www.washingtontimes.com stories: Commentary

ALLEN WEST AND PAMELA VILLARREAL: 'Nanny state' takes toll on black America

Allen West — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:16:08 -0500

It is Black History Month, and as people reflect on the struggles and accomplishments of African-Americans over many decades, many agree that "more can be done" to ensure economic opportunity for all Americans.

But the demand that the "more" must be done by government through a stronger safety net, wealth ...

DONALD LAMBRO: Obama hides jobs failure by not counting long-term unemployed

Donald Lambro and Donald Lambro — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:16:05 -0500

Obama hides his failure by not counting the long-term unemployed

For the past six years of the Obama economy, I've been telling readers that the administration has been juggling its job data to make the unemployment rates look much lower than they really are.

Now, Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO ...

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free

Jeremy Lott — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:05:05 -0500

THE TYRANNY OF SILENCE: HOW ONE CARTOON IGNITED A GLOBAL DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF FREE SPEECH

By Flemming Rose

Cato, $24.95, 240 pages

The author of "The Tyranny of Silence" once cost me a job.

It was in 2006. I had started writing a column for the alt-weekly New ...

CLIFFORD MAY: Obama's secret terrorism strategy accommodates Iran

Clifford D. May — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 19:51:04 -0500

It seems like only yesterday that President Obama was being criticized for having no strategy to counter the jihadi threat. In fact, it was about 10 days ago. Peggy Noonan's Feb. 1 Wall Street Journal column was headlined: "America's Strategy Deficit."

Since then, a different perception has been taking root: ...

WESLEY PRUDEN: Brian Williams is a reminder only God deals in truths

Wesley Pruden — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:21:21 -0500

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Facts take a drubbing in Washington, where scrubbing and spinning is the national sport. And not always just in Washington. The late, great Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the Democratic senator from New York, observed that "everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but no one is entitled to his ...

JED BABBIN: Obama's national security strategy won't keep U.S. safe

Jed Babbin — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:25:36 -0500

To believe and accept any part of President Obama's new national security strategy requires the willing suspension of disbelief. It's a statement of bold leadership, in almost Churchillian terms, but it bears no relationship to the president's actions or the current state of the world.

The "strategy" blueprint, released by ...

CAL THOMAS: Obama should have condemned Muslim atrocities at prayer breakfast

Cal Thomas — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:25:31 -0500

There was a time when the 63-year-old National Prayer Breakfast was a rather mundane affair. It rarely made news. Speakers — evangelist Billy Graham spoke at most of the early ones — talked about Jesus and salvation. Presidents, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower, would follow with unremarkable comments mostly ignored ...

JAMES LYONS: Obama's Middle East strategies under cut U.S. interests

James A. Lyons — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:18:39 -0500

The "wise men" — Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, plus Madeleine Albright, who testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 29, lamented that the Obama administration has no coherent strategy to address the ongoing monumental world changes, particularly in the Middle East. Mr. Kissinger stated that multiple changes ...

ED FEULNER: 'The Budget Book' suggests 106 reasonable budget cuts

Ed Feulner — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:18:37 -0500

Ever heard of the Agriculture Risk Coverage program? How about the Price Loss Coverage program? You're paying for them.

Along with the Conservation Technical Assistance program, the Biological and Environmental Research program, and the USDA Catfish Inspection program.

The list goes on, but why have I highlighted these particular entries? ...

RICHARD RAHN: Peter Wallison blames Great Recession on politicians

Richard W. Rahn — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:09:42 -0500

What do you think was the primary cause of the Great Recession — too little government regulation or dictates by the government to banks and other mortgage lenders, requiring them to lend to the unqualified?

Peter J. Wallison, former general counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department and White House counsel ...

BOOK REVIEW: 'Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journey into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle Eas

Michael P. Orsi — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:09:37 -0500

HEIRS TO FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS: JOURNEY INTO THE DISAPPEARING RELIGIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

By Gerard Russell

Basic Books, $28.99, 279 pages

With the continuing destabilization of the Middle East and the rise of the Islamic State group, non-Muslim populations have undergone severe persecution. So much so, that emigration has caused ...

SALLY PIPES: Sen. Warren's pharmaceutical bill will rob patients of cures

Sally Pipes — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:59:11 -0500

Last year set a high-water mark for pharmaceutical innovation. And some of the most promising new drugs will treat major diseases, including diabetes, lung cancer, Hepatitis C, and leukemia.

Unfortunately, Congress is considering legislation that could halt this progress. The misnamed "Medical Innovation Act," sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), will burden drug makers ...

REP. TOM ROONEY: Mr. President, stop making excuses for ISIS

Rep. Tom Rooney — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 11:54:05 -0500

Last week, the horror of the Islamic State reached barbaric new levels with the release of a video showing the terrorists burning a Jordanian pilot alive in a cage. This came on the heels of dozens of videos showing the group torturing and murdering hostages, including most recently the beheading of two Japanese men. ...

TAMMY BRUCE: Obama discounts current sins of Islam

Tammy Bruce — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 04:29:41 -0500

Every week President Obama delivers some new experience that makes me wonder how the entire nation got dropped down Alice's rabbit hole all at once. Yet, in these first few weeks of Mr. Obama's last two years in office, he's made sure the United States won't turn into a collective ...

ROBERT KNIGHT: Endless debt ceiling hikes must stop

Robert Knight — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 18:02:27 -0500

In 1973, National Lampoon put a dog on its cover with a gun to the animal's head. The tongue-in-cheek headline was: "If you don't buy this magazine, we'll kill this dog."

In the same vein, President Obama might as well be preparing a new cover with a frightened elderly lady ...

BROOKE GOLDSTEIN: Denying the real motivation for Islamist terrorism

Brooke Goldstein — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 18:02:23 -0500

Islamists are winning their war to silence critical commentary in the West about Islam. So says Flemming Rose, culture editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which originally published the now-infamous images of Muhammad, in his recent book, "The Tyranny of Silence."

Whether motivated by a cowardly nature or by an ...

THOMAS DIBACCO: Understanding the Vietnam War in context

Thomas V. DiBacco — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 17:34:34 -0500

Fifty years ago today, the first American combat troops were committed to South Vietnam by President Lyndon B. Johnson — an event that marked the beginning of a long, complex and frustrating war depicted by many today as America's first defeat. No doubt, the engagement's statistics are riveting: More than ...

STEPHEN MOORE: Obama's budget tries to kill D.C. school choice

Stephen Moore — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 17:34:32 -0500

Barack Obama is a Washington, D.C. resident — and one with a high income. As he likes to openly admit, he's one of the privileged 1 percent that he thinks can afford to pay more taxes.

The other thing about President Obama is that he has all sorts of choices ...

KEN BLACKWELL: NASA's odd partnership with Nissan over U.S. automakers

Ken Blackwell — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 17:26:28 -0500

Developing state-of-the-art technology for self-driving cars, building highly advanced robotics, and working to create greater interface between humans and machines — all of these laudable projects are certainly worthy of ongoing research, possibly even government partnerships with private enterprise. Why, though, in the wake of a resurgent American automobile industry, ...

BOOK REVIEW: 'Saving Congress from Itself: Emancipating the States and Empowering their People'

Scott Walker — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 17:26:23 -0500

SAVING CONGRESS FROM ITSELF: EMANCIPATING THE STATES AND EMPOWERING THEIR PEOPLE

By James L. Buckley

Encounter Books, $19.99, 120 pages

One thing is abundantly clear in American politics today: Voters dislike Washington. And with good reason, as so many of the challenges facing our country today come out of the ...