Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke rolled out his version of a Green New Deal in a video from Yosemite Valley. It doesn’t call for such draconian action as the legislation sponsored by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her plan calls for “net zero greenhouse gas emissions” in ten years. He has a target somewhere around the year 2050. Perhaps we should call it the “Light Green New Deal.” In his video, Beto calls it “the most ambitious climate plan in the…

Kerby Anderson One of the lines that Senator Bernie Sanders uses often in his campaign is his concern that “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” Since he and other candidates will continue to proclaim this slogan, it’s worth taking a moment to critique it. While it is true that the rich are getting richer, it is NOT true that the poor are getting poorer. Let’s put both economic figures on the table for America. In a recent…

Penna Dexter The Wall Street Journal recently ran Abigail Shrier’s synopsis of her interview with Paul McHugh who, at 87, is still a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. McHugh is referenced frequently by those arguing for medical common sense in the transgender wars. According to Ms. Shrier, he’s “a tenacious skeptic of the crazes that periodically overtake his specialty.” Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s Johns Hopkins Hospital was famous for its pioneer work doing sex…

Kerby Anderson One of the criticisms of the claims of human-caused climate change is that the theory predicts everything. Now, you might think that makes it a good theory. Actually, when you have a theory that predicts everything and cannot be falsified, that makes it a bad theory. In fact, it is easy to find examples of contradictory claims all being attributed to climate change. But let me give you one example. Sharks fascinate us, probably going back decades to…

Kerby Anderson A slide from a university biology lecture went viral because it illustrated the “parallels between fetuses and cancers.” Many of the Twitter comments were disgusted that the professor’s slide referred to the fetus as a “legitimate parasite” that “invades” a mother and “manipulates” her immunity. A picture of the slide was posted by Stanford Medical student Dylan Griswold who did so in order to address what he feels is the increasing tendency to describe pregnancy as a disease….

Kerby Anderson For decades, Congress has been willing to give its legislative powers to the executive branch in general and the president in particular. Senator Mike Lee writes about why this has happened and what Congress should do to stop this dangerous trend. He reminds us that President Obama more than 20 times said he didn’t have the authority to rewrite immigration laws, and then did so in 2012 during the height of his reelection campaign. He speculates that a…

Kerby Anderson The Supreme Court justices might be forgiven for having a feeling of déjà vu. For the third time, the justices had to deal with a case in which the president was given power by Congress and then challenged because he used that power. First, it was the travel ban. Then it was the president’s national emergency declaration in order to build the wall. Finally, it was the oral arguments about whether a citizenship question could be put in…

Kerby Anderson President Trump’s opponents argue that there is no crisis at the border, thus we don’t need to build a wall or deploy troops to the border. Proponents, of course, argue just the opposite. Is there any way to evaluate these contradictory claims? One way, of course, is to look at the increasing number of men, women, and children crossing our southern border. The US border patrol reported that more than 76,000 migrants crossed illegally into the country in…

Penna Dexter Elizabeth Warren is perhaps not the most exciting candidate in the field of Democrats looking to challenge President Trump. But she’s formulating bold proposals other candidates must react to. She’s targeting a millennial voting block with proposals like universal child care, affordable housing, and now, a plan she claims would completely eliminate student loan debt for 75 percent of all borrowers and cut indebtedness for the rest. The plan would cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt…

Kerby Anderson Columnist David Brooks has a new book coming out, so he wrote a New York Times column about the “Five Lies Our Culture Tells Us.” He believes we have created a culture based on lies.  Columnist Robert Samuelson responds to David Brooks in a Washington Post column by telling him to “lighten up.” Let’s look at the five lies. They are that we believe that “career success is fulfilling” and that “I can make myself happy.” They also include the…

Kerby Anderson Today is the National Day of Prayer. It is a vital part of our American heritage. The first call to prayer happened before the American Revolution. In 1775, the Continental Congress called on the colonists to pray for wisdom as they considered how they would respond to the King of England. Perhaps one of the most powerful calls to prayer came from President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. In 1863, he issued a proclamation for a day…