Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
With the Middle East experiencing renewed levels of tumult, it begs consideration: Does the region need its own version of NATO? This idea appeared in The Washington Post just this week. Josh Rogin reported that during the president’s stop in Saudi Arabia, he might lay out a proposal for a regional security alliance of Arab…
Americans today are facing an epidemic of chronic illness, including arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, chronic illness is now the biggest single driver of medical costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in America. As of 2012, the last time…
It’s clear that many big government policies are creating winners and losers in America. The story has been the same for decades. Government makes friends with a company or an industry, blocks out the competition with regulation, and in some cases gives the company subsidies. Such cronyism is bad for innovators and for consumers. But…
The number of foolish statements made by men and women who consider themselves feminists is essentially equal to the number of people who strongly identify as feminists. I write "strongly identify" because if asked, "Are you a feminist?" most women will say yes. They will do so for two reasons. One is that there is…
Someday, future generations of Americans will look back on us and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect and enhance vulnerable human life, could have instead so aggressively promoted death to children by abortion—both here and overseas. They will note that we…
Saturday marked another breakthrough in North Korea’s broad array of missile programs. Pyongyang successfully launched a new system that could target U.S. bases in Guam. It is now one step closer to an intercontinental ballistic missile that could eventually threaten the continental United States. Pyongyang announced that the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile flew 490 miles,…
Parents, taxpayers, and donors have little idea of the levels of lunacy, evil, and lawlessness that have become features of many of today’s institutions of higher learning. Parents, taxpayers, and donors who ignore or are too lazy to find out what goes on in the name of higher education are nearly as complicit as the…
President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on immigration is back in court, and therefore back in the news. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the order’s constitutionality. Opponents of the order claim that it violates the Establishment Clause by setting up a ban on Muslim…
Over the past 20 years, the price of wireless service has fallen 46 percent, the price of software has fallen 68 percent, the price of televisions has fallen 96 percent, and the quality of these services and technologies has improved markedly. But over that same time, the price of college tuition has risen 199 percent,…
The new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is not very popular with the left these days. His crime? He believes the free market, not the government, should determine the future of the internet. So aggrieved are the proponents of government-knows-best policies that they have taken to lambasting him on late-night talk shows, mean tweets,…
A new executive order from the White House could help the U.S. defend against future cyberattacks, much like the one currently affecting 150 countries. President Donald Trump signed the order Thursday after a series of delays, but it was ultimately overshadowed by the worldwide ransomware attack that hit thousands of computers across the globe. The…
A cyberattack is currently hitting countries from Great Britain to Russia, affecting hospitals, businesses, and home computers. The attack, also known as WannaCry, has reportedly affected over 200,000 businesses across 150 countries since initially being reported on Friday. In Great Britain alone, 16 National Health Service hospitals were hit. The number of those affected is likely…
Being a drug dealer in the United States just got more risky. Last Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum directing all federal prosecutors to “charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense.” This means that absent extenuating circumstances, prosecutors must pursue offenses that carry the highest penalties under federal guidelines, including mandatory…
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up an appeal filed by the North Carolina Legislature in response to the three-judge panel striking down its state voter ID law and other election reforms. No one should read anything substantive into this. As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Monday in a two-page supplement to…
On Monday, the Trump administration announced the implementation of the “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” policy, which helps ensure that American taxpayers do not fund international organizations that perform or promote abortion overseas. This program will expand the life-affirming Mexico City policy, which President Donald Trump reinstated during his first week in office. That…
While the eyes of the world are focused on security developments on the Korean Peninsula, two recent events should resharpen attention on the Taiwan Straits. The Chinese launched a new aircraft carrier, and President Donald Trump indicated that he would check with Chinese President Xi Jinping before he would take another phone call from the…
This week, a working group of United States senators began meeting on a biweekly basis to reach a consensus on how to repeal and replace Obamacare. We are still very early in the process, but it is clear already that there is much work to be done before we can find the votes needed to…
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wrote a letter to all of the permanent representatives to the U.N. in New York earlier this month, updating them on his management and reform agenda. A number of these initiatives are still in development and awaiting conclusions of various advisory teams or issuing of final reports and, thus, are…
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been in his new role for just over 80 days. He spoke with The Daily Signal about his objectives for the first year, which he says include “getting back to basics.” Pruitt says the agency needs to do a much better job of respecting individual states and the…
Editor's note: Walter Williams' commentary on communism's racist roots proved to be one of our our most popular pieces in the past week. Today's mailbag begins with another take on that history.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: The Karl Marx quotes in Walter Williams' commentary were very relevant to a recurrent aspect of communism that I never…