THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Azerbaijan’s rich history with Jewish settlers opened door to Israel alliance

If one wonders how the majority Muslim country of Azerbaijan came to such a rich alliance with Israel today, one need look no further than the Red Village, a tiny river conclave in the mountainous region of Quba. There, for centuries, a Jewish community has thrived amid a Muslim population. Published January 28, 2015

Azerbaijan: Shahdag: The skiing gem of Azerbaijan

The complex is less than 20 miles north of the town of Gusar, about 8,200 feet above sea level. Temperatures are perfect for skiing, bottoming out around 34 degrees on winter nights and topping out at 68 degrees during the summer days. Published January 28, 2015

EDITORIAL: Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi baggage

Politics is a rough game. There's no rule that says you can't rough the passer or avoid making hits to the head. There's not even a rule that says it's unfair to take a dispassionate look at the record of a candidate who offers himself — or herself — for president of the United States. This includes a thorough baggage search. Published January 28, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: NOAA Cherry-picking climate change data?

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now states that 2014 was the hottest year on record. They proclaimed this back on January 16. NOAA actually lists three sets of global temperature data, one based on a network of surface thermometers and two based on satellite readings. The two satellite data sets show 2014 as being third and sixth. Moreover, the thermometers ranked 2014 only 0.04 degrees Celsius ahead of the previous hottest year on record, which is (barely) within their nominal margin of measurement error of 0.05 degrees Celsius. Published January 28, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ‘BDS’ groups are anti-Israel, anti-Semitic

The Israel-delegitimization efforts by groups such as the boycott-oriented BDS organization represent not only anti-Israel but anti-Semitic actions ("Using boycotts to delegitimize Israel," Web, Jan. 22). Evidently these same groups hope to soften up Israel and turn world opinion against that democratic nation, allowing Iran with its nuclear and long-range missile program to dispose of Israel and its six million Jews. Published January 28, 2015

EDITORIAL: John Kasich’s pushes Obamacare expansion

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio was one of several Republican governors who agreed in 2013 to accept a grant of federal money under Obamacare to expand his state's Medicaid services. The temporary grant of $2.6 billion, accepted over protests from his legislature, expires this year and Mr. Kasich now wants the legislature to approve taking more Obamacare subsidies to continue to pay for the expansion. Published January 28, 2015

EDITORIAL: The blizzard of 2015 that wasn’t

Nothing is more tempting to television's talking heads than exaggerating an approaching doomsday of blizzards, droughts, hurricanes, traffic jams, abortion rallies and other disasters, and nothing is riskier for politicians. What was hyped as the Great Blizzard of '15 turned out to be the Usual Snowfall of '15, and now the politicians are squirming under an avalanche of second-guessing. Published January 27, 2015

EDITORIAL: Obama’s seizure of Alaskan oil reserves hurts U.S.

Americans are back in the automobile showrooms looking for big cars and SUVs, grooving on size, bells and whistles again. The falling price of gasoline has enabled customers to buy what they want, and what they want is often the Belchfire 8 they can afford to drive again (and trying with difficulty to maneuver through narrow streets in the older cities). The falling gasoline prices have put hundreds of dollars in the pockets of Americans, and that's all to the good. Published January 27, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Fight Boko Haram with mutual interests

About the same time as the Paris massacre at Charlie Hebdo, Boko Haram was murdering hundreds, perhaps thousands of innocents in the town of Baga in northeastern Nigeria. Jihadists in Nigeria have brutally targeted innocents throughout the region. But make no mistake; the root cause has little to do with religion. We must confront the material realities of the discontent. This is a war that will never end, and consequently we cannot win if we do not grasp the underlying causes. Ideas, no matter how perverse, do not come with consume-by dates. Published January 27, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Drug test teachers

The Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin into east and west. As such it restricted progress of the city. Like the Berlin Wall, a wall of denial about employee drug use exists in local school systems. Also like the Berlin Wall, drug use restricts progress. However, unlike the Berlin Wall which was constructed of stone, the wall in the local school systems is constructed of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs. Published January 27, 2015

EDITORIAL: In Iran, Obama gambles on good faith of mullahs

The clock is ticking on efforts to halt Iran's quest for the bomb, and time is running out. When it does, the folly of allowing a rogue state to threaten the Middle East — and the world — with the bomb will be exposed in stark and horrifying relief. Neville Chamberlain was the face of appeasement in the 20th century; Barack Obama would be that face in the 21st. Published January 26, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Expecting Cuba to change a fool’s errand

George Santayana got it right when he said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." President Obama's latest move to normalize diplomatic and trade relations with the brutal Cuban regime with little or no guarantee of anything much in return will only empower and enrich the communist leaders even more. Published January 26, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Stop U.S. self-disarmament

Common estimates of the number of privately owned guns in the United States are between 300 million and 310 million. No one really knows the exact number, and these figures include both legally and illegally owned firearms. Published January 26, 2015

EDITORIAL: The community college illusion

Two years at a "free" community college may seem appealing to young people, fearful of the future and looking for a route to prosperity, but they will be the first to feel disappointment in President Obama's illusionary community-college-for-all scheme. His proposed $60 billion educational subsidy will inevitably diminish the quality of faculties, prevent promising students from obtaining a suitable education, and do little to provide an entryway into the job market. A college or university degree is not the only route to happiness and success. Published January 26, 2015

EDITORIAL: Obama’s broken promise of competitive health care

President Obama is for choice and competition in the health-insurance market, as befits a champion of the free market, except when he isn't. "My guiding principle is, and always has been," he said in 2009 when he was trying to sell Obamacare, "that consumers do better when there is choice and competition. That's how the market works. In Alabama, almost 90 percent of the market is controlled by just one company. And without competition, the price of insurance goes up and quality goes down." Published January 25, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Greek Cypriots should return to negotiations

Contrary to the Hellenic Institute's Nick Larigakis' latest round of histrionics ("Turkey's Cyprus incursion nothing new," Letters, Jan. 21), the appearance of a civilian seismic exploration vessel offshore is a modest assertion of the inherent rights of Turkish Cypriots and a peaceful response to the Greek Cypriot side's disruptive, unilateral actions. Published January 25, 2015

EDITORIAL: ‘Dreamers’ don’t deserve a college discount for breaking the law breaking the law

No one would reward a shoplifter just because he manages to get out of the store with stolen merchandise, but every Democrat in the Virginia state Senate — and one Republican — voted last week to reward those who broke into the country illegally and get a valuable public benefit. Published January 25, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Mitt Romney’s return

This is to put in my two cents in support of Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate for president. It is an unfortunate truism in this day and age that a winning candidate must be tall and handsome with an attractive wife. Abe Lincoln would never make it now, nor would some of Mitt's potential rivals. Published January 25, 2015

EDITORIAL: Congressional gridlock saves taxpayers millions

Gridlock became a dirty word in Washington after the Republicans regained the majority in the House of Representatives and stood in the path of the invader from Fantasy Island, shouting "Stop!" The president wanted a rubber stamp, and the Democrats agreed, demanding of the Republicans, "Why can't you be like us?" Published January 22, 2015

EDITORIAL: The EPA sells climate change hysteria to the young

Once upon a time the inquisitive and the young, the reckless and the incurably naive wore their convictions on the rear bumpers of their Volkswagen Beetles: "Question authority." Time marches on. Now those purveyors of rebellion have become the authority, and they want no further questions. "Shut up," they advise. Published January 22, 2015