THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Articles by THE WASHINGTON TIMES
EDITORIAL: Even ‘60 Minutes’ can’t blink at Benghazi betrayals
Murder, as the Bard reminded us, "though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ." That goes double, as we're learning now about what happened in Benghazi. Murder is multiplied by betrayal. Washington's sleepy press regiments appear to be rising from a five-year slumber to recognize the Benghazi betrayal as a real story. Published October 31, 2013
EDITORIAL: Nancy Pelosi’s ferocious appetite
No government has taken as much sheer wealth from its citizens as the United States has done this year. The record-breaking $2.8 trillion federal haul represents $24,000 from every U.S. household. On average, that's nearly half of each household's total income. That would be enough for Croesus, the ancient king of Lydia famous in his day as the happiest and wealthiest man on earth. Croesus had it all. But Nancy Pelosi could teach him a thing or two about greed. Published October 31, 2013
EDITORIAL: Running from Halloween’s spooks and goblins
Halloween mischief lurks in all the usual places, and this time, rambunctious teenagers aren't to blame. Some adults are out to rid their communities of the holiday fun altogether. They're trying to soothe anxiety, whether over children taking candy from strangers or the modern security concerns over masks that hide a wearer from the government's facial-recognition cameras. But it's Halloween's roots in religion, though barely discernible, that give the fainthearted and excessively sensitive the most anxiety. Published October 30, 2013
EDITORIAL: The cruelty of not cutting
Democrats insist that every dollar in the $3.8 trillion annual budget is precious and well spent — all waste has been eliminated by sequestration. "The cupboard is bare," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said recently on CNN's "State of the Union." "There's no more cuts to make. ... We cannot have cuts just for the sake of cuts." Republicans and the facts suggest otherwise. Published October 30, 2013
EDITORIAL: Reforming the reform
Republicans haven't succeeded in repealing Obamacare, or even restraining the scheme the Democrats pushed through Congress without a single Republican vote. That's what can happen with a determined Democrat in the White House and the Democrats in control of half of Congress. Republicans in the House will now take aim at another of President Obama's hyperpartisan achievements, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street regulation bill. Published October 30, 2013
EDITORIAL: Making the world safe for dirt
When government regulators design light bulbs, they become expensive, toxic hazards. Once they begin telling companies how to make dishwashers and washing machines, dishes and clothes no longer emerge from the machine as spotless as they once would have. Now busybodies in Europe have set their sights on the remaking the vacuum cleaner. Published October 29, 2013
EDITORIAL: The Obamacare omelet
Americans who like their doctor and health care plans are out of luck. Despite the emphatic promises he made not so long ago, President Obama's new message, made in so many words, is the equally emphatic "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." The Obamacare omelet is accompanied by the hash the president is making of the coverage so many people wanted to keep. Published October 29, 2013
EDITORIAL: Shutting down the lemonade stands
Before government grew to a $3.8 trillion annual enterprise, churches and public-spirited men and women tried to take care of those in need. Volunteers keep that spirit alive today. Marines collect toys for poor children, brawny firemen pass their hats at intersections to gather a few coins for important projects, and Girl Scouts knock on doors with boxes of cookies (in several flavors). Inevitably, a handful of bureaucrats in towns and cities across the land are eager to kick over a few lemonade stands to stop it. Published October 29, 2013
EDITORIAL: Electric cars are hot
Electric cars are hot, but not necessarily in a good way. One of them, the Tesla Model S, ran over a rock in the road in Seattle early this month and burst into flames. The administration's friends, if not necessarily the Tesla Model S, can always count on a break. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the golden boy of the green car industry, drew a pass. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declined to investigate the incident. Published October 28, 2013
EDITORIAL: The power of principle
A fortnight after the government's grand reopening, Americans have shrugged off the "evil" of the shutdown. The Democrats crafted their entire legislative agenda around a vow to resist delaying Obamacare, hoping that points collected from outraged voters could be cashed at the midterm elections. If voters don't care about the shutdown a fortnight later, it's hard to see how it would matter a year from now. Published October 28, 2013
EDITORIAL: Buyer’s remorse in Europe
President Obama offered a half-grovel last week when he asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to forgive him for the National Security Agency's tap on her cellphone. What he didn't offer was an admission of wrongdoing or authentic contrition. He merely invoked the Sgt. Schultz defense: He "knew nothing, absolutely nothing" about what his spooks were up to. Published October 28, 2013
EDITORIAL: Holiday wars
Whenever people gather for a little fun with the celebration of a holiday, there's someone nearby eager to stop it. The kill-joy movement has been semi-successful with its war on Christmas, relentlessly pursuing anyone wishing a greeting in the name of the Prince of Peace. Published October 27, 2013
EDITORIAL: The nanny goes to court
Mike Bloomberg won't take no for an answer. Like most billionaires, the mayor of New York City is accustomed to getting his way, so he is pressuring the state's highest court to rescue his ban on Big Gulps. Published October 27, 2013
EDITORIAL: Thwarting domestic spies
Rights once lost are usually gone for good. Governments never admit mistakes, and few judges are courageous enough to set things right. So it's refreshing that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia last week came to the eminently reasonable conclusion that the police must get a warrant before putting an electronic tracking device on someone's car. Published October 27, 2013
EDITORIAL: No keys to the factory
Detroit lies in a shambles, in large part owing to the greed of the automobile unions. The United Auto Workers once helped autoworkers achieve the good life, but then brought the Motor City to ruin with unreasonable demands. Now it's looking to move into the South to recover relevance. Published October 24, 2013
EDITORIAL: The Sarvis factor
Apart from death and taxes, few things in life are certain. But one of them is that third-party candidates nearly always lose. Sometimes a third-party candidate can be a positive influence in the race, and sometimes not. Robert Sarvis, the candidate of the Libertarian Party, can only contribute to the prospects of Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee. Published October 24, 2013
EDITORIAL: The Obamacare taxi squad
The Obama administration now concedes that the taxpayers didn't get first-rate service for the website the administration spent $634 million to build. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services who was the construction foreman, tells CNN that the government contractors will now send their "A-Team" in a "tech surge" to fix things. Where has the A-Team been for the past three years? Why did we get only the taxi squad? The implementation for Obamacare was clearly an afterthought for a half-baked health care scheme. Published October 24, 2013
EDITORIAL: A fox for the henhouse
The unions are trying to put another fox in the henhouse. President Obama, always eager to oblige his friends, has nominated Richard Griffin, a radical left-wing lawyer, to serve as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Published October 23, 2013
EDITORIAL: The Class Envy Commission
President Obama thinks some people make too much money, and he intends to do something about it. Armed with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street regulation bill he pushed through Congress in 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to stoke the flames of class envy by shaming CEOs who earn "too much" money. Published October 22, 2013
EDITORIAL: A new threat to Obamacare
Judges aren't likely to save us from Obamacare — Chief Justice John Roberts, who didn't want the Supreme Court to look bad, crushed that hope. But U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman deserves credit for doing the right thing in Washington on Tuesday, allowing a lawsuit to challenge one of the least defensible parts of the president's health care takeover, his scheme of subsidies. Published October 22, 2013
