Opinion

As the mantra of “Don't discuss politics or religion” repeats like a drumbeat in your head, you settle on “How about that game?” Your desperate search for the safest question to ask a colleague as you wait for the morning coffee to brew is understandable. But you can find a way. If conservatives refrain from engaging…

My family members in northern Virginia, who disdain cold weather, have an aphorism that captures our thoughts about climate change: “Global warming, every little bit helps!” The new Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, may not be rooting for warming like we are, but his repudiation last month of the Paris climate treaty is particularly inconvenient for…

Medicare, the giant health program covering senior and disabled citizens, turned 51 on July 30. While Americans understandably are preoccupied with a hot presidential race, the big policy problems loom regardless of the winner in November. And of all of the domestic issues, the future of Medicare is the biggest challenge facing the nation related…

Several states have grappled with welfare reform. A few states that have incorporated work requirements have seen encouraging outcomes that should provide a blueprint for greater welfare reform efforts nationwide. From March to April of this year, the number of food stamp recipients decreased by 773,134. This brings food stamp enrollment down to 2011 levels…

How far does the NBA want transgender “rights” to go? The NBA stepped into the culture war with its recent decision to move the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, citing “the climate created by HB2,” the bill that requires government single-sex bathrooms be available only to people on basis of the sex…

One of the greatest challenges to American interests abroad is in keeping the world’s oceans open to commerce and activity. From Russia dominating the Black Sea to China constructing man-made islands in the South China Sea, it is apparent the U.S. Navy must be prepared for growing threats. “For the first time in 25 years, the…

As some world-class athletes pass up the opportunity of a lifetime to compete at the Rio Olympics due to worries about the Zika virus, the concerns and fears now are striking closer to home. Zika-carrying mosquitoes have come to America. Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced this morning that 10 more people in the Miami area, for…

The Olympic Games are supposed to be a celebration of sport, international good will, and man’s ability to transcend conflict. They are what Gen. Douglas MacArthur called “the fields of friendly strife.” Yet, since Palestinian terrorists disrupted the 1972 Munich Games, the Olympics also have meant something else. Every country that wins the opportunity to host…

Today, if you wish to get a copyright for a musical composition or a book, don’t expect things to move at warp speed. A snail’s pace is more like it. You submit a form. Once eight to 14 months have elapsed, your claim finally may be processed. Why is this? Strangely enough, much of the…

Ronald Reagan was an advocate of free trade throughout his presidency. But just like today, many Americans in the 1980s opposed free trade and pushed for measures that would keep the nation out of the global economy. Fortunately, Reagan argued persuasively in support of trade, and his success led to rapid growth in the U.S….