Category: Column

The current controversy over whether parents should be forced to have their children vaccinated for measles is one of the painful signs of our times. Measles was virtually wiped out in the United States, years ago. Why the resurgence of this disease now? The short answer is that false claims, based on other false claims, […]

What happened to California’s death penalty? There has not been an execution since 2006, when a federal judge ruled against the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld three-drug executions. It didn’t matter. Though as candidates Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris — who both personally oppose capital […]

Patrick Henry once said, “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” And for me, those special qualities have always been epitomized in our courageous men and women in uniform. I have written countless times on the need to support and serve our nation’s heroes […]

Once again the crisis in Greece is threatening the unity of the entire euro zone. Many analysts are asking what must be done to restore viability to the Union’s weakest link. Lost in this discussion is that modern Greece, formed in 1830, has never really been required to stand on its own. Generations of support […]

Frank Turek’s new book is a brilliant and unique contribution to Christian apologetics. “Stealing From God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case” is thoughtful and provocative yet a very quick read. I have read many books on Christian apologetics but nothing quite like this book. Not only is much of the content different […]

In his National Prayer Breakfast speech last week, President Barack Obama said: “And lest we get on our high horse and think that this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow […]

John Judis, co-author of the book “The Emerging Democratic Majority,” now says in an article in National Journal that that majority has disappeared. His title: “The Emerging Republican Advantage.” The original book, published in the Republican year of 2002, forecast accurately the groups that would make up the Democratic majority coalition that emerged in the […]

In response to last week’s brutal dousing of gas, igniting and burning to death of the captured Jordanian fighter pilot by the ISIS “JV Team,” King Abdullah of Jordan is now fulfilling his promise to pulverize them until his country is depleted of bombs and bullets. The King made this statement in the company of […]

Why is Hillary in hiding? No speeches. No major appearances. No tours. Just meetings with advisors and potential donors. She knows she faces a potentially dangerous situation, seeking first the nomination of a very left-wing party and then looking to get elected by an increasingly centrist country. Presidential candidates always face this divide, but rarely […]

There was a time when the 63-year-old National Prayer Breakfast was a rather mundane affair. It rarely made news. Speakers — evangelist Billy Graham spoke at most of the early ones — talked about Jesus and salvation. Presidents, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower, would follow with unremarkable comments mostly ignored or relegated to the religion […]

I’ve got a new book out which is not really so new. It’s new because it has just been released as an eBook. But it is not so new because it is a collection of some of my columns from past 10 years with Scripps Howard News Service. And those columns reflect what I have been […]

Dear World, How are you? You don’t have to answer. I know. I’ve been reading the news. It’s awful. And I know you’re looking to where the world has looked for the better part of the last century for leadership and moral clarity, to the United States. And I know you aren’t finding it there […]

The Great 2016 Tea Party Dilemma I had the honor of hanging out with a great group of patriots, the Ft Lauderdale Tea Party. I was the keynote speaker at their 309th consecutive meeting. My message articulates why Conservatism is best for all Americans and why Liberalism is destructive. My presentation also includes me singing […]

Women have long been annoyed that they do more housework than men, as demonstrated by many studies, but now they are really steamed. Last December, The New York Times reported on a regrettable trend. The number of men between the ages of 25 and 54 who are unemployed is at all-time high: 16 of every […]

Your reaction to the following facts about Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s pick to be the next Attorney General, may tell you more about your own political leanings than those of Lynch. Loretta Lynch believes the NSA spy program recording and collecting every American’s internet, cell phone and digital communication without any warrants is allowed by […]

Thursday morning’s “Building community trust” roundtable discussion in Oakland, California, with Attorney General Eric Holder, local law enforcement, elected officials and community leaders was designed to “build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.” After brief remarks, Holder and company dismissed the press corps. It is a courtesy, a Department of Justice spokesman […]

California is experiencing an entirely new disturbance in the Force. The Magic Kingdom has become the Measles Kingdom. Disneyland is ground zero for the largest outbreak of measles in the last 15 years. So far more than 100 cases have been reported since the initial exposure, some from as far away as Boston. (Rest assured, […]

Can a single speech at an Iowa political event change the course of a presidential nomination race? Maybe. It actually has happened. Barack Obama’s November 2007 speech at a Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Des Moines is generally credited with giving him a lift toward winning the caucuses there two months later and putting him on […]

The New York Times claims that the vaccine controversy we’re all talking about raises important questions about “how to approach matters that have largely been settled among scientists but are not widely accepted by conservatives.” Well, here’s another question: How do we deal with the false perception that liberals are more inclined to trust science […]

Comedian Jimmy Fallon is a celebrity fraud’s best friend. He’s an answer to normal America’s question: How do creepy stars get away with their grotesqueries? If you’re lucky enough to sit by his late-night throne and join his cool-kid games, all your troubles will melt away. Funnyman Jimmy is not just a bread-and-circuses buffoon. He’s […]

On Tuesday, the so-called Islamic State released a slickly produced video showing a Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a steel cage. On Wednesday, the United Nations issued a report detailing various “mass executions of boys, as well as reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive” at the hands of the Islamic […]

Let me see if I understand this: Chris Kyle was not a hero, but Brian Williams was? What do we make of Williams’ attempt to snatch some vicarious honor? The response to “American Sniper” should not surprise us. Bill Maher called Chris Kyle a “psychopath patriot.” It’s more than likely that Maher thinks all patriots […]

President Obama’s proposed federal budget for 2016 envisions never-ending growth of federal spending. This is a significant change from the past six years in which federal government spending has held fairly steady. Following a big jump in 2009 due to the bailouts and financial crisis, government spending never returned to pre-crisis levels, but it didn’t […]

Members of the Obama administration have insisted that the Taliban are not terrorists. Those responsible for the recent Paris killings are not radical Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood is largely secular. Jihad is a “legitimate tenet of Islam.” And “violent extremism,” “workplace violence” or “man-caused disaster” better describe radical Islamic terrorism. Domestic terrorism is just as […]

I believe that parents should vaccinate their children. Because children are vulnerable, the media have a responsibility to inform parents about the risks involved when they don’t vaccinate their children. Instead, I see news outlets turning vaccines into a political issue starring anti-science Republicans in need of correction by pro-science Democrats. “Measles moves to forefront […]

President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union speech, called for a minimum-wage hike and for government-mandated paid family and medical leave. “We are the only advanced country on Earth,” said the President, “that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers.” On the minimum wage, Obama issued this challenge: […]

Everyone who grew up in Chicago seems to have their own Ernie Banks story, and with memorial services held last week for the Cubs Hall of Fame player, we’re in a remembering mood. “How about if the Cubs all wear 14 on Opening Day?” suggested reader Stephanie Weiland on Facebook. That sounds like a great […]

Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor in America, not because it is the best (that would be coffee) but because it is the least objectionable. Put another way, vanilla is the most acceptable to the most people; it’s not many people’s favorite, but nobody hates it. And that’s why Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker […]