Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson A few months ago, I talked about how leftist groups were using a variation of the heckler’s veto. The heckler’s veto occurs when someone who disagrees with a speaker’s message triggers actions or protests to disrupt the event and get the speech cancelled. We have seen this tactic on university campuses primarily used against conservative speakers. The latest version might be called the heckler’s veto fee. Universities fearing the actions of protesting groups, charge massive security fees to…

Kerby Anderson Is inflation decreasing? You have probably been hearing, as I have, that inflation is going down. But that is why you should be skeptical when you hear such claims. It would be accurate to say that the rate of inflation is going down, but inflation itself is increasing. We can all probably remember when the inflation rate peaked at over 9 percent. Now the inflation rate is one-third of that percentage. But that still means that prices are…

Kerby Anderson The number of states that now provide school choice is increasing. According to a recent report, 32 states (plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico) are using school choice. That means that approximately 20 million students are now eligible for a private choice program. Larry Sand is the president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network. While he is excited about the progress of school choice in this nation, he is also concerned about the attacks against school choice by…

Kerby Anderson The number one issue for voters this year is immigration. To be precise, the real issue is the lack of border security. This is not only perception but reality. Perhaps you have seen the chart that compares the illegal immigrant encounters for Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden. The blue bar for the second term of Barack Obama lists 5 million encounters. The green bar for Donald Trump lists 4.7 million encounters. And the red bar for Joe Biden…

Kerby Anderson Perhaps the most poignant moment in a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing occurred when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood up and apologized to families in the hearing. Senator Josh Hawley wanted to know if he had apologized to the victims and then asked, “Would you do so now?” The Facebook founder joined other social media leaders from TikTok, Snap, X, and Discord. Senators on both the right and left wanted to know what these executives and their companies…

Penna Dexter Members of the medical and psychological communities who advocate gender transition as a treatment for disturbed young people start them on puberty blockers as the first medical step. This sounds drastic — and permanent. But the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) publicly claims the effects of these drugs are “fully reversible.” Some of those folks know better. In a recent Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet and Jared Hayden point out that puberty blocking drugs are often presented…

Kerby Anderson Many Americans say they are living on the edge of a financial disaster. Is that merely perception, or is it reality? Although government officials cite some positive trends in the economy, the reality in people’s lives is different. This year, Bankrate asked the same question as last year. If you had an emergency expense of $1,000 or more, could you pay for it? Once again, a majority (56%) of US adults said that expense would be too great…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday, I talked about the reality of rising Federal budget deficits. Politicians are going to be looking for additional sources of revenue to keep the government running. They will notice that more than a quarter (27%) of all the wealth in America is held by Americans over age seventy. Over the next quarter century, there will be at least $84 trillion transferred. About $11 trillion will go to philanthropic endeavors. The remaining more than $70 trillion will be…

Kerby Anderson Federal budget deficits are rising faster than anyone would have imagined. About the only way to reduce spending would be to reform Social Security and Medicare. Congress doesn’t seem to be interested. Politicians need to find enough money to keep the government running and will find that more difficult in the future. Bloomberg recently announced, “US Debt Interest Bill Rockets Past a Cool $1 Trillion a Year.” When the interest payments on the national debt rival the total…

Kerby Anderson Trust has become a big issue in 2024. Elections are one reason. According to a recent estimate, a record number 4.2 billion could vote in elections around the world. That is one reason why the theme of the recent World Economic Forum was “Rebuilding Trust Amid Uncertainty.” Kevin Roberts is the President of the Heritage Foundation and wrote that “trust must be earned. Global elites have not merely failed on that score. They have squandered the vast reserves…

Kerby Anderson Much of the debate surrounding the issue of border security and immigration centers on the word “invasion.” Texas Governor Gregg Abbott argues that Article IV of the US Constitution promises that the federal government “shall protect each [State] against invasion.” It also describes “the States’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders.” He also provides some history. “James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote the US Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the…