Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Last month, the Trump administration announced that it was rescinding the Obama administration “gender identity” policy. Ryan Anderson says that the administration “is doing the right thing in correcting Obama’s unlawful overreach, which imposed a one-sided solution on all 50 states.” A little history is in order. The Obama administration redefined the term in the Title IX law prohibiting sex discrimination to include “gender identity.” On May 13, the Justice Department and the Education Department sent a “Dear…

Penna Dexter As the Trump Administration considers cutting funding of public broadcasting — NPR and PBS – one state governor is ready to zero it out. Jim Justice is Governor of West Virginia. His 2018 budget cuts funding for WVPB, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, from where it is now, $4.6 million, down to zero.  The Daily Signal reports that West Virginia currently has a $500 million shortfall. Well, the money has to come from somewhere. States don’t carry deficits from…

Kerby Anderson Even though the Supreme Court has already ruled on the constitutionality of the Second Amendment in the Heller decision, the Fourth Circuit court judges decided to rewrite the opinion and ban certain guns and magazines. In January, the court ruled that lawful gun owners are inherently “dangerous” and can face search and seizure limitations on their constitutional rights. Then last week in February, the court upheld Maryland’s ban on assault weapons and any magazine that holds more than…

Kerby Anderson Andrew McCarthy says we have been asking the wrong question about vetting refugees from Muslim countries. The question asked by the federal judge in Seattle (and also asked by many critics and commentators) is: How many terrorist attacks have been committed by immigrants from these Muslim-majority countries? The answer we discovered is 72, at least according to a Senate Subcommittee on Immigration report. Instead, Andrew McCarthy says the real question we should pose to politicians is this: Do…

Kerby Anderson One example of media malpractice has been the reporting of deportations. Some call it dishonest. Others call it “fake news.” At the very least, it is an unwillingness to provide context to the deportations that have been taking years before President Trump came into office. The Washington Post headline says that the “Immigrant Community on High Alert, Fearing Trump’s Deportation Force.” Mother Jones warned that: “The Trump Deportation Regime Has Begun.” The headlines were pointing to the actions…

Kerby Anderson When the Washington Supreme Court ruled against florist Barronelle Stutzman, many Christian leaders wrote that this was an important watershed moment for religious liberty in America. Although she served same-sex couples for years, she declined to provide flowers for a same-sex ceremony. That was enough for a court case that affects not only her florist business but also her personal assets. Denny Burk is a Southern Baptist theologian and pastor who gave expert testimony in this case. He…

Kerby Anderson Whenever the Pope speaks, it is worth considering what he says whether you are a Catholic or not. His worldview influence is considerable, and so we should pay attention to his words. That is why I am concerned about his recent address on Muslim terrorism. He argued that: “Christian terrorism does not exist, Jewish terrorism does not exist, and Muslim terrorism does not exist.” If his point was to say that not all Christians and not all Muslims…

Penna Dexter A new study commissioned by the dating service Match.com shines a light on today’s hook-up culture, and it isn’t flattering. Match.com recently announced the results of its survey in which a shocking 34 percent of young adults report having sex before even going on a date with someone. Millennials — people between the ages of 18 and 34 — are 48 percent more likely to have sex before a first date, so they can “see if there’s a…

Kerby Anderson Last week, I received my Yale News email announcing that Calhoun College was going to change its name to honor Grace Murray Hopper. I had two questions. Why did it take so long? And, who is Grace Hopper? Now, you may not really care about the renaming of a college at Yale University, but stick with me for a moment. The college is named for John C. Calhoun, who served a as secretary of war, secretary of state,…

Kerby Anderson We may have three co-equal branches of government, but they aren’t equal in their output. As I have mentioned in previous commentaries, Congress passes a few dozen significant laws each year while the executive branch puts out thousands and thousands of rules and regulations. There are lots of reasons for the difference, including staff, funding, and workload. There are nearly 200 federal agencies with more than four million employees. The federal budget is $3.8 trillion. By contrast, Congress…

Kerby Anderson Tony Perkins asks a good question. “If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks football unites us, then why is his league taking political sides?” The National Football League has had trouble keeping TV viewers this year. There are many theories for the rating drop ranging from concern about concussions to the ongoing Colin Kaepernick controversy. So, you would think that the NFL would focus on how to attract more viewers for next season. But shortly after the Super Bowl…