Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Joe Biden has made it clear how important he thinks climate change is to this country. He talks about a “climate crisis” and wants to put John Kerry in a position defined as the “climate czar.” His other nominees for the Department of Interior and EPA also show his belief that climate change is what he calls “an existential threat of our time.” His fellow Democrats agree with him. An NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll a few months ago asked…

Kerby Anderson As we were leaving the year of 2020, many people were saying they didn’t want to see it again except in their rearview mirror. But the troubles of 2020 didn’t stop on December 31. They carried into this year. Reid Wilson provided us with his 20/20 vision concerning the year 2020 and concluded that it was the worst year ever. The bad news obviously begins with the death of hundreds of thousands from the coronavirus, but there is…

Kerby Anderson Today both houses of Congress will meet to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. In previous years, this has been a mere formality. But 2020 and 2021 are not typical years. Presiding over this joint session is the vice president, who will have to rule on challenges from Republican members of Congress. The debate about the slate of electors from each state is likely to rekindle the debate about the Electoral College. In previous commentaries, I…

Kerby Anderson Today there are two US Senate elections in Georgia. Of course, you know that, because they will likely determine the direction of the US Senate and the country. In past years, a runoff election for the US Senate did not garner much interest from most Americans. But this has not been a normal year. And this year of 2021 is starting off with even more turmoil. In addition to these two US Senate elections in Georgia today is…

Kerby Anderson This year there will be great pressure put on politicians and health care officials to extend lockdowns in an effort to curtail the health impact of the pandemic. In past commentaries I have talked about the devastating social and economic impact the lockdowns have had. They also have been a major factor in widening the gap between rich and poor. Stephen Moore, in a recent column, reminds us that “Democrats and liberal economic advisers obsess about income inequality.”…

Kerby Anderson Let me begin by wishing you a Happy New Year. At the start of this New Year, I wanted to pass on some advice. In previous commentaries, I have talked about the value of using this time of year to change something in your life. There is nothing magical about using January 1 as a start date, but why not use it to improve yourself? First, I would recommend you pick just one thing to change. If you…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about charitable giving. Today I wanted to follow up by challenging us as Christians to consider giving even more than we do. Perhaps the best book on that subject was written by David Green. It has the arresting title, Giving It All Away. He is the founder of Hobby Lobby and tells the story of his success and calls for Christians to give generously to churches and other ministries. He and the rest of his…

Penna Dexter You have probably noticed the conservative–liberal divide on COVID-19 mitigation measures, especially lockdowns. It’s not that conservatives aren’t worried about the current uptick in cases. We just don’t think another set of lockdowns will be particularly effective in the long run. We see the millions of jobs lost, businesses shuttered, whole industries devastated — perhaps never to fully recover, and the academic setbacks. We simply don’t advocate a repeat. As the virus sickens and sometimes kills, we notice…

Kerby Anderson As this year winds down, many Americans focus on year-end giving. There is abundant evidence that charitable giving has been affected by our newly revised tax code that rewards fewer taxpayers with tax benefits. Howard Husock wrote about this earlier this month when many Americans took advantage of “Giving Tuesday.” His observations then are even more relevant at the end of December. Indiana University’s school of philanthropy had been able to document two significant trends. While overall giving…

Kerby Anderson The recent revelation of a Chinese spy involved with a member of Congress has been a vivid reminder that China has been using various ways to gather intelligence. They not only use actual spies, but gather intelligence from students, tourists, and businessmen. This “thousand grains of sand” approach gathers what might seem to be inconsequential bits of information they can then put with other information to gain a full picture of what is happening in this country. When…

Kerby Anderson China is a national security threat. That is the conclusion of the Director of National Intelligence. John Ratcliffe begins his assessment by reminding us that he has access to more intelligence than any member of the US government other than the president. He says that if he could “communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest…