THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Saving Puerto Rico

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a small island, population 3.5 million, but it's counting on Washington thinking that the commonwealth, like Wall Street banks and Detroit automobile manufacturers, is too big to fail. Decades of out-of-control management has pushed it to the brink of financial collapse. Published April 19, 2016

EDITORIAL: Why is Obama reluctant to endorse Hillary Clinton?

At 54 and soon to be unemployed (though with a nice pension and a feast of travel perks), Barack Obama may well believe that there's still something in the political world ahead for him. Congress has nothing for an ex-president -- been there and done that. But there are options. Published April 18, 2016

EDITORIAL: Hillary Clinton’s gender wage-gap fallacy

Most men love women. Every man owes his life to the woman who gave him birth, and many men have sisters with whom they shared their toys and DNA, and finally a wife with whom he shares his life. That's why men are rankled by the message Hillary Clinton harps on, that men have a bias against women in the workplace. Men get a bigger paycheck, and size matters. Published April 18, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Boston Globe needs reality check

The Boston Globe editorial writers recently wrote an amateurish, fake story condemning Republican presidential contender Donald Trump ("Pulp fiction: The Boston Globe satirical attack on Donald Trump is just plain odd," Web, April 10). The writers state that as president, Mr. Trump will have an enemies list. This is a wild accusation for a so-called responsible paper to publish. Published April 18, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: John Kasich fit to be president

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives before he was elected governor of Ohio, John Kasich served as chairman of the House Budget Committee and succeeded in balancing the federal budget. He has vowed that, as president, balancing the federal budget will be his priority. As governor of Ohio he has reduced taxes by $5 billion and erased the state's deficit. Published April 18, 2016

EDITORIAL: Fracking allows Obama to deal with Saudi Arabia as an equal

The United States was only yesterday a supplicant at the oil bazaar, counting on the Saudis to be merciful by keeping OPEC a reasonable merchant, but that was then, and the United States is an oil exporter now. No more supplicant. America might even make a credible argument for membership in OPEC. Published April 17, 2016

EDITORIAL: Americans dislike whining politicians

This is the year of the whiner. The Republican establishment whines that if only the folks in the grass roots would listen to the wise men the party could get on with choosing a serious candidate, like Jeb Bush, or John Kasich, or Paul Ryan, or, swallowing hard, even Ted Cruz. Donald Trump whines that the elites aren't playing fair and the delegate selection is rigged. Published April 17, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Change is possible, but hard

As a longtime admirer of Clifford May's op-eds I have to shout "Bravo" after reading "Can America change course?" (Web, April 12). Underlying Mr. May's thesis that it will be difficult for any new incumbent of the Oval Office to make dramatic changes to our national security strategy is the recognition of how much President Obama's promise of changing America has been achieved during his time in office. Published April 17, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Stand up to Russia, Iran

It's pathetic to watch the integrity and status of the U.S. military dwindle. From the recent intimidation of our Navy vessels by the Russians doing low fly-bys and buzzing our ships in the Baltic Sea, to the taking of 10 of our sailors by the Iranians, our military may well have fallen to an all-time low and become a laughingstock for the world to see ("Russia rejects criticism of fly-by near US Navy destroyer," Web, April 14). Published April 17, 2016

EDITORIAL: No tax emancipation this year

Tax Day arrives a little late this year, giving Americans a three-day reprieve from the annual pain of sending the U.S. Treasury an arm and a leg, without gift-wrapping. The day of dread is April 18, owing to the District of Columbia's Emancipation Day, falling on April 16, a Saturday, entitling D.C.'s federal workers to take a three-day weekend. A short extension from the usual April 15 deadline hardly soothes the pain. Published April 14, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Wage-raise fallacy a vote trap

Once again the politicians are singing the siren song of "raise the minimum wage." To poorly educated workers who are earning minimum wage, it sounds like the answer to their prayers. But it won't elevate these individuals econommically and the politicians know it. Published April 14, 2016

EDITORIAL: Republicans must deny Obama’s Supreme Court nominee

An election year is not the most promising time to expect congressional action on major legislation, regardless of which party is in charge. That especially applies this year. Senators and representatives up for re-election are always reluctant to take tough positions on important issues that could anger constituents, even in off-years, and reluctance becomes fear in presidential election years when a retiring president pushes hard for legacy-making initiatives. Published April 14, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: School can still teach morals

Cal Thomas and I regret the lack of moral standards and guidelines around today ("Whose morality?" Web, April 6), but I believe the universal standard for choosing between right and wrong comes down to the answer to a simple query: Is the thing in question suitable to human nature? Published April 14, 2016

Powerball numbers for Wednesday, April 13 revealed

Powerball continued to build toward the eye-popping $200 million mark that starts lengthy runs on tickets, as numbers were drawn again Wednesday night six weeks after the last big prize was won. Published April 13, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Voters tired of rigged politics

Support for Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz this presidential-election season is an obvious backlash to congressional Republicans betraying voters throughout President Obama's term. Voters, rules and promises no longer seem to matter to those in power. All that does seems to be obtaining power and wielding it to reward friends, punish enemies and amass more power . Published April 13, 2016

EDITORIAL: Obama moves to stop dissenters

Everyone in politics dreams of shutting up opponents, but the wise and reasonable understand that in a free society it's not nice to do that. The First Amendment guarantees free speech to everybody. Published April 13, 2016

EDITORIAL: Paul Ryan’s almost ‘Sherman’

Paul Ryan is getting the message. His statement to a press gaggle on the Hill on Tuesday -- "I do not want nor will I accept the nomination [from] our party" -- is only a millimeter short of the authentic Sherman that Gen. William Tecumseh, famous for playing with matches on his march from Atlanta to the sea in 1865, gave to those who wanted him to run for president two decades later. Published April 13, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Change election process

In "Can't we do better?" (Web, April 5), Cal Thomas deplores the way we elect our presidents. He says we need ideas for improving the system. Well, I have two. Published April 12, 2016

EDITORIAL: Hillary Clinton’s CP joke

One of the positives of Donald Trump's presidential campaign has been the large dent the Donald has made in the movement to render everything politically correct. A large dent but, alas, not a fatal dent. Many people clearly have not got the memo. Published April 12, 2016

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Inconvenient doesn’t mean corrupt

Donald Trump thinks the Republican — and, for that matter, the Democratic — presidential-nominating process is corrupt because, in his opinion, the candidate with the most delegates from a party's primaries should automatically be that party's nominee. That's not how it works, Donald. Published April 12, 2016