THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: An Alabama university drops football

It takes strength, courage and resolve on the part of young men to play football. Sometimes it requires even more strength, courage and resolve on the part of college and university administrators not to play football. Published December 10, 2014

EDITORIAL: Pluto’s New Horizons NASA spacecraft renews respect for ‘dwarf planet’

These are definitely not the glory days of the American space program, but we should be thankful that, as Daniel Webster said of Dartmouth College, "there are those who love it." While many were busy protesting and rioting this week, mourning young black men shot by policemen by lying down in front of passenger trains, scientists at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory turned their attention to a quieter and saner world. Published December 10, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: American safety, freedom come with costs

The world would be such a grand place if all children had something to eat, no one lied or cheated, courtesy was the rule and we all loved one another. The reality, however, is that there are some really evil people out there who could not care less about others and would just as soon kill some people as look at them. Published December 10, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Republicans must reverse Obama’s six years of mayhem

As his sixth year in office draws to a close, President Obama continues to add to our list of problems. Republicans in charge of Congress must unite to reverse the flawed policies, executive orders and rules and regulations that have negatively affected our economy, military, security, health care, education and personal and religious freedoms. Published December 10, 2014

EDITORIAL: Mental health care can reduce mass shootings

Two years ago this month, a young man who killed his mother and took her guns walked into an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and began firing. When the smoke cleared, Adam Lanza, 20, had shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, in the five minutes between the time he shot his way into the school and the time police arrived. He then shot himself dead. Published December 9, 2014

EDITORIAL: The politics of torture

The Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday released the results of the long anticipated investigation into the CIA's detentions and interrogation techniques in the prosecution of the "war" on Islamic terrorism, and there's something in it for nearly everyone. Published December 9, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: No checks on ‘torture’ report truthfulness

This week Senate Democrats and President Obama released the so-called CIA "torture report" ("U.S. prepares for security risks from torture report," Web, Dec. 8). American overseas installations and businesses must go on alert and brace themselves for Islamist reprisals. Published December 9, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Terror report release endangers U.S.

As Americans we should be greatly outraged to learn that the Obama administration has released a report on the CIA's interrogation techniques in the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks ("U.S. prepares for security risks from torture report," Web, Dec. 8). We have to ask ourselves on whose side the president of the United States stands. Published December 9, 2014

EDITORIAL: John Boehner keeps omnibus bill secret

Conservatives in Congress are steaming, and with good reason. If the 113th Congress, now on its deathbed but still twitching and making dying sounds, doesn't appropriate the money needed to keep the government operating until the deadline at the end of the week, the government will have to shut down. This is something the Republican leaders in both the House and Senate vow they will avoid by whatever means necessary. Published December 8, 2014

EDITORIAL: Defense bill wastes money

The House has passed the $585 billion Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Clearing that obstacle is good. Unfortunately, the legislation is larded with billions of dollars in waste and fat, and now the Senate must muster the determination to do what the House wouldn't. Published December 8, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Ferguson destroyed itself

I am not sure about the rest of America, but I have had enough of Ferguson, Missouri. You can blame the recent riots across our country and the continued sensationalism of the Ferguson riot on the news media, be it TV, print or Internet, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan and their ilk. Rev. Sharpton and Mr. Farrakhan should be arrested and charged for inciting this riot; they, along with Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and a racially divisive president, continue to incite violence. We have laws on the books, but our 'community organizer' turned his head until the rioting was over, then convened a summit at the White House to discuss how it could have taken place. Published December 8, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: EU needs better immigration strategy

Nikolia Apostolou's article on Syrian refugees in Greece ("Flood of migrants besets Greece," Web, Dec. 3) fails to convey the full picture of irregular immigration that Greece and the European Union face. Published December 8, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Minimum wage raise hurts workers, especially in black community

Much of America, especially the black community, is being hurt by our nation's dire economic situation. This follows the very high hopes this community had during the beginning of 2009 when President Obama took office. Black wealth has declined since 2009 while the black poverty rate has risen. Overall black unemployment is tragically high and youth unemployment is an astronomical 36.8 percent. This 36.8 percent does not count the many who have given up hope and left the labor market altogether. Published December 7, 2014

EDITORIAL: Ebola virus survives bureaucratic turf war in Washington

Turf wars are expensive, but they're popular in Washington. Every turf warrior thinks he's saving the republic by making sure his bureaucracy has a bigger budget and is more powerful than the bureaucracy across the street. Somebody has to pay for these wars, however, in both money and in kind, and that somebody looks a lot like the rest of us. Published December 7, 2014

EDITORIAL: Obama plops, spins bad news on Friday

The art of the spin has become a science in Washington, and just as important as the art of the spin is what we can call the science of the plop. The plop doctors drop the bad news with a resounding plop! on Friday afternoon, just as the guilty parties are on their way to Reagan National Airport or Union Station (few take the Greyhound bus) to flee for the weekend, leaving the bad news to marinate while the spin doctors cook up their mush for Monday morning. Every White House is staffed with Ph.D.s in both plop- and spinology. The Obama White House is particularly adept in both the science and the art. Published December 7, 2014

EDITORIAL: Government regulated nutrition labels

The lot of the nannies at the Food and Drug Administration is not a happy one. They just can't get everyone to eat their spinach. The stubborn rubes out there in flyover land want to decide for themselves what to eat. But the new government regulations just announced will require anyone who sells food to the public to count their customers' calories. Published December 4, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Government-regulated health

Ever hear of the term "iatrogenic"? No doubt your doctor is familiar with it. It means caused by your doctor — during procedures, diagnosis, the administration of drugs, whatever. Published December 4, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remembering Marion Barry’s contributions

In recalling the long and storied political career of late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, nearly every obituary and news account has noted that he owed his political fortunes to the District's poorest constituents. The implication is that he was the beneficiary of blind loyalty from those too unsophisticated to grasp the gravity of his personal troubles. Published December 4, 2014

EDITORIAL: Ferguson raises hypocrisy cries after Obama liberals skew world vision

Dedicated party-line liberals — "progressives," they call themselves now that they realize they polluted the noble word "liberal" — look at the world differently than most people. They recognize the sins of their own country and see them as just as bad as the sins of other countries, however vile, and probably worse. It's this skewed vision that enables professors and their students to go from a gay rights rally exorcising the "homophobia" of Christians to a rally praising Muslim jihadis for whom homosexuality is a capital offense. For them, there's only a little difference, if any, in the values of the West and those of the patriots of the Islamic State. A crucifix or a beheading knife: What's the difference? Published December 4, 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Abortion biggest killer of African-Americans

The riots in Ferguson, Missouri, following the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting and death of Michael Brown was expected by many. There was utter chaos on the streets of Ferguson because many apparently believed the decision reflected racism. Published December 3, 2014