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Odd Couplings at the Oscars
The 2013 Academy Awards featured Michelle Obama announcing the Best Picture winner in a live satellite connection from the White House. As a symbol of female empowerment and a formidable Harvard-educated lawyer, the First Lady looked out of place concluding a broadcast dominated by one of the raunchiest, most misogynistic hosts in Oscar history.
The evening...
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Outlines of a Compromise?
Even with the current hysteria over the looming sequestration, outlines of a sensible, bi-partisan compromise are painfully obvious. The Republicans want to trim deficits by cutting spending, while Democrats seek the same result through more sacrifices from the rich.
Why not give both sides what they demand—with government spending less and the rich...
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Spreading the Wealth to Argo
The Best Picture Oscar awarded to Argo over its chief competitor Lincoln represents another triumph for Hollywood’s liberal values. This is not a question of political favoritism: the directors, writers and producers of both films are all enthusiastic Democrats.
But Lincoln celebrated a uniquely heroic moment in American history—the final abolition of...
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Environmentalism and Human Sacrifice
Last week, Bjorn Lomborg, the widely published Danish professor and director of one of the world’s leading environmental think tanks, the Copenhagen Consensus Center, published an article about the Philippines’ decision, after 12 years, to allow genetically modified (GM) rice — “golden rice” — to be grown and consumed in that...
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How Hollywood De-Christianized Johnny Cash
It’s an early scene in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line. The young Cash, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is auditioning for the man who might make him the next Elvis Presley. That man was Sam Phillips, the Sun Records impresario from Memphis.
The fictional Cash walks into the room and begins playing a Gospel song. The fictional Phillips is not impressed,...
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Hugh Hewitt: Obama the anti-Lincoln
President Obama’s sequester is getting most of the attention, but before many more days pass the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will enter their conclave and most of the world’s attention will focus not on the overheated and overblown rhetoric coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. but on the new face, spirit and guide of international Roman...
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Obama’s Trip Should Correct Anti-Israel Lies
As Barack Obama prepares for his March trip to Israel—his first as president—he should help correct distortions about the Jewish state his own administration helped promote. For instance, many Americans view Israel as a dangerous nation, perpetually menaced by terrorism, and see concessions to Palestinian militants as the only path to security.
Actually,...
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Distorting Numbers on Gay Identity
A misleading new state-by-state study claims that nearly 4 percent of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender with Washington, DC boasting the top LGBT population of nearly 10 percent.
These figures seem to contradict a 2011 study from the same experts at UCLA’s Williams Institute that showed only 1.7% saying they were gay or...
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Hugh Hewitt: U.S. media cover papacy like a horse race
Racism in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue? A cruise ship nightmare vacation? Marco Rubio’s water bottle?
Oh, and the world’s largest church, the weight-bearing wall of Western civilization, is about to select a new leader who might guide it for a generation.
Which story got the most coverage in major media outlets last weekend?
The only story...
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Grand Gestures Instead of a Grand Bargain
In his State of the Union address, Barack Obama offered some unexpectedly reasonable and bi-partisan language on deficits, spending, economic growth, tax reform, education, and immigration. The question for Republicans will be whether or not the president will truly offer meaningful chances for cooperation, or revert to his old strategy of dismissing and...
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“Groundhog Day” at the State of the Union
The State of the Union speech concluded with a rousing call for change. “America needs a new direction,” the president declaimed. “A change of course which will put the unemployed back to work; increase real income and production; restrain the growth of Federal Government spending; achieve energy independence; and advance the cause of world...
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The Era of Big Gridlock is Upon Us
The New York Times called the SOTU “making the case for government,” but it was in fact the unveiling of gridlock, the opening of the era of Big Gridlock.
Nothing the president wants as a piece of legislation will emerge from the Congress. Unlike President Reagan in 1981, President Obama doesn’t have a single great demand but a dozen little ones. Thus...
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Who Makes the Cut for the Worst Presidents Ever?
As President Obama prepares his State of the Union Address and the nation looks forward to a Presidents Day holiday, Americans should consider the warning examples of our worst chief executives.
While few of Washington and Lincoln’s successors could hope to replicate their epic achievements, every president can — and must — focus on avoiding the...
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Support for Dorner is Troubling
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all with the Sandy Hook murders of a classroom full of children, America experiences another new low: A man named Christopher Dorner murders (as of this writing) three innocent people in order to air personal grievances. And his grievances are given serious attention by the national media, not to mention left-wing...
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Watch for the Anti-Catholics To Weigh in on the Papal Succession
Because the Roman Catholic Church adamantly defends life in the womb, the oldest and most infirm and the institution of marriage, it has legions of foes spread throughout major media. Those critics will surface repeatedly between now and the selection of the new pope to use the occasion to sling their stones. It is a fun time, really, since they know almost...
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“If Not Now, When?”
All factions agree that the mandated defense cuts of the scheduled “sequester” would dangerously damage our security, but the president’s plan to avert disaster offers precisely the wrong approach. He wants more tax hikes to finance new spending—and wants to postpone scheduled budget trims until he gets his “grand bargain.” But Congress only needs...
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