THE WASHINGTON TIMES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Bipartisanship needed on climate

Ben Wolfgang's coverage of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Nov. 15 ("Republicans, Democrats brainstorm on plan to reduce greenhouse gas," Web) was a breath of fresh air. It's just this sort of bipartisan deliberation, combined with an understanding of public-private innovation and initiatives, that will help us going forward. The work we have ahead of us cannot be something that one party, one sector or one nation can undertake.

November 21, 2017

EDITORIAL: Congress must be careful not to cut themselves in tax cut bill

President Trump has something extra to be grateful for this Thanksgiving: a the long-awaited tax cut bill, passed by the House and en route to the Senate. As he marks the season with the traditional pardoning of the White House turkey, Republicans in line for similar clemency will get it only if the voters can find it in their hearts to forgive a plodding, inefficient (did someone say "incompetent"?) and lazybones Congress.

November 20, 2017

EDITORIAL: Donald Trump restores North Korea to Dishonor Roll

You can't blame North Korea for playing American presidents for willing suckers. A succession of them applied for the job. President Trump didn't, and Monday restored North Korea to a deserved place of prominence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

November 20, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Thankful for capitalism

I was born on Chicago's south side, a stone's throw from the stockyards, in a melting-pot neighborhood. It was a place that did not have the word poverty in its vernacular. We lived in a cold-water, walk-up apartment quite typical for the type of neighborhood; a four- or five-story, wooden-frame building with four flats opening onto a common hallway on each floor. Our unit didn't have a front door (it had been missing for longer than any of the residents could recall). The doorway into the hallway was closed off with a patchwork quilt nailed to the upper edge of the door frame, and it extended a foot or so beyond both sides to ensure some privacy.

November 20, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Charles Manson should’ve been executed

The news that Charles Manson, one of the most vicious, depraved and infamous killers, has died in prison at the ripe old age of 83 causes me to wonder how many millions of dollars have been spent over the past nearly half-century to keep him alive and provide for his needs and desires. These include legal representation for his trial and countless ludicrous and bizarre efforts to argue for parole, his housing, food, health-care needs, and other expenses through which he was a burden.

November 20, 2017

EDITORIAL: Royal coup in Saudi Arabia opens up unlikely prospects for alliances

If hard times can make a monkey eat red pepper, as the ancient saying goes, tough times might require Arab and Jew to join forces to bring home the bacon. (Metaphorically speaking, of course.) The reformation of Islam, which stalled in Spain in the 16th century, might be struggling for renewed purchase in Saudi Arabia.

November 19, 2017

EDITORIAL: China says it has transplanted a human head

China is thinking big. The Middle Kingdom has already built a small chain of islands in the South China Sea, fortifying them and bids to make them armed fortresses astride the sea lanes connecting Asia to the world. Leaders have to think big, and China obviously wants to replace the United States as the world's superpower.

November 19, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Players should thank Donald Trump

What were the UCLA basketball players thinking as they were shoplifting merchandise from Louis Vuitton stores in Hangzhou, China? These three could have each gotten a 10-year sentence in a not-so-nice Chinese prison for their moronic stunt. They should thank their lucky stars President Trump was able to work with Chinese president Xi Jinping to secure custody release.

November 19, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: GOP has chance to reform taxes

Too many Republicans excel at joining with Democrats on killing legislation and other critical issues. The Republicans, with a House and Senate majority, have an unprecedented opportunity to pass good, much-needed tax-reform legislation, with a transition period and provision for prompt revision if significant problems occur.

November 19, 2017

EDITORIAL: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe pushed aside by his generals

"Every great cause begins as a movement," the television philosopher Eric Hoffer once observed (maybe), "becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." There's some dispute about whether Mr. Hoffer ever actually said it, but there's no dispute that it's an accurate description of what happened to the Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe.

November 16, 2017

EDITORIAL: Woman’s middle-finger salute to Donald Trump rewarded by many strangers

Salutes to the president can be monetized, and a middle-finger salute to a passing presidential motorcade can sometimes be worth more than a hundred grand. Is this a great country, or what?

November 16, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: U.S. owes much to George Washington, Robert E. Lee

Being the great-great grandson of a Union soldier who gave the last full measure of devotion to preserve the Union in the bloodiest war in American history, I have a vested interest in the actions of the Alexandria Episcopal Church and the critics of Gen. Kelly's remarks about the Civil War.

November 16, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Be wary of fed-up Puerto Ricans

An academic and former governor's son, Puerto Rico's current governor, Ricardo Rossello, came into office with zero previous political or business experience. However, he is well-schooled in how things work (or often don't work) on the island. His constituents can't vote in federal elections, but once they step foot in any state of the union, they can vote. Voters of the Caribbean are his best bargaining chip in an otherwise poor hand.

November 16, 2017

EDITORIAL: Only close surveillance will keep Americans safe from terrorists

War is hell, especially for the losers. Rather than winding up in a World War II-type concentration camp, defeated terrorists of ISIS are merely gathering up their wounded egos and bloody heads and heading home. Mom might be overjoyed to welcome the return of little Jihadi Joey, but the neighbors, not so much. When reauthorizing the nation's surveillance code, Congress must make sure that in protecting the privacy of the law-abiding they don't overlook the dangers posed by returning fighters who have lost the battle abroad but intend to continue the fight at home.

November 15, 2017

EDITORIAL: After Roy Moore allegations, Mitch McConnell needs a Plan B

"You can't beat Somebody with Nobody" is one of the first rules of politics, but occasionally Somebody is exposed as a wolf in borrowed clothes and Nobody wins by default. Nobody in Alabama is a man named Doug Jones, and a fortnight ago his chances of defeating Roy Moore were somewhere between Slim and None. And then Slim unexpectedly left town.

November 15, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Give Greece due for WWII victory

Victor Davis Hanson's "Remembering Stalingrad 75 years later" (Web, Nov. 7) is an excellent narrative about a critical event in history. However, it leaves the impression that Germany's dividing its army between Stalingrad and the Russian oil fields caused its defeat and marked the turning point in World War II. Other historians differ.

November 15, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Rebuild U.S. military now

The Virginia election loss of Ed Gillespie showed voter frustration with our do-nothing Congress, not frustration with the hard-working President Donald Trump, who is making America great again. The Virginia GOP must rebuild with the president's help and elect Corey Stewart for senator in 2018. He is the best hope Republicans have to drain the swamp of Northern Virginia and represent true conservative values.

November 15, 2017

EDITORIAL: California doesn’t understand the U.S. Constitution

There's a lot about the law and the Constitution that California does not understand, particularly the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court, perhaps willing to offer the needed tutorial in the law, has agreed to hear a legal challenge to a California law requiring private pro-life pregnancy counseling centers to tell their clients that the state will provide an abortion instead.

November 14, 2017

EDITORIAL: Donald Trump is back, but there’s no applause from critics

President Trump is home from the hill, and Thanksgiving isn't far away, but the only words of gratitude from the liberals and the harder left is, "Thanks for nothing." That's all the president gets from his sore-loser critics following a whirlwind diplomatic and deal-making excursion through Asia. When they lock their partisan opposition in concrete and vow never to say an encouraging word, Americans are reminded why they voted to "Put America first."

November 14, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Don’t write Roy Moore off yet

If Republican Senate nominee Judge Roy S. Moore sexually abused four women and one was only 14 years old at the time, he should withdraw from the U.S. Senate race immediately. But that's a big "if." After being silent for more than 30 years — during which time Mr. Moore ran for many offices — these women are accusing Mr. Moore now, when it is too late under Alabama law for another Republican to be put on the ballot. If he withdraws, the election of a Democrat is guaranteed. That smells.

November 14, 2017