Opinion roundup: Hillary Clinton; climate change; ‘Mook;’ Trump’s pardon power

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during BookExpo 2017 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on June 1, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)

Credit: John Lamparski

Credit: John Lamparski

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during BookExpo 2017 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on June 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)

Here’s a roundup of editorials from the Right and from the Left.

Opinions from the right

The swamp strikes back

The Washington Times

“A lot of snakes and scorpions live with the alligators in the swamp, and there are even more dangerous monsters there. No swamp creature is deadlier than a Washington lawyer.

The president is beginning to understand why he should never have agreed to his attorney general appointing a special prosecutor. We’re supposed to call him a “special counsel,” which may sound more upright, more punctilious and less fearsome, but words don’t fool anyone who lives in the swamp.”

The San Rafael glacier.

Credit: PETIT Philippe

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Credit: PETIT Philippe

The 6 biggest reasons I’m a climate-change skeptic — and why you should be a skeptic too

The Blaze

“For nearly 30 years, some scientists and many liberal activists have been alleging that the world is on the verge of collapse because of humans’ use of fossil fuels, which they say have been causing global warming.

...  But despite the constant cries from the left proclaiming the “science is settled” and that there’s a “scientific consensus,” there are many reasons to reject these assumptions."

Does Trump have total power to pardon? He just might

The Hill

“The one thing that President Trump appears to bring to the nation is clarity where confusion once reigned. For centuries, academics have debated whether a president could give himself a pardon without resolution. However, with Trump and his research on what he had called his “complete power to pardon,” there seems to be a sudden epiphany of clarity that the Constitution bars Trump from pardoning himself. As I have long maintained, the Constitution should bar self-pardons. The problem is that it does not — at least not expressly.”

Opinions from the Left

Republicans don’t trust higher ed. That’s a problem for liberal academics

The Los Angeles Times

"Only 36% of Republicans, according to the Pew Research Center, believe colleges and universities have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country, versus 58% who say they have a negative effect. Among Democrats, those figures are 72% and 19%, respectively. That finding represents a crisis."

Hillary Clinton is America’s biggest – and most important – loser

Newsweek 

“Hillary Clinton's election loss can still be seen and felt across the country, just as if it were that same night in early November when millions were glued to their screens, witnessing a stunning moment of history in real time. Now, six months into a presidency that isn't hers, the former Democratic candidate continues battling criticisms from all sides of the nation, as if she were still on the ballot.”

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci gestures as he answers questions during the press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, July 21, 2017.

Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais

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Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais

The Kook, ‘the Mooch’ and the Loot

The New York Times

“On Friday, a “president” with no political experience brought on a communications director with no communications experience.

Trump tapped Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street snake investment huckster, to be the new communications director, a move that caused Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who The New York Times reported "vehemently disagreed with the appointment," to resign.

So, let me get this straight: Spicer was just fine with regularly walking out to that podium to spew and spin Trump’s lies, but hiring “the Mooch,” as Scaramucci is known, was the back-breaker? O.K., whatever, Sean.