David Hogberg

Communists funding the resistance: the Alliance for Global Justice

During the salad days of the Cold War, communists developed a clever tactic for infiltrating the mainstream of American society. Whenever they founded an organization, they almost never used the term “Communist” in the name. Rather, communists would give the organization a professional-sounding title.

Michael Bennett, Confederate statues, and uselessness

Some people look at Michael Bennett, the defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks who is now kneeling during the national anthem, and see someone who is heroic. Others look at the people working to remove Confederate statues from public parks and see people who are earnest.

Media Matters lies, Part MCCLXIII

When it comes to lying, the folks at Media Matters for America just can’t help themselves. Indeed, when simply conceding the truth will do them, at worst, minimal harm, they lie.

Congressional conservatives: Don't let Problem Solvers Caucus play you for suckers!

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me recommend Peter Suderman's excellent analysis of why the Obamacare repeal effort failed. Conservatives and libertarians will have to fight this battle again in the future. Understanding why we failed this time is key to succeeding next time.

“Fixing” Obamacare means taxpayers spend more for the same lousy system

Last week a group of moderate Republicans and Democrats calling themselves the “Problem Solvers Caucus” released a set of proposals in the wake of the GOP’s failure to repeal Obamacare. One of the proposals is supposed to “stabilize” the Obamacare exchanges. What it really amounts to, though, is forcing taxpayers to shell out even more money to prop up a government-mismanaged health insurance system that is expensive and of poor quality.

Trump needs a James Carville, not a Saturday Night Massacre

I can’t blame President Trump for being angry about the Russia investigation. Aside from the revelations from Trump’s less-than-brilliant son, it has turned into a big nothing burger. Yet the special counsel will no doubt drag the investigation on for years, as such independent prosecutors are wont to do.

The New Republic going full-commie

I’m old enough to remember when Fred Barnes wrote for The New Republic. Of course, back then Barnes wasn’t as conservative as he is now, but TNR was also a much more liberal-moderate magazine. It was far from the silly leftist rag that it has become.

Three cheers for the Republicans who let McConnellCare sink!

Kudos to Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jerry Moran (R-Ks.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) for putting an end to the proposed “Better Care Reconciliation Act,” a.k.a. McConnellCare. And kudos to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.) for opposing it too, even though she did so for the wrong reasons.

Bernie, why do you want little babies to die?

Charlie Gard is a 10-month-old boy who is on life support because he is dying of a rare genetic condition. If he lived in America he’d have a chance of surviving. Unfortunately, he lives in Great Britain. (Editor’s note: Lloyd Billingsley has also weighed in on this story.)

Senate health care bill shows GOP has learned nothing

The new health care bill released by Senate Republicans has exactly the same major flaw that the original proposed “American Health Care Act” did. As such, it does not fix the problems with the Obamacare exchanges. Rather, their decline will continue apace.

Will Senate GOP get preexisting conditions right?

Do Senate Republicans have no understanding of how health insurance markets work? Or are they so afraid of taking political heat that they just don’t care? Probably a bit of both.

Is Reality a winner? Not so much

On Monday the FBI arrested Reality Winner for leaking a National Security Agency report on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Winner, 25, was federal contractor in Augusta, Georgia with top secret security clearance.

The lovable “non-violent drug offender”

You might have noticed that there is a concerted effort by many conservative groups in recent years to reduce the prison population. Groups like the American Conservative Union and Right on Crime have come out in favor of legislation that reduces the sentences imposed on criminals in federal prison.

Colleges, free speech, and GOP fecklessness

A few weeks ago Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature put forward a bill that would expel any student at a state university who disrupted or prevented speeches on campus. After the courage that Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans displayed in the face of unrelenting protests in 2011, it is no surprise that they have the cojones to stand up to the little fascists that dominate our colleges and universities.

Virtue-signaling: Cheap for Katy Perry, deadly for the rest of us

In the wake of the Manchester bombing, it seemed that those in the West might be willing to take the threat of Islamic extremism seriously. And then Katy Perry opened her mouth.

Obamacare repeal will be hard and McConnell just made it harder

Sigh. Just when I'm about to give Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) the benefit of the doubt, he opens his mouth. On Wednesday, McConnell threw cold water on Obamacare repeal by saying that he didn't see how the Senate was going to do it.

Erdogan thug is Democrat donor

A significant portion of the political left has a penchant for violence these days. From May Day protestors in Portland, Oregon, to Antifa rioters and arsonists at UC Berkeley, to melee-creating students at Middlebury College, for too many fists and Molotov cocktails are an appropriate response to opinions they don’t like.

Trump politicized Mother’s Day

It seems our society has long passed the point where politics can be kept in its separate sphere. Everything from schools, to sports, to movies and television, to science to even Miss USA Pageants have become politicized. Still, it was unfortunate to see President Trump do the same with Mother’s Day.

Coca-Cola supports terrorists

Via Kyle Smith at National Review, I've learned that the Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 11 in New York City will be honoring unrepentant terrorist leader Oscar López Rivera, and that Coca-Cola is one of the sponsors of this parade.

Moonbeams, unicorns, and voluntary taxes

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Havana) demonstrates once again why the political left’s feeble grasp on reality is seldom more tenuous than when it comes to taxes.