Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
news
Reasons Why Residents of Your State Are Grateful, in 8 Charts
What are Americans thankful for? A new study of our Facebook posts offers some insight. Facebook Data Science sought to learn what Americans are thankful for, according to their Facebook posts. The study examined “a set of anonymized English status updates that contained 'grateful' or 'thankful,' as well as the word 'day' preceded or followed by… -
news
Proposed Minnesota Policy Would Allow Student Athletes to Choose Teams Based on ‘Gender Identity’
Minnesota high schools may soon be affected by a proposed policy that would allow students to participate in sports based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. On Dec. 4, the board of directors of the Minnesota State High School League will vote on the policy. According to the draft of the policy,… -
opinion
Janine Stange Sings Her Way Across America and Into History as ‘National Anthem Girl’
What’s your very favorite song? Maybe it’s something by the Beatles. Maybe it’s a little Bob Dylan number. Maybe it’s Beyoncé. Now imagine singing that song that you love so much in all 50 states, each time in front of an audience of thousands. Sound like a nightmare? For Janine Stange, that song is the… -
news
Union, Prosecutor Team to Push Papa John’s to Pay More
A union operative generously praised New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman when he announced he was taking a Papa John’s pizza franchisee to court on behalf of workers who claim they were underpaid. The state attorney general, like the unions, called it "wage theft." The thing is, the union official knew about the government’s lawsuit… -
news
How This Tea Party Hopes to Help Ferguson Merchants
Natalie DuBose, owner of Natalie’s Cakes & Things in Ferguson, Mo., lost her livelihood last Monday night. Earlier that night, a grand jury had gone public with its decision not to indict a white police officer for shooting and killing a young black man. Anger quickly spread through a crowd of protesters gathered in the streets of… -
news
Lawyers on Both Sides of Ferguson Case Answer the Question You’ve Been Asking
The morning after Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson resigned, lawyers from both sides of the Michael Brown case appeared on “Fox News Sunday” to discuss the grand jury’s decision last week. Wilson wasn’t indicted, leading to riots in Ferguson and demonstrations across America. Watch the video to hear reaction to Wilson’s resignation, fallout from the grand… -
opinion
The Internet Doesn’t Need More Regulation, Mr. President
Like Theodore Roosevelt, Barack Obama knows that the presidency makes an effective bully pulpit — even when you have historically low approval ratings. He showed that earlier this month when — in an unusually deep wade into the decision-making process at the supposedly independent Federal Communications Commission — the president came out four-square in favor… -
news
Critics Claim Billion-Dollar Football Stadium Isn’t for the Birds
MINNEAPOLIS—Bird lovers launched a last-ditch drive at a Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority meeting to protect migratory species from what they consider a killer Minnesota Vikings football stadium being built with $500 million in taxpayer funding. The Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds called on Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton to fire facilities authority chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen. “The… -
opinion
Why Legalizing Pot Is a Bad Idea
At first blush, it may appear that the fight to thwart marijuana legalization is a lost cause. Pot pushers want you to believe that legalization is inevitable. They point to legalization successes this November in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. But Big Pot lost in Florida, and five cities in pot-crazy Colorado outlawed… -
news
Virginia Woman Admits to $7.2 Million Child-Credit Tax Scam
More than a year after it was reported the IRS sent thousands of refunds to the tiny town of Parksley, Va., a woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud. Linda Avila admitted to obtaining more than $7.2 million in refunds by exploiting the federal government’s child tax credit program. Avila filed more than… -
news
40,000 Telecom Workers Don’t Want to Join Union but Must Pay Mandatory Dues
Communications Workers of America collects mandatory fees from more than 40,000 workers who don’t want to join the union. Based on the union’s 2014 annual report to the U.S. Department of Labor, CWA had 623,020 members and 43,353 “agency fee payers” as of May 31. CWA takes mandatory fees from workers in private industry and in taxpayer-funded… -
news
21 Photos Recap This Week’s News
This week was supposed to be a celebration of thanks and Americana. However, a grand jury decision in Ferguson shifted the nation's focus to Ferguson, Mo. The unrest quickly spread across the country. Hopefully, in between some turkey and stuffing, you were able to catch up with loved ones. The photos below feature those stories… -
opinion
How the Government’s Decision to Declare This Species Threatened May Hurt Its Survival
No good deed goes unpunished. Or at least, such was the case earlier this month when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Gunnison sage grouse as a “threatened” species. Threats to the bird resulting from drought, disease, and habitat moved the states and particularly Gunnison County, Colo., to find creative solutions to protect and re-establish the… -
opinion
Cartoon: Taxpayers Are Always on the Hook
From Rachel Greszler's piece published Nov. 24: If you’re a worker and you have a pension, there’s a government agency that will pay that pension if your company is unable to fulfill the financial promises made to you and your colleagues. There’s just one catch: That government agency has a massive deficit right now…. -
news
How a Former Governor’s Conviction Is Reverberating in Virginia
A Virginia Republican’s forthcoming retirement after three-and-a-half decades in the General Assembly could give Democrats a better shot at regaining control of the state Senate next year. Earlier this year, Republicans took control of the Virginia Senate and halted hopes of Medicaid expansion when Democratic state Sen. Phil Puckett abruptly resigned. Now, moderate Republican state Sen. John Watkins has announced… -
news
Putting the Life of Her Unborn Baby First, Mother Dies After Giving Birth
In a selfless act, a mother from Aurora, Colo., made a decision during childbirth that put the life of her unborn baby son before her own. That decision ultimately ended her life while saving her seven-pound, four-ounce “miracle.” “How do I explain to him that his mom is gone giving birth to him?” the woman’s… -
news
Watch This Unemployed Army Veteran Get the Surprise of His Life
After three years in the Army and deployment to Iraq, this soldier, like many others, struggled to pay the bills and find a job. So “Pranking It Forward,” a charity campaign that does “pranks for good,” teamed up with “Extra” host Mario Lopez and first lady Michelle Obama to bring him the surprise of his life. The veteran,… -
news
Storm-Smacked Governor Makes Sunny Forecast for State-Run Weather Service
It’s time New York had its own state-run weather service to predict severe storms such as the one that has battered Buffalo, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says. Cuomo called for a system of Empire State weather stations even as he issued an apology for accusing forecasters of not sufficiently warning of the impending snowstorm that would slam… -
opinion
We Should Be Grateful for Our Problems
It’s easy for Thanksgiving to boil down to little more than turkey, football and travel delays, but many Americans strive to make it more meaningful. They try to take the focus off of our problems and to reflect on our many blessings. As well they should. Consider the example set by Abraham Lincoln. Our 16th… -
opinion
What Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation Tells Us About Separation of Church and State
At this time of year 150 years ago, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued his second presidential proclamation setting apart the last Thursday of November as a day of national thanksgiving. By doing so, and thus repeating a practice he had first established the year before, he set in motion a…