Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Yesterday, I talked about some of the transformations in 1776 that Andrew Wilson discussed in his book, Remaking the World. They are identified by the acronym WEIRDER. W stands for “western” and globalization while E stands for “educated” and the Enlightenment. I stands for “industrialized” and focuses on the industrial revolution. One event was James Watt’s invention of the steam engine. Western society no longer depended upon muscle power or horsepower. R stands for “rich” and focuses on…

Kerby Anderson The year 1776 changed the western world in significant ways. That is the conclusion of Andrew Wilson (pastor at King’s Church in London) in his book, Remaking the World. He was on my radio program to discuss his book. He explains, “The big idea of this book is that 1776, more than any other year in the last millennium, is the year that made us who we are.” He describes it as “a year that witnessed seven transformations…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about apples and inflation. There is another way to think about the inflation that has been part of our economy for the past 100 years. The supply of U.S. dollars has been expanding on average about 7 percent each year for the last century. That means the value of dollars is cut in half about every 10 years. Just use the “rule of 72.” Divide 7 percent into 72. That means the half-life of the…

Kerby Anderson Today the U.S. is getting a new president. Soon, Canada will be getting a new prime minister. The new prime minister may be Pierre Poilievre. He was recently asked what steps he would take to fix the damages done from inflation. Here is his answer: “First and foremost, stop the overspending. Inflation, high taxes, deficits, high interest rates, are all symptoms. The disease is overspending. When governments spend too much money there’s only three ways to get it….

Penna Dexter I love living in Texas but, by birth and upbringing, I’m an LA girl — born in Pasadena, raised in a beach town, and educated at a university near downtown. I’m mourning the massive damage and destruction to life, homes, businesses, and landmarks in places I’ve loved. I remember dreading the Santa Ana winds, which sweep down from the deserts. They come every year and, because California is dry, they bring fires. The LA Fire Department has over…

Kerby Anderson When I first started writing this commentary nearly two decades ago, the average woman in the United States had 2.1 children in her lifetime. This is what many demographers called “the golden number.” To sustain a population in any country, women on average need to produce 2.1 children. If that number is higher, the population increases. If that number is lower, the population decreases. Years later, Lou Dobbs devoted an entire chapter in his book, Upheaval, to the…

Kerby Anderson How will the new administration deal with the China challenge? We can get some perspective from Senator Marco Rubio’s book, Decades of Decadence. He will soon be confirmed as Secretary of State. He exposes China’s attacks on four key elements of American strength: good local jobs, stable families, geographical communities, and a sovereign nation that serves as a beacon of freedom and prosperity. He explained in his book that the U.S. and other Western countries made the false…

Kerby Anderson The recent Department of Defense report should concern all Americans. The authors conclude that China is engaged in the largest military build-up since Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Colonel Grant Newsham once served as the Marine liaison officer to Japan and is also a Senior Fellow with the Center for Security Policy. His book, When China Attacks: A Warning to America, documents Communist China’s ongoing covert war against the United States and its allies. He gave a sobering…

Kerby Anderson Throughout the 2024 campaign, President Biden and his administration argued that the economy was doing well. Many voters did not agree with their assessment. And even in the waning days of his administration, President Biden has argued that he is “handing the Trump administration a robust labor market.” E.J. Antoni (Heritage Foundation) replies, “I’m sorry, I think that the Biden Administration’s own data contradicts that narrative.” He explains that the post-pandemic economic recovery wasn’t as robust as Biden…

Kerby Anderson A week from now, Donald Trump will take office and the Biden presidency will end. Jeff Crouere put together a few statistics that puts some of the Biden presidency in perspective. His legacy will last longer than his presidency since 235 federal judges have been confirmed while he was president. His total surpasses the total number of judicial confirmations during President Trump’s administration. Congress also passed a bill that would have added additional judgeships to relieve some of…

Penna Dexter Whenever there’s a new session of Congress, the House of Representatives adopts a new set of rules to govern the way it conducts business. Four years ago, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced, and the House passed, a resolution aimed at making all House rules “gender inclusive.” The resolution expunged sex-specific words from House rules. So where the terms “father” and “mother” had previously appeared in the House Code of Official Conduct, they were replaced with “parent.”  “Husband” and “wife”…