Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson A major impediment to opening up the American economy are lawsuits. Congress needs to consider what liability protections are necessary so that business owners will feel confident in going back to work. The list of lawsuits already being filed is much larger than I imagined. Consider this shortened list from the editors of the Wall Street Journal. “Trial lawyers are filing suits against emergency-supply manufacturers (false advertising), colleges (refusal to refund student fees), cruise lines (emotional distress), retailers…

Kerby Anderson As various states are loosening stay-at-home orders, we are seeing more people in public spaces. But there are a significant number of Americans who aren’t coming out any time soon. The media will naturally focus on the number of people at stores, malls, and parks and probably ignore people staying home. A survey commissioned by Vital Vio concluded that about 40 percent of Americans plan to avoid public spaces unless “absolutely necessary” long after the coronavirus pandemic has…

Kerby Anderson For decades we have seen awards given to music, movies, and tv programs that didn’t deserve them. Usually, they were rewarded because they were edgy or promoted the latest leftist fad or ideological cause. The latest Pulitzer Prize awarded to a New York Times columnist unfortunately follows in that sad tradition. The prize for commentary was awarded earlier this month to Nikole Hannah-Jones for her essay that was part of the newspaper’s 1619 Project. In previous commentaries, I…

Kerby Anderson A frequent phrase used these days is that we need “to trust the science.” But I have found that often “trust the science” really means “trust the model” which is not the same thing. Computer models are used to predict everything from the climate to the economy. Often, they are inaccurate. Asking legitimate questions about these models and their assumptions is appropriate and not “anti-science.” When I was in graduate school, many of us worked with professors who…

Penna Dexter The Little Sisters of the Poor is a religious order that runs nursing homes for the poor. They’re back at the U.S. Supreme Court to, hopefully, conclude their nearly-8-year battle against the ObamaCare contraceptive mandate obligating these nuns to provide their employees with birth control. Under the Affordable Care Act, workplace health plans are supposed to cover “preventative care,” which the Obama Administration said meant birth control, with no out-of-pocket costs. Churches are exempt and the Hobby Lobby…

Kerby Anderson Governors and mayors have been clamoring for more testing kits and testing stations. I suspect they know that more testing isn’t a panacea, but don’t have much else to say. Therefore, they blame other political leaders and the medical establishment because they don’t have enough testing. First, let’s inject some reality into this discussion. President Trump would like his public-private partnership to produce 5 million tests a day. That isn’t going to happen, for many logistical reasons. Even…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday and today I wanted to talk about the expanding role of Big Tech in the midst of this pandemic. Yesterday I talked about surveillance and privacy. Today I want to focus on censorship. The problem of Big Tech censorship has been around for more than a decade. But the current climate makes it even easier. For example, Facebook announced it was removing posts intended to organize rallies that would be protesting government stay-at-home policies in a number…

Kerby Anderson For the next two days, I want to talk about the expanding role of Big Tech in the midst of this pandemic. Today I want to focus on surveillance and privacy. In other countries, the citizens have been willing to submit to increased surveillance. In South Korea, the government has used credit card data, cellphone location data, and surveillance camera footage to track citizens They even announced that infected individuals might be required to wear electronic wristbands. Rachel…

Kerby Anderson In a recent column, Dennis Prager argues that we are seeing a dress rehearsal for a police state. Although I think he makes a convincing case, I am intrigued by people’s response to it. Some people see it, while others do not. It is like watching people look at an optical illusion. Some people see it; others do not. Prager argues that our country is closer to a police state than ever before. And he hastens to add…

Kerby Anderson The latest issue of Harvard University’s magazine has an article by the faculty director of the Child Advocacy Program blasting homeschool as “dangerous.” She documents what she sees as the “risks of homeschooling” and is disturbed that parents can exercise “authoritarian control over their kids.” It might be tempting to merely write this off as just another radical professor expressing an opinion that isn’t necessarily shared by others on the faculty. But consider that the Harvard Magazine cover…

Penna Dexter The Left predictably exploits the coronavirus pandemic to bash capitalism. The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel counters, “To the extent America is weathering this moment, it is in enormous part thanks to the strength, ingenuity, and flexibility of our thriving, competitive capitalist players.” The U.S. response has not been without its problems, but capitalism is providing many more answers than a centralized economy ever could. Ms. Strassel points to a big mistake that surfaced early on: Government “maintained…