Dennis Prager:
Through the use of public opprobrium, laws and lawsuits, Americans today are less free than at any time since the abolition of slavery (with the obvious exception of blacks under Jim Crow).
Public opprobrium is known as political correctness, and it has suppressed saying anything -- no matter how true and no matter how innocent -- that offends left-wing sensibilities. …
Back to leftist controls on speech: One can only speak of male-female differences if the difference shows the female as superior. Thus to say women are innately more intuitive is perfectly acceptable, but to say men are innately more likely to excel at math is "sexist."
Cal Thomas:
In her book, "Londonistan," Melanie Phillips writes, "we have long contracted our understanding of the extremists to the extremists." She means that instead of pursuing a policy to defeat radical Islamists, we have welcomed them among us. They are at the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, giving "sensitivity training" to people who are supposed to be protecting us from them. They are in prisons, organizing the disaffected into "hate America" cadres. They are military chaplains and in polling organizations, shaping the way questions are asked and manipulating results to further their interests.
This isn't "bigotry." It is provable fact, which the Islamists believe we will ignore.
Ari Berman writes that it's no surprise that members of the cabal that lied the U.S. into the Iraq War are attacking Mohamed ElBaradei. It was he who debunked their fabricated claims about Saddam's WMDs.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown:
Modern feminists like Catherine Redfern (co-author of Reclaiming the F Word), Nina Power (author of One Dimensional Woman) and Ariel Levy (who wrote Female Chauvinist Pigs) ask some tough and important questions: how come the stereotypes of female sexuality that feminism once endeavoured to break are now presented as empowerment? Instead of trying to beat sexism, women today are enthusiastically joining in with their own debasement.
Look on the web and you see self-abuse, anorexia, alcoholism, shopping and love of chocolate repackaged as hip, fun feminism. …
Meanwhile, rape conviction rates, which were 33 per cent in the 1970s (when British feminism was loud and confident) are down to 6 per cent today. Never before have we had such levels of domestic violence and murders, trafficking and sexual exploitation. And the recession is punishing many more females than males. Drowning in a bowl of soapy dishwater sometimes feels more appealing than living through these times.
Jeffrey Sachs:
The heart of any government is found in its budget. Politicians can make endless promises, but if the budget doesn't add up, politics is little more than mere words.
The United States is now caught in such a bind. In his recent state of the union address, President Barack Obama painted a convincing picture of modern, 21st-century government. His Republican party opponents complained that Obama's proposals would bust the budget. But the truth is that both parties are hiding from the reality: without more taxes, a modern, competitive US economy is not possible.
Patrick Jenkins belatedly wonders why Goldman-Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is getting a gigantic salary hike and a boost in his share-based bonus when the company's profit fell in 2010.
Bracken Hendricks and Jorge Madrid:
The Department of Energy estimates that wind power from tribal lands could satisfy 14 percent of total U.S. electricity demand [PDF], and the tribal solar resources could generate 4.5 times the total amount of energy needed to power the entire country.
Remarkably, however, as of today only one commercial-scale renewable energy project operates in all of Indian country. This is because of the incredible amount of federal red tape choking off the green energy opportunities on tribal lands. Many tribes are eager to partner with private sector developers to build large-scale clean energy projects. Such enterprises could be profitable, while respecting tribal values of environmental stewardship. They could also help keep families together by providing good jobs on the reservations.
Unfortunately, many of these sorely-needed investments never come to fruition. A long-standing backlog of catch-22 requirements, crazy-making rules, and outdated laws cause projects to stall in Indian country. Policy barriers slow development and make financing cost-ineffective.
Tyler Green says the Smithsonian must get rid of Secretary G. Wayne Clough if it expects to maintain the institution's long-term mission.
Sen. John Kerry:
Given the events of the past week, some are criticizing America’s past tolerance of the Egyptian regime. It is true that our public rhetoric did not always match our private concerns. But there also was a pragmatic understanding that our relationship benefited American foreign policy and promoted peace in the region. And make no mistake, a productive relationship with Egypt remains crucial for both us and the Middle East.
To that end, the United States must accompany our rhetoric with real assistance to the Egyptian people. For too long, financing Egypt’s military has dominated our alliance. The proof was seen over the weekend: tear gas canisters marked “Made in America” fired at protesters, United States-supplied F-16 jet fighters streaking over central Cairo. Congress and the Obama administration need to consider providing civilian assistance that would generate jobs and improve social conditions in Egypt, as well as guarantee that American military assistance is accomplishing its goals — just as we are trying to do with Pakistan through a five-year nonmilitary assistance package.
Eugene Robinson:
The Obama administration has done a creditable job of gently edging Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak toward some sort of gilded exile. Now it's time to push. Hard. …
It is thrilling to watch as Egyptians assert the rights that we hold to be inherent and universal - to assemble, associate and speak freely, to give their consent to be governed, to withdraw that consent when it is abused.
We can't take the position that democracy is good only when we approve of the leaders who are elected. We'd never convince the Egyptians that this was anything but rank hypocrisy. We'd never even convince ourselves.
Jason Marisam:
The Minnetonka-based Datacard Group makes some pretty nifty machines that can scan voter identification cards and upload voter data to a centralized database.
Republicans want to fight voter fraud by installing these machines in precincts throughout Minnesota and requiring poll workers to scan voters' ID cards before allowing them to cast ballots.
Perhaps the best that can be said about this proposal is that it would be a waste of the estimated $20 million needed to purchase the scanning machines.
But at least the money would be wasted in the state.
Myriam Marquez explains why she thinks Cubans are unlikely to imitate the Tunisians and Egyptians.