Arnold Ahlert

Obama’s Farewell to Israel Speech

President Obama, in what only be characterized as a flight from reality, suggested that "borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states." But it gets better. "The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state." Would that be the "Palestinian security responsibility" that has long countenanced the firing of several thousand missiles into Israel? Would those be the same Israeli forces confronted on three sides by Arab protesters attempting to cross the border from Syria, Lebanon and Gaza as recently as a week ago, when they were "celebrating" Nabka, aka the "day of catastrophe," as it relates to the creation of the Jewish state in 1948?

‘Krauthammering’ Amnesty

I like Charles Krauthammer. Really. By and large, I find his columns to be wonderfully cogent and fully expressive of the conservative values that many Americans hold dear. But there must be something in the water in Washington, D.C., or, to paraphrase an expression coined by Mr. Krauthammer himself, perhaps Beltway Derangement Syndrome (his was Bush Derangement Syndrome) truly exists. Charles rightly "Krauthammered" president Obama's immigration speech of last week--and then went right off the rails himself.

The Epicenter of Progressive Contempt for the Rule of Law

Of the many serious flaws that attach themselves to progressive ideology, perhaps the worst is the reality that the rule of law means nothing if it conflicts with the progressive worldview. In San Francisco, officials there have decided that federal immigration law will cast be cast aside to appease progressive sensibilities: they will defy cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and release arrested illegal aliens before they can be taken by ICE for possible deportation.

The Education plantation

We are now approaching the end game with respect to sanity and the public school system. A homeless woman who registered her 6-year-old son at a Norwalk, Conn. elementary school has been charged with first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny for ostensibly "stealing" over $15,000 worth of education. Tonya McDowell, 33, was released after posting a $25,000 bond. She faces a fine of up to $15,000 and as many as 20 years in jail.

The Bell May Toll for Jersey Toll Collectors

It was one of those little stories, a three-sentence job on inside pages of last Saturday's local newspaper. But it illustrates a mentality that is so outrageous--yet so thoroughly typical of the government union mindset--it deserves far wider dissemination than it has received so far. Last Thursday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit in which union workers were seeking to prevent New Jersey from privatizing toll collector jobs on the New Jersey Turnpike, unless those workers got the "right of first refusal" to keep their jobs. But it gets even better: the suit argued that privatization violates workers' First Amendment rights.

From Medical Dependency to Dependency on the Welfare State

According to MSNBC, a shortage of drugs used to treat ADD and ADHD has parents "scrambling" to find ways to keep their children medicated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "5.4 million children ages 4 to 17 have ever (sic) been diagnosed with ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and 66 percent of those with current ADHD take medication to control the condition." Would it be indelicate to think that a child introduced to chemical dependency at the ripe old age of four might be a tad more amenable to government dependency further down the line?

It Takes a Bigot to Expose a Death Cult

According to Britain's Daily Mail, Florida Pastor Terry Jones, who burned a copy of the Koran after a six-hour mock trial, "has been directly responsible for a wave of violence that began last night (April 2) and has left 30 people dead and more than 150 injured. The defiant stance has led General Petraeus, the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to join international condemnation of pastor Jones." Let me begin by stipulating that what Mr. Jones did was both stupid and provocative. At the same time, the reaction to his stunt is quite fascinating on a number of levels, most of which center around the reality that Western culture is besieged by weak thinkers, apologists and appeasers. What Mr. Jones did was personally self-destructive. The reaction to it may be culturally suicidal.

If Republicans Acted Exactly Like Democrats

One of the best ways to illustrate the utter corruption of an ideology is one of the oldest: imagine if political party "x," did what political party "y" is doing, and see if it passes the stink test. For this purpose, I offer Exhibits A, B and C: Wisconsin, Indiana and the Oval Office, three places where what is occurring stinks to high heaven.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

On Thursday, a local talk radio host who, like many Americans, was dumbstruck by the left's hysterical reaction to Peter King's Congressional hearings regarding Muslim radicalization, decided to read a list of terror plots to which this nation had been subjected since 9/11. It took him more than half an hour to do so. No doubt most Americans are under the impression that liberals oppose these hearings because they're "racist." For the typically brainwashed, see-no-evil foot soldiers of progressivism, that's probably true. Not so for the progressive intelligensia. What they see is someone shining an unflattering spotlight--on their allies.

Terminal Ingrates Showing Their Terminal Ingratitude

As much as I'd like to be sympathetic to the "plight" of public sector employees, it's just never going to happen. The reason is simple: in my entire life, I've never had a job where I got paid when I didn't work. I never had one where I got automatic raises or had may health care paid for by somebody else. And I've sure as hell never had a job where, after a certain period of time, I would be granted a "tenure" of guaranteed lifetime employment.

Progressivism Has Been “Outed”

Many Americans, perhaps for the first time in their lives, are beginning to recognize the contemptible nature of progressivism. How does one defend the total abandonment of the democratic process, occurring first in Wisconsin and then in Indiana, where Democrats legislators have literally run away from their responsibilities? One can't--without revealing the bankruptcy of one's own convictions. The most satisfying aspect of it all? Americans are getting a daily dose of progressivism's only unalterable tenet: the ends justify the means.

Left attempt to usurp 2010 election results in Wisconsin

Anyone wondering just how far unionized public sector employees are willing to go to get their way can stop wondering. What is going on in Wisconsin is nothing less than an attempt to usurp the results of the 2010 election, using Democrat- and union-organized intimidation as the vehicle of choice. Yet when one cuts through all of the orchestrated outrage by union thugs and their co-conspirators in the media and Democrat party, one inarguable fact emerges: the progressive agenda was thumped on November 2, 2010 by the Wisconsin electorate. Not nipped. Hammered.

Getting Back on the Bicycle

The human condition produces three types of individuals: the Givers, the Takers and the Fence Sitters. The human condition also produces, with extremely rare exceptions, one over-riding motivation for all that people do: self-interest. Self-interest, despite our best intentions, is usually dominated by two emotions: greed and fear. The best system for keeping a society healthy, wealthy and wise is one which pushes the Fence Sitters in to the Givers camp, by promoting a sense of self-interest that greatly mitigates the emotions of greed and fear. By any reasonable measure, progressivism, in any of its various incarnations, isn't that system.

Capitalism—Minus the Cronies

The revelation that the American taxpayer is now the World's Banker of Last Resort, as revealed by the new FinReg bill (yet another assault on real, as opposed to crony capitalism), means Americans must face the disturbing reality that our national sovereignty is being completely undermined. And those undermining it have only one over-riding loyalty: a level of naked self-interest beyond anything the world has ever witnessed.

The Ghost of Thanksgiving Yet to Come

"Winston, come into the dining room, it's time to eat," Julia yelled to her husband. "In a minute, honey, it's a tie score," he answered. Actually Winston wasn't very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington. Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its "unseemly violence" and the "bad example it sets for the rest of the world," Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be. Two-hand touch wasn't nearly as exciting.

The Frogs Finally Notice the Water is Boiling

..."but what we're doing, what we're putting up with, what we're accepting at this airport is so symbolic of us just not standing up and saying 'enough is enough.'"--Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) Maybe it really did need to come to this. Maybe Americans had to literally have their privates groped by a government bureaucrat to finally realize that they have been the proverbial frogs sitting in a pot of water, unaware that they are being incrementally boiled to death. For those of you who still don't get it, let me make it clear:

Voters Own the Choices They Make

Despite massive rejection of the progressive agenda throughout the nation last Tuesday, two states, New York and California, remained virtually immune to the groundswell. Voters in both states elected or re-elected liberal Democrats by healthy margins. Unlike my liberal counterparts, who characterize voters as "remarkably insightful" when they embrace the progressive agenda and "fearful and uninformed" when they reject it, I will not question the wisdom of the electorate.

The PC Strategy for Dealing With Terrorism?  Stay Lucky

Who wants to die for political correctness sake? No doubt many will think the question is absurd, but is it? Apparently we have dodged yet another Islamic terrorist bullet when ink cartridges filled with explosives and put on planes were discovered before they could do any damage. That means only one thing: the insufferable, PC status quo will remain virtually unchanged. Here's some questions for the politically correct among us, for whom no threat ever alters their perceptions, no matter how removed from reality those perceptions are:

“If You Don’t Know What’s Going On, Don’t Vote”

Dear Fellow Americans: Actually, not all of my fellow Americans. This letter is directed at a particular subset of Americans who manage to weave their way through life without the slightest concern or knowledge about the critical issues facing the country today. For you, "news gathering" consists of watching John Stewart's "The Daily Show," even as you remain undeterred by the fact that the network which broadcasts it is called Comedy Central. Some of you are the kind of people who voted for Barack Obama because, as one of your herd put it to me, "all my friends voted for him."

Juan Williams: Victim or Enabler?

"Well, now that I no longer work for NPR let me give you my opinion. This is an outrageous violation of journalistic standards and ethics by management that has no use for a diversity of opinion, ideas or a diversity of staff (I was the only black male on the air). This is evidence of one-party rule and one sided thinking at NPR that leads to enforced ideology, speech and writing. It leads to people, especially journalists, being sent to the gulag for raising the wrong questions and displaying independence of thought."--Juan Williams on his firing from National Public Radio