghanistan. Was I Right or Wrong?” The column by Timothy Kudo, who is now a graduate student at New York University, is a fine example of the moral confusion leftism has wrought over the last half century. […]

President Barack Obama is not committed to fixing Washington’s chronic budget woes or jump-starting an ailing an economy, but that doesn’t mean this administration lacks focus. If there is one area in which this administration delivers, it is taunting Republicans. Think Lucy teasing Charlie Brown with the football — except in this case, Lucy is […]

Under pressure from religious and conservative groups, the Obama administration has offered another compromise on the issue of birth control coverage within the Affordable Care Act. While exempting churches and some religiously affiliated institutions, such as hospitals and universities, from supplying the coverage, the new proposal calls for their employees to receive stand-alone private insurance […]

The financial world was shocked this month by a demand from Germany’s Bundesbank to repatriate a large portion of its gold reserves held abroad. By 2020, Germany wants 50% of its total gold reserves back in Frankfurt – including 300 tons from the Federal Reserve. The Bundesbank’s announcement comes just three months after the Fed […]

Our major public policies are based on the assumption that America will continue to enjoy growth. Economic growth and population growth. Through most of our history, this assumption has proved to be correct. These days, not so much. Last week, the Commerce Department announced that the gross domestic product shrunk by 0.1 percent in the […]

Ring. Ring. “Hello, this is Tom.” “Happy birthday to you, Tom!” “Who is this? How did you know it was my birthday?” “Your birth date is public information – it’s listed on your voter registration card. But that’s not important. What is important is that I’m here to help you.” “Help me?” “We feel it’s […]

Some things are easy to mock, such as Al Gore — Pope Gorus IV of the Holy Church of Global Warming — selling his Current TV for hundreds of millions of oil dollars. But some other things are so bizarre it’s difficult to mock them because they come across as mockery already. Such is the […]

President Obama has nominated an anti-Israel former Senator to be the next Secretary of Defense of the United States of America. Senator Chuck Hagel has refused to sign a letter supporting Israel, opposed labeling Hezbollah a “terrorist organization,” and supported direct dialogue with the terrorist group Hamas. Senator Hagel even voted against labeling Iran’s Revolutionary […]

Vice President Biden unfurled his genius during a Google+ “fireside” hangout last month stating that: having “armed guards in schools would be a terrible mistake.” Really, José? Why don’t you rock up to Price Middle School in Atlanta on Monday morning and bray that insanity to the teachers and students who were spared an early grave […]

I’m getting tired of President Obama blaming Republicans for everything. This week it was immigration. In Las Vegas the president called for a policy that would provide a clear path to citizenship for illegal residents who pay their taxes, learn English and abide by the law. He warned that if bipartisan talks in Congress break […]

We don’t need more regulation of energy use, cap and trade, carbon taxes, or any of the range of new measures President Obama is pushing to deal with climate change. According to Bloomberg News, U.S. carbon emissions are down 13 percent over the past five years and that they are now the lowest since 1994. […]

When I was a Boy Scout in the early 1960s, I earned a few merit badges and learned some very important life lessons along the way. One of them was the Scout Motto: “Be prepared!” I remember the Scout Oath: “On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and […]

It’s cold and snowy as I write this. Thank goodness the federal government provides us with “helpful” winter tips (: ready.gov/winter-weather: ). Did you know, warns our government, that “(w)inter storms can range from a moderate snow over a few hours to a blizzard with blinding, wind-driven snow that lasts for several days”? News to me. Or […]

“No amnesty!” Good luck with that. “Secure the border!” Yeah, that, too. Why not? Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas describes the problem with unenforced illegal immigration laws to Politico’s Ginger Gibson: “The crush of illegals have bankrupted local governments, shut down hospitals, overwhelmed schools and crashed local economies, hurting largely Hispanic citizens.” He’s against the […]

At least Romney had binders. Binders full of qualified women to fill cabinet positions, that is. Democrats mercilessly pounded Romney for the binders comment he made during the 2012 presidential campaign, but I’ll bet the Obama campaign now wishes Romney had passed the binders on to Obama since it seems he’s having a hard time […]