THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Democrats sitting down on the job

Disgruntled members of Congress have rarely caught the point of what the public thinks of Congress quite like the Democratic sit-in in the House of Representatives. "Sitting on their ample rumps" is exactly what most voters think Congress usually does. The characterization is sometimes unfair, but this time the rump makes the point. Published June 23, 2016

Paul Ryan charts way out of Obama ruins

From the horrors of terrorism in Orlando to the wave of trash talk it invited, outrage each day in the waning months of the Obama era exceeds the outrage of the previous day. Published June 22, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Arkansas knows real Clintons

Daniel Gallington's "The lie that is Hillary" (Web, June 19) provides an excellent summary of Hillary Clinton's "public service" career, and is especially enlightening for the low-information voter. Mr. Gallington answers the question of why the Clintons didn't return to Arkansas by accurately stating that returning would have been the financial and political end for the Clintons. Published June 22, 2016

Decision time in Britain

These are not encouraging days for the "elites" and the political "establishments" of the world. Voters are fed up everywhere, and looking not only for ways out of the mess but for ways to punish the authors of the misery. A president's/prime minister's/premier's lot is not a happy one. Published June 22, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Hillary Clinton’s character quality ignored

"Hillary Clinton's honesty problem may end up not being much of a problem at all," writes Ben Wolfgang ("Hillary Clinton still backed by voters, with honesty issues aside," Web, June 19). Indeed, that which was once regarded as imperative among most voters — character — is no longer a matter of paramount concern, even when it comes to the election of the president of the United States. Published June 22, 2016

Common sense and the gun debate

A broken heart can be slow to heal, and the heart of a parent who has lost a child never will. The bereaved families of shooting victims deserve to assuage their grief in any way they can, and to demonstrate that their beloved did not die in vain. But it's important that sorrow not make things worse. Published June 21, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Much change, no hope

In 2008 I contributed $5,002 to 55 different charities. In 2015 I contributed $1,775 to 25 different charities. In seven years even my contributions to my local parish were cut almost in half. That's a 64.5-percent reduction in overall charitable giving. Published June 21, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: GOP, not Donald Trump, real problem

It's easy to say that Donald Trump is an obnoxious, egomaniacal buffoon, but the real story might be a little subtler and a little more complex (not that it makes him any more desirable as president). Published June 21, 2016

A misplaced protest in Syria

Fifty-one career diplomats have signed a protest to the Secretary of State and President Obama condemning U.S. policy, or lack of a good one, in Syria. Their point, that the United States should do everything it can to unseat the barbarous regime of Bashar Assad, is well taken — everywhere but at the White House. Published June 21, 2016

A difficult time for France

These are not happy times for Europe. Angela Merkel has invited in more house guests than Germany can accommodate, the British are talking about leaving the European Union (though Britain has never regarded itself as part of continental Europe), and la belle France is the principal target for Muslim terrorists. Paris has suffered two bloody attacks within the past 18 months. Published June 20, 2016

President Obama’s altered reality of Orlando massacre

It's not the crime, but the cover-up. This is the first rule that every administration, Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative, learns, and usually the hard way. Some crimes are more serious than others, but a little crime, like a little acorn, can grow into a mighty scandal or a mighty oak. Published June 20, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Nothing ‘peaceful’ about murder

One would expect that, at some point in his daily security briefings during his more than 2,700 days in office, President Obama would have been informed of the tens of thousands of terrorist attacks that have taken place around the world during his tenure. Published June 20, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Vote to bring back greatness

As a political independent I have a right and requirement to speak. I see a country with two large political parties squirming to either retain or achieve leadership. The Democrats have chosen as their presumptive leader a completely self-serving individual who has never shown any leadership qualities. Published June 19, 2016

State Department drags on Hillary Clinton emails

Rome wasn't built in a day, but some marvelous work was done posthaste. Only 10 years was required to build the Colosseum, and Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in four. Vision and ambition can defy the ticking of the clock and the passage of the years. Published June 19, 2016

LETER TO THE EDITOR: Compromise on gun control

Contrary to those who argue that gun control should not be the focus of the Orlando nightclub shootings, I believe that gun control is the overriding issue at play. We clearly have too much of it. Published June 19, 2016

Detroit tells all about SUV drivers

Henry Ford could never have imagined that the modest cars he put on the American road would one day grow into trucks. The sport-utility vehicle, the ubiquitous SUV, is big, comfortable and powerful. It's a family friend in the suburbs, where it can spread out as it grows wider, taller and heavier by the year. Published June 19, 2016

An authentic stimulus would create jobs

The Federal Reserve, once full of confidence about the economy, now says the nation will be in the rut of slow growth for as far as the eye can see. Seven years into the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression and we're told not to expect improvement soon. Published June 16, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Call it Islamic terrorism

It is laughable that President Obama, while discussing a group named Islamic State, which fights in the name of Islam and is a greater threat to moderate Muslims than all Western countries combined, claims that if we use the words "Islamic terrorism" it will play into their hands and turn this into a war between Islam and the West. Published June 16, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Declare war against ISIS

We have spent far to much blood and treasure in the Middle East fighting Islamic fundamentalists, and now we are being attacked in our own country. This has all taken place without a declaration of war, which is the responsibility of Congress, as written in our Constitution (Article 1 Section 8). Published June 16, 2016

ISIS must be destroyed

The FBI continues to sort through what it did right, and what it did wrong, in its early dealings with Omar Mateen, the Orlando killer. That's good, but what the White House should be doing is sorting through what it has done wrong in the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS or ISIL. The president's strategy, to put it kindly, has been confused. Published June 16, 2016