THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Trump at two years on

Two years down and two to go. Like him or loathe him, Donald Trump is the force of nature his supporters hoped he would be and his detractors feared he would be. There's no reason to think he will change his ways of getting things done leading up to the 2020 presidential election. If the voters could get his solid results without the nonstop drama, Donald Trump would be a shoo-in for a second term. Published January 22, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Scrub Washington of Clintons

Why is Hillary Clinton traveling the globe to "#Resist," obstruct, Twitter troll and work so hard via her mainstream media partners to relentlessly posture the failure or impeachment of President Trump? Although pundits have hinted she is not interested in a long presdential campaign, she still teases that she'd like to be president. Why? Published January 22, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Climate misinformation harms all

In my op-ed "The overblown and misleading issue of global warming" (Web, Jan. 2), I made a reference to "ignorant people abusing the freedom of the Internet." Following the publication in The Washington Times, somebody alerted me about a commentary published Jan. 12 on joannenova.com.au with the made-up title "Professor Retires and Becomes a Climae Sceptic." This is so inaccurate and misleading I cannot imagine how they even thought of it. Or if they thought at all before they posted it. As a result, the site attracted reader comments, some of which are simply idiotic. Published January 22, 2019

EDITORIAL: A little learning would improve certain new members of Congress

Ours is the era of the Twitter celebrity. Gun control activist David Hogg, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and of course President Trump owe their celebrity to Twitter, giving most of them (the president excepted) celebrity and fame just for being famous. None would have ascended to such fame but for the social networking platform. Twitter is said to be losing money — gobs of it, in fact — but it's a kingmaker. Or at least a prince-and princess-maker. Published January 21, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Who’s in charge here?

Is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now in charge of our country ("Shutdown goes on as Trump offer doesn't budge Democrats," Web, Jan. 21)? Is she in charge of our government? Can she keep other members of Congress from trying to compromise? Can she alone shut down all negotiations? Finally, what are other members of Congress doing for the American people? Published January 21, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ‘Freebies’ don’t grow on trees

The new Marxist arrivals elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 are interpreting the elections as an endorsement of their socialist policies. They have dropped all pretenses. There are no "liberals" or "progressives," just proud Marxist-Leninists driven by ideology. The driving force of the Democratic Party is economic inequality, the argument socialists have invoked since the birth of capitalism. Published January 21, 2019

EDITORIAL: Putting William Barr to the test

The balance of political power in Washington requires a nimble gait afoot for those who come to town to do good and stay to do well. William Barr, the president's nominee for U.S. attorney general, has navigated skillfully the avenues that lead to the top at the Department of Justice. If confirmed as the nation's 85th attorney general, Mr. Barr must remember where to tiptoe within the endless ranks of Washington lawyers and where to come down hard with both feet. Published January 20, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Remove congressional-duty shirkers

State of the union? Nancy Pelosi personifies the answer to that question. It's become crystal clear that draining the swamp is never going to happen. The career politicians know how to manipulate the process for lifetime appointments. Published January 20, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Congress, president, clean up acts

Members of Congress, you are strangling the citizens of the United States of America with your outrageous ego battles among one another, each attempting to gain some supercilious triumph over your enemy, who is simply a member of the other political party. You have lost sight and purpose of what it is you have been elected to do, which is serve the people of this country. What you are doing instead is simply trying to build your own personal political bases — at the cost of the American populace and the United States economy. Published January 20, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Wall would ensure fairness

With the federal government shutdown now approaching a month in length, I know federal workers are beginning to feel the financial pinch, and for their sake hope the impasse is resolved sooner rather than later. Published January 17, 2019

EDITORIAL: There must be no place in America for racial or religious bigotry

The House of Representatives has voted, nearly unanimously, to condemn remarks made by Iowa congressman Steve King. The long-time Republican congressman, in an interview with The New York Times, asked a rhetorical question: "White nationalist, white supremacist when did that become offensive?" The correct answer is "a long time ago." Rep. King's remarks set off a firestorm, including calls to resign from powerful members of his own party. Published January 17, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Situation at border indeed crisis

Is there is a border crisis? Who are we to believe — politicians or our own eyes? Our neighbor lost two children to the fentanyl that comes through the southern border. Drugs, gangs, potential terrorists and human traffickers penetrate the border as easily as do families. Our inability to screen immigrants also exposes us to pathogens like tuberculosis. The porosity of the border is confirmed by felons who have been deported multiple times. Yet another "caravan" is forming, and identifying vests worn by its spokesmen prove it to be an organized, not a spontaneous event. Yes, there is a crisis. Published January 17, 2019

EDITORIAL: If the free market is to work, the U.S. must deal with China’s belligerence

The United States and China are drifting into a trade war, and it's worrying almost everybody. It's a peculiar war, compared to such struggles of previous centuries. Its importance is sometimes minimized in importance because of the blind spots both countries have for one another. Neither country seems to have an adequate appreciation of the other's very different environment. Published January 16, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Rap the elephant in the room

The Gillette company is getting well-deserved blowback this week over their "toxic masculinity" shaving cream ad, which has many viewers signaling for a time out. Masculinity is not toxic, but in fact life-protecting and life-nurturing, just as much as femininity is. Published January 16, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Sweep out bogus patents

A recent op-ed spoke to the need for bipartisan solutions to lower drug prices ("Double jeopardy on patents discourages drug innovation," Web, Jan. 2). But under the banner of "protecting drug innovation," it conflates two distinct processes: the role of drug patents under the Hatch-Waxman Act and a newer process created by Congress to clear the system of flimsy, improperly issued patents (known as IPR, or inter partes reviews). This patent obfuscation and defense of every single drug patent — even weak ones — at all costs is one big reason American consumers pay the highest drug prices on the planet. Published January 16, 2019

EDITORIAL: Two unusual Democratic prospects focus an eye on the White House

Most of the government is idle and the nation's capital is shrouded in nearly a foot of snow with more on the way, but politics, the capital's only industry, grinds on at a quickening pace. Over the past few days, two more Democrats have entered the race for president, joining Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. John Delaney of Maryland. These four, gathering press notices while they may, won't be the last. Published January 15, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Decision negates citizenship

Next week we have a rather awkward conflict presented to us. First, we celebrate the 90th birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then we commemorate the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that decreed a pre-born child is not legally a person, and thus has no right to live. Published January 15, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: How is this wall different?

America has built thousands of miles of tall walls, often from concrete, along the nation's highways as noise barriers. In certain instances, the Federal Highway Administration requires them. Published January 15, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: What is race, anyway?

The whole notion of race is frustrating. It is such an unscientific concept that it is amazing to me how much media attention is paid to it. I suspect that it was created for political reasons, mostly by the left. It is used to create monsters on the right, who are supposed to be racists because they want to give autonomy to some business owners for hiring and to college presidents for admissions. It is used by the left to create victims and to justify all manner of government interventions to correct the perceived racial imbalances. Published January 14, 2019

EDITORIAL: Aspiring new moralists want to open the borders to a rush of illegal migrants

A congressperson as the arbiter of national morality, the judge of what's right and wrong, the earnest scholar of government theology? Who knew? Yet Nancy Pelosi says building a wall on the border is "immoral." Ours is an age that mocks the values that created America. Published January 14, 2019