Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter It’s good to periodically unpack the Lord’s Prayer so it’s never vain repetition. Two Christian apologists do this in a 2001 interview Lee Strobel conducted with Hank Hanegraaff on Hank’s book The Prayer of Jesus. The two men agree: In this prayer, no words are wasted. In beginning with “Our Father” Jesus taught His disciples to address God as Father. Only those adopted into the family of God could actually pray ‘Our Father.’ It’s plural, Hank says, because…

Kerby Anderson The news over the last year has been about the surveillance of the Trump campaign and administration. But there is another more personal issue. How much surveillance has the federal government done of your life? John Whitehead (Rutherford Institute) was on my radio program recently to talk about the threat we all face from government and business surveillance. We began by quoting from Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. In a case back in 1966, he warned, “We…

Kerby Anderson A generation ago, driving on American roads was much safer than in many other countries with lots of open roads (like Canada and Australia). That is not the case anymore. David Leonhardt reports that our vehicle fatality rate is about 40 percent higher than the fatality rates in Canada and Australia. He says he was unaware of this country’s outlier status until he began to report on the rise of driverless cars. As you might imagine, many people…

Kerby Anderson Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was criticized for using a term correctly and in the proper context. When he was speaking to the National Sheriffs’ Association, he reminded them that, “The office of sheriff is a crucial part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement.” The outrage surfaced almost immediately because he used the term “Anglo-American.” Let me quote from one US Senator: “Do you know anyone who says ‘Anglo-American heritage’ in a sentence? What could…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about a few pieces of legislation that might actually stem gun violence. There is another issue that also deserves attention. How many criminals and potential mass shooters are getting their guns through online gun sales? One report from a number of years ago suggested that this was a potential problem. That is why two members of Congress (Representative Elijah Cummings and Senator Elizabeth Warren) asked the GAO to investigate. In November, they completed their two-and-a-half…

Kerby Anderson We have once again been hearing that we need to do something to stem gun violence. Even though most gun purchases are significantly regulated, are there any gun law reforms being proposed that make some sense? Benjamin Dierker, writing in The Federalist, proposes some reforms of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that would make a difference. The system is composed of three databases, but not all relevant data is listed. For example, the Air Force failed…

Penna Dexter   President Trump has been reversing destructive policies and replacing radical appointees put in place by his predecessor. He missed one opportunity in nominating Chai Feldblum to serve a third term – a five-year term — on the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The Conservative Review calls her the previous administration’s “most radical sexual identity movement leader.” The EEOC was created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to combat workplace discrimination. The agency is often called upon to…

Kerby Anderson If you have ever listened to a Dennis Prager radio program, you know he often talks about the differences between liberals and conservatives. And you would also know that he dedicates one hour to what he calls “the happiness hour” where he explores why people are happy or unhappy. So it is not surprising that he recently wrote a commentary on the subject: “Liberals and Conservatives Are Unhappy for Different Reasons.” He says that unhappy conservatives generally believe…

Kerby Anderson A wise consumer of news and information should question some of the statistics thrown out by journalists. This is especially true since an advocacy group may have provided these statistics in order to influence public opinion. Here’s one example. Tulane University says that 41 percent of the undergraduate women have been sexually assaulted since arriving on campus. That’s an alarming statistic that seems to be contrary to common sense. If there were that many assaults, we would be…

Kerby Anderson Steven Pinker (Harvard University) says that the left and the right at least agree on one major point: “The world is getting worse.” His new book goes into some detail to show that simply is not true. In a recent op-ed, he reminds us that, “Such gloominess is decidedly un-American.” Unfortunately, we fool ourselves by comparing rose-tinted images of the past with the scary headlines of today. Here are just a few statistics worth considering. The homicide rate…

Kerby Anderson For the last few decades, politicians and high tech companies have been talking about the digital divide. They wanted to make sure that poor and underprivileged students had access to the same digital devices as wealthier ones. I have always felt there was a bigger issue that fewer people were talking about. Fortunately, Naomi Schaefer Riley addresses this in her New York Times op-ed on “America’s Real Digital Divide.” She warns that, “If you think middle-class children are…