Politics Information
Friendship, Not War, is the Antidote to Niceness
Christians are known for being nice, or at least trying to be. But some reject niceness, saying it's outmoded. They see a fool's errand in trying to persuade a culture that has turned decisively hostile against Christians. The case has been well articulated by pastor and professor James Wood. Through essays and other media, he's advocated against "winsomeness" and in favor of alternative values: courage, clarity, and resilience.
Superbugs Are Getting Stronger. Our Defenses Are Getting Weaker
Drug-resistant infections pose a growing threat to public health. We're not prepared to meet it.
The FTC Inquiry into PBMs Is a Chance for Accountability
The Federal Trade Commission now has a golden opportunity to expose why so many Americans are getting fleeced on prescription medications.
The Supreme Court's Principled Decision in West Virginia V. EPA
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled by a 6-3 majority that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had exceeded its statutory authority by issuing regulations that would essentially dictate to power-generating utilities what fuel sources they must use. The EPA sought to force utilities to phase out fossil fuels and instead generate electricity from wind and solar technologies.
Not All Ivy League Professors Want to Gut American Innovators' IP
Some Ivy League academics recently laid out ways in which they think the Biden administration can intervene, under existing law, to cut prescription drug costs.
Corporate Social Activism Following Roe’s Reversal
The recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, acting like a starter’s pistol at a track meet, has initiated a new round of corporate social activism and virtue-signaling. American companies are racing from the starting blocks to demonstrate their support for aborting would-be future employees and customers. Many businesses pledged to cover or reimburse U.S. employees who need to travel to gain an abortion if access is limited because of specific state laws.
Water, Water, No Longer Everywhere
"Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is only halfway descriptive of the planet’s current water situation. Water is drying up everywhere; oceans and rivers are becoming more polluted and poisoned; watersheds are being drained at a phenomenal rate to meet the needs of industry, sports, and agriculture. Quality drinking water, especially in developing countries, is becoming a major challenge. And everywhere, good water, access to which should be a human right, is becoming expensive and privately owned.
Can Biden Make Lemonade out of Lemons on his Middle East Jaunt?
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Ah, lemonade! As we endure the summer swelter, is there a more refreshing beverage? Making lemonade out of lemons is a worthy and timely endeavor, whether actually or metaphorically.
21st Century Citizenship: Four Civic Skills We Need to Keep Our Democracy
As primaries roll out around the country, we’re tracking voter turnout. Raised on Schoolhouse Rock’s cartoon civics lessons, I know that being a good American means voting.
Mercenaries today: The Wagner Group
For many years, substantial military operations have been conducted by mercenaries, ranging from professional soldiers hired to fight wars for European potentates in the 14th century to the combat forces of Blackwater, a private company employed by the U.S. government to undertake violent activities in the “War on Terror” of the early 21st century.
The Nuclear Superpowers and True Self-Interest
A number of nuclear strategy experts have agreed that the only sensible response to China’s alarming new buildup of nuclear weapons is for the U.S. itself to build more and better weapons. The apparent purpose of this buildup on our part is first to ensure that our deterrent is ironclad, and second it is argued as the only viable way to force the Chinese (and perhaps even the Russians, eventually) to the arms control table. After all, it worked before, when President Reagan outspent the Russians and helped end the first cold war.
Washington’s Corn-Based Ethanol Mandates Are Poorly Timed
Recently, President Joe Biden flew into Iowa—our country’s leading corn-producing state—to announce to appreciative farmers that the Environmental Protection Agency will require American motor-fuel refiners to increase the amount of corn-based ethanol (CBE) that must be blended into motor fuels this year.
China's Surveillance State and Its Meaning for Us
In a recent commentary, I discussed the visit to China of the UN’s chief human rights official on what proved to be a seriously misguided and rather naïve attempt to improve the conditions of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province. An important element in that mass internment of innocent civilians is China’s ubiquitous surveillance system, which has facilitated the roundup of Chinese Muslims.
The Dobbs Case: Justice Alito Leads the Court Back to the Constitution
Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization holds that both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey must be overturned. The predicted impact on elective abortions has been well-rehearsed in the print and electronic press and on social media. In the case before the court, Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act was upheld, making abortion in that state illegal after 15 weeks. Furthermore, the effect of the ruling makes the abortion laws of other states—some virtually banning abortions and others allowing them with few limits—govern the availability of abortion to their citizenry. Finally, there will no longer be a recognized federal constitutional “right” to abortion. As Alito summarizes: “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Time for a Convention Of the People, By the People and For the People
Jefferson often conceded the Declaration of Independence did not state any new ideas but those that had long circulated amongst English and Colonial thinkers. One critical idea was that all power resided in the people, and the people had rights that preceded government. Government was given certain limited powers by the people, while the people retained all their rights, and government had a duty to preserve and protect those rights while remaining within the limits of power granted. If government were derelict in that duty, the power and the rights returned to the people who were empowered to “alter or abolish” the government and establish a new one better able to protect their rights and less able to abuse its powers.
1776 and Slavery
Many progressives today are eager to redefine America not as starting in 1776, which is literally when the very title “United States of America” began, but in the year 1619, before Plymouth Rock and before John Winthrop and the Arabella arrived upon our shores. They instead want to define the nation by slavery and racism. So much so that the New York Times’ 1619 Project dates America that way, defining the country’s start by the year 1619, with the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Virginia that year.
The Lost Conversation
Eight days of rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon with my daughter promised to be an exceptional experience. Introducing myself to a fellow voyager, a Texan, I joked that surely Texas wasn’t really planning to secede, because it would be a pain to have to obtain a visa to visit Austin. This didn’t seem to go over very well. Perhaps I had overreached. I retreated for the rest of the trip into an affable neutrality.
Carson v. Makin: A Trilogy of Cases Protecting Religious Liberty, Completed
In 2017, the Supreme Court decided a case that involved a school playground resurfacing program provided by the state of Missouri. Trinity Lutheran School sought a state grant, which was generally offered to other schools, but Trinity was denied funding solely because it was a religious school. The Supreme Court found in favor of the school, saying that it had every right, under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, to participate in a government benefit program without giving up its religious affiliation.
Big Tech's Sticky Fingers Are Still at Work in Washington
Big Tech is strongly criticized in Congress these days, but it still has sway in Washington when it lobbies Congress to weaken the U.S. patent system. That's bad news for everyone.
What Reversing Roe Really Means
Throughout the 2015-16 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, I urged conservatives not to nominate Donald Trump. When November 2016 arrived, I did not vote for Donald Trump. Of course, I most certainly didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. I wrote in another Republican instead.
Poor Police Work Is Letting Rapists Go Free. That Has to Stop.
There is a sexual assault taking place right now. Every 68 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted. More than 97% of perpetrators get off scot-free.
This Bill will Accelerate Patients' Demise
Congress is considering a bill that could delay patients' access to lifesaving treatments -- and even take FDA-approved medicines away from patients who are already using them. As a Black man living with HIV and a lifelong advocate for patients, I fear this legislation will have disastrous consequences for millions of Americans, especially the most vulnerable among us.
Biden's Rationing of Alzheimer's Treatments is Just the Beginning
The Biden administration just barred most seniors from accessing new treatments for Alzheimer's Disease.
Amid the Carnage in Ukraine, It's Time for World Leaders to Rethink Their Priorities
According to a study by a number of organizations called Ceres 2020, which was backed by the government of Germany, world hunger could mostly be ended by 2030 for $330 billion. This is a very large number, it’s true, but when we look at what the United States spends on its military budget each year, now in excess of $800 billion, it’s obvious that it’s skewed priorities, especially in richer countries that result in so much unnecessary hunger and suffering, especially south of the equator.
Protecting Our Children From the Shooters
Most federal career politicians end up very wealthy. They make good salaries. They have great health insurance and very nice retirement packages. They typically develop political action committees that cover expenses the government doesn’t pay. When they retire, they can donate campaign funds they have accumulated throughout the years to their own non- profits and administer the funds.
To Advance Health Equity, Disrupt the Prescription Drug Market
Hispanic Americans are the least insured racial or ethnic group in the United States. Roughly 20% don't have health coverage. That's compared to just 6% of the non-Hispanic white population.
How to Really Close the Global Vaccine Gap
The United States has lent its support to a multilateral agreement to waive intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines. Proponents of the waiver would have us believe this will get more people vaccinated more quickly. In fact, it will do nothing of the sort.
Congress Is Going After the Alleged Price Gougers – Again
As Yogi Berra, baseball’s preeminent wit and philosopher, would say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Fifteen years ago, I wrote in this space about an attempt by Congress to impose additional taxes on oil companies at a time of high gasoline prices.
TRIPS Waiver Would Further Undermine the WTO's Credibility
The World Trade Organization's 164 member countries recently received the text of a proposal that -- if adopted -- would discourage medical research and threaten global economic growth.
More Mass Killings, What is the Answer?
Do parents in America want to spend every school day hoping and praying their children will not be heinously murdered? Do children want to spend their days constantly looking up to see who might be entering their room with an assault weapon? Do you want to walk the grocery store aisles wondering if someone has picked your store and this day to shoot at you? Do you enjoy sitting in a house of worship knowing that if a crazed gunman enters your location the exit doors are very few. Movie theatres are anticipating a major boost in attendance this summer. Can you go in peace knowing that your life could be in danger if someone enters with a semi-automatic weapon or an AR-15?
The Abortion States of America
Roe v. Wade and so-called “abortion rights” are facing challenges unlike any time before. The chances of abortion being sent back to the states are higher than ever. As that prospect looms, pro-lifers are being treated to a tragic spectacle: “pro-choice” leaders nationwide are stepping forward to do everything within their power to protect unrestricted abortion.
A Bipartisan Fix for America's Looming Homecare Crisis
Within the next 40 years, the number of people over the age of 65 in this country will increase by about 70%.
Griswold v. Connecticut: How We Got to Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which concerns a Mississippi law preventing elective abortions beyond 15 weeks gestation. I am not here commenting about the leaked draft opinion. That action was despicable. However, if the leaked majority opinion holds, the Supreme Court has decided to scuttle its now half-century-old “abortion jurisprudence.”
Waiving Patent Rights Will Make Us Less Prepared for the Next Pandemic
The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently released the text of a proposal to suspend patents on COVID-19 vaccines. All WTO members will vote on the proposal in June.
To Vaccinate the World, Don't Attack the System That Gave Us Vaccines
More than 11 billion Covid-19 shots have been administered worldwide, the biggest vaccination campaign in history. More than five billion people -- over 66% of the global population -- have received at least one dose.
Our Healthcare Finance System Is Our Leading Cause of Death
Every year, a silent killer threatens more American lives than cigarette smoking and opioid addiction combined. It lurks behind premature deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, Covid-19, and obesity.
Here's Why Gas Prices Could Skyrocket Again
We're all looking for relief from record high gas prices these days.
Single-Payer Healthcare: The Wrong Prescription
Legislators in several states are taking up the charge for "Medicare for All."
Buffalo, Laguna Woods, Houston — The World Gets Crazier Every Day
A good person did not enter a grocery store in Buffalo, New York killing ten people and wounding multiple others. A good person did not enter a church in Laguna Woods, California wounding many and killing one person. A good person did not enter a Houston, Texas flee market killing two and wounding at least three more. These are evil people. The police officer who heroically fought back in the Buffalo grocery store with a gun was a good person. He was trying to protect the other good people who were in the grocery store.
A Threat to Global Innovation at the WTO
The World Trade Organization recently announced that the United States, European Union, India, and South Africa had finalized a proposal to waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines. Soon, all 164 WTO member nations will vote on whether to implement the proposed waiver.
