Category: Column

There’s a great scene in the movie “The Right Stuff” where the original Mercury astronauts are checking out the capsule for their first trips to space. They’re horrified to discover that the German scientists in charge of the program see the astronauts as nothing more than living props. There is no window, the scientists explain. […]

How much truth is there in President Obama’s latest favorite mantra that we consume a disproportionate share of the world’s oil, especially considering how little of the world’s reserves we have? Recently, Obama said: “But here’s the thing about oil. We have about 2, maybe 3, percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. We use […]

At the same time Washington was ablaze with outrage at the idea that Rush Limbaugh insulted a woman as a “slut,” ABC premiered a new Sunday night show called “GCB” — shortened from “Good Christian Bitches.” Limbaugh apologized. ABC displays no such contrition. They insulted only those Christians. In the midst of this trashy debut, […]

Americans — left, right, Democrats and Republicans — are all sick of thankless nation-building in the Middle East. Yet democratization was not our first choice, but rather a last resort after prior failures. The United States had long ago supplied Afghan insurgents, who expelled the Soviets after a decade of fighting. Then we left. The […]

Mitt Romney won more than twice as many delegates on Super Tuesday as Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum. The Non-Fox Media’s take-away is that Romney suffered a major setback Tuesday night. No matter what happens, Barack Obama’s boosters in the NFM portray it as a debilitating blow to Romney. On Nov. 7, The New York […]

“A firestorm of outrage from women after a crude tirade from Rush Limbaugh,” said NBC anchor Brian Williams. This was followed by a reporter who said: “In 2012, the personal is political. What began as a debate over religious freedom has devolved into what some call a ‘war on women.’” The “outrage” over Rush Limbaugh’s […]

While running for governor of California in 2010, Jerry Brown admitted he would “rather have a society where we didn’t have to use death as a punishment.” But because the Legislature and California voters approved capital punishment, “we’ve got to make it work.” Seeing as there are 725 condemned inmates living on San Quentin’s death […]

Kicking the can down the road. That’s been the Obama administration’s response on issues from Iran’s nuclear weapons program to America’s entitlement systems. Start with Iran. In a statement in the Oval Office before his meeting with President Obama on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu noted that Obama had “reiterated yesterday” the principle that […]

“I intended to call you last week but got busy, and time slipped through my fingers.” “I would love to take a couple of days to visit my folks, but the time just doesn’t exist.” It’s true. We’re getting busier, and time is getting scarce. Regardless of how busy we are, there are 10 things […]

I recently became editor-at-large of Andrew Breitbart’s empire, but I first met Andrew when he was still the unnamed other half of Matt Drudge’s monster website. The year was 2001. I’d just entered college at UCLA, and after seeing the anti-Israel bias of the student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, I had become their token conservative […]

I’m sorry Rush Limbaugh called 30-year-old Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut.” She’s really just another professional femme-a-gogue helping to manufacture a false narrative about the GOP “war on women.” I’m sorry the civility police now have an opening to demonize the entire right based on one radio comment — because it’s the progressive […]

Now that Mitt Romney is likely to be the Republican nominee, we can expect new attacks on his “vulture capitalism.” That’s how Rick Perry characterized his private equity work. Newt Gingrich’s supporters ran an ad about Romney’s firm, Bain Capital, that said, “Their greed was only matched by their willingness to do anything to make […]

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 2011 manufacturing output grew by 11 percent, to nearly $5 trillion. Were our manufacturing sector considered a nation with its own gross domestic product, it would be the world’s fourth-richest economy. Manufacturing productivity has doubled since 1987, and manufacturing output has risen by one-half. However, over the past two […]

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to seal President Obama’s fate, all he has to do is to attack Iran. It is clear from Obama’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee speech that the president will continue to talk about diplomacy and sanctions for the remainder of his term and will take no military action […]

What are we to make of President Barack Obama’s latest pronouncements about Iran’s movement toward nuclear bombs? His tough talk might have had some influence on Iran a couple of years ago, when he was instead being kinder and gentler with the world’s leading terrorist-sponsoring nation. Now his tough talk may only influence this year’s […]

This column is being written on Super Tuesday. We — as of yet — do not know the outcome of the 10-state matchup, but let’s assume that Mitt Romney wins the bulk of the caucuses and primaries. Give Newt Gingrich Georgia. Give Rick Santorum Oklahoma and Tennessee. Assume they split Ohio. Since it’s proportional representation, […]

The first apology by Rush Limbaugh, posted on his website over the weekend, sounded forced, qualified, almost defensive. The second, broadcast live on his Monday show, sounded sincere and heartfelt. Rush Limbaugh did something not usually associated with either himself or bombastic talk radio. He apologized for calling a woman a “slut” and a “prostitute.” […]

So Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has just been re-presidented for at least another six years, during which we can all watch his newly tucked eyes migrate back to where they used to be. And as surely as a pound dog comes with fleas, this election came with “irregularities” — cloaked in “democracy,” as Russian […]

In the wake of the Obama administration dictate that private insurance companies cover contraceptives and abortifacients, supporters have defined anyone who would oppose this mandate as waging a “war against women.” Obviously, no opponent of this policy is actually bombing, shooting or stabbing women to death. The same cannot be said for what the cultural […]

In 1984, Mario Cuomo pioneered the argument that one may be “personally opposed” to abortion, while supporting abortion rights. Ever since, this convenient locution has become a staple for countless Democratic politicians, particularly Catholic ones. It is Vice President Joe Biden’s view and was Senator John Kerry’s stance when he ran for president in 2004. […]

Your answer to “Roseless,” the woman bemoaning her boyfriend’s lack of “romantic ambition,” hit a nerve with me. My wife of 19 years and I shared equally in raising our three children. She only sort of “works” now, but I do the home chores and all the cooking — while running a very stressful business […]

There are undoubtedly many people who are alive today because of James Q. Wilson, who died last week. He was not a doctor or medical scientist, nor was he a fireman or coast guardsman who rescued people from immediate dangers. James Q. Wilson was a scholar who studied crime. He saved lives because his penetrating […]

Since Jan. 1, the price of gas has soared 45 cents a gallon — the highest on record for this time of year. AAA reported this past week that the national average of unleaded gasoline climbed from Feb. 28’s $3.71 per gallon to March 2’s $3.73 per gallon and then up again to $3.76 per […]

If you’ll indulge me, I need to express this beyond my Twitter posts: I am proud of my brother, Rush, for his multiple sincere apologies to Sandra Fluke. I am not even slightly surprised that so many on the left refuse to accept his apology. I think this entire incident is instructive. Rush is heartsick […]

If Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich split the remaining primaries and caucuses — even if Romney wins most of them — we will not have a nominee until the summer and may not have one until the convention in late August. In that case, kiss our chances of beating Obama goodbye! With a […]

Here in Sydney, Australia, where I’ve been lecturing for a week, I may have had one Australian-born waitress or waiter and one Australian-born taxi driver. As is my wont, I ask all of them where they were born and, whenever possible, have some discussion about their native country. I say “whenever possible” because, unlike in […]

“Seeing is believing” is an ancient idiom. It teaches that a dispute can often be resolved by presenting physical evidence. Opponents of the ultrasound bill passed last week by the Virginia legislature and expected to be signed soon by Governor Bob McDonnell, thought they could stop the measure because they said it would require an […]