THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Free speech, free elections frighten George Soros

Life can be almost good anywhere if you're a billionaire. George Soros, the Hungarian-born billionaire who once shorted the British pound to bring down a conservative government in Britain, has been on a rant that the government in his native Hungary has grown so oppressive that life there is more miserable than it was during the occupation by the Soviet Union, which was the ultimate socialist experiment. Mr. Soros probably thinks life in modern Hungary, with free speech and free elections that don't always go the Soros way, is as oppressive as Donald Trump's America.

December 12, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Amendment rewrite harmful

Bill of Rights Day is this Friday, Dec. 15. It reminds one how far this country has departed from first principles. The 2015 gay marriage ruling complete a rewrite of the First Amendment, which used to say and mean, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ... " We are familiar with the word "expression," and it seems an innocuous expansion. However, "expression" enables a nearly unbounded multi-billion-dollar pornography industry.

December 12, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Kristen Gillibrand not credible

On matters of anything sexual, New York Democratic Sen. Kristen Gillibrand simply has zero credibility ("Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand calls on Trump to resign after sexual harassment claims," Web, Dec. 11). In calling for Trump's resignation, Gillibrand is obviously counting on everybody having completely forgotten about the greatest of the multiple campus rape hoaxes: the Columbia University "mattress girl" hoax. Gillibrand was a key figure in promoting this hoax both nationally and internationally. In fact, in 2015 she even invited the "mattress girl" as her personal guest to former President Obama's State of Union address, where she got a shoutout.

December 12, 2017

EDITORIAL: Recognition of reality in Jerusalem enhances the prospect of peace

President Trump's announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital changes everything, and nothing. On the one hand, it is simply a recognition of reality and U.S. law. More than two decades ago Congress enacted a law requiring the State Department to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv, the Israeli commercial capital, to Jerusalem.

December 11, 2017

EDITORIAL: DACA reform must not betray the law-abiding immigrants

Anyone who expects gratitude for a good deed displays only an ignorance of how humans tick. The best way to make an enemy is to do someone a good turn, which often creates not gratitude but resentment. This home truth was on display the other day when 200 ingrates and their enablers rallied on the steps of the Capitol to demand that Congress enact "Dream Act" legislation to protect "undocumented" would-be immigrants brought to this country by their parents, who broke the law to get them to these shores.

December 11, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Brown no friend to sex-abuse victims

As a survivor of countless clergy sex-abuse crimes and cover-ups in the state of California, I recognize the religious threat and intimidation tactic that Gov. Jerry Brown is using ("Trump doesn't 'fear the wrath of God,' complains Jerry Brown," Web, Dec. 9).

December 11, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ‘100 in ‘50’ a green pipe dream

It's hard to believe that so many climate heavy hitters, some of whom are professors, share the delusion that wind- and solar-power generation can replace 100 percent of coal and natural-gas generation by 2050. ("Stanford professor's defamation lawsuit puts chill in atmosphere of climate scientists," Web, Dec. 6). Instead of exchanging argumentative papers and suing each other, both sides involved in this fight should just do the math. It tells us that there are three reasons why "100 in '50" is a delusion, and that wind and solar won't get us there. In short, we don't have enough time, money or land.

December 11, 2017

EDITORIAL: Harassment deserves rebuke, but careless accusations shouldn’t be tolerated

The attempt to redress and reform one of the great blots on American society, the use of authority in relationships to intimidate subordinates into granting sexual favors, seems to be reaching a crisis point, though the human condition probably guarantees that we will never run out of victims.

December 10, 2017

EDITORIAL: London police considering whether wolf whistles break law

The bobbies will get you if'n you don't watch out. London's Metropolitan Police are considering whether to regard a wolf whistle aimed at a pretty girl (or even a plain girl with a great personality) as a "hate crime," to be treated as a serious breach of the law.

December 10, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: More Americans must reproduce

I am kind of lost when it comes to all this talk about a "baby bust," fertility and the declining birth rate ("On Rubio-Lee Amendment, Republicans missed chance to stem 'baby bust,'" Web, Dec. 7). I have heard arguments from several quarters as to the main reason, but my question is, Who is and is not having children?

December 10, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Changing tide in politics?

Our country is in the midst of a civil war from which has grown a revolution. Truth be told — and it is being told finally — events such as ex-comedian Al Franken resigning from the Senate over the current and suddenly fashionable witch hunt are the least of the concerns of Democrats and even some Republicans.

December 10, 2017

EDITORIAL: Michigan candidate for attorney general running misguided campaign

A good man is hard to find, so the common wisdom once went, but in the spirit of the hysteria season certain feminists have rewritten that to, "Never trust a man with his factory equipment intact." A woman in Michigan is running hard for state attorney general as the Democratic candidate with a missing penis.

December 7, 2017

EDITORIAL: Bowing to unconditional DACA demands would comprise national security

Chicken is a game usually won by the boldest and most irresponsible player in the game. Democrats usually prevail because they know how to place the blame on the other player. Republicans, eager to avoid being seen as not very nice, usually threaten no one and settle for a friendly pat on the head. But this time they must gird their bashful loins, grit their teeth and refuse to yield. At stake is more than money. With the immigration issue on the table the outcome is a matter of national security.

December 7, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: EU was lousy deal for U.K.

Americans, even the best-informed, often make the mistake of thinking the United Kingdom joined the European Union "for the money" when, in fact, we have been for decades massive financiers of the EU (some $504 billion since we joined).

December 7, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Kudos to Trump on Israel move

President Trump is the first president to have the ethical fortitude to proclaim that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel. Jerusalem is important only because the Jews made it important. History proves that Arabs and other Muslims customarily considered Jerusalem a backwater. In 1995 Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, requiring the movement of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, even 22 years later, affirms Israel's sovereignty. By removing the United States from the position of pressuring Israel to sacrifice its historic, religious and strategic capital, Israel will now be able to negotiate on its own behalf.

December 7, 2017

EDITORIAL: Donald Trump recognizes the Israeli capital, and it’s about time

For once, Donald Trump's taste for all-capital letters makes the right point with blunt precision: "Jerusalem IS Israel's capital: I will move our embassy there AND make peace with the Palestinians." Making peace with people who don't want peace is always difficult, when it's not impossible, but the president promises to soldier on.

December 6, 2017

EDITORIAL: Automobile manufacturers are hedging their bets on the all-electric cars

Standing on principle is admirable, but sitting on a Plan B just in case is smart. Automakers are doing both to navigate the obstacles they face in building vehicles both powerful and clean. It's only wise strategy — the future of the fuel is fuzzy.

December 6, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Court should rule for gay couple

If the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of the baker who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple's wedding, it would risk spurring copycat claims ("The Latest: Baker and gay couple at court for cake arguments," Web, Dec. 5). Public-accommodations laws require businesses not to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion and (in almost half the states, including Colorado) sexual orientation. The First Amendment rights regarding free speech and the exercise of religion, though fundamental to our constitutional republic, do not abrogate these laws, the baker's sincere religious faith notwithstanding.

December 6, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Up gas tax to fund transit work

Late Illinois Republican congressman and 1980 National Unity Party presidential candidate John Anderson was ahead of his time. In 1980 he called for a gasoline tax up to 50 cents per gallon to pay for highway- and transit-infrastructure projects.

December 6, 2017

EDITORIAL: Mike Pence puzzles Washington

To the titans of wisdom, morality and politics (as a bunch of little guys of press and tube think of themselves), Mike Pence is a puzzlement. They just can't get a handle on the man.

December 5, 2017