Commentary by Debra J. Saunders

July 31, 2011

In This Brave New World, 160 Million Girls Are 'Missing' By Debra J. Saunders

The world is becoming unbalanced. In pockets across the globe, women are giving birth to too many boys. In China, the sex ratio is 121 boys to 100 girls. In India, it's 112-to-100. Sex selection also is a force in the Balkans, Armenia and Georgia. In her eye-opening book, "Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men," journalist Mara Hvistendahl estimates that ultrasound and abortion have "claimed over 160 million potential women and girls -- in Asia alone." That's more than the entire female population of the United States.

July 28, 2011

The Folly in Obama's 'Grand Bargain' by Debra J. Saunders

Here is what I do not understand: President Barack Obama is acutely aware of what will happen if Congress fails to raise the government's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. As he told the nation Monday, if Washington does not raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, rating agencies are expected to downgrade the government's AAA credit rating, and interest rates will rise for everyone. The fallout could spark "a deep economic crisis."

July 26, 2011

Norwegian Crime and Punishment By Debra J. Saunders

In 2007, Norwegian Justice Minister Knut Storberget proposed extending Norway's absolute maximum criminal sentence of 21 years to 30 years for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism. That proposal didn't go anywhere. The maximum criminal sentence in Norway is 21 years.

July 24, 2011

Pawlenty's Appeal to GOP: I Won't Embarrass You By Debra J. Saunders

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's bid to win the GOP presidential nomination hasn't exactly been catching on fire. Earlier this month, The New York Times ran a story about his candidacy under the headline "Will Republican Race's First In Be the First Out?"

July 22, 2011

Getting Headaches and Giving Them By Debra J. Saunders

I've been plagued with migraines for years. So when The Daily Caller reported that GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has had severe migraines, it took my colleagues but minutes to propose that I write on the controversy.

July 20, 2011

U.S. Default Wouldn't be Carmageddon II By Debra J. Saunders

If Washington fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and default follows, the results won't mirror that of L.A.'s "Carmageddon" weekend (when Angelenos stayed home in response to a major freeway closure and then blamed the media for over-hyping the story). A default on the federal debt means interest rates will rise, the cost of borrowing will balloon -- and the only sure outcome will be that voters will blame Republicans.

July 17, 2011

Not Cruel and Unusual, but Costly, Punishment By Debra J. Saunders

Democratic California state Sen. Loni Hancock is pushing legislation to end California's death penalty. "Capital punishment is an expensive failure and an example of the dysfunction of our prisons," she explained in a statement. "California's death row is the largest and most costly in the United States. It is not helping to protect our state; it is helping to bankrupt us."

July 15, 2011

Obama's Debt Ceiling 'Grand Bargain' No Such Thing By Debra J. Saunders

President Barack Obama has billed his "grand bargain" as the adult compromise because it has something for everyone to hate. The package would raise the $14 trillion debt ceiling (which the public hates), raise taxes by $1 trillion (which Republicans hate) and cut spending by $3 trillion (which Democrats hate) over 10 years. As the president argued in Monday's news conference, it's time for Washington to eat its peas.

July 12, 2011

Harry Potter and the Wizardry of Engaging Readers By Debra J. Saunders

As "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2," is set to hit theaters Friday, consider J.K. Rowling's villains.

July 10, 2011

Bohemian Grove -- Men Only By Debra J. Saunders

"Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" is the motto of San Francisco's Bohemian Club. The motto is supposed to represent the club's edict against doing business during its annual Bohemian Grove retreat, which commences on Thursday on 2,700 acres, 75 miles north of the city. As club spokesman and member Sam Singer explained, "It's a group of gentlemen who are really genuinely interested in arts, theater, jazz and rock 'n' roll." The retreat gives members a chance to "get away from work. It's forbidden to talk about or solicit business at the club or grove."

July 8, 2011

U.S. and Europe Listing in the Same Boat By Debra J. Saunders

Three years ago this month, then-Sen. Barack Obama told an enthusiastic throng in Berlin, "In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common."

June 16, 2011

Feinstein vs. Coburn-Feinstein By Debra J. Saunders

On Tuesday, the Senate voted 40-59 against an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to end the annual $6 billion (45-cents-per-gallon) tax subsidy for ethanol, as well as the 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.

June 14, 2011

California's Choice: Clarity or Gridlock By Debra J. Saunders

When he ran for governor, Democrat Jerry Brown made a promise to voters -- "no new taxes without voter approval." That pledge was what you would call a gimmick. Brown knew he would have to woo or squeeze a few Republicans in order to get a the two-thirds vote necessary to qualify a tax hike for the ballot. On taking office, Brown promptly proposed a June special election to put an extension of temporary increases in state income tax, sales tax and car fees before voters.

June 12, 2011

At Least 4 Good Reasons To End the War on Drugs By Debra J. Saunders

"If we cannot destroy the drug menace in America, then it will surely in time destroy us," President Richard Nixon told Congress in a special message on June 17, 1971, which generally is credited as the day the "war on drugs" began.

June 10, 2011

Let Weiner Be Weiner By Debra J. Saunders

There are reasons why Anthony Weiner should not resign. New York's Ninth Congressional District voters have sent him to Washington since 1998. 

June 7, 2011

John Edwards, Campaign Reformer By Debra J. Saunders

As a U.S. senator, John Edwards, a staunch defender of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, decried "a system in which huge amounts of money (continue to) flow unregulated into the campaign process and ordinary people feel as if their vote makes no difference anymore."

June 5, 2011

America's Long Slide from 9/11 to Crown Beach By Debra J. Saunders

On Sept. 11, 2001, when two planes plunged into the World Trade Center, Americans watched in awe as New York firefighters, police and paramedics rushed to the scene at risk to their own lives. Some 343 firefighters and paramedics and 60 police officers paid the ultimate price in their desperate rush to save other lives.

June 3, 2011

Circumcision and the Special City By Debra J. Saunders

In 2010, San Francisco supervisors banned Happy Meals. They showed no regard for parental choice. So it should not come as a shock that activists have managed to put a measure on the November ballot that essentially would outlaw the circumcision of baby boys.

May 29, 2011

Soft-on-Crime Cycle Repeats By Debra J. Saunders

The good news: Last year, California's homicide rate dropped to its lowest level since 1966. Violent crimes were down from the year before. 

May 26, 2011

Are Voters As Stupid As Insiders Think? By Debra J. Saunders

Do Americans have the will to cut government spending in order to curb the rampant growth in government debt and liabilities? Not if the politicians they send to Washington have anything to do with it.

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