Columns
“NO RED LINES” INVITES WAR IN UKRAINE
While American media focus attention on the ongoing war in Gaza, Europe faces the prospect of a far more devastating conflict in Ukraine. The effort to organize more costly sanctions against Russian aggression deserves support but it represents too little, too late. Putin’s regime doesn’t even hide its open backing for separatist thugs in Eastern Ukraine – the same monstrous killers who shot down a Malaysian airliner and murdered some 300 innocents. The problem for President Obama in dealing with this...
Read MoreTHREE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES IN GAZA
There are only three possible outcomes in the Gaza War: a decisive Israeli victory, which dismantles the terror tunnels and reduces the capacity to launch rockets; another inconclusive cease fire, with no preconditions or resolution of key issues; or a deal dictated by the international community, where Hamas stops rockets in return for getting concessions on all its key demands. Amazingly, Secretary of State Kerry favored the third alternative – which would guarantee another war. That policy would reward the...
Read MoreAN IMPEACHMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR TED CRUZ
The irresponsible talk about impeachment provides Senator Ted Cruz with a wonderful opportunity: by speaking out strongly against any self-destructive scheme to impeach President Obama, the Texas Senator can show he’s a sane, constructive conservative, not a show-boating demagogue. Sarah Palin recently called in to my radio show and we discussed her support for impeachment: even if the GOP sweeps this year’s elections and wins ten new Senate seats, they’d still need 12 Democrats to vote with them to...
Read MoreGaza, Liberals, and Moral Equivalence
A big majority of Americans say Israel is justified in its response to Hamas, but a CNN/ORC poll shows revealing ideological differences in attitudes toward the Middle East. Among Republicans, 73% stand with Israel, and among Independents that support remains strong at 56%. But among Democrats, only a minority – 45% – feels the Jewish state is justified in its military response in Gaza to stop rocket attacks and terror tunnels. This attitude indicates that liberals have not only lost touch with public...
Read MoreGUEST BLOG BY DIANE MEDVED: Do We Need to End Inequality? For People? For Nations?
The buzz word “inequality” has weirdly become a rallying cry for the far left in America. Our nation embraces equality, as in “all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” Both political parties love that phrase. The issue is whether all men and women should remain equal, and should develop equally, whether it’s within government’s scope to assure that outcome. Minimum wage debates express the notion that free markets...
Read MoreGUEST BLOG BY DIANE MEDVED: Gut-wrenching Headlines: Too Much Anguish
Life seems pretty OK til you read the newspaper.Because my husband has to talk about current events and pop culture on the radio for three hours each weekday, we get four major newspapers every morning. Trouble is, I read them. Newspaper content has changed over the years, and now, sitting down with my mocha and the day’s headlines has become a disheartening, depressing experience. In more civilized days (say, 30 years ago), papers never showed dead bodies. They never invaded the most personal emotional...
Read MoreSloppy Language Breeds Sloppy Thinking On Media
A near-universal mistake in language makes a big contribution to a common mistake in our culture – and both mistakes ought to be corrected if we mean to speak more properly and to comprehend our society more accurately. From Barack Obama to Rush Limbaugh, nearly everyone treats the word “media” as a singular noun, employing phrases like “the media is wrong” or “the media treats me unfairly.” Actually, “media” is a plural form–the singular term is “medium.” For instance, radio is...
Read MoreLIBERALS, MORAL ABSOLUTES, AND THE MIDDLE EAST
An Israeli soldier splashes water on his face as he stands atop a tank outside the northern Gaza Strip July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Baz RatnerA big majority of Americans say Israel is justified in its response to Hamas, but a CNN/ORC poll shows revealing ideological differences in attitudes toward the Middle East. Among Republicans, 73% stand with Israel, and with Independents that support hits 56%. But among Democrats only a minority—45%—feels the Jewish state is justified in its military response to stop rocket attacks and terror tunnels. Across the spectrum, Americans who back Israel outnumber those who don’t by nearly two-to-one, but the...
Read MorePITY CAN’T TRUMP COMMON SENSE
It’s a basic rule of human nature: if you reward bad behavior, you’ll get more of it. That’s why pity can’t trump common sense regarding thousands of children arriving in our country illegally. If we welcome them with benefits of this compassionate society, we’ll draw millions more expecting similar treatment. It may be complicated and costly, but newly-arriving illegals must be quickly repatriated to their countries of origin. And what about the undocumented millions who’ve worked here for years?...
Read MoreConfessions Of A One-Time “Peace Protester”
On August 5, an outstanding organization called Vietnam Veterans for factual history will be co-hosting a debate at the National Press Club on the meaning, justice and wisdom of the war. They asked me to contribute a brief reflection on my role as an anti-war organizer, mostly during my time at Yale University and as political speechwriter and consultant in the years that followed. Because of the sacrifice and patriotism of the veterans who served our country so admirably in Indochina, I felt honored to offer a...
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