As any reporter can tell you, it’s far more fun to cover zany people and events than those exuding decency and restraint. The news business, like much of the entertainment media, thrives on mayhem.
In Disney’s animated classic “Fantasia,” the spectacular deviltry of “A Night on Bald Mountain” is followed by a peaceful march of candle-bearing believers after the morning sun dispatches the satanic hordes. The melodic strains of “Ave Maria” wash away any lingering creepiness. … Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (A, 92%) has been nothing if not vocal about his belief that a new set of health care reforms should be voted on at the same time as a repeal of Obamacare. This week, Sen. Paul has revealed his proposal to replace Obamacare, by introducing S. 222, the Obamacare Replacement Act.
His bill is obviously designed to work in tandem with the partial repeal that was passed by Congress last year, in that it sweeps away the parts of Obamacare that the other bill leaves behind, particularly the regulations.… Continue Reading
No one should be surprised that group think instead of rational choices surround the 13 interconnected bills of the “Grand Bargain.” It is wholly predictable given the longevity of the Illinois Senate leaders involved. They’ve been working together for nearly 2 decades. They put in place many of the policies that are now taking a toll on our state.
They are the beneficiaries of generous pensions when they retire, excessive pay for their part-time jobs, and the public attention and stature of the positions they hold. … Continue Reading
Is there a constitutional principle so sacrosanct that it can abide no exceptions? Perhaps the First Amendment? Nope. Courts have placed reasonable restrictions on free speech and the practice of religion. You can’t libel someone, nor can you sacrifice live animals. The Second Amendment? No again, as any number of gun laws attest. One can find reasonable exceptions to just about every constitutional principle.
But 43 years ago, trawling through the penumbra and emanations of the Constitution, Justice Harry Blackmun found an inviolable right that had somehow evaded the Founding Fathers: the right to kill a child in utero—mere inches from being fully born, even—for any reason or no reason.
What happens when Republicans pursue a half-baked repeal of Obamacare and sell it to the public as full repeal of Obamacare? Premiums go up because of the core Obamacare provisions left behind, yet that increase will be blamed on the false pretense that Obamacare was indeed repealed.
Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a budgetary and economic score of the presumptive GOP plan to “replace” Obamacare. CBO concluded that not only will premiums fail to decrease, but will increase by 20-25% and 27 million more people would be uninsured.… Continue Reading
A recent phenomenon in American politics amid the conclaves of the media and academic elites is the stultifying debate over an outgoing president’s so-called “Legacy.” The nation now finds itself embroiled in this conversation as none other than Barack Obama, by his innumerable self-serving speeches, countless appearances on a multitude of media platforms and myriad gatherings with fawning supporters, has attempted to establish a positive spin on his legacy. He has far exceeded anything the previous occupants of the Oval Office have done to reinforce their image as they leave the White House behind. … Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) hit the morning television circuit Thursday to unveil their new bill to defund the United Nations.
Standing shoulder to shoulder and smiling, the two national security-minded lawmakers appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Fox News’ Fox and Friends to detail a plan that would block taxpayer dollars from funding the corrupt international body.
In citing last month’s egregious anti-Israel UN Security Resolutions as a major source of dismay in the senate, they drew a clear ideological line in the sand between the Obama administration and Congress.… Continue Reading
By now the nation is fully aware of a heinous crime committed in Chicago against a mentally challenged young man who is white. Four black adults kidnapped him, bound him with duct tape, tortured him for days as he huddled in a corner, made him drink water out of a toilet, and threatened him with a knife which they used to cut his scalp.
He managed to escape and the police found him wandering dazed and traumatized in a T-shirt and shorts in the January cold.… Continue Reading
President-elect Donald Trump said he would get rid of political correctness (PC), and it couldn’t come too soon.
But the Trump Era has not quite begun, so we’re still saddled with some PC, big and small.
On the big side, we’re being told over and over that Mr. Trump did not actually win the election, but stole it with Russian help and — get this — media complicity. If you don’t go along with this PC view of the election, you are some sort of cave dweller.… Continue Reading
Media Watch | David E. Smith | 
February 1, 2017 6:00 AM | 
Comments Off on The Media March in Lockstep Toward Irrelevance 
