Farewell To Clock Boy

Don't cry, America, but we are losing Ahmed Mohamed. The 14 year-old Muslim boy who built a clock (sort of) that some people mistook for a bomb (it looked like a bomb) is leaving with his family to live in Qatar.

Ahmed said at a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday that he was leaving the U.S. because it is "hard" growing up in America and "going to school being a Muslim." (If he thinks it's tough here, trying going to school as a girl in Afghanistan.) I guess that sort of makes him a reverse Muslim refugee.

His father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, a supporter of Sharia law and a professional Muslim agitator, beamed with pride as his son described how miserable life is here in Islamophobic America.

I agree that Ahmed and his family will be happier in Qatar, a country that allows no religious liberty for anyone but Muslims. There, dissenters don't get invitations to meet with the president; they get thrown in prison. Ahmed should not let the door hit him on the way out.

Ryan's Conditions

Representative Paul Ryan yesterday outlined his conditions for taking John Boehner's job as speaker of the House. His terms included changes to the rules making it harder to remove a speaker in the future and everybody agreeing in advance that they will follow his lead.

Both conditions immediately generated pushback from many House conservatives. Adding to Ryan's challenges is that a number of Democrats, most notably Harry Reid, have endorsed Ryan for speaker. Yesterday, Reid told reporters, "I'm a Paul Ryan fan. We've been able to work with him."

For his part, Ryan said that Republicans need to show they can govern. That sounds good. But how do you do that when the Senate minority filibusters every bill of consequence passed by the House?

Senate liberals did it again yesterday when 45 of them shot down a bill to cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities -- something supported by 58% of Americans.

A theme that keeps being dredged up by Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and now by Paul Ryan is that the American people want members of Congress to get things done in Washington. A lot has gotten done in Washington in the last seven years.

We got Obamacare. We got the destruction of marriage. We got the Iranian nuclear deal. We got transgenderism promoted in the Pentagon and pushed into the public schools. We got higher taxes.

None of those things are terribly popular with the American people. Unfortunately, when politicians and pundits talk about compromise, it most often means that conservatives back down and liberals get what they want.

If Paul Ryan does not become speaker, it's worth remembering that the speaker does not have to be an elected member of the House of Representatives. If House Republicans want to be really bold, they should go talk to Carly Fiorina!

Trump vs. Political Correctness

Once again, Donald Trump flew right into the teeth of political correctness. Asked yesterday on the Fox Business Network if he supports counterterrorism policies like those in Great Britain, including shutting down mosques that were promoting jihad against the West, Trump said, "Absolutely. I think it's great."

Trump also indicated that his administration would revoke the passports of individuals who go overseas to fight for ISIS. "I can tell you one thing," Trump said, "if somebody goes over and they want to fight for ISIS, they wouldn't be coming back."

If a mosque is being used to create jihadists, and there is evidence that some are, they should not be free to exploit the First Amendment to incite violence against us.

I don't recall any polls on shutting down mosques that preach jihad, but I suspect the vast majority of Americans would want it shut down. A strong majority (56%) did support congressional hearings into Islamic extremism in America.

Biden's Out

Hillary Clinton is breathing a bit easier today. Vice President Joe Biden took himself out of contention for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

While Bernie Sanders has been mounting a strong challenge to Mrs. Clinton, recent polls indicate that she is closing the gap in New Hampshire and that most Biden supporters would swing toward her.