Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Over the last month, we have been talking about China. When talking about China, we usually talk about its strengths and technological developments. But there is another side to intelligence gathering illustrated by a speech given by Herbert Meyer, who served as a special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. He explained, “From the end of World War II until 1982, every president’s objective had been not to lose the Cold War.” When President Ronald Reagan came…

Kerby Anderson Freedom in this country depends upon three important foundations: morality, limits, and human rights. First, freedom depends on morality. John Adams observed, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” When the citizens have an internal moral compass, the size and scope of government can be small. There is no need for external laws and regulations from government. If people do what is right and…

Kerby Anderson With estimates that the federal deficit will increase this year, we are once again hearing comments about making the “rich pay their fair share.” Even if we set aside the moral arguments, there is still the reality that attempts to “soak the rich” haven’t generated tax revenues promised by progressive politicians. To illustrate this, look at one of the most boring graphs in economics. If you plot federal government revenue as a percentage of GDP, you get approximately…

Kerby Anderson Why do young people have short attention spans? That is a question the editors of the Wall Street Journal asked college students to address. Here are some of the best answers. One student at the University of British Columbia observed that “we live in a civilization of instant pleasure. Anyone who has used TikTok knows this.” Therefore, students are being raised in a culture of instant pleasure and low attention spans. Another student at Harvard University said he…

Penna Dexter Two years ago, I complained that: “Radical transgender directives just keep coming from the executive branch of the federal government.” There’s been a stunning reversal. States fought back against these federal decrees. In May 2023, the Texas governor signed a law prohibiting medical facilities from providing drug and surgical “gender transition” interventions for minors. At that time, the White House was all in with its support of so-called “gender affirming care” — the drugs, hormones and surgeries that…

Kerby Anderson Columnist Bob Greene noticed a connection between TV Dinners and smartphones. In fact, he says the 1950s meal was a gateway drug for screen addiction. He believes that our zombie-like addiction to screens has its origin decades ago. It used to be that you would eat dinner and then move into the den to watch television. But soon there were advertisements for “TV trays.” These metal trays with tubular legs could be unfolded in front of the TV…

Kerby Anderson A recent poll of Americans conducted by NewsGuard and YouGov is disturbing on its face. It is even more concerning the deeper you delve into the data. The topline comment is that a sizable number of Democrats and a small number of Republicans believe the assassination attempts on President Trump were fake. The pollsters found that a third (34%) of Democrats said the White House Correspondents Dinner was staged, and more than four in ten (42%) said the…

Kerby Anderson Much has been made of the slight uptick in spiritual interest among the Gen Z generation. George Barna of the Cultural Research Center agrees that there are a few positive trends, but laments that there are mostly negative trends. He was on my radio program to talk about “the Recent Spiritual Progress and Regress of Gen Z.” On the positive side, he discovered an interest in being deeply committed to practicing their faith. He also found an increase…

Kerby Anderson It should be obvious by now that shortages from supply chain disruptions will be affecting Americans and the rest of the world for the near future. Whether the war continues or ends tomorrow, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz will continue to affect supplies and prices. At the top of the list is energy. Usually approximately 14 million barrels of oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz every day. That has not happened for months creating the…

Kerby Anderson Today is Memorial Day. For many Americans, it is merely a day off. For others, it marks the start of summer. But hopefully for many of you, it is a day to honor those who fought for our freedom and especially for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Sure we can enjoy our picnics and go for a walk or go for a swim. But we should take some time to put up a flag, make a banner,…

Penna Dexter Most of us carry a telephone around with us and yet we’re not talking as much as we used to. We’re using our phones, increasingly, to communicate in ways that replace actual talking — like texting, emailing, and online ordering. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Arizona began studying gender differences in talkativeness. The researchers discovered something even more interesting: people in general are speaking to one another less. They reviewed 22 studies…