Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson The recent drone attack on the Saudi Arabian oil processing plant raises lots of questions that our leaders will need to answer quickly. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that it was an “act of war” by Iran. But confirming the link and deciding how to respond are just a few of the questions that need to be answered. The drone attack temporarily cut off an estimated five percent of the world’s oil supply. President Trump authorized the…

Kerby Anderson A year ago, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop. When asked to design a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, he declined. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission declared that he was in violation of the state’s antidiscrimination act. Although the court ruled in his favor, a number of Christian attorneys and leaders lamented that it was a narrow ruling. The justices didn’t really address the larger issues…

Kerby Anderson The US Senate has now confirmed more than 150 judicial nominees. Senator Lindsey Graham declared this was a “historic milestone.” These judges will be interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent for years to come. Here is the breakdown. Judges confirmed to the lower federal courts exceed 105. And there are 43 circuit court nominees that have been confirmed. Add to that two Supreme Court justices, and you have a total of more than 150 confirmed judicial…

Penna Dexter About the worst criticism you can offer of someone today, especially an elected official or a candidate for public office, is to call them a racist. President Trump gets this all the time. Yet, the president hardly ever mentions race in his speeches or tweets. It’s undeniable, however, that his administration has improved conditions for minorities. The unemployment rate, at 3.7 percent, is close to the lowest in 50 years. Black unemployment is the lowest ever, at 5.5…

Kerby Anderson Voters need to trust in the integrity of the ballot box. That is why we should enact common sense protections. But in our age of political division, even common-sense provisions are sometimes attacked as an attempt at voter suppression and voter intimidation. Fortunately, a new poll found that most Americans (at least in Texas) agree with attempts to ensure the integrity of the vote. The Dallas Morning News provided a summary of the Texas Lyceum poll and found that…

Kerby Anderson A major campaign issue is health care. Americans are upset with the high cost of health care. Although many candidates are promoting the idea of “Medicare for All,” it won’t bring down costs and has little chance of passing anyway. So, we should be asking if there are any ways to bring down the cost of health care. Fortunately, we have some companies and states that have been able to do so with relatively minor changes. Sean Flynn…

Kerby Anderson No doubt you have heard the phrase: “campaign promises are like pie crust: they are made to be broken.” The first time something like that was uttered was back in the seventeenth century. That shows you how skeptical people have been when a candidate makes a promise. The Democratic presidential candidates are making some extreme promises. Jim Geraghty put together a shortlist from candidates he refers to as “charlatans.” Bernie Sanders promises no one will ever have to…

Kerby Anderson Recently the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that declares the National Rifle Association to be a domestic terrorist organization. I wasn’t too surprised since I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and often read about similar kinds of resolutions passed by the Berkeley City Council. But this resolution is worth a brief evaluation because it points to a dangerous trend. First, the supervisors attempt to redefine terms according to their Leftist lexicon. Even…

Kerby Anderson Earlier this month NFL Quarterback Drew Brees appeared in a short video to promote “Bring Your Bible to School Day.” It wouldn’t even be worth a mention in past years, but a number of critics slammed him for producing the video since it was a promo video for Focus on the Family. Again, this wouldn’t have been controversial even a few years ago. But the culture is different now. Social media lit up with claims that Focus on…

Penna Dexter Twelve philosophers from across Europe, North America and Australia recently released a letter to defend the right of members of their profession to express “skepticism about the concept of gender identity.” These philosophers are asking for open discussion of gender issues. As it stands, they say, philosophers are being censored, sanctioned for expressing their opposition to “replacing biological sex with gender identity in institutional policy making.” In a recent commentary, I wondered where the feminists were on the…

Kerby Anderson While reading yet another article about gun violence and mass shootings, I came to the conclusion that most of us aren’t sure what is true and what is false. For the next few months, we will be talking about and debating policies. It’s worth getting the right facts on the table. First, violent crime has been decreasing for decades. Although I read this in many places and even say it on the radio with some regularity, many people…