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
Common Core Science Standards Get Failing Grade From North Dakota Parents, Teachers
BISMARCK, N.D.—A survey of mostly parents and teachers conducted by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction has found a low level of satisfaction with Common Core science standards. According to the results, nearly 70 percent of respondents rated the standards as “fair” or “poor,” with more than 50 percent saying “poor.” The survey, conducted… -
news
IRS Isn’t the Only Government Agency to Destroy a Hard Drive
TALLAHASSEE—The way it’s going, government hard drives might be the next protected class under federal law. Internal Revenue Service hard drives containing two years of emails to and from Lois Lerner, the senior Obama administration official at the heart of the alleged political targeting of conservative nonprofits, have been “recycled” and the contents destroyed. So have… -
news
This State Won $7M from Taxpayers … for Wasting $48M in Food Stamps
MIAMI — Florida once again is getting a hefty bonus from federal officials for “saving” taxpayers money. This year, the state’s Department of Children and Families misspent $47.8 million in food stamp benefits. However. that’s out of almost $6 billion the federal government gave to Florida. So, Florida’s error rate of .81 percent is the… -
opinion
Note to New York Times: Get a Dictionary
Conservatives just can’t win with The New York Times. Usually the critique from the left-leaning Times is that conservatives want to cut spending too much and are draconian in our efforts to reduce the size of government. But, in a weird defense of its support for the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, the Times argued… -
opinion
A ‘Sleeper’ in the Contest for Year’s Silliest Lawsuit
On the back of most every baseball ticket is boilerplate language. If you attend a game, you agree to comply with rules, you recognize you might get hit by foul balls and you consent to being photographed in the stands. The average ballpark has dozens of live cameras panning and zooming across the crowd, so… -
opinion
10 Million Workers’ Pension Plans at Risk
According to a recent report by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), the multi-employer program of the PBGC “is more likely than not to run out of money within the next eight years.” The PBGC is a government agency that insures private pension plans for single employers and multi-employer groups (i.e., unions). On the multi-employer… -
opinion
Cambodia Denies Human Rights Abuse
In its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the United Nations called upon Cambodia to end its persistent violations of basic freedoms and respect the rights of its citizens. Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have dismissed the allegations. Almost a year has gone by since elections created political gridlock in Cambodia. The… -
news
Chase Bank Refuses to Confirm, Deny Employee LGBT Survey
JPMorgan Chase refused to confirm or deny that employees of the global banking giant were asked in a recent survey about their sexual orientation and whether they are “an ally of the LGBT community.” At least two Chase bank employees have said they were asked such questions, and one said employees’ identification numbers appeared on the… -
news
Are Term Limits Making a Comeback?
MADISON, Wis. — For voters who fancy congressional term limits, state Sen. Glenn Grothman might just be their man. Grothman, one of three Republicans running to replace Rep. Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, in Wisconsin’s 6th congressional district, pledged Monday in a press release he would limit his tenure in the House to 10 years…. -
opinion
Megyn Kelly Forces Feminist to Defend Calling Nuns ‘Dirty’ for Birth Control Views
“They’re nuns. Are you Catholic? I am. We follow rules. It is not a religion for wusses. And the Little Sisters of the Poor know that.” >>> The Fight Isn’t Over: Nuns, Others Still Face Obamacare Mandate Despite Hobby Lobby Decision >>> After Hobby Lobby, Another Part of the Obamacare Mandate Could Fall -
opinion
Some Minors Crossing Border Bring Health Risks
For over a century, immigrants coming to America had to show that they were healthy before they were allowed to stay. The present disaster at the southern border is now bringing to light another aspect of sensible immigration that the Obama administration is ignoring. The tight conditions at the ad hoc holding areas and camps… -
opinion
Afghans Need to Demonstrate Readiness for Democracy
After a relatively successful first round of presidential elections in Afghanistan in April, the second round—held June 14—has led to a full-blown political crisis that jeopardizes both the future stability of the state and the hard-won development and security gains by U.S. and NATO forces over the last 12½ years. If Afghans can’t achieve a… -
opinion
Pakistan Expert: Pakistan Is Ideological and Greedy
American foreign policy has traditionally treated Pakistan as a security-seeking state, but C. Christine Fair suggests in Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War that Pakistan is an ideological and greedy state. Fair has observed the statements and actions of Pakistan’s military and has produced a seminal work that challenges conventional wisdom… -
news
Harry Reid on Hobby Lobby Decision: ‘We’re Going to Do Something’
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., laid out the Senate’s legislative agenda for the “coming weeks.” Listed among his top priorities was legislation to “correct” the Hobby Lobby decision. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in June, congressional Democrats have vowed to protect employer-sponsored insurance coverage of contraception and abortion-inducing drugs mandated by the… -
news
‘Happy,’ Taxpayers? Police Film Music Video While on Duty
MADISON, Wis. — Leaders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department figured that the department would be more effective if officers are viewed as hipper and approachable. So the UW-Madison police made a music video. Chief Susan Riseling was among about 25 department employees, on duty at taxpayer expense, who participated in making a video to Pharrell… -
news
Tolerant Left? ‘Holly Hobby Lobby’ Vulgarly Attacked on Twitter
To show support for the recent Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case, Holly Fisher – aka “Holly Hobby Lobby” – posted a photo of herself wearing a “pro-life” T-shirt and holding a Chick-fil-A cup in front of one of the arts-and-crafts chain’s locations in West Virginia. The Army wife and mother of three became an instant… -
opinion
The Constitution Isn’t a Liberal or Conservative Document
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne is not happy that conservatives are claiming the mantle of the Constitution. “You cannot talk for very long to a conservative these days without hearing the words ‘constitutional’ and ‘constitutionalist,’” Dionne wrote in a column published Sunday . Dionne urges his fellow progressives to “reclaim the Constitution” and “think constitutionally themselves.”… -
news
Carly Fiorina Uses a Fortune Cookie to Expose ‘War on Women’
A fortune cookie to expose the so-called war on women? That’s what former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina wielded yesterday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” telling host Candy Crowley that the left’s meme is “shameless, baseless propaganda.” The idea only works, added the former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from California, because it “scared women… -
opinion
The Creepiest Video You’ll See All Week
Generation Opportunity has just released a new video with warnings about Obamacare featuring the character they made famous last year, “Creepy Uncle Sam.” This time, Uncle Sam is part of a carnival with shady looking characters, terrifying games and rides symbolic of various problems individuals have encountered in the Obamacare marketplace. The message? “They turned… -
opinion
Son Skips Church, Father Arrested for Child Endangerment
What started out as a normal Sunday morning for Jeffrey Williamson of Blanchester, Ohio, turned into a nightmare when police officers showed up to his front door and arrested him in front of his family. His crime? Child endangerment—as the authorities described it—because his son skipped church to go play with friends. He now faces…