Recent Viewpoints

By 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…

Kerby Anderson Tax day this year landed on April 18, but I took the time to remind my listeners that the more important day was April 23. That is Tax Freedom Day. According to the Tax Foundation, that is the day when the average American has paid all of his or her taxes (federal, state, and local). Of course, this varies by state. Tax Freedom Day for people in Mississippi lands on April 5 but doesn’t come until May 21…

Kerby Anderson Tires and religious liberty don’t seem like topics that would go together. But a religious dispute over playground surfaces made its way to the Supreme Court two weeks ago. Trinity Lutheran Church in Missouri applied to a state grant program to resurface its playground with recycled rubber. Although the application ranked high in the list of applicants, the state used its Blaine Amendment to turn them down. The Blaine Amendment is named for Senator James Blaine who proposed…

Kerby Anderson Campus riots and protests have been successful in canceling or interrupting speeches by Milo Yiannopoulos, Charles Murray, Heather MacDonald, David Horowitz, and Ann Coulter. As we get closer to commencement proceedings, other speakers will be disinvited because of the fear of violence. This will continue until rioters are prosecuted and students who engage in violence are expelled. The common explanation for this behavior on campus is that the millennial generation is the “snowflake generation.” While that may be…

Penna Dexter Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to be the commencement speaker at the University of Notre Dame this year. But two snowflake types in Notre Dame’s senior class say that, because he represents the Trump administration, the vice president’s presence on campus will make them feel “unsafe.” Notre Dame often invites newly elected presidents to address the graduates, but — well — there was this petition against inviting President Trump. Besides, Mike Pence is the perfect choice. He’s…

Kerby Anderson The new book by David Green has the arresting title, Giving It All Away. He is the founder of Hobby Lobby and tells the story of his success and calls for Christians to give generously to churches and other ministries. He was on my radio program last week, and we talked about Hobby Lobby, the Museum of the Bible, and their court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Green family has been at…

Kerby Anderson New York has decided to embark on an economic experiment. It has become the first state to offer free college tuition for its residents. Not everyone is excited about this idea. Brandon Muir, executive director of Reclaim New York, said, “Governor Cuomo’s taxpayer-backed college tuition plan is so reckless, no other state has been dumb enough to try it.” San Francisco has offered free community college tuition to its residents. Rhode Island is considering a similar measure, and…

Kerby Anderson Every president leaves the next president with unfinished business. But it appears that President Obama has left a number of time bombs to President Trump. A few come to mind. The inevitable collapse of Obamacare is one. Chemical weapons in Syria is another. Perhaps the most significant is what the editors of the Wall Street Journal rightly call the “debt interest bomb.” Rising interest payments for the national debt will be a major obstacle for President Trump and…

1. Trump and Congress eye shutdown showdown over border wall “The face-off comes as lawmakers return to Washington following a two-week Easter recess. Government funding expires Friday, leaving Congress little time to strike a deal. A White House push for progress on repealing Obamacare will also consume energy on Capitol Hill, even as a vote on legislation this week appears unlikely. “In the meantime, both sides are puffing up their chests, refusing to budge from their hard-line positions on one…

Kerby Anderson The Supreme Court has ruled that public schools can teach about religion but they cannot indoctrinate students into a religion. So many schools simply avoid the possible controversy altogether by not teaching about religion at all. That is why the latest controversy is hard to imagine. The Christian Action Network says that the U.S. Department of Education is funding an Islamic education program in the public schools that crosses the line from academics to indoctrination. I had Martin…

Kerby Anderson When is identification necessary in our society? At least one U.S. district judge believes it is unnecessary when we vote. Earlier this month she struck down the Texas requirement that voters have a photo ID in order to vote. Any one of seven forms of identification could be used at the polling place. And if people did not have a driver’s license or other appropriate ID, they could sign an affidavit declaring that they have an impediment to…