THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Virginia assembly will be determined by drawing

You don't take a knife to a gunfight, and like it or not, politics has become something of a gunfight and this gunfight, the closest since the famous gunfight at the OK Corral, is on vivid display in the contest for the seat of the 94th District in the Virginia House of Delegates, where the winner of a tie is to be finally determined by drawing lots, as prescribed by Virginia election law.

December 26, 2017

EDITORIAL: Republicans must seize opportunities to dismantle Obamacare

Campaigning is always easier than governing. There's unanimity at a campaign rally, but in Congress, not so much. From 2010 onward the Grumpy Old Party won election after election on the promise to pull up Obamacare, root and branch, and start over with health-care reform.

December 26, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Trump clearly doing something right

Democrats can continue to push back on President Trump's agenda and play obstruction politics, but the proof of the president's actions are clearly demonstrated by the positive results he has achieved (which continue to be ignored by the Democrats and the mainstream media). This kind of political gamesmanship will not bode well for the Democratic Party in 2018, contrary to the narrative being pushed by Congress and their media acolytes ("Trump is thrilled with economy but says he's not getting enough credit," Web, Dec. 24).

December 26, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: FBI agent still at work

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not 'fire' FBI Agent Peter Strzok ("Embattled FBI admits it can't verify dossier claims," Web, Dec. 25). Using the word "fired" here leads the reader to think that Agent Strzok was fired from the FBI. He was not. He was just transferred to another office, and this partisan, disloyal agent still works for the FBI.

December 26, 2017

EDITORIAL: Poll measures how Colin Kaepernick deepened partisan divide

Colin Kaepernick, the onetime San Francisco 49ers quarterback who kept his seat during the playing of the national anthem and made the National Football League infamous, probably thought he was just taking a rest. Now "taking a knee" is the one play that every NFL player can master.

December 25, 2017

EDITORIAL: Scott Pruitt leans toward a radical solution at a Superfund landfill

Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is one of the bright lights of the Trump administration. He acted forcefully to get the runaway agency under control and then refocused it on its actual core mission.

December 25, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: VA health care worth saving

In "Misfires on health care choice for America's heroes" (Web, Dec. 19) writer Stewart Hickey uses isolated incidents and anecdotal Facebook comments to bash the leadership of the venerable 118-year-old Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW). He does so, apparently, because we oppose a misguided bill introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn, Colorado Republican, that would dismantle the Department of Veterans Affairs' health-care system and begin charging veterans for illnesses and injuries they received while defending our freedoms.

December 25, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Barack Obama should reconsider Winston Churchill

In the early stages of his administration, former President Obama removed the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. Apparently, at the time he had little knowledge of or appreciation for how Churchill's eloquence during World War II and the Cold War saved western civilization.

December 25, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Jerusalem always been Israel’s capital

Kudos to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley for rejecting U.N. hypocrisy. A proposed U.N. Security Council resolution condemned America's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital for overturning traditional neutrality. Ms. Haley vetoed the resolution ("U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution rescinding Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital," Web, Dec. 18).

December 24, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Traitorous but true

Although it's been more than 53 years since President John F. Kennedy's assassination, the questions and conspiracy theories persist regarding what, if any, involvement the FBI and American intelligence agencies had in that murderous act. Similarly, regarding the emails of FBI and Justice Department employees conspiring to undermine the will of the American people in a free and constitutional election, to what ends were these traitors willing to go to ensure President Trump was never seated as the 45th president of the United States?

December 24, 2017

EDITORIAL: University of Minnesota’s politically correct guidelines have gotten out of hand

Keeping everybody on campus politically correct is not easy, but nobody tries harder than the president, the deans and maybe even the professors and teaching assistants at the University of Minnesota.

December 21, 2017

EDITORIAL: Rex Tillerson gets a brush-off

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson had a bright idea not long ago. "Let's just meet," he said in a message to North Korea. "We can talk about the weather if you want. We can talk about whether it's going to be a square table or a round table, if that's what you're excited about."

December 21, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Moore loss no sign of GOP defeat

I have to smile every time I hear the Democrats stating that their defeat of Roy Moore in Alabama is an indication of the following:

December 21, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Warner’s Mueller chutzpah

Sen. Mark Warner deserves credit ("Top Intel Dem warns against 'reckless' talk of Mueller firing," Web, Dec. 20). It takes a lot of chutzpah to very publicly censure as "irresponsible and reckless" anyone calling for the dismissal of special counsel Robert Mueller without even a hint of objective modesty.

December 21, 2017

EDITORIAL: Now the economy must deliver the expected message to skeptics

President Trump basked late Wednesday in a rare moment of acknowledged triumph, delivering at last on a legislative promise, "the big, beautiful tax cut" he promised would arrive before Christmas.

December 20, 2017

EDITORIAL: Journalists taking flak from all sides

The journalist's lot, like the policeman's, is not a happy one. The overpaid prima donnas who posture in front of the cameras are not typical of the reporter or correspondent. The typical reporter is overworked and underpaid, an asset to his (or her) publication, and often considered to be only as good as their last story. They're catching flak for "fake news" — not always without cause — and colleagues nearly everywhere are jailed, or worse, simply for doing their jobs. Civilized nations know better than to allow shooting the messenger.

December 20, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Banning ‘junk’ from SNAP won’t help

Restricting certain foods and beverages from the SNAP program, as Maine Gov. Paul LePage suggests, would only increase government bureaucracy without saving tax dollars ("LePage still wants to ban junk food from food stamp program," Web, Dec. 15).

December 20, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: More ironic, anti-Israel moves by U.N.

This week's vote at the United Nations Security Council exposed the body's blatant anti-Israel bias. This trend runs deep in the organization and it is no secret that the U.N. constantly seeks to demonize Israel. But the resolution put forward this week is a step too far: It all but denies Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, a member state of the organization itself. And the fact that such a motion was even put up for a vote is an utter disgrace to everything the U.N. should stand for.

December 20, 2017

EDITORIAL: Defending country, not climate

Some brainstorms are more persuasive in the brain than on the ground. The grand notion that masterminds should take control of civilization before the unwashed masses render pristine nature a scorched trash heap is one prominent example.

December 19, 2017

EDITORIAL: Next up on taxes

When Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 Tax Reform Act into law a lot of those who worked hard to get it done looked at one another and asked, "What's next?" Well, it took about 30 years, but we're about to finally have the answer.

December 19, 2017