L.A. Times - Jonah Goldberg

America through the reality lens

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Reality TV shows surely give one pause about the future of the country.

Culturally, this has been the decade of the reality show. And what do we have to show for it? Not much more than the contestants themselves.

The real fat cat party

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

If Republicans are 'the party of big business,' why are the Democrats raking in big bucks from industry after industry?

One of the great frustrations of the libertarian-minded right is how Republicans got stuck being "the party of big business."

Intellectual hypocrites threaten us all

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Liberals think they should be in charge of everything, even though many can't run anything.

I think I've had my fill of moral hypocrisy. We routinely hear stories of evangelical ministers who "mentor" hookers at $500 an hour, "family values" politicians who like the cut of a congressional page's jib or senators who love to press the flesh, one bathroom stall at a time. And, given the times, we increasingly hear stories about progressive politicians and columnist who -- gasp! -- have bigger carbon footprints than they want the rest of us to have: CO2 emissions for me and not for thee! For shame.

Winner take all on healthcare

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Trying to come up with bipartisan compromise is a a losing game. Let both sides place their bets -- and one will pay the price.

Ihereby forfeit my claim to a vast right-wing conspiracy decoder ring by offering two cheers for the Democrats. I congratulate them on their victory Saturday night in the Senate, and while I can't quite wish them continued success on the course they are following, I'm beginning to make peace with the possibility that they'll win.

It's no way to fight a war on terror

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Trying suspected 9/11 terrorists in civilian court is wrong on several levels.

I get where President Obama and Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. are coming from. They think that if we change our way of life, the terrorists will have won.

Sometimes, an extremist really is an extremist

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

If we act as if 'Islam is the problem,' we will guarantee that Islam will become the problem.

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan demonstrated many things when he allegedly committed treason in the war on terror. For starters, he showed -- gratuitously alas -- that evil is still thriving.

True conservatives just want a turn

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

George W. Bush didn't count, and Barack Obama may be proving the value of limited government.

If there's one thing liberal pundits are experts on these days, it's the sorry state of conservatism. The airwaves and the Op-Ed pages brim with more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger lamentations on the GOP's failure to get with President Obama's program, the party's inevitable demographic demise and its thralldom to the demonic deities of the right -- Limbaugh, Beck, Palin.

Fido, a.k.a. the climate criminal

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Some climate-change activists would take your dog away -- and spend trillions on other efforts -- rather than come up with solutions that could actually work to offset carbon levels.

The EPA is choking democracy

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The agency's sweeping new power to battle global warming is another example of the weakening of democratic controls.

One of the most important events of our lifetimes may have just transpired. A federal agency has decided that it has the power to regulate everything, including the air you breathe.

How to solve the pirate problem

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Shooting three Somali pirates was a good start. Now let's shoot some more.

Well, that was simple. Shoot the pirates, problem solved.