Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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opinion
Broadening US Ties With Greenland Is a Smart Move
The recent announcement from the State Department that it would provide a $12.1 million aid package for Greenland is a welcome development. It demonstrates that the United States is finally looking at the U.S.-Greenland relationship beyond only security issues. According to State Department officials, “the aid will go to developing natural resources, energy technologies, education,… -
opinion
Polygamy Advocates Lay Groundwork for Civil Rights Revolution
It was only a few months ago that someone last treated Cassie Johns like a freak. During a doctor’s office visit in February, she was asked to list her emergency contacts. Johns, a preschool teacher in Seattle, wrote down two people—Chris and Joan—and identified both as her “partners.” They are two of the four romantic… -
opinion
Iran’s Naval Provocations Are Designed to Boost the Revolutionary Guards
Tensions in the Persian Gulf are rising again as a result of provocations mounted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. President Donald Trump warned Iran in a tweet on Wednesday: “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” Trump later clarified… -
opinion
The Virus Before the Virus
With Americans hunkering down at home in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, it can sometimes feel like the end of days. However, for an unseen number of our countrymen, today’s struggle is hardly different from a miserable day-to-day existence. If you work in the school system or as a teacher, then you know who… -
opinion
Why We Should Start Going Back to Work
At this writing, the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. is 42,425. This is just a little higher than the number of deaths in the U.S. each year from auto accidents. It’s no mystery how to reduce those 40,000 auto accident deaths to zero. Simply prohibit driving. >>> When can America reopen? The… -
opinion
Every Crisis an Opportunity
This week, the price of oil futures collapsed catastrophically. In fact, the prices collapsed into negative territory in the near term. This bizarre situation, prompted by lack of consumer demand and lack of storage facility, led the irrepressible Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to tweet: “You absolutely love to see it. This along with record low… -
opinion
Problematic Women: Phyllis Schlafly’s Daughter Tells True Story ‘Mrs. America’ Chose to Ignore
The Hulu miniseries “Mrs. America” depicts the work of Phyllis Schlafly to challenge the women’s movement and its push to pass the Equal Right Amendment. The series perfectly captures Schlafly’s hairstyle and clothing choices, but doesn’t accurately depict the conservative matriarch’s kindness and strength as she rallied wives and mothers across America to oppose the… -
opinion
Solutions to Medical Supply Shortages That Put Americans First
Demand for medical supplies such as ventilators and face masks skyrocketed as COVID-19 took hold. The situation led policymakers to examine how America can better manage medical supply chains. Tori Smith, a trade economist at The Heritage Foundation, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss her new report on solutions to shortages of medical supplies…. -
opinion
How Groups Around the World Celebrated Italy’s New Holiday, Dante’s Day
March 25 was a cold, gray day in Italy, and not only because of the COVID-19 lockdown. A chilly wind was coming from the snow-covered Alps, and rain began just before 1 p.m. But thousands of students, teachers, intellectuals, and academics, locked in their houses because of the coronavirus, opened their windows, went to their… -
opinion
The Power of Personal Character
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the book “Solid Ground: A Foundation for Winning in Work and in Life” (2020) by T.W. Lewis. As a longtime homebuilding executive who has built over 5,000 high-end homes over a 20-year period, I’ve learned a thing or two about the importance of a solid foundation. A good… -
opinion
State, Local Leaders Should Restart Economies ‘as Soon as Possible,’ J.C. Watts Says
Rep. J.C. Watts, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma and a member of The Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss how the nation can begin to reopen safely amid the coronavirus, why COVID-19 may be affecting the African-American community more than other demographic groups, and the news channel… -
news
Georgia to Reopen Some Businesses Such as Gyms, Hair and Nail Salons
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that some Georgia businesses will reopen Friday. Georgia will allow businesses such as gyms and hair and nail salons to reopen on Friday, Kemp said, noting that these businesses must stagger shifts, conduct health screenings on employees, and keep work spaces 6 feet apart from each other, The Hill reported. “By… -
opinion
Fawning US Media Is 1 Reason Beijing Thinks It Can Bully Hong Kong
Pro-China authorities last week brazenly arrested Beijing’s chief critics in Hong Kong, a city that is supposed to have a high degree of autonomy. Unsurprisingly, that sparked further condemnation from the Trump administration at a time when the People’s Republic of China was already under pressure in Washington because of its role as the origin… -
opinion
Federal Government Should Focus on Areas Closest to Reopening
The reopening of America will need to happen on a state-by state, county-by-county basis. One problem that may hinder the process is that different areas may have many available resources to reopen, but too many COVID-19 cases to safely reopen. Or other areas may have the pandemic well managed, but few resources to implement a… -
opinion
Good Judges Don’t Make Americans Choose Government Over God
The Gospel of Mark recounts how the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into expressing disloyalty to Caesar. They asked him whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. Jesus famously answered: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God, the things that are God’s.” In other words, we have duties… -
news
My Grandfather Escaped From Communist Romania. Here’s His Story.
As a train slowed to take a hill outside a riverside city in communist Romania, about 20 young men leapt off and ran into the cornfields. The fleeing men had planned to remove their clothes and tie them to their backs before going into the Danube River, but the dreadful sound of guards and dogs… -
news
California Mayor to Resign After Comparing Trump Supporters to KKK
The mayor of a Northern California city this week announced plans to step down after outrage erupted over recent social media posts comparing President Donald Trump’s supporters to members of the Ku Klux Klan, Fox News reported. The angry Auburn community, about 33 miles northeast of Sacramento, weighed in on Mayor William Kirby’s controversial comments on Facebook during a… -
opinion
Woodrow Wilson’s Strange Silence on Flu Epidemic During Great War
The last time the United States faced a worldwide pandemic—the “Spanish flu” of 1918 and 1919—cities rolled up the sidewalks, closed theaters, and shuttered saloons. Firemen, policemen, nurses, and panicked citizens covered their faces with gauze masks. The virulent influenza emerged in the last year of World War I, incubated in American army camps and… -
news
Barr: ‘Even in Times of Emergency,’ Federal Law Prohibits Religious Discrimination
Attorney General William Barr said in a statement Tuesday that “even in times of emergency,” federal law prohibits religious discrimination. The attorney general released a statement on religious practices and social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. It came after Barr intervened in a Mississippi church’s lawsuit against Greenville police, who ticketed congregants during a drive-in… -
opinion
How ‘Grievance Studies’ Corrupt Academic Scholarship
America’s colleges are rife with corruption. The financial squeeze resulting from the new coronavirus offers opportunities for a bit of remediation. Let’s first examine what might be the root of academic corruption, suggested by the title of a recent study, “Academic Grievance Studies and the Corruption of Scholarship.” The study was done by Areo, an…