Doug Patton

Our Hope Remains in Embracing the True Spirit of Christmas

Despite the fact that he has more academic alphabet soup behind his name than anyone else I know, including a doctorate in education, my baby brother often surprises me with the breadth of his common sense and the depth of his wisdom. A few years ago, I gave him a plaque bearing a quote from Mark Twain. It read: “I have never allowed my schooling to interfere with my education.” He hung it on the wall of his office.

Iowa Caucuses Will Not Elevate Paul Ryan to the Presidency

Paul Ryan is now polling first in Iowa for the next presidential election. If Ryan is encouraged by this news, he is not much of a student of recent political history. Polling first in Iowa more than two years prior to the state’s over-hyped, first-in-the-nation caucuses is a bit like being told by the guy at the convenience store that the lottery ticket he just sold you is the winner. Take it with a huge grain of salt.

The Enemy of America is Obama’s Friend

Once upon a time, there was an expectation that the President of the United States — “the leader of the free world,” as we used to call him — would exhibit certain reasonable behaviors in public. After all, the liberating Constitution this man represented was viewed as a symbol of hope by the world’s freedom-yearning masses.

Liberalism is a Religion; Hatred is its Sacrament

“Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” — Matthew 15:11 (NKJV) The truth in Christ’s words was never more evident than when MSNBC’s Martin Bashir made his recent disgusting remarks about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Of course, the carefully prepared comments were not vile enough to censor before Bashir uttered them; only after the fact were they deemed “inappropriate,” a term he used in his subsequent, obviously forced, mea culpa.

Why I’m Thankful in 2013

As I have done at Thanksgiving for many years, I want to proclaim some of the things for which I am thankful on this uniquely American holiday.

The Fifties Ended on November 22, 1963

We humans like to divide time into neat little boxes based on dates, but the case can be made that the styles, policies, manners and mores of one ten-year period usually spill over into the next.

GOP Should Not be Part of Democrat Hypocrisy

In “The Godfather, Part II,” mafia boss Michael Corleone tells a corrupt politician, “We are both part of the same hypocrisy, senator.” Similarly, the same may now be said of Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Let me qualify that opinion by stating that while there still remain a few Republicans whom I would support, there are no Democrats for whom I would ever again cast a vote.

Passing Thoughts on the Random Scene

A decade ago, my son, a talented writer in his own right, with a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor, published as his senior university thesis a series of original short stories, which he dubbed with the tongue-in-cheek title, “All the Things in the World.” Similarly, I occasionally feel there is so much on which to comment that I am left with the dilemma of opining on everything or nothing. And since illness sidelined me from this column last week, I have chosen the former.

ObamaCare Tantamount to Pixie Dust

In the 1980s, the media seemed amazed at how the public never seemed to turn on Ronald Reagan. They even coined a phrase for it: the Teflon Presidency. More amazing by far is the continued support Barack Obama receives from the adoring segment of the voting public that refuses to give up on his unworkable socialist schemes.

Who Will Tell Obama He has no Clothes?

A friend recently called and asked, “So when do you think Obama will declare martial law?” Until last week, I would have dismissed such speculation as conspiratorial. Now I’m not so sure.

Obama’s Thuggish Behavior, Part II

Predictably, my column last week, which expressed my extreme displeasure at the images of World War II vets being barricaded from visiting their memorial on the National Mall, produced a flurry of reactions, both positive and negative.

Stunt at WW II Memorial Shows More Evidence Obama is a Thug

Imagine you are a veteran of World War II approaching your 90th birthday. This may be your last opportunity to visit the memorial that was erected to honor your service. You have come to your nation’s Capital, only to find that your president has ordered that memorial barricaded to keep you out.

Obamacare: At Least Dems Are Willing to Fight for It

“If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” - Two of the biggest lies so far in Barack Obama’s mendacity-filled presidency

Guess Where Those Chemical Weapons Came From, Mr. President

On September 11, 2001, I wrote a column entitled “Now We Know How Israel Feels.” Now, 12 years later, with a community organizer in the White House who has no idea about the proper use of America’s military might, who believes our only real ally in the Middle East, Israel, is the cause of all the trouble there, and who opposed pursuing our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m not sure we do.

The Most Embarrassing President of My Lifetime

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” — Teddy Roosevelt “The buck stops here.” — Harry Truman “I didn’t set a red line.” — Barack Obama Barack Obama is, without question, the most embarrassing president of my lifetime — and that is saying something, since my life so far has encompassed 12 presidencies, some of which have brought a lot of embarrassment to the nation. Even Richard Nixon, with his Watergate scandal, Jimmy Carter, with his malaise, and Bill Clinton, with his lewd behavior in the Oval Office, could not top this president for pure, unadulterated disgrace.

Middle East Mess May Be Exactly What Obama Wants

Barack Hussein Obama is either the most inept president ever to sit in the White House or he is an enemy of the Republic. He could be both, but I defy anyone to suggest a logical third alternative.

MLK Would be Embarrassed by BHO

I was fifteen in 1963, and I vaguely remember breaking my summer routine to notice that the largest crowd of Americans ever to congregate on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., had gathered to demand their civil rights. They were led by a 34-year-old black preacher from Georgia.

Chris Christie Should Switch Parties

Imagine you are a teenage boy who feels an attraction to other males. Imagine further that you detest having those feelings, feelings for which you would like to seek professional help to overcome these proclivities and lead what you consider to be a normal life. Well, if you are, in fact, that poor, confused teen and you happen to live in the state of New Jersey, your legislature and your governor have just done away with your freedom to seek such help.

PC Orthodoxy is Destroying America

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” – Pogo What’s more chilling than a people oppressed by a Hitler, a Mao or a Stalin? A people that voluntarily oppresses itself, a reality that has now afflicted America.

Five Years Later, Obama Again Blames Bush

Anyone who has even bothered to read my columns over the last decade-plus knows I was never a huge fan of George W. Bush. I have always believed that the 43rd president was a decent man who tried to do the right thing but often failed, either because of bad advice or flawed ideology — or both. That said, Barack Obama has carried Bush bashing to a level that should astound all but the most hardened and cynical political observer.