Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter Here’s good advice for everyone to remember as we enter election season: “Never trust a stranger with your ballot.”  This comes from Ken Blackwell, the former Mayor of Cincinnati. It’s particularly timely because, this November, universal Vote By Mail will take place in more than the few states where it’s already practiced. This differs from absentee voting in which a voter requests a ballot to mail back by election day. Universal Vote by Mail means ballots are sent…

Kerby Anderson Charles Mizrahi was on my radio program recently to talk about his article, “Prosperity and Generosity: The Biblical Roots of Capitalism.” Although we often talk about the Bible and capitalism, this interview was a bit different because he is Jewish and used Old Testament passages to promote the idea of free enterprise. He wrote his article because he was so disturbed by politicians and young people bemoaning our economic system. Instead, they were calling for more government programs…

Kerby Anderson Less than two months before a national election, lawsuits are being filed to change election laws. In Georgia, the law used to require that absentee ballots that arrived after Election Day were to be set aside and eventually destroyed. A federal judge now has ordered Georgia officials to count all ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive days later. A similar injunction has been filed in Pennsylvania. A lawsuit in Ohio is challenging the need for…

Kerby Anderson Back in July, one social commentator concluded that even the most prestigious public-relations firms could not have come up with a more effective advertising campaign for gun manufacturers than what was happening in the streets. While riots were breaking out in our major cities, protesters were marching with “defund the police” signs. Many Americans who never planned to buy a firearm were having second thoughts. A civilized society expects a level of law and order. It depends on…

Kerby Anderson During this presidential election, we will likely hear pundits talking about flipping courts. Will a reelected President Trump continue flipping courts, or will a President Biden be able to flip courts back? When Trump took office, Democratic appointees had a majority in nine circuit courts. By contrast, Republican appointees only had a majority in four circuit courts. It is also worth mentioning that judges appointed by a Republican president don’t always render a conservative opinion, while nearly all…

Kerby Anderson Months of legitimate protests have sadly devolved into riots and violence in many of our major cities. Hundreds of police officers have been injured, dozens of people have been killed, and billions of dollars of property have been destroyed. Why did this happen? The spark was a video of the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. But the reaction was much greater in this tragic death than any other. Victor Davis Hanson observes…

Penna Dexter As protesters in cities across America call for abolishing or defunding police, we wonder: who are these people? If black lives truly matter, why defund the protection that helps minority-owned shop owners and businesses to operate in these cities. Charles Blain heads up two non-profits: Urban Reform, which seeks to offer solutions that will revive American cities, and Urban Reform Institute, its associated think tank. He points out that “the movement to defund police has a crucial flaw;…

Kerby Anderson A few weeks ago, one of my radio guests brought up a potential problem in this election that I had never considered. Fortunately, this is something we can fix, with your help. We may not have enough poll workers at the polls. Many states will face a shortage of thousands of poll workers this time because so many of them are older and face a potentially higher risk for the coronavirus. That may cause them to cancel their…

Kerby Anderson One of the Democratic arguments against President Trump is that he mismanaged the pandemic. Dr. Merrill Matthews asks, “Would a Democrat have managed the pandemic better?” He looks at four criticisms. First, was the response too slow? On March 2, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo assured the people of his state that “the general risk remains low in New York.” On that same day, President Trump was meeting with major pharmaceutical company executives to speed the process of…

Kerby Anderson In the past, both Republican and Democratic candidates have talked about abortion. Sometimes Republicans might avoid the topic, but rarely did Democrats. The assumption a few decades ago was that pro-choice was a winning theme, while being pro-life sometimes seemed like a liability. The two national political conventions reversed the perspective on abortion. The topic never was mentioned in the Democratic National Convention. Abortion and pro-life comments surfaced many times in the Republican National Convention. The convention even…

Kerby Anderson Should professional basketball players be allowed to boycott their games? Of course. Current NBA players, along with players in the past, have used the forum to address social issues. Technically, the decision last month was probably best described as a strike rather than a boycott. It led to other professional teams cancelling their games as well. In a well-written and thoughtful piece, Andrew McCarthy argues that the action may be somewhat illogical, but certainly allowable. “For a work…