Author: Cal Thomas

“Bye Bye Birdie” is an old musical that survives in high school productions and in some people’s memory bank. It debuted on Broadway in 1960 and was made into a film in 1963. One of the songs from the show might serve as an inspiration, if not a theme, for Republicans in the winter of […]

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — The White Queen, “Alice in Wonderland” The more President Obama talks about the supposed joys of his Affordable Health Care law, the more he resembles a political Mad Hatter, devoid of reason, absent logic and ignorant of facts. At a Rose Garden […]

The fiasco in Washington over the partial government shutdown, raising the debt ceiling and deepening animosity between Republicans and Democrats (and Republicans and Republicans), has left many asking if there is any way out of this bitter, endless cycle. There may be. The Financial Times recently suggested that America’s largest foreign creditor — China — […]

Can something as tragic and immoral as slavery become, if not less tragic, then noble, even righteous, in the telling? It can and it does in the capable hands of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., whose brilliant and compelling new six-part series for PBS called “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” premieres Oct. […]

A new Associated Press-GfK poll reveals some troubling statistics for members of both major political parties, if they can be troubled, given what looks to be their lack of concern for what they are doing to the country. The poll finds fewer people approve of President Obama’s job performance (confirmed by a new Gallup Poll, […]

It’s the 40th anniversary of Erica Jong’s “Fear of Flying,” which some have described as a breakthrough book for women and for modern feminism. Reduced to its common (and I do mean common) denominator, the book, which was written in the appropriately named “Me” Decade of the ’70s, encourages women to behave like promiscuous men, […]

With frustration building over Washington’s refusal to behave in the public interest, perhaps it’s worth noting a drastic solution tried by the Irish. Last Friday, Irish voters cast ballots on a referendum to abolish the country’s Upper House, known as the Seanad. Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Ireland didn’t need all of its politicians and […]

If Republicans were smart (I know, but stay with me) their focus during the Obamacare debate should have been less on blocking its implementation and more on a page they might have taken from the Democrat’s playbook, which is to rally the country to its side by use of sentimentality and the threat of impending […]

It’s Obamacare activation and government “shutdown” week in Washington, where the consequences of misplaced faith in government are everywhere. Still, “true believers” remain faithful that Obamacare will be the exception to government’s past failures in achieving big goals. There are examples galore of government’s inability to do things well and at reasonable cost, but that […]

President Obama’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York was flawed, displaying a type of moral equivalency that does not exist for America’s enemies. His claim that “The world is more stable than it was five years ago” is demonstrably false. In Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Congo, to name only a few, […]

President Obama pledged to end partisanship, but instead has exacerbated it. He recently accused House Republicans of being extortionists for opposing a raise in the debt ceiling and wanting to defund Obamacare. Dictionary.com defines extortion as “the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one’s office or authority.” […]

There is a tradition in politics that is similar to one in the legal profession: When evidence supports your position, make your argument based on the evidence, but when it argues against your position, ignore the evidence and appeal to emotion. The evidence is piling up that “climate change,” formerly known as “global warming,” is […]

Expecting Syria to live up to an agreement between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the cataloging, inspection, removal and eventual destruction or sequester of chemical weapons is a subtle seduction. Why would a dictator like Bashar al-Assad relinquish his most potent weapon in the midst of a civil […]

“One does not sharpen the axes after the right time; after the time they are needed.” — Russian Proverb The late Ukrainian violinist Mischa Elman is considered one of the greatest of all time, but he has nothing on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has played the Obama administration better than any musician. Washington is […]

Perhaps if America had a successful track record in the Middle East, President Obama’s appeal for a “limited” attack on Syria might carry more weight. But because our attention span in the region increasingly resembles that of a fidgety 4-year-old, an examination of recent history is in order. Consider Iran. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter […]

Before Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department move forward with a lawsuit to block vouchers for thousands of low-income students trapped in failing Louisiana public schools, he ought to speak to parents whose children benefit from the statewide voucher measured called the Louisiana Scholarship Program. One of those parents is Lakisha Fuselier. Fuselier […]

Appearing in the White House Rose Garden last Saturday, President Obama apparently experienced a revelation. He acknowledged there are constitutional limits on his power, something he has heretofore mostly ignored while issuing executive orders, bypassing Congress on appointments and deciding which parts of the Affordable Care Act to follow and which to delay or ignore. […]

“Oh, when will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn?” — Peter, Paul and Mary By the time you read this, U.S. missiles and bombs may be falling on Syria. Why? Syria hasn’t attacked us. It does not pose a security threat to the United States. These were arguments made against the Bush […]

Ashton Kutcher, the 35-year-old actor and ex-husband of actress Demi Moore, has never been considered a poster child for the “family values crowd,” but at the Teen Choice Awards two weeks ago, he could have easily passed for one. Following screams from young female fans in the audience, Kutcher silenced them with a motivational message […]

It was an atypical August summer day in Washington, D.C., 50 years ago next week. Temperatures were in the low 80s, about 10 degrees cooler than normal. Skies were partly cloudy. Most government officials were vacationing. I was a young copyboy at the NBC News Washington bureau. Correspondent Jack Perkins asked me to accompany him […]

PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland — Each visit to the U.K. brings new horror stories about the National Health Service (NHS). Last month, Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS, issued a forensic report, commissioned by the government, which found that 14 underperforming hospitals in England had substandard care, contributing to the needless deaths of nearly […]

When I studied the U.S. Constitution in school, I learned that for a bill to become law it first had to be introduced in either the House or the Senate. Today, a cynic might say for a bill to become law a member of Congress must first be introduced to a lobbyist. Much of government’s […]

“We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression.” — Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983 President Reagan’s speech to the nation 30 ago launched a major arms buildup to confront the expanding military power and political aspirations of the Soviet Union. It followed the disastrous presidency of Jimmy Carter, whose nonperformance during the […]

STAVANGER, Norway — The several hundred conservatives on the National Review’s summer cruise, which I was asked to attend as a speaker, are united in what they don’t like about the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, but divided on the best strategy for winning the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016. On […]

AMSTERDAM — On the day I visit the Anne Frank House, which is actually the family’s hiding place atop Anne’s father’s business, the wait to get in is as long as three hours. Such is the attraction of this historic site, 53 years after it was opened to the public. Anne and her family were […]

Egypt is in turmoil again. Syria is embroiled in civil war. Iran continues building a nuclear device. Militants in Iraq have killed more than 4,000 people so far this year, more than 800 of them in July alone, according to the aptly named Iraq Body Count (www.iraqbodycount.org). And what is Secretary of State John Kerry’s […]

When it comes to Vietnam, I’m all for moving on, putting the past behind us, looking forward, letting bygones be bygones, but doing so requires honesty about the past, lest history be forgotten and the memory and honor tarnished of the 60,000 Americans who died in that war. On his visit to Washington last week, […]

Now for some good news, and it has nothing to do with the birth of the royal baby. According to a USA Today/Bipartisan Policy Center poll, “Americans by more than 2-1 say the best way to make positive changes in society is through volunteer organizations and charities, not by being active in government.” Even better […]

Tribune Content Agency President Obama rarely misses an opportunity to insert himself into an issue. Last Friday, he appeared in the White House pressroom to comment on the George Zimmerman verdict. The president said he could have been Trayvon Martin. Not likely, given his private schooling and the way he was fast-tracked to success. The […]

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — While American cable TV news engaged in saturation coverage of the closing arguments and verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial, the BBC and Sky News carried an inspiring speech by Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head last October by the Taliban for advocating the education of […]