Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Pornography and porn sites were the topic of the Supreme Court earlier this month. The key question was whether requiring age verification on a porn site violates the First Amendment. Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is the case currently before the high court. Texas passed a law requiring porn purveyors to start using “reasonable age verification methods.” Other states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Virginia, Utah) have passed similar porn site age laws. The Texas brief explains that the law “does…

Kerby Anderson Charles Cooke recently asked, “Are Californians Near the Tipping Point?” He asked that question because of the reaction from many in Southern California to how politicians handled the devastating wildfires. He begins by saying that he loves California and explains that he isn’t just saying that because he is about to criticize many of the political leaders in California. He devotes many sentences to list the many positives about the state and its citizens. He then focuses on…

Penna Dexter In one of his final lawless acts, just three days before leaving office, President Biden proclaimed that the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land.” Congress passed this amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1972 and gave it seven years to achieve ratification by three fourths of the states. Proponents claimed the ERA would protect women’s rights by prohibiting discrimination based on sex. Thirty-five states ratified. In a constitutionally questionable move, Congress extended the deadline three…

Kerby Anderson Although Congress needs to reevaluate various programs like Social Security, it is unlikely it will do so for two reasons. First, it would be politically unwise to even modify any of the so-called “entitlement programs.” It is the third rail of American politics. Touch it and you die. But the other reason isn’t political; it’s cultural. Americans have an expectation of retiring at age 65. Morgan Housel has a chart in his book The Psychology of Money that…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday, I talked about some of the transformations in 1776 that Andrew Wilson discussed in his book, Remaking the World. They are identified by the acronym WEIRDER. W stands for “western” and globalization while E stands for “educated” and the Enlightenment. I stands for “industrialized” and focuses on the industrial revolution. One event was James Watt’s invention of the steam engine. Western society no longer depended upon muscle power or horsepower. R stands for “rich” and focuses on…

Kerby Anderson The year 1776 changed the western world in significant ways. That is the conclusion of Andrew Wilson (pastor at King’s Church in London) in his book, Remaking the World. He was on my radio program to discuss his book. He explains, “The big idea of this book is that 1776, more than any other year in the last millennium, is the year that made us who we are.” He describes it as “a year that witnessed seven transformations…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about apples and inflation. There is another way to think about the inflation that has been part of our economy for the past 100 years. The supply of U.S. dollars has been expanding on average about 7 percent each year for the last century. That means the value of dollars is cut in half about every 10 years. Just use the “rule of 72.” Divide 7 percent into 72. That means the half-life of the…

Kerby Anderson Today the U.S. is getting a new president. Soon, Canada will be getting a new prime minister. The new prime minister may be Pierre Poilievre. He was recently asked what steps he would take to fix the damages done from inflation. Here is his answer: “First and foremost, stop the overspending. Inflation, high taxes, deficits, high interest rates, are all symptoms. The disease is overspending. When governments spend too much money there’s only three ways to get it….

Penna Dexter I love living in Texas but, by birth and upbringing, I’m an LA girl — born in Pasadena, raised in a beach town, and educated at a university near downtown. I’m mourning the massive damage and destruction to life, homes, businesses, and landmarks in places I’ve loved. I remember dreading the Santa Ana winds, which sweep down from the deserts. They come every year and, because California is dry, they bring fires. The LA Fire Department has over…

Kerby Anderson When I first started writing this commentary nearly two decades ago, the average woman in the United States had 2.1 children in her lifetime. This is what many demographers called “the golden number.” To sustain a population in any country, women on average need to produce 2.1 children. If that number is higher, the population increases. If that number is lower, the population decreases. Years later, Lou Dobbs devoted an entire chapter in his book, Upheaval, to the…

Kerby Anderson How will the new administration deal with the China challenge? We can get some perspective from Senator Marco Rubio’s book, Decades of Decadence. He will soon be confirmed as Secretary of State. He exposes China’s attacks on four key elements of American strength: good local jobs, stable families, geographical communities, and a sovereign nation that serves as a beacon of freedom and prosperity. He explained in his book that the U.S. and other Western countries made the false…