Political Commentary & Opinion

The Merriam-Webster dictionary—that reliable source for simple, straightforward linguistics—has released its 2019 Word of the Year, an annual trend since 2003. Only, I hate to break it to you, the word is “they.” “They,” you say? As in, “They looked up the word ‘they’ in the Webster dictionary?” No, not that kind of “they.” That’s…

You’d think that liberal news outlets would get tired of schlepping around the Southern Poverty Law Center’s baggage. After a devastating year—one that saw all of SPLC’s top leadership resign over workplace sexism and racism—it seemed, at least for a while, that the media would stop propping up the disgraced anti-Christian cesspool of bigotry. Apparently…

Should conservatives embrace nationalism? A panel of Heritage Foundation scholars discussed why they shouldn’t on Monday, highlighting their views in a debate currently facing American conservatives and many countries throughout the West. So-called national conservatives sparked considerable discussion at a conference in the nation’s capital in July and a number of scholars have been advocating…

Who better than a finger-wagging teen bereft of accomplishment, or any comprehension of basic economics or history, to be Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019? Greta Thunberg’s canonization is a perfect expression of media activism in a deeply unserious time. Has there ever been a less consequential person picked to be Person of…

The angry backlash against their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman started on social media. Soon activists called for a boycott. Then officials banned them from selling in a key market. Faced with mounting social, economic, and legal attacks on their business, the company’s leadership was faced with an impossible decision:…

It might surprise you, but it’s true: Today, more women than men consider themselves to be pro-life.  According to the 2019 Gallup poll on values and beliefs, 51% of women consider themselves to be pro-life, compared with 46% of men who self-identify as pro-life. Why do fewer men identify as pro-life? Possible explanations abound.  Is…

Louisville, Kentucky, public school teacher Paul Barnwell was distressed by his 11th-grade students’ response to this hypothetical moral quandary: “If your significant other commits a felony where people are gravely injured, do you report them to the police?” To his dismay, the students resoundingly responded “No!” His students’ reaction made Barnwell recognize the absence of…

Kelsey Bolar, the original host of “Problematic Women,” is back in our studio, joined by her new baby girl. Bolar shares her experience as a first-time NICU mother, how it has affected her pro-life views, and what this new season of motherhood has taught her. We also get her takes on the news she’s missed…

Raphael Rodriguez recently made the switch from smoking marijuana to vaping it, after taking a trip with a friend to a medical marijuana dispensary in Michigan. Rodriguez believed vaping to be safe, as he purchased his cartridges at a “licensed and regulated” dispensary. Then last month, as reported by The Toledo Blade, he found himself…

Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill known as the SAFE Banking Act, a seemingly innocuous bill offering the nascent, state-legal marijuana industry access to banks. Interestingly, many House Republicans who claim to oppose marijuana legalization voted in support of the bill. Some claimed the bill was a vote in support of the…

Richard Ebeling, professor of economics at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, and my longtime friend and colleague, has written an important article, “Business Ethics and Morality of the Marketplace,” appearing in the American Institute for Economic Research. Its importance and timeliness is enhanced by so many of America’s youth, led by academic…

When a federal district judge issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Trump administration from blocking funds for sanctuary cities, conservatives protested and liberals cheered. Liberals were similarly thrilled by a district court ruling that halted the president’s order blocking travel to the U.S. from certain Middle Eastern nations. Yet when several red states sued to…

Last week, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee trotted out a trio of dispassionate legal experts to explain why the impeachment of Donald Trump was justified. They were there to bring a veneer of gravitas and erudition to what’s been, until now, a highly partisan affair. But however smart people such as Michael Gerhardt, distinguished…

Turn back the pages of history to the rise of consumerism in America. Josh McMullen, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Regent University in Virginia Beach, delves into when and how America become the consumer giant that it is today.  How have department stores and advancements in transportation influenced consumerism? What…

The Trump administration on Wednesday released a final rule strengthening work requirements in the food stamp program. Predictably, it set off alarms on the left. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted, “My family relied on food stamps … when my dad died at 48. I was a student. If this happened then, we might’ve just starved….

Working to find legislative compromise can be a good thing. But not every bill that calls itself a compromise is a good compromise. And that, sadly, is the case with the so-called “Fairness for All” legislation introduced Friday. Over the past several years I’ve been in dialogue with the main scholars and civic leaders promoting…