Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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news
‘Bathroom Bill’ Unresolved as Houston Mayor Backs Off Subpoenas of Pastors’ Sermons
Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker, the city’s first openly homosexual mayor, yesterday withdrew subpoenas of sermons and other communications from five local pastors. Parker’s decision concluded a two-week standoff between LGBT rights activists and champions of religious liberty sparked by a measure known as “the bathroom bill” because it allows men and women to use public… -
opinion
Brittany Maynard Planned to Die on Nov. 1. Now, Her Plans Have Changed.
Brittany Maynard, the Oregon woman who made news earlier this month with her plans to die on Nov. 1, has released a new video announcing a change in plans. Maynard, who has terminal brain cancer, still intends to choose when she dies, “I still feel good enough and I still have enough joy and I… -
opinion
Why the US Can’t Trust Iran to Help Defeat ISIS
Suggestions have been floated that the U.S. should work with Iran to defeat the growing threat posed by the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. Advocates of strategic cooperation claim that Iran and the U.S. share some common national interests in preventing the rise of the Islamic State, which… -
news
Computer Hacks and Screaming Flacks: 5 Startling Anecdotes From Sharyl Attkisson’s New Book
Sharyl Attkisson has been called a “pit bull” by former bosses and “unreasonable” by top Obama administration officials. The veteran investigative reporter isn’t known for backing down from a story — even when faced with hacked computers, screaming flacks and suspicious cables. Attkisson’s new book, “Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation,… -
news
City Says Ministers Don’t Have to Wed Same-Sex Couples, but Here’s Why It’s Not Over Yet
An Idaho town is not going to force a Christian ministry couple who own a wedding chapel to perform same-sex marriages there, the town’s chief attorney told The Daily Signal. A lawsuit filed against the town by the ordained ministers to protect themselves from prosecution was based on “a misperception,” City Attorney Michael C. Gridley said,… -
opinion
In the War on Terrorism, We Must Win the War of Ideas
Asked recently by CNN what the United States needs most to fight ISIS on the Internet, James Glassman former under secretary of state for Public Diplomacy under President George W. Bush answered, “A commitment to the war of ideas.” Fighting the terrorists on the battlefields in Iraq and Syria will not be enough. We… -
opinion
Heritage Panel Puts Ebola in Context
“I think the best way to phrase my comments on the Ebola crisis today are to quote the great contemporary philosopher, Yogi Berra, ‘It’s déjà vu all over again,’” said Bob Kadlec as he opened a panel discussion on Ebola at The Heritage Foundation on Monday. The panel, which included Charlotte Florance of The Heritage… -
opinion
Why Those Halloween Candy Treats Are So Expensive
Your Halloween candy is costing you more than it should—because of a government program. For decades, the federal sugar program has artificially kept the price of sugar excessively high. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it cost 37.5 cents to buy a pound of wholesale refined beet sugar in… -
opinion
EPA’s Southern Discomfort: Kemper Plant Sees Yet Another Delay and More Cost Overruns
Cheerleading squads don’t have chants with the theme “We’re getting whupped, let’s leave early.” So when an adverse outcome is obvious they either quit cheering or continue with embarrassingly inappropriate chants about the invincibility of their team. That seems to be the situation with the Southern Company’s carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project in Kemper… -
news
Grammy Museum in Mississippi Gives U.S. Taxpayers More Blues
Mississippi is cornering the market on taxpayer-funded music museums. First there was a state-funded museum dedicated to country legend Tammy Wynette. Now the state is going to have a museum for the Grammy Foundation in Cleveland, Miss., and it’s going to be built with federal and state taxpayer dollars. U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in… -
opinion
Confucius Institutes and Academic Freedom
By cancelling their Confucius Institute programs, the University of Chicago and Penn State have signaled resistance to the People’s Republic of China’s attempt to promote the image of a culturally benign China. The Chinese communist government established the Confucius Institutes to educate foreign nations about China’s language and culture. The Confucius Institutes operate within foreign… -
news
Study: Competition from Uber and Lyft Helps the Poor
Low fares of competing taxi and ridesharing services mean better service for low-income communities, according to a study published Tuesday. Taxi regulations are commonly cited as a means to protect consumers from high prices, but a new report by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University challenges that assumption, arguing regulations and the price of… -
opinion
Violent Crime in the US Has Declined Rapidly. What Happened?
From 2000 to 2012, the U.S. violent crime rate fell over 23 percent. Such an improvement in the social fabric would be cause enough for celebration. But the crime drop of the 2000s followed an even larger decline in the previous decade: 32 percent from 1993 to 2000. The 1990s crime drop (in both personal… -
news
Houston Mayor Has Received Bibles From All Over the Country
Houston Mayor Annise Parker received a surprise after her order to subpoena the sermons of pastors. Bibles have been sent to her office from all over the country, according to Houston’s KHOU. On Monday, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Houston’s KPRC “that somewhere between 500 and 1,000 Bibles” had been delivered. As The… -
opinion
6 Reasons Why the Fed Is Not So Great
Has the nation’s experiment with the Federal Reserve been a success or a failure? Does the Fed’s full history contain fewer symptoms of instability than the decades prior to the Fed’s establishment? The infographic below highlights a few reasons the the Fed's effectiveness should be questioned. You can read the full research here. >>>Federal Reserve… -
opinion
Why the Sugar Program Should Be Eliminated
Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., has introduced a resolution that allegedly would eliminate domestic sugar subsidies after numerous other countries got rid of their subsidies. This “zero-for-zero” plan, which has been pushed by U.S. sugar growers, is based on a seriously flawed premise: that the United States shouldn’t eliminate damaging economic policies if other countries have… -
news
A Massachusetts Town May Ban All Tobacco Sales
A Massachusetts town might become the first in the nation to ban all tobacco sales, according to the Boston Globe. Westminster, Mass. is a town of 7,765 located northwest of Boston. The city’s website describes the community as “a small New England village.” The Westminster Board of Health has recently issued a proposal that would… -
news
ISIS Video Shows British Hostage ‘Reporting’ Fall of Syrian Town
The terrorist group ISIS released a propaganda video late yesterday depicting a British hostage as a news correspondent and declaring that a besieged Syrian town is about to fall to the brutal Islamist jihadists. “Hello, I’m John Cantlie,” the black-dressed hostage says, “and today we are in the city of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border…. -
news
10 Years on, Spaceport Still Not Near Liftoff
It has cost New Mexico taxpayers $218.5 million to construct, and its anchor tenant, headed by a flamboyant billionaire, has yet to get off the ground. Nonetheless, backers of Spaceport America remain confident the investment in the first site built specifically for commercial flights going into suborbital space will pay off. “When it comes to… -
opinion
How the Decline in Marriage Is Fueling Inequality
Thirty-two percent of the growth in family income inequality since 1979 can be linked to the decline in the marriage rate. That’s according to a new study from the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for Family Studies, authored by W. Bradford Wilcox and Robert Lerman. Marriage’s economic benefits are numerous, according to the study….