Recent Viewpoints

A California teacher, who has logged 28 years in the profession, is waging a battle that could have a significant impact on public employee unions and First Amendment protections for teachers across the nation. The Supreme Court heard the case recently. The outcome could diminish the power of public-sector unions. Rebecca Freidrichs is a third grade teacher at Holder Elementary School in Buena Park, California. Early in her teaching career, she was a full dues-paying union member. But she didn’t…

The Bible rests upon a belief in absolute truth. Yet surveys by George Barna show that a minority of born-again adults (44 percent) and an even smaller proportion of born-again teenagers (9 percent) are certain of the existence of absolute moral truth. Even more disturbing is the fact that by a three-to-one margin adults say truth is always relative to the person and their situation. George Barna concludes in his book, Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in the 21st Century,…

Many candidates talk about trying to implement a flat tax. One presidential candidate actually is proposing a true flat tax. Ben Carson’s tax proposal has received high marks from a number of economists even though it is unlikely that it will be implemented since his candidacy seems to be fading. Nevertheless, it is worth talking about his flat tax plan because it reminds us how far off our current tax system is from a system that would be flat, fair,…

Much of the debate about the president’s new gun regulations centers on criminal background checks. The president wants to expand background checks to just about anyone selling a gun. While the administration is doing this, it needs to fix some problems with the current system. Dr. John Lott was on my radio program to talk about some simple and reasonable changes that must be made to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. He believes that these proposals would easily…

At the beginning of a new year lots of us try to find something we can implement in our lives that makes it better. Or that makes us better. Some of the things in our lives that we think are keeping us from serving the Lord are actually ways we are serving the Lord. We just may not recognize them in that way because they feel so mundane. We care for homes and families. We make a living. But, we…

I saw an article recently with the arresting title: “The One Issue Where Republicans and Obama Agree.” There are probably a number of issues of agreement between the president and Congress, but this one is significant. Both sides agree that the criminal justice system needs fixing. The interview in the article was with Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) who is on the other side of the president on most issues. They are in agreement that a wide-ranging, bipartisan criminal-justice-reform bill is…

Contrary to what many political strategists might think, being pro-life as a candidate can be a winning issue. Marjorie Dannenfelser was on my radio program to explain her recent commentary on why the “pro-life movement is winning the culture—and elections.” Polling statistics, recent elections, and common sense all point to the fact that being pro-life is a winning issue in most campaigns. The most recent Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans (55%) oppose abortion in all or most…

We fought an American Revolution so that a king would no longer rule us. For two centuries presidents and members of Congress served because “we the people” elected them to office. Charles Cooke believes that the last few presidents have begun to act like kings. He laments that: “we seem to believe that we are the children of legislatures, not of kings.” But there is nothing to guarantee that will continue in the future. The freedom we enjoy today may…

If we are to defeat ISIS, we will need a comprehensive strategy that includes both military, economic, and diplomatic action. This combined effort has the greatest possibility for success. Ambassador Francis Rooney was on my program recently to talk about such a strategy. He believes that we should begin by correctly identifying ISIS and other groups as radical jihadists. He also argues for an embargo that would cut off extremist held territory. No cross border movement should be allowed. He…

When we are talking about the conflict between the West and radical Islam, do we have a clash of civilizations? Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently does not think so. At the last Democratic presidential debate, she said she worried “that the rhetoric coming from Republicans, particularly Donald Trump, is sending a message to Muslims here . . . and around the world, that there is a clash of civilizations.” The phrase “clash of civilizations” is important because it…

In less than a month the country will begin the formal process of picking a president. The nation’s first state contest, the Iowa caucuses begin February 1. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton holds a substantial lead in the polls there. But opponent Bernie Sanders continues to draw large crowds and raise lots of money. There’s much excitement on the Republican side. Who will drop out? Who will remain? Who will get their vote out? Who will emerge, perhaps not…