Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
On Monday, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and several other Democratic congressmen introduced a bill in the House that they say is necessary to protect journalists from violent attacks caused by the Trump administration’s “toxic culture.” The bill, called the Journalist Protection Act, would make it a federal crime to intentionally cause bodily harm to a…
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson just wrapped up a multinational journey of Latin America and, by all accounts, the trip was a resounding success. Oddly enough, what continues to make headlines is not the successful visits to leaders in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, and Jamaica. Nor are the headlines about the Mexican foreign minister, Luis…
The Winter Olympics open on Friday with North and South Korean athletes marching together behind a single Korean unification flag, rather than their respective national flags. The moment will be emotionally uplifting, raising hopes of reconciliation and reduced tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The presence at the games of Vice President Mike Pence, North Korean…
Kids see plenty of offensive things at school—but when did fathers become one of them? Ask New York’s Department of Education. As far as its officials are concerned, nothing can damage a child more than hosting a special event for dads. And now, with the state’s “gender nonconforming” guidelines on the books, they can put…
In the months following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September, Puerto Rico has struggled to find its footing and rebuild. Unfortunately, dysfunction was already rampant in the debt-ridden territory before the storm. Now things are worse, but perhaps there is an opportunity to finally make some badly-needed changes. Bailouts and federal meddling are unlikely…
On Friday night, millions of Americans will unknowingly witness what can only be described as the greatest image rebranding attempt the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with some down on its luck automobile or tech company’s latest TV spot. Oh no, this has everything to do with one of the…
China’s official news agency on Jan. 21 criticized the U.S. government shutdown, claiming that it exposed “chronic flaws” in the U.S. political system. China has often extolled its political and economic system as a potential alternative to the U.S. free-market republic, but serious human rights abuses in China are an ever-present disqualifying challenge to that…
The bipartisan budget deal to spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the next two years is worse than you think. Not only would it bust the budget caps that have long kept federal spending under control. It also would renew a package of expired tax subsidies, marking the return of a corrupt ritual of…
So poisonously partisan is the climate in Congress these days that even something as basic as renaming a strip of federally controlled land next to an airport divides along party lines. A proposed bill to rename Gravelly Point Park in Arlington, Virginia, (which connects to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) Nancy Reagan Memorial Park passed…
While politicians, pundits, and the people continue to react to (and spin) the contents of the Nunes memo that was released last Friday, and await the release of the Democrats’ rebuttal, a new document has been released that contains tidbits of illuminating information. On Jan. 4, Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary…
It is usually easier for an outsider to defend a person or a group that is attacked than for the person or group. In that vein, this Jew would like to defend evangelicals and other Christians who support President Donald Trump. They are regularly attacked as religious hypocrites who give Christianity in general, and evangelical…
Sometimes it’s good to have a little historical perspective when reacting to the news of the day. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that President Donald Trump was working with the Pentagon to host a military parade in the District of Columbia after he was so impressed by France’s Bastille Day parade, which he witnessed…
The continuing resolution recently passed by the House of Representatives includes a full fiscal year of appropriations for the Department of Defense. That’s good news for anyone that cares about our nation’s defense. Assuming the Senate passes the bill, it will be the fifth continuing resolution for fiscal year 2018, which began on Oct. 1….
Congressional leaders on Wednesday announced their latest budget-busting deal. The plan would provide a much-needed boost to defense spending, but fails in almost all other areas. Over the next two years, it would raise the Budget Control Act caps by $296 billion with only a third of that being paid for. This agreement would raise…
Some people have called for a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution as a means of reining in a big-spending Congress. That’s a misguided vision, for the simple reason that in any real economic sense, as opposed to an accounting sense, the federal budget is always balanced. The value of what we produced in 2017—our…
The Heritage Foundation’s Monica Burke joins us to share her own story of friendship with a woman with Down syndrome, as well as talk about how, sadly, many babies with Down syndrome are aborted in the United States. Plus: we talk about whether President Donald Trump’s military parade is a good idea.
Human trafficking may be illegal in countries around the world, but the gruesome practice remains alive and well. Contrary to popular opinion, human trafficking is not simply a third-world problem. Human trafficking is occurring all over the world, even in our own backyard. Human traffickers continue to buy and sell human beings, whether they be…
A recent investigation conducted by the Associated Press discovered that Jose David Aguilar Moran, Honduras’ police chief, personally supported narcotrafficking by freeing a cocaine seizure after Honduran police had taken the drugs into custody. This occurred in 2013. Honduran police officers had intercepted a cocaine shipment bound for the estate of a cartel leader when…
The U.S. government announced on Friday a unilateral arms embargo on the war-torn East African country of South Sudan. The embargo will not end the terrible fighting in the world’s newest country, now at war for the majority of its existence, but it should make it harder for South Sudan’s armed groups to devastate the…
A misguided bill in Congress would turn thousands of people who bought flamethrowers last month into criminals, once again illustrating America’s overcriminalization problem. In January, Elon Musk, creator of Tesla and SpaceX, sold a limited supply of 20,000 flamethrowers at $500 each to advertise and raise funds for his transportation-tunnel drilling business, the Boring Company….