Recent Viewpoints

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…

Much of the debate about the minimum wage has focused on providing a living wage for hard-working people. As admirable that that might seem, there are consequences to raising the minimum wage, especially to the level demanded by activists who want everyone to have a living wage. One of the prime targets has been Wal-Mart. The company did raise its base wage last April and is scheduled to increase the base wage again next month. Last month, Wal-Mart announced a…

Andrew McCarthy is asking a good question. “Let’s say you are an authentically moderate Muslim.” You might have been born in a Muslim country or even converted to Islam. You might even be a devout Muslim who rejects the idea of jihad. So then he asks this question: “Is there any insulting thing I could say, no matter how provocative, or any demeaning video I could show you, no matter how lurid, that would convince you to join ISIS?” He…

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal wondered out loud why the low prices at the gas pump weren’t translating into economic growth. This should make economists scratch their heads. After all, people are filling their gas tanks these days and only paying about $2 a gallon when it was often over $3.50 just a little over a year ago. Most people should be saving at least an extra $100 a month. Economists predicted that savings would act like…

Franklin Graham made quite an announcement the other day. First he explained his exasperation with the Republican Party when members of Congress passed the $1.1 trillion, pork-laden omnibus bill that failed to defund Planned Parenthood. He said: “Shame on [Congress] for passing such a wasteful spending bill last week. And to top it off, funding Planned Parenthood! A Huffington Post article called it ‘a big win for Planned Parenthood.’ I call it a big loss for America. After all of…

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America recently released an annual report covering its activities for 2014. The report indicates that 323,999 babies were aborted at Planned Parenthood clinics that year. This is down from 2013’s total: 327, 653. Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League and longtime critic of Planned Parenthood, says that is “the lowest number of annual abortions at Planned Parenthood since 2007.” But Planned Parenthood is still, by far, the nation’s largest abortion provider. And abortion…

A report by the Pew Research Center warned that the U.S. birth rate dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the Great Depression. The birth rate of 63.2 per 1,000 women of childbearing age is the lowest since at least 1920. The major reason for the decline in births was due to a drop in births among immigrants. America would have dropped below replacement levels if it were not for the significant number of births among immigrants. The…

During this election season we will be hearing quite a bit about the middle class. Candidates will claim that they want to fight for the middle class and argue that their policies will help middle class families. They will also say that members of the opposite party are the reason for the decline of the middle class, even though this decline has been happening under both Republican and Democratic presidents and Congress. The Pew Research Center documented that the middle…

It seems that welfare has replaced work in America. In the last few years, we have seen the largest expansion of the welfare state since President Lyndon Johnson. We have also seen the largest decline in the labor force in 30 years. Stephen Moore with the Heritage Foundation (and formerly with The Wall Street Journal) believes it is time to ask whether welfare has contributed to the reduction in the percentage of Americans holding a job. More than 46 million…

What is the relationship of elections to culture? Many Christians argue that elections are downstream from where real change is taking place. Often politicians and judges are making decisions to “catch-up” with the culture. Mark Steyn understands this. He writes about this in his book, The Undocumented Mark Steyn. He explains this in his New York Post article, The real battle for America is over culture, not elections. His argument is simple. Culture trumps politics. In many ways politics is…