THE WASHINGTON TIMES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Stalin pushed ‘free’ stuff first

The 1936 Soviet Constitution appears to be the underlying foundation of the political theory, thought and action of presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and the rest of the leftist-candidate coterie.

August 25, 2019

EDITORIAL: Doug Jones, who beat Roy Moore, walks an ideological tightrope

American Public Television announced this month that it was resurrecting (literally and figuratively) "The McLaughlin Group," but you don't need to be a political pundit — or even play one on TV — to understand why Sen. Doug Jones has been designated the most-endangered of the 34 Senate incumbents up for election in 2020.

August 22, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Recall Soviet help to Nazis

Mr. Lakhonin is absolutely correct: The heroic deeds of the Soviet people must not be forgotten ("Why the heroic deeds of the Soviet people must not be forgotten," Web, Aug. 21). But we must also remember the less-than-heroic deeds of the Soviet government. Some of what Mr. Lakhonin writes is factual, but some of it is incomplete or simply untrue.

August 22, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: U.S. citizenship not right of all

A number of extraordinary ideas have been launched by presidential contenders in both major political parties, and some are finding traction. One such idea focuses on birthright citizenship, established by the 14th Amendment ("Trump says ending birthright citizenship back on agenda," Web, Aug. 21). Many of those who believe birthright citizenship should be retained offer as arguments that it is enshrined in the Constitution and is a fundamental American value. But which comes first? Is it a fundamental American value because it is in our Constitution, or is it in the Constitution because it is an immutable fundamental value?

August 22, 2019

EDITORIAL: Democrats yearn for a recession

Credit the comedian and HBO talk show host Bill Maher for being blunt. He has a gift for making text what is otherwise subtext.

August 21, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Reparations won’t change past

When we hear discussion of reparations for the descendants of America's slaves, who were freed in the 1860s, no one ever mentions that slaves were initially sold into slavery by other black Africans to traders of many races. They were enslaved before white Americans (and some black Americans) bought them.

August 21, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: U.S. cannot safely leave Mideast

U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East must come to grips with reality. There has been talk recently about withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan, but Americans must accept that if troops are withdrawn from the Middle East — whether Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria — al Qaeda and the Islamic State will rise up again and take over large parts of the region. They then will parlay that position into the orchestration of terrorist acts in the United States and other parts of western civilization. We cannot leave the Middle East without this happening. My prediction is we will leave troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria for the foreseeable future, even if it is as reduced numbers.

August 21, 2019

EDITORIAL: Consumers should have the final say over their marketability

Most individuals keep a pretty firm grip on their possessions — the cars, the house and the stuff inside it. They've got a fairly accurate grasp of their money, too, by taking a quick scan of their financial assets online. Personal data, though, is another story. The complexion of the information that tech giants glean from surveilling users' Internet activities is as murky for most Americans as a trek in the woods after dark. Americans urgently need a more effective means of ensuring that their cyber-persona is not being stalked from the digital shadows by buck-raking marketers.

August 20, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Feds destroying land, water

Maybe a better headline for "How federalism is making a difference on Western lands" (Web, Aug. 19) would be, "Federalism saves the environment, food supply, human health and endangered species, and arrests climate change." This is yet another example of regenerative agriculture. These ranchers are just following the Allen Savory/Joel Salatin approach to land and ruminant animal management to maximize return and preserve land and water resources, not to mention animal and plant species and required habitats. For those obsessed with climate change, these western ranchers, as well as the White Mountain Apaches, have preserved and increased a natural carbon sink.

August 20, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Smears are last-gasp attempt

One of the dangers facing our country today is extremism, which is showing its fangs in the direction that we as a nation are taking. Much of this extremism was developed by entities eating out of the proverbial dumpster, feeding their hatred for our legitimately elected president, who is fulfilling the promises he made to get elected. The extremists' objective is to paralyze President Trump's ability to put forth additional policies that run contrary to their anti-America agenda.

August 20, 2019

EDITORIAL: An attack in Afghanistan puts ISIS and the Taliban in the spotlight

The "JV team" is back — if it ever went away. More than five years ago after President Barack Obama dismissed ISIS as mere junior varsity jihadists, the murderous Islamist group continues to spread terror and misery. Over the weekend, some 63 Afghans were slaughtered at a wedding in Kabul, and more than 100 were injured. According to news reports, a suicide bomber entered a packed wedding hall where hundreds of working class Afghans were dancing and celebrating merrily. Moments later dozens of them were murdered.

August 19, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Proposed laws would endanger all

The restrictive gun laws currently proposed would make Americans far more vulnerable than they are now. An armed citizen is often pivotal in preventing, aborting or ending a shooting.

August 19, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Citizen guns threaten government

The Washington Post recently decided to honor every victim of mass shootings in the past 54 years by printing their names in the paper. Yet that number was only 1,196. Now, I'm not belittling the victims' memories, but if this number is correct, guns are the safest things to own besides socks.

August 19, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Proud to be a Trump supporter

I am a proud Trumpster, yet I am not a white nationalist. How can this be?

August 18, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Banning Tlaib, Omar a mistake

Keeping two anti-Semitic Democratic congresswomen from entering Israel was a mistake ("Rashida Tlaib won't travel to Israel despite approval to visit family," Web, Aug. 16). It is a mistake even though they did not request any meetings with government officials or briefings from Israeli experts — in other words, they did not plan a fact-finding mission, but rather a propaganda extravaganza.

August 18, 2019

EDITORIAL: Argentines cope with stock market crash of historical proportions

Cry for Argentina. What else is there to do after a rout like this? "The main Argentine stock market plunged more than 30% on Monday, marking the second-biggest one day slump anywhere since 1950," the financial network CNBC reported this week. "Meanwhile, the peso closed 15% weaker at 53.5 per U.S. dollar. The currency had been trading at 45.25 on Friday."

August 18, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Beware the power of the tweet

We are electing unqualified people to political offices based on their ability to master the output of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

August 15, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Divisiveness the cause of violence

Never before in our history have we seen the level of divisiveness and hate rhetoric that is now rampant throughout the country. A congressional representative calls for people to get in the face of Republicans. Another publicizes a list of Trump donors, endangering the donors and their families. Administration officials are accosted while at restaurants. Rioters disrupt congressional hearings and call for the Senate majority leader to be killed, right in front of his home. The president is blamed for mass shootings and falsely accused of being a racist.

August 15, 2019

EDITORIAL: Trump having troubles with the Asian axis

President Trump assures Americans regularly that he has a "great relationship" with an array of world figures, among them Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. It's comforting to hear. It would be more gratifying, though, to see these relationships bear fruit. Try as he might, the president has been stymied in his efforts to seal crucial deals with his Asian counterparts. Americans may be subject to creeping doubts, but there is no substitute for persistence.

August 15, 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Left consorted with Epstein

The New York Times and other mainstream-media outlets casually mention Prince Andrew and President Trump among those who consorted with financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Yet by convenient omission they have failed to observe that former President Bill Clinton traveled 29 times or more on the "Lolita Express" with Epstein.

August 14, 2019