Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
news
First US Offshore Wind Plant Costs $17,600 Per Home Powered
America’s first offshore wind power plant will cost about $17,600 dollars to build per home it will power. Three miles off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, the wind farm is supposed to generate enough energy to power 17,000 homes, but will cost $300 million to build five turbines. This cost is just to… -
opinion
Pakistan Aims to End Honor Killings With Reform
Pakistan took a positive step forward last Thursday when it passed legislation to increase the penalties for individuals guilty of committing so-called “honor killings.” Honor killings, the practice of murdering female family members who allegedly brought dishonor upon their family by disobeying them, usually on issues of love or marriage, took the lives of more… -
news
How the British Government Tries to Stop Youth From Becoming Terrorists
Rashad Ali once belonged to an Islamic extremist group, but he now spends his days helping the British government prevent others from becoming radicalized. His position makes him an easy target of criticism, from multiple angles. “On the one hand, I get criticized from people in the Muslim community who see me as acting on… -
news
How This Nashville Tech Company Challenged a State Regulatory Board and Won
Armand Lauzon is working to revolutionize the beauty industry in Nashville. But until Monday, the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, a state regulatory board that oversees the beauty industry, wanted to make Lauzon’s quest much more difficult—ordering him to shut down his website, Project Belle, and pay a $500 fine. Project Belle connects… -
news
March for Life to Celebrate the ‘Power of One’ in Annual Demonstration
With the nation’s largest pro-life rally less than four months away, March for Life organizers announced the theme for the 43rd annual event will be “the power of one.” The March for Life, an annual rally in the District of Columbia, protests the legalization of abortion in the United States with the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision… -
opinion
When Zombies, Aliens, and Felons Steal Our Votes
People may expect zombies to be wandering the streets on Halloween, but they certainly don’t expect them to start casting ballots a week later. Yet in Colorado, dead voters’ ballots are cropping up in the vote counts. CBS4, a Denver TV station, identified multiple cases of dead men and women in the state voting, with… -
opinion
October Surprise in Pakistan: Finally Cracking Down on Terror Groups?
In a striking development, perhaps demonstrating the tremendous international pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terrorist groups within its borders, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly ordered the Pakistan army and Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate (ISI) to back the civilian government in reining in such groups. Rarely has any civilian government in Pakistan stood… -
opinion
William E. Simon’s Mission to Make Parishes Great Again
“When you’re going fishing, go where the fish are.” To William E. Simon Jr., that means strengthening community by starting with the life of the local Catholic parish. He wrote his new book, Simon explains, to help parishes become thriving places of worship and community, which in turn will influence the lives of millions of… -
opinion
Linking Hurricane Matthew to Climate Change Is Overblown Hype
Hurricane Matthew is big, dangerous, and (if it makes landfall) something not seen in the continental United States for a decade. This, of course, means it will be linked to global warming. There will be a lot of “scientists say we can expect,” but little actual data. That’s because the data show for the last… -
opinion
How to Optimize Taxation to Meet Redistributive Goals
A new working paper by economists Emmanuel Saez and Stefanie Stantcheva purports to overturn a widely cited finding that capital should not be taxed; it fails. Rather than offering new insights on minimizing the distortion from taxation, the authors emphasize targeting taxes to achieve arbitrary goals for redistributing wealth. In the mid-1980s, economic theorists Kenneth… -
opinion
Privatize Airport Screeners to Get Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Back on the Scent of Terrorists
In the wake of the New York and New Jersey bombings, and coming on the heels of the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11 last month, security measures like bomb-sniffing dogs are getting a lot of attention. Bomb-sniffing dogs are an essential component of security, keeping Americans safe at home and especially as they travel. Yet bomb-sniffing… -
news
This Think Tank President Is Leading the Charge to Keep Donor Information Private After a Gutted Rabbit Was Left on Her Doorstep
A nonprofit think tank president once found a gutted rabbit outside her house after hockey fans became heated over a local issue her organization engaged with. “This is a world where sometimes people do crazy things and they get very heated about issues, even sports,” says Darcy Olsen, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute,… -
news
The Government Spends $1.5 Billion Per Year on Public Relations and Ads, Watchdog Finds
A government watchdog found that over the last decade, annual government spending on public relations and advertising activities averages $1.5 billion. The Government Accountability Office publicly released a report Wednesday examining how much the federal government spent on public relations and advertising contracts, as well as on salaries for federal public relations employees, from 2006… -
news
Memorial Ceremony for Nazi Massacre Warns of History Repeating
KYIV, Ukraine—Last week, Ukraine commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Nazi massacre at the Babyn Yar ravine outside of Kyiv. From September 29, 1941, until September 1943, the Nazis murdered 100,000 people at Babyn Yar, also known as Babi Yar in Russian. Of the dead, more than 50,000 were Jews. The other victims comprised gypsies,… -
news
Freedom Caucus Bristles at Rule Change That Makes It Nearly Impossible to Depose the Speaker
More than a year after Rep. Paul Ryan picked up the House speaker’s gavel, Rep. Devin Nunes has launched an effort to blunt the parliamentary measure used by the House Freedom Caucus to oust his predecessor. The California Republican wants to end the privileged status of the “motion to vacate the chair.” And while the… -
opinion
Why Ulysses S. Grant Was One of America’s Greatest Leaders
Friends at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site near St. Louis tell me most visitors arrive with little knowledge of Grant—but leave with deep appreciation. In my biography of Abraham Lincoln, I wrote of Grant, the decorated Civil War general, but I now confess: I did not fully know the man. Grant’s rise to… -
opinion
Hyde Amendment Turns 40: More Than 2 Million Lives Saved
Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment—one of the nation’s most important pro-life laws, credited with saving the lives of millions of unborn children. Shortly after the Supreme Court invented a right to abortion on demand in 1973, leaders in Congress sought to at least prevent American taxpayers from being forced to pay for… -
opinion
These Unneeded Rules for Freight Railroads Would Cost Consumers
By virtually any measure, America’s freight rail system is one of the best in the world. In fact, rail transports a full 40 percent of freight moved in the United States. But rogue federal regulators may change that. Since 1981, when a bipartisan congressional effort largely deregulated the nation’s freight rail providers, Americans have enjoyed… -
news
How to Ask a Question at the Next Presidential Debate
In an effort to foster widespread participation for the upcoming presidential debate Sunday, one organization has created a website where any interested individual can submit questions. PresidentialOpenQuestions.com, created by the Open Debate Coalition, is a website where anyone can submit a question for the presidential town hall debate hosted by CNN and ABC. Created during… -
opinion
Cruzing Past the Point
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting editorial critiquing the endorsement decisions of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with regard to the coming presidential election. Several months ago, I took issue with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page for holding Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to different standards: understanding the anti-establishment appeal of…