Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson We are in the midst of a battle over socialism. This isn’t an academic debate about socialism. It isn’t even a discussion about the impact of socialism on Venezuela. The battle over socialism is taking place in the mid-term campaigns led in part by self-proclaimed socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Two of the key talking points have been free college tuition and “Medicare for All.” These are not just fringe topics only discussed by a few radical…

Kerby Anderson Michael Barone asks a troubling question: “Why is it considered liberal to compel others to say or fund things they don’t believe?” He raises this question in light of the three Supreme Court cases that struck down compelled speech but in two cases by the narrowest of margins. He wonders why liberals on the court and progressives in society aren’t disturbed by attempts to compel speech. In the past, liberal justices like Oliver Wendell Holmes supported free speech…

Penna Dexter US citizens are having fewer babies these days. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of babies born last year in the US was down 2 percent from the previous year and has hit a 30-year low. The US birth rate dropped to an all-time low in 2017: 60.2 births per 1000 women.  And the US fertility rate is the lowest it’s been…

Kerby Anderson A recent case before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals provides a window on what President Trump’s impact will be on the courts. Federal law makes it illegal to buy handguns across state lines. Several plaintiffs sued, arguing that this restriction violates the Second Amendment. The case was originally heard before a three-judge panel, and the plaintiffs lost. Then they asked to have the case heard by the full Fifth Circuit Court of 15 judges. The plaintiffs lost…

Kerby Anderson When God wanted to reveal truth to his prophets and the people, He often did so on a mountain.  Just think of the names of the mountains we read about in the Bible. Mount Sinai, Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon, and Mount Moriah are just a few examples. Dr. Jarrett Stephens writes about the messages on these mountains in his new book, The Mountains Are Calling: Making the Climb for a Clearer View of God and Ourselves. He will be…

Kerby Anderson Even though there is lots of evidence that violence is declining, many people don’t believe it. On my radio program, we have documented that the violent crime rate has dropped significantly over the last few decades. And if you want a longer look at the decline in violence over millennia, you could pick up the 2011 book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker. Apparently, many people don’t believe it. That is why he spends a…

Kerby Anderson What will be the long-term impact of the trade wars? Nobody knows for sure, but the tariffs imposed by the president could affect both the economy and the midterm elections. In fact, some industry experts and economists warn that the greatest economic fallout might occur just as voters go to the polls. The political impact, so far, hasn’t been great. One poll showed support for the tariffs from citizens who already support the president and opposition from citizens…

Kerby Anderson The public debate about transgender students using restrooms and showers became more intense in a small town in Oregon. I have actually preached in a church in this town and can imagine the reaction of the parents. A district judge ruled that a girl who identifies as a boy can use the boys’ facilities and vice versa. The judge did offer an alternative: parents can take their children out of the schools. Well, thank you. These parents pay…

Penna Dexter The birth rate in the US has hit an all-time low. Replacement-level fertility requires an average of 2.1 children per woman. Ours is roughly 1.76. Fewer women are having children. And the ones who do are having fewer of them. A Pew Research survey done in June reveals that Americans like the idea of larger families. According to the study “41 percent of US adults think that families of three or more children is ideal,” but millennials are…

Kerby Anderson Perhaps you have heard of the latest environmental movement to ban plastic straws. Even though they are small, they are large in number. The activists claim that we use millions of straws every day. That number seems high, at least to me, since I avoid using plastic straws. I figure that I don’t need a straw when I drink water or a beverage at home. Why do I need one in a restaurant? If I go to a…

Kerby Anderson Jonah Goldberg reminded his readers of a famous essay by Tom Wolfe entitled “The Great Relearning.” It was an essay about the Summer of Love in 1968 in San Francisco. It had great significance to me since I grew up in the San Francisco area during that time, but it also has significance to all of us concerned about our culture. He said that doctors at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic “were treating diseases no living doctor had ever…