Mona Charen: COVID-19’s big fat non-surprise
“A Covid Mystery” proclaimed a New York Times newsletter. “Why has the death toll been relatively low across much of Africa and Asia?” Like a know-it-all kid in 7th grade, I thought: “Call on me! I know this!” and clicked on the item. But to my surprise, the account that followed completely failed to mention what I thought was the obvious answer.
Mona Charen: How Mike Lee ditched constitutional conservatism for Trump
I didn’t watch much of this year’s CPAC. My digestion is sound, but there’s no point in taking unnecessary risks.
Mona Charen: Who Will Speak for the Uighurs?
According to John Bolton, when Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that he was putting Uighurs in camps, Trump said he was doing “exactly the right thing.” Of course, Xi’s depiction was pure agitprop. China is not targeting Uighurs who have shown terrorist tendencies, it is crushing an entire ethno/religious minority in brutal fashion.
Mona Charen: US blocks examination of crimes against humanity
It’s easy to treat Kim Jong Un as a figure of ridicule.
Mona Charen: Elizabeth Warren is not honest
If you want to run for office, political consultants will hammer away at one point: Tell stories.
Mona Charen: Trump’s enablers
We’re all familiar by now with the reasons advanced for why elected Republicans shrivel like dry houseplants whenever they are asked to distance themselves from the president.
Mona Charen: Jews, Israel and loyalty
President Donald Trump has opined that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats — as 79% did in the 2018 midterms — are demonstrating “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
Mona Charen: A cosmetic proposal on guns
It seems necessary to begin every discussion in America today with a reminder to show a little charity.
Mona Charen: So, you want Canadian health care?
These “debates” are to serious policy discussions as a kazoo is to an orchestra.
Mona Charen: False racism accusations don’t excuse the real thing
On a high wall overlooking the central court of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., the words of novelist James Baldwin are etched in stone: “The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it … History is literally present in all that we do.”
Mona Charen: Claremont would make founders weep
The Claremont Institute was part of the flowering of intellectual conservatism that graced America in the 1970s and ’80s. Founded by students of Lincoln scholar Harry Jaffa, the California think tank was devoted to teaching “the principles of the American Founding to the future thinkers and statesmen of America.”
Mona Charen: Lessons of Chernobyl
On the morning of April 28, 1986, an employee of the Forsmark nuclear power plant an hour north of Stockholm was returning from a restroom break when his shoes set off the radiation alarm.
Mona Charen: Remove children from sex offender registries
With several septuagenarians competing for the presidency, the ghost of the 1990s looms over the 2020 race. Joe Biden has faced criticism for his sponsorship of the 1994 crime bill. President Donald Trump tweeted, “Anyone associated with the 1994 Crime Bill will not have a chance of being elected.”
Mona Charen: What’s missing from Trump’s China policy
The Dow plunged 450 points on the opening bell May 6 in response to this presidential tweet: “The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No! The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday.”
Mona Charen: White males and abortion
Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., tweeted in response to anti-abortion legislation passed by the Alabama legislature: “I refuse to believe that these Republican men represent the views of most Alabamians. Their action is both unconstitutional and shameful. The people of Alabama deserve to be on the #rightsideofhistory — not the side of extremists. Women deserve better.”
Mona Charen: Tale of Two Obstructions
Every Republican remembers with disgust the video of Bill Clinton glowering into the camera and declaring: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false.”
Mona Charen: Did Bernie Sanders Steal His Wealth?
In 2016 and 2017, Bernie Sanders raked in over a million bucks. Last year, his gross income was down to $561,293 — still not too shabby.
Mona Charen: Twitter ain’t America
An appropriately Twitteresque meme circulated recently on that platform: Write a sad story in just three words.
Mona Charen: Biden and the problem of touch
Joe Biden’s explanatory video in response to stories of his sometimes overly exuberant physicality was well-played. He seemed relaxed, sincere, unscripted and, above all, not supine.
Mona Charen: Liars and cheats
Operation Varsity Blues has unleashed a veritable orgy of stereotypes. “Entitled white kids” have been trending, along with told-you-so’s about how the system is “rigged.”