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
Majority of Food Stamp Recipients Are Now Working Age Adults, Not Children or Seniors
The nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) experienced mixed results in 2014. Participation and average benefit amounts fell slightly from the previous year, but the program remains much larger than it was a decade ago, despite an improving economy. And far too few working-age adults receiving SNAP are in fact working, even… -
opinion
The Nuclear Activity You Should Be Paying Attention To
The Iran deal is the biggest nuclear story of the decade. Yet most Americans are paying little attention. Even the 70th anniversary of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan stirred little interest. Today, nuclear weapons are pretty much “out of sight, out of mind.” That’s quite a change from the Cold War era, when an… -
opinion
Congress Should Reject Iran Deal, Force Administration Back to Drawing Board
You’ve heard the argument. If Congress turns down the Iran nuclear deal, Tehran will rush to get a nuclear bomb within two to three months. Our only alternative then is war. But what about Congress voting “no” and adjusting the terms of the agreement? Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near… -
news
Group Releases Previously Unseen Footage of StemExpress CEO After Judge Lifts Restraining Order
The Center for Medical Progress released a trailer Friday for its “Human Capital” series featuring previously unseen video after a judge lifted a temporary restraining order that had barred the group from releasing the footage. The video captures StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer talking about intact fetal cadavers. “Oh yeah, if you had intact cases, which… -
opinion
Brazil’s President Rousseff Rocked by Anti-Government Protests
Over the weekend, massive anti-government protests swept across the South American country of Brazil. Its citizens were calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff of the Socialist Workers Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT). Less than a year into her second term, Rousseff’s support is down to single digits. Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took… -
news
Federal Prosecutors Fight Back After Judge Orders Motorist Be Returned $167K Seized
After a federal judge ordered the government return $167,000 law enforcement seized from a motorist driving through Nevada, federal prosecutors are fighting the decision. The U.S. attorney’s office in Reno, Nev., filed documents with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif., earlier this month calling on the court to revisit a decision… -
news
Michigan Could Keep Its Iran Sanctions Regardless of Washington’s Actions
As Congress spends its August recess deliberating the Iran deal, Michigan has introduced two resolutions this week urging U.S. legislators to oppose the accord. The state House is also moving to preserve its sanctions against Tehran regardless of the agreement’s fate. “Certainly, there are several members of Congress both in the House and the Senate… -
opinion
Cartoon: The Next Destination of America’s Favorite Cookie
The Heritage Foundation's Bryan Riley wrote this week about how sugar policies were behind Oreo's move: The manufacturer of Oreo cookies recently announced plans to move production of Oreos from Chicago to Mexico, resulting in a loss of 600 U.S. jobs. This should be a wake-up call to defenders of the U.S. sugar program and… -
news
One-Time War Orphan Michaela DePrince Stars as Dancer with Dutch National Ballet Company
Roughly 15 years ago, staff at an orphanage in war-torn Sierra Leone “ranked” the children in their care. Their favorite child, number one, received special treatment including first pick of clothing donations and larger meal portions. Number 27 was starved and referred to as “the devil’s child.” Michaela DePrince, now 20 years old and a… -
news
Bobby Jindal Orders Undercover Planned Parenthood Videos Screened for Protesters
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal played undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives for pro-choice demonstrators that had gathered outside of the governor’s mansion Thursday. Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast planned the rally to protest Jindal’s decision to terminate the state’s Medicaid contract with the organization. Louisiana folks! Come out & rally for health care access!… -
opinion
Finally, US Set to Block Aid to Pakistan for Failing to Crack Down on Terrorist Group
The U.S. is reportedly set to block a military aid tranche to Pakistan because of its failure to crack down on the Haqqani network, a designated terrorist organization with ties to the Taliban, that attacks U.S. and Afghan forces on a regular basis. It’s about time. According to Pakistani media, U.S. officials have told their… -
opinion
Why Progressives Are Wrong to Revere Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger is a saint in the feminist church. She is a charter member of the progressive hall of fame. Liberals revere this woman who preached “race improvement” and denounced what she called “human weeds”. Hillary Clinton glows that she is “in awe of” Sanger. She said so in 2009 upon receiving Planned Parenthood’s “highest… -
news
Maine Sign Language Interpreter Has to Pay Nearly $1K in Fees Each Year to Legally Work
Arricka Nowland is no stranger to fees. Fees to renew her certification as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter in the state of Maine, fees to renew her national certification with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), fees to take required continuing education courses–she’s seen and paid them all. It’s all a part… -
opinion
Drunk Driving Is Down in California (Thanks to Uber)
There were only two drunk driving arrests last New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, the lowest it’s been since 2009, according to crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department given to the Ferenstein Wire. This recent data comes on the heels of a new study revealing that the introduction of Uber’s low-cost service, UberX,… -
opinion
Yes, the IRS Data Breach Should Cause Concern
Recent news on the illicit access of the IRS’s systems, back in May, now shows almost three times as many accounts were accessed than originally reported. The additional 220,000 accounts brings the number of taxpayer information potentially taken up to 334,000 – adding fuel to fire over personal security in a digital world. Unfortunately this… -
opinion
Widely Held Misconceptions About the Tax Code That Reform Would Fix
A recent Rasmussen poll revealed that a strong majority (71 percent) of Americans believe that middle-class Americans pay a larger share of their income in taxes than the wealthy pay. Just 20 percent think the opposite. The poll’s results are not surprising given the popular notion that millionaires use loopholes and other gimmicks to escape… -
news
The Debate Over Birthright Citizenship, Explained in 90 Seconds
Over the last week, the debate over birthright citizenship has divided the 2016 Republican presidential field and put the spotlight back on immigration. Birthright citizenship allows children born in the United States to be granted automatic citizenship, including those born to illegal immigrants. So what are some of the issues surrounding birthright citizenship, and how… -
news
Planned Parenthood Awards Journalists for ‘Exceptional Coverage’
Planned Parenthood has announced the 2015 recipients of the Maggie Awards, given to recognize journalists, writers, activists, and social media innovators for their coverage of “reproductive rights, social justice, and women’s health care issues.” According to Planned Parenthood’s website, the Maggie Awards, named for the organization’s founder Margaret Sanger, “recognize exceptional contributions by the media… -
news
Red-Light Cameras Hit Road Bump in Missouri Court Ruling
Red-light cameras across Missouri were ordered to a stop this week after the state Supreme Court nullified multiple local laws authorizing the programs. The Missouri Supreme Court declared, in one of multiple rulings Tuesday, red-light camera ordinances in Kansas City and St. Peters were invalid because they treated violations as parking tickets and did not… -
news
‘Love Trumps Fear’: Three Pastors Whose Black Churches Were Burned Share Their Stories
Following the devastating June 17 shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., several black churches across the South have been affected by serious fires. Some in the media labeled the fires as racially motivated arsons. Three of the pastors whose churches were burned in cases of arson spoke to The Daily Signal for an exclusive…