Recent Viewpoints

The massacre in Paris last week brought out all sorts of comments and commentary. Some of the comments reminded me of this oft-repeated phrase. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.” Let me focus on the statement by former Governor Howard Dean. He said: “I stopped calling these people Muslim terrorists. They’re about as Muslim as I am. I mean, they have no respect for anybody else’s life, that’s not what…

MIT professor Jonathan Gruber has become well-known because of his candid remarks about Obamacare. He suggested that the Affordable Care Act was drafted to be so complex that the average citizen would not understand it. In his comments he showed the arrogance of the intellectual elite and demonstrated their distain for most Americans. We get an even better picture of his mindset if we read a paper he wrote about abortion. This paper came under scrutiny in a congressional hearing…

It is time to say “Happy Birthday” to the Magna Carta. It has been 800 years since King John’s barons forced him to sign this document. It was meant to merely provide a short-term solution but became the foundation upon which English and American freedoms were built. At the time it was merely a peace treaty that lasted a few months and only applied to a few people in the realm. But it established the key principle that everyone, including…

God uses His Church to build His Kingdom and restore what sin has broken. The rebuilding and restoration starts with prayer. So, as we begin 2015, won’t you join me in this prayer for America. Oh Lord, thank you for this nation and its people. Thank you that, by your grace, after the Fall and with the coming of Christ, you restored the dignity of human nature. Thank you for the good gifts that you, our creator, have given: life,…

In a recent column, Kevin Williamson explains that McDonald’s has become Microsoft. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, let me explain. It provides an object lesson from the free enterprise system. First, let’s start with Microsoft. Back in 1998 Microsoft was at the height of its power. On the Charlie Rose Show, Bill Gates said he wasn’t worried about competition from IBM or Apple or Netscape. He explained, “I worry about someone in a garage inventing something I…

Most of us have heard Jeremiah 29:11 that says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” But we often neglect the verses that precede it. Chuck Bentley with Crown Financial Ministries explains that those earlier verses provide a blueprint of “Four Steps to End Poverty.” He was on my radio program recently to talk about his article. Step…

A case involving a church sign is headed to the Supreme Court. While that might seem like a trivial case, it illustrates what may become a major battleground between church and state. A small church in Arizona relies on temporary signs to direct worshipers to its services. This Presbyterian Church rents space in various places for its services. So they depend on putting up cardboard signs to direct people to the latest location. The town of Gilbert, Arizona restricts such…

Yesterday I talked about what the agenda for Congress would most likely be. Today I wanted to add a few more issues that many voters and members of Congress believe should also be part of the congressional agenda. For example, a number of newly elected Senators ran against the Environmental Protection Agency rules. Newly elected West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito said her state’s economy is already suffering from new EPA rules on coal. This led to the loss of…

As Congress is about to convene, it is worth considering what will be the congressional agenda for this year. Actually, we don’t have to guess what the Republican leadership has planned for the first few months of the new Congress. Representative John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell proposed and solidified their plans right after the November election. First, they plan to get quick congressional action on a number of bills that have been stalled in Congress. One is to approve…

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that “After years on the back burner of the nation’s educational agenda, civics is making a comeback, with a number of states mandating new classes or assessments and a burgeoning national push for high-school seniors to pass the exam required of new citizens.” Websters Dictionary defines civics as “the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works.” The Wall Street Journal points out that civics lessons cover “the…

The new Congress is about to convene. The new leadership should consider changing a tradition left over from the previous Congress. Columnist Derek Hunter put it this way: “It’s time to kill the lame duck.” He makes a convincing case that it is time to abolish lame duck sessions in Congress. He asks, “why should people whom the voters unambiguously said they no longer wish to have represent them have two full months to do just that in every conceivable…