Recent Viewpoints

By Kerby Anderson Earlier this month President Obama met with the French president. When talking about the terrorist actions in Paris, Brussels, and San Bernardino, he referred to the violence as “Islamist terrorism.” The White House deleted the phrase but then restored it when questioned about the apparent censorship. Down the street from the White House, something similar was taking place at the Library of Congress. The library’s administrators banned the term “illegal alien” in subject headings about immigration. There…

Over the past seven years, in various documents, the White House has been replacing the words “freedom of religion” with a different phrase, “freedom of worship.” One of those documents is the test immigrants take to become U.S. citizens. In it, “freedom of worship” is listed as a basic constitutional right along with “freedom of speech.” There’s a difference between these two terms that has major consequences for the rights of people of faith, especially in light of the current…

April 15 is usually considered Tax Day, but this year the tax deadline is on April 18. It was moved because Emancipation Day will be celebrated this year on April 15. That is why Tax Day was pushed back to April 18. While we are talking about Tax Day, let also talk about Tax Freedom Day. That is the day when your tax burden is lifted. It is calculated by dividing the official government tally of all taxes collected in…

When California Governor Jerry Brown announced his plan to be the first state to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, lots of people had an opinion. Dr. Merrill Matthews (a frequent guest on Point of View) summarized his thoughts this way. “As a Texan, let me say, ‘Thank you, Governor Brown!” He pointed out that Texas has benefited from the Golden State’s determination to send its best employers and jobs to the Lone Star State. He believes that…

If kids are with you right now, be warned, I’m going to talk about sex. Not graphically, but honestly. You may or may not want your youngsters to see this. I came across a story about my alma mater, the University of Southern California. A lot of people don’t know this, but USC is a private school. My parents preferred I attend there rather than one of the public schools like UCLA or UC Santa Barbara, because they thought I’d…

Many may not realize it but more illegal immigrants have been deported during President Obama’s presidency than ever before. An estimated 2.5 million people have been removed from America since he took office. Some have even referred to him as the “deporter-in-chief.” The two leading Republican presidential candidates want to continue and even expand what is currently happening. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz want to deport millions more, even though many polls show that Americans oppose mass deportations of the…

Legislatures and city councils have had a debate for some time about so-called “bathroom bills.” Apparently many gay activists are convinced that the next barrier to discrimination concerns transsexuals who desire to use a public bathroom of their preference rather than their biology. That is why some legislative bodies want to pass bills that would protect woman from predators. A recent column by Frank Turek provides some insight into the debate in North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” (HB2) that could be…

Nabeel Qureshi, in his new book, Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, explains the way in which radical Muslims use the Qur’an to promote jihad. His recent column in USA Today provides a readable summary of his presentation. He describes his experience growing up as a Muslim. His imams and the Muslim community taught that Islam is a religion of peace. But when he began to investigate the Qur’an and the traditions of Muhammad’s life while he was in college,…

The terrorist attacks in Europe provide some valuable lessons for us in America about dealing with radical Islam. Last year there was the attack on Charlie Hebdo and a later attack on Paris, as well as the shootings on the train from Amsterdam to Paris. Last month, it was the horrific terror attack in Brussels. Many asked the obvious question, Why an attack in Brussels? There are two answers to that question. The first is that Brussels is significant politically….

We all love Disney movies and Disney theme parks. But I doubt too many Christians loved what Disney threatened to do in Georgia. The Disney Company threatened to pull back its film and television productions in Atlanta and forced the governor’s veto of a religious freedom bill that would protect pastors and Christian businesses from gay bullies. Meanwhile, the Disney Company has placed theme parks in China. In fact, a $5.5 billion theme park will soon open in Shanghai, China….

The plight of a 6-year-old girl is causing a stir in Santa Clarita, a community outside Los Angeles. The state of California and LA County recently removed her from the home of a Christian family with whom she’s been living since she was two. The reason:  Race. The little girl’s name is Alexandria; she goes by Lexi, Lexi Page. She was taken from the home of Rusty and Summer Page, her foster parents, who want to adopt her, but can’t…