Author: Cal Thomas

At a time when Republicans have Democrats playing defense on Obamacare, jobs and the economy, the GOP is inexplicably ceding political ground to the Democrats on an issue that can only provide more votes for that party and possibly lead to a permanent Democratic majority. Meeting in Cambridge, Md., last weekend for what they called […]

Suppose a president of the United States delivered a State of the Union address and nobody cared? Isn’t that what happened Tuesday night when the increasingly irrelevant — and, yes, boring Barack Obama — droned on about predictable things in a predictable way? We have been forced to listen to him so many times (often […]

Anyone in the news business will tell you that a side benefit is the diverse number of people one gets to meet. Jay Leno, who leaves “The Tonight Show” on: Feb 6: after a 22-year run (retire is not the right word in his case), is one such person. The circumstances surrounding our first meeting involved a […]

Everyone “knows” it is conservatives who are mean-spirited, intolerant, censors of speech with which they don’t agree, anti-gay, anti-black and anti just about everything else, right? We know this because the left keeps telling us so. Which is why in this era of increasingly corrosive language — note the overuse of the f-word in the […]

When anything bipartisan comes out of a polarized Washington, one should be grateful. That’s why a Senate Intelligence Committee report on the September 11, 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans represents progress of sorts. The committee, chaired by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA), faults the State Department […]

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — While the Obama administration offers life support to its Affordable Care Act, in the UK a growing number of people are asking whether it’s time to pull the plug on the National Health Service (NHS), which is in critical condition. For many years the UK media have carried stories that not […]

A multiple choice question: Select the scandal(s) that affects the most people and has long-term implications for the country in a time of war, a country with a struggling economy that last month produced the weakest job growth in decades. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly 92 million Americans are no longer […]

Cal Thomas conducted an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Oct. 12, 2003 in which Sharon outlined the five conditions that must be met before the peace process can proceed. Also, Sharon commented on the security wall, which he continued to build in the face of U.N. disapproval, the probability for more attacks […]

One mark of a good song is that it makes Billboard’s top 10 list. An even greater indicator is its staying power; whether it is remembered decades after it was a hit. Perhaps the highest accolade is whether the artist influences other musicians. All of these standards were met by the singing duo the Everly […]

French President Francois Hollande has been confronted by the glaring light of reality — sort of. On New Year’s Day, as his massive tax increases began taking effect, Hollande, a member of the Socialist Party, admitted that taxes in France have become “too heavy, much too heavy.” Indeed, as of Jan. 1, French households now […]

In his State of the Union address on Jan. 8, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a “war on poverty.” Today, with roughly the same number of people below the poverty level as in 1964 and with many addicted to government “benefits,” robbing them of a work ethic, it is clear that the poor have mostly […]

In real life when you find yourself paying more and getting less, you usually search for another product or service. With the federal government, it isn’t possible to take your business elsewhere unless you are prepared to give up your citizenship, as some have done. Such a drastic step is rejected by most of us […]

The outrage industry was in high dudgeon just before Christmas over remarks “Duck Dynasty” family patriarch, Phil Robertson, made to GQ magazine about homosexuality. Outrage is the primary ingredient for political fundraising and political power. One must always have an enemy. Let’s go down the “I Take Offense” checklist and make sure all the boxes […]

Each year during the period of conspicuous consumption known as Christmas shopping, I try to think of a gift that will not be returned, exchanged or forgotten before next Christmas. One year it was a goat for a poor African farmer through World Vision. Another year it was a sewing machine for a woman in […]

In his classic novel “1984,” George Orwell warned about the evils of a totalitarian state dominated by a single ruling party with total power over its inhabitants. Oceania, his fictional superstate, is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The character known as “Big Brother” reminds everyone he is constantly monitoring the citizens of Oceania, mainly […]

During the Christmas season when many celebrate a unique and miraculous birth, what the late Pope John Paul II called “a culture of death” continues its march. Last week, the upper house of the Belgian Senate voted to extend a 2002 law legalizing euthanasia for adults so that it includes incurably ill children. The amended […]

In a December 4 speech, President Obama declared income “inequality” to be “the defining challenge of our time.” It is time for me to come clean; to own up to a dark secret I have been hiding most of my life. It is embarrassing to admit it, but I suffer from income inequality. Yes, there […]

When John Lofton of The Washington Times and I were granted an interview with Nelson Mandela inside Pollsmoor Prison near Capetown, South Africa, in August 1985, it was a rare occurrence, personally approved by then-South African President P.W. Botha over the objections of his foreign minister. Mandela gave us a tour of the prison. The […]

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes has ruled that Detroit, Mich., may seek to protect itself from its creditors under Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy protection, thus making this once proud city the largest municipality in American history to go bust. The city is $18 billion in the hole thanks to its debt and long-term liabilities, such […]

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.” — John Lennon “Black Friday” was a metaphor beyond the merchants’ bottom line. Headlines on last Friday’s Drudge Report reflect a culture that is being trampled by the greed and me-only attitude of a growing number of us: — “Mall mayhem… — […]

For some, Thanksgiving is difficult enough with abrasive relatives gobbling up your food without a scintilla of gratitude. Now President Obama comes along with a proposal that could cause turmoil in even the happiest of homes. The president wants us to discuss politics, immigration reform and Obamacare at our holiday tables. Imagine the scene. One […]

Seeking to create an analogy with the deal the United States negotiated with Iran to supposedly limit further production of its centrifuges, Secretary of State John Kerry chose to recall disarmament agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union. A better analogy would be the 1938 Munich Pact, which gave Hitler part of Czechoslovakia […]

My parents voted for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. I had not yet developed a political worldview, but as a freshman at American University in Washington, D.C., I stayed up late to watch the election returns slowly trickle in before going to bed at 2 a.m. with the outcome still undecided. The following […]

Fed up with Washington? Angry that elections don’t seem to matter when it comes time to solving problems? Disgusted by the polarization that puts politicians’ careers ahead of taxpayer interests? Frustrated because you don’t think anything can be done about it? Indiana State Senator David Long (R-Ft. Wayne) has experienced all of these feelings, but […]

Three famous men died on Nov. 22, 1963. The one getting the most attention, understandably, is John F. Kennedy. Less so the other two: Aldous Huxley, author of the futuristic novel “Brave New World,” and Clive Staples Lewis. Of the three, it was Lewis who not only was the most influential of his time, but […]

In Geneva, Switzerland, The United States and other major powers appeared close to a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting some economic sanctions against the terrorist-sponsoring state. Negotiations, however, fell apart at the last minute when France and Iran balked at the final wording on the interim draft. Talks […]

With all the spying the United States has been doing on foreign leaders, possibly including the pope, why is Jonathan Pollard, a former American civilian intelligence analyst, still in prison nearly three decades after being sentenced to life in prison for taking classified documents he believed contained information important to Israel’s self-defense? Prominent individuals support […]

Last August before a closed meeting of Republican leaders in Boston, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey said, “We are not a debating society. We are a political operation that needs to win.” Tuesday night, Christie won. Big time. In one of the nation’s bluest states, Christie got 60.5 percent of the vote. His Democratic […]

The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week about prayers in public life, this latest deliberation revolving around a case from Greece, N.Y., and the recitation of prayers during town board meetings. The board used to begin each of its meetings with a moment of silence. When that moment of silence was replaced by spoken […]

When the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is completed next year what will happen to Afghan women? Will a resurgent Taliban return them to wearing burqas, withdraw them from schools and force them to live behind painted glass in their homes, permitting them to leave the house only when accompanied by a blood relative? […]