Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson This is Christmas week, and I thought it might be worthwhile to spend a moment to reflect on the words to the hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It was written in 1867 by Phillips Brooks (an Episcopal pastor from Philadelphia). He had been in Israel two years earlier and had celebrated Christmas in Bethlehem. He wrote this song to reflect on what the night of the birth of Jesus might have been like. O little town of…

Penna Dexter We are about to have our first openly transgender member of Congress. Democrat Sarah McBride won Delaware’s lone House seat and will be sworn in this January. Since Rep.-elect McBride is a trans woman (a biological male) there’s a bit of uncertainty regarding restrooms and other women’s spaces. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced a couple of measures aimed at protecting women and the spaces designated specifically for their use — i.e. restrooms, changing rooms, and…

Kerby Anderson Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institute of Health (NIH). If you are not familiar with him, he is a Stanford University professor of medicine and health research policy. Allysia Finley calls this the “revenge of the Covid lockdown skeptics.” During the pandemic and lockdowns, Dr. Bhattacharya attempted to inject some common sense into the government’s policies. The head of the NIH during that period was Dr. Francis Collins, who referred to the…

Kerby Anderson Before the election, I would often do a feature on “problems the next administration will face no matter who is elected.” Now we know that it will be a Trump administration that will face these issues. One of the most difficult to resolve will be federal deficits. Lyn Alden (author of Broken Money) has written about this and appeared on the Fox News program “Making Money with Charles Payne.” Federal deficits are hard to fix for many reasons….

Kerby Anderson Yesterday, I talked about some of the tests Glenn Beck proposes in his new book Propaganda Wars. The first three are the “liar-liar test,” the “what is a woman test,” and the “egg-throwing gorilla test.” If you don’t know what those are, you might consult the transcript for yesterday’s commentary. His fourth test is the “bias test.” People and institutions are more likely to cite facts that support their ideological or religious views. If a secular, liberal news…

Kerby Anderson Propaganda Wars is the newest book by Glenn Beck. His opening chapter has a “Welcome to Clown World” section that will cause most readers to shake their heads and roll their eyes. His chapter on “The Propaganda Industrial Complex” is a warning for all of us to use discernment when using media. His later chapters address the problem of deepfakes and various other forms of deception. One chapter that will be helpful to you is how to discover…

Kerby Anderson As December 2024 is winding down, many Americans begin to think about their finances. First, they are considering what donations they might make before the end of the year. Second, they are looking to 2025 and thinking about developing a financial plan. Unfortunately, many of us don’t get past just thinking about developing a plan. If you are eager to put together a sound financial plan, I recommend Forging Financial Freedom by Chad Hufford. He sets forth seven…

Penna Dexter The troubled Boeing Company got a new CEO in August. Early on, Kelly Ortberg began winding down DEI at Boeing. DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — has been around for decades. Diversity requires the elevation of immutable differences — like race, age, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Equity —often mistaken for equal opportunity — emphasizes equal outcomes. In favor of achieving these, employee merit is necessarily de-emphasized and therein lies the seed of DEI’s failure. After…

Kerby Anderson The Western world is facing a birth rate crisis. Wilfred Reilly says these young adults resemble captive panda bears who must be persuaded to mate. He cites a psychological study that revealed that roughly 50 percent of young men have never or almost never approached a woman to ask for a date. Even if men and women get married, they are less likely to have children. The fertility rate has been dropping for decades. That is why Edward…

Kerby Anderson Decades ago, Ronald Reagan observed, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” This is the challenge that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy face as they lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The two of them explained their plan to reform the government in their Wall Street Journal op-ed. They are assisting…

Kerby Anderson Gerard Butler wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he hopes that “Four More Years of Trump May Make America Normal Again.” He begins with the Hans Christian Andersen story of the “Emperor’s New Clothes.” A small boy calls out the truth in the charade. Gerard Butler points to five items of invisible attire we have had to wear for too long. First is “the idea that people who have stolen into this country illegally should be showered…