Linda Chavez from Creators Syndicate

True Revolutionaries for 06/26/2009

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The security forces may have temporarily crushed the resistance in Iran, but the revolution is far from over. Iranians by the hundreds of thousands — young and old, men and women, students and workers — have taken to the streets for the last two weeks in protest of a rigged election. And no matter how many protestors the government kills or imprisons, the people know that Mahmoud Ah ...

Updated: Fri Jun 26, 2009

]]>

Sotomayor and Quotas for 07/03/2009

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Supreme Court's decision this week in the New Haven firefighters case may cause problems for its newest prospective member, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The court found in favor of a group of white and Hispanic firefighters who were denied promotions despite having passed the city's promotion exams with flying colors. The city threw out the test results because no black firefighters scored high e ...

Updated: Fri Jul 03, 2009

]]>

Blame Obama for 07/10/2009

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

When will the failing U.S. economy become President Obama's problem? To date, the president seems immune to criticism of his handling of the economy, except from conservatives. Job losses continue to mount, despite his promises that his "stimulus" plan would create jobs and stop rising unemployment. The housing market shows no sign of imminent recovery, with prices continuing to decli ...

Updated: Fri Jul 10, 2009

]]>

Of Race, Gender and Justice for 07/17/2009

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

This week I was asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Here's what I said.

I testify today not as a wise Latina woman, but as an American who believes that skin color and national origin should not determine who gets a job, promotion, or public contract, or who gets into college or receives a scholars ...

Updated: Fri Jul 17, 2009

]]>

Health Care Quotas for 07/24/2009

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

President Obama used his considerable powers of persuasion to try to sell his health care package in a nationally televised press conference this week. But Americans are growing skeptical — and for good reason. The gargantuan new bureaucracy Obamacare envisions would not only be inefficient and expensive but could give birth to a new racial spoils system.

Among the provisions in th ...

Updated: Fri Jul 24, 2009

]]>

No More Racial Sell-Outs for 07/31/2009

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Rick Sanchez, a CNN anchor, provoked a tempest in a Twitter this week when he said he'd be a rich guy if he "sold out as hispanic and worked at fox news." The commentary on the episode mostly centered on whether working at Fox News Channel constituted "selling out," with left-wing bloggers defending Sanchez and conservatives weighing in on Fox's behalf. But the real outrage ...

Updated: Fri Jul 31, 2009

]]>

The Cure That's Worse Than the Disease for 08/07/2009

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Senate negotiators moved a step closer to a comprehensive health care package this week, but the American public seems increasingly wary of what "reform" might mean. The latest polls show that the majority of Americans are satisfied with their own health insurance and are now worried that they might be the big losers once Washington starts meddling. And for all the talk about the unin ...

Updated: Fri Aug 07, 2009

]]>

Who's Un-American? for 08/14/2009

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Like most epithets, the u-word says more about the person hurling it than it does about the object of disapproval. So when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called opponents of Democrats' health care reform "un-American" this week, she became the focus of attention, not the vocal protestors at congressional town hall forums. In a column for USA Today, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H ...

Updated: Fri Aug 14, 2009

]]>

The Good War for 08/21/2009

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Afghanistan was supposed to be the good war — the one Democrats said we should be fighting instead of Iraq. We heard it over and over again during the presidential campaign, as if to exorcise the image that a Democrat wasn't tough enough to assume the role of commander in chief. Candidate Obama repeatedly called the war in Iraq "a dangerous distraction" from the fight we should ...

Updated: Fri Aug 21, 2009

]]>

Kennedy's Legacy for 08/28/2009

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Liberalism lost its most reliable champion with the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy this week. The senator virtually defined American liberalism for his 47 years in public office and it is not easy to see who will step into his role. But before his body has even been laid to rest, some of his colleagues are hoping to use the senator's death to push through ObamaCare. Several senators have urg ...

Updated: Fri Aug 28, 2009

]]>

Mistrusting the Media for 09/04/2009

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

When it comes to politicians' foibles and faux pas, the mainstream media's double standard is nothing new, but the Washington Post's recent coverage of the Virginia governor's race takes the cake. Republican gubernatorial candidate and current State Attorney General Bob McDonnell has been trouncing his Democratic opponent, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, in the polls for much of the campaign. So the P ...

Updated: Fri Sep 04, 2009

]]>

Americans Aren't Buying What Obama Has To Sell for 09/11/2009

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

More prescient words were never spoken by a politician than Barack Obama's to the American people Wednesday evening on the issue of health care reform: "I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last." For 60 years, Democrats have been trying to force a government health care system on a deeply skeptical American public, without success. And if ...

Updated: Fri Sep 11, 2009

]]>

Diversionary Tactics on Both Sides for 09/18/2009

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Instead of a debate on the merits of President Obama's health care proposals or congressional Democrats' failure to produce a bill that has any chance of bipartisan support, we've been diverted this week by a disgraceful sideshow. Thanks to pundits and bloggers and political opportunists of all stripes, Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-S.C.) cry "You lie" became the shot heard 'round the world. N ...

Updated: Fri Sep 18, 2009

]]>

Immigrant Values for 09/25/2009

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For the first time in decades, the number of foreign-born individuals living in the United States declined last year, according to new numbers released by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The drop was small, from 12.6 percent of the U.S. population to 12.5 percent of the population, but it is significant nonetheless. It suggests that not only are fewer people coming here but also ...

Updated: Fri Sep 25, 2009

]]>

Common Sense Not Sex Discrimination for 10/02/2009

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts hardly seems a likely setting for rampant sex discrimination in state hiring, but apparently the Obama administration doesn't agree. The Justice Department this week filed suit against the state and its Department of Corrections, alleging they have engaged in a "pattern or practice of discrimination against female applicants for entry-level correctional of ...

Updated: Fri Oct 02, 2009

]]>

Disenfranchising Citizens for 10/09/2009

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If there's one thing Barack Obama learned back in his community organizing days, it was that numbers count. The more people you can claim to represent, the bigger your political base. So it should come as no surprise that the Obama administration sees the business of counting people as crucial to its political power. And that's why next year's decennial census is rife with opportunities for a m ...

Updated: Fri Oct 09, 2009

]]>

Unions Calling in Their Chits for 10/16/2009

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"That's not the change America voted for." The implied criticism of President Obama comes not from Rush Limbaugh or Fox News but from the AFL-CIO in a newspaper ad this week letting the president and congressional Dems know unions' "bottom line for health care reform." The unions are calling in their chits. If health care legislation doesn't include a public option, they won ...

Updated: Fri Oct 16, 2009

]]>

Politics of Envy for 10/23/2009

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

No doubt many will cheer executive pay cuts ordered by the Obama administration at companies that received U.S. bailouts last fall, but the celebration will prove short-lived. Obama pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, who has unprecedented authority to dictate pay in the private sector, has told executives at seven companies that their paychecks will be cut by 90 percent this year. In lieu of cash, the ...

Updated: Fri Oct 23, 2009

]]>

What's in a Name? for 10/30/2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's a good thing Larry Whitten isn't in charge of the editorial page of this publication; otherwise, I might be forced to write under the name Pretty Keys — which is how Linda Chavez roughly translates from (old) Spanish to English. Mr. Whitten is the owner of a Taos, N.M., hotel who decided one way to promote business in his new enterprise was to make hotel employees Anglicize their Spa ...

Updated: Fri Oct 30, 2009

]]>

Blueprint for GOP Victories for 11/06/2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Democrats are having a hard time explaining away their big losses on Tuesday. First, the White House let it be known that President Obama wasn't actually watching election returns, choosing instead to tune into HBO's puerile documentary about his own presidential campaign. Talk about ego; the man just can't get enough of himself.

By evening's end, Democratic lawmakers and pundits were al ...

Updated: Fri Nov 06, 2009

]]>