THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: ‘Swatting,’ or luring cops to an ambush, is the new blue peril

In a world without villains, an old year would go out like a lamb, punctuated only by accident and disappointment. As if a solemn warning of a very specific kind, the last day of 2017 ended with violence, grief and alarm in a Denver suburb, where a gunman with motives yet unknown ambushed four police officers, killing one of them.

January 1, 2018

EDITORIAL: Even pop stars learn risks of straying outside their bubble

With few exceptions, diversity of opinion in Hollywood ranges from left all the way to the far left. Public dedication to diversity is an obsession for "progressives," as liberals now call themselves, but the one form of diversity where it actually makes a difference is diversity of thought. But Hollywood can't allow that.

January 1, 2018

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: More ‘what if’ types needed

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano's op-ed was one of the best your newspaper has ever published ("What if everyone really meant Merry Christmas?" Dec. 27). It should be required reading from the White House to the light house. It articulates the values which once permeated our culture but have long since dissipated.

January 1, 2018

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Steve Cohen owes apology for remark

I demand a public apology from Rep. Steve Cohen, Tennessee Democrat. For him to go on the air, on national television, and call the commander in chief "the most despicable human being ever" to serve as U.S. president makes him not only despicable himself, but also anti-veteran and anti-American.

January 1, 2018

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Replace tax bill with jobs bill?

My boyhood hero, Robert Kennedy, said, "Jobs are better than welfare." As a liberal Democrat, I agree. But I would add that a job that pays a living wage well above the federal government's official poverty line is the human right of every American willing to lead a responsible and productive life.

January 1, 2018

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Mikheil Saakashvili made true reform effort

As an employee of Georgian President Poroshenko, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze has every political and material incentive to distort the truth about former President Mikheil Saakashvili ("Not the reformer Ukraine needs," Web, Dec. 26).

December 31, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Trump hatred just a diversion

The Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the last presidential election has morphed into an anti-Trump witch hunt. The question not asked, though, is who had the most to lose from a Trump victory. The answer is a resounding "President Obama!"

December 31, 2017

EDITORIAL: 2018 prediction: More weird than 2017

Everyone agrees -- it's the only thing the fractured nation can agree on -- that the year 2017 was a pretty weird year.

December 31, 2017

EDITORIAL: New Year resolutions and being resolute

Hope springs eternal, especially at the start of a new year when the desire for a better life is matched by vows to eat less, exercise more and avoid one or all of the seven deadly sins.

December 31, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Nations have right to own cultures

Whenever the problem of invaders entering our country illegally is raised, an automatic response is the canard, "We are a nation of immigrants." Well, so is every other nation in the world. Does anyone seriously think that in countries such as France, India or China, one night the animals went to sleep with the area devoid of human habitation, and when they awoke the next morning, the people were suddenly there, with their cultures fully formed? Does anyone seriously argue that these nations do not have a right to preserve their national identities?

December 28, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Saeb Erekat must be suicidal

The term chutzpah is best explained by the example of the boy who murdered both his mother and father and then asked the judge for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. Saeb Erekat, a top official in the Palestinian Authority, is giving that example a run for its money. Mr. Erekat has long accused Israel of genocide — but recently checked into an Israeli hospital for medical treatment.

December 28, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Comedian paid for canceled gig

"Conservatives get canceled, liberals quit laughing: How Trump's election killed comedy" (Web, Dec. 24) references a comedian's planned appearance at the University of Connecticut earlier this year and reads, "Within days, the University of Connecticut canceled Mr. Benjamin's scheduled appearance, costing him a $7,500 paycheck." This is false.

December 28, 2017

EDITORIAL: U.S. backs Ukraine with weapons

The Trump administration's decision to supply Ukraine with defensive weapons is a decision fraught with implications that reach far beyond the dispatch of weapons.

December 28, 2017

EDITORIAL: Vladimir Putin looking like Vlad the Impaler

Vladimir Putin is running for another six-year term next year and it looks like he's heading for a romp. But he's taking no chances.

December 28, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: No more freebies for Congress

Rep. Sheila Jackson apparently got a free upgrade to first class on a recent United Airlines flight ("United apologizes to passenger who says U.S. Rep. got her seat," Web, Dec. 25). To make matters worse, in order to make this happen United bumped a passenger who had already reserved the seat.

December 27, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Give Trump his due

Dizzy Dean's quote "It ain't braggin' if you can do it" calls to mind a truism from ethics 101: A high-minded person says he can do great things if he really can ("The media ice begins to crack a little," Web, Dec. 25). President Trump has the vision and ability to follow through on campaign promises that very few have in our time. The Islamic State is all but gone from the news; we now have a much-needed tax cut; our relationship with Israel is restored; and we're out of the Paris Accords and the agreement with Iran. That's all just for starters — and in the face of unprecedented hostility.

December 27, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Relocate Bayou Wildlife animals

The Bayou Wildlife Zoo is a roadside hellhole of the highest order ("Want to buy a zoo? Bayou Wildlife Zoo in Texas for sale," Web, Dec. 17). In just the past year the U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited it for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act more than 50 times. Many of the violations have been repeats. At least eight animals have died in the past year because of the lack of veterinary care. This number could in fact be higher, but we don't know because this facility has been repeatedly cited for failing to maintain disposition records on the animals.

December 27, 2017

EDITORIAL: Sheila Jackson Lee, United Airlines, race card

United Airlines continues to have a hard time being nice to its passengers.

December 27, 2017

EDITORIAL: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is unhappy again

To suggest that a reckoning is coming, even if it is, is an implied threat. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is not happy again.

December 27, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Good way to root out ‘pork’?

Every legislator should have to read each bill before they vote on it. And every president should have to read each bill before signing it into law. Many bills contain thousands of pages and are never fully read by our representatives. Riders, amendments, "pork" and things that don't have anything to do with the main part of the bill are added all the time.

December 26, 2017