Politics, Moderate
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The Law That Disarmed Trump Is Unfair, Illogical and Constitutionally Dubious: The President-Elect Lost His Second Amendment Rights Thanks to a Nonsensical Gun Ban
President-elect Donald Trump's sentence of "unconditional release" for violating a New York law that prohibits falsification of business records entails neither jail nor probation. But unless Trump successfully challenges his 34 felony convictions on appeal, he will suffer a lifelong penalty that should trouble civil libertarians across the ...Read more
Be Gracious to Those in Need
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, which found that over 770,000 people were unhoused in January of last year. This accounts for a disturbing 23% increase for those without permanent residence since 2023. Migration and natural disasters were cited as main ...Read more
Why We Are Still Arguing About the Health Effects of Moderate Drinking: The Evidence Is Vast but Open to Interpretation Because Observational Studies Are Inherently Ambiguous
Even moderate drinking could give you cancer, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned last week. But according to a congressionally commissioned report published last month, moderate drinking is associated with reduced overall mortality.
Although those findings are not as contradictory as they might seem, the dueling glosses reflect the ...Read more
Beginning 2025 on a Firm Foundation
Just before New Year's Eve, a Gallup poll survey headline accurately captured the feelings of many people in our nation: "Americans Predict Challenges in 2025, With a Few Bright Spots." The top concerns were unsurprising, including anxiousness about the economy and a growing budget deficit, intensified partisan conflict and more global disputes....Read more
SCOTUS Can Protect Property Owners From Eminent Domain Abuse: A Utica, New York, Land Grab Offers an Opportunity to Revisit a Widely Criticized Precedent
Bryan Bowers and his business partner, Mike Licata, planned to build medical office space across from a new hospital in downtown Utica, New York. The Oneida County Industrial Development Agency nixed that plan by agreeing to take the property so a competing business next door could use it for a parking lot -- a land grab that a state appeals ...Read more
'Mufasa: The Lion King' Offers Resonant Story of Jealousy and Betrayal
In anticipation of the December release of "Mufasa: The Lion King," I eagerly watched every trailer posted on YouTube. I was excited to finally examine Disney's revelation of Mufasa and Scar's backstory, and I was not disappointed. The computer animation in "Mufasa" is much better than the photorealistic depiction of the animals in the 2019 "...Read more
Shooting the Messenger and Blaming the Victim: How Cops, Politicians and Bureaucrats Tried to Dodge Responsibility in 2024
Last February, explaining why he thought President Joe Biden could not be successfully prosecuted for mishandling classified documents, Special Counsel Robert Hur suggested that jurors would be apt to view the president as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and "diminished faculties." That amply supported ...Read more
In the Wake of Tragedy, Lean on Faith
As the Madison, Wisconsin, community reels from the deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, pictures of grief and mourning despondently tell the story of this tragedy's aftermath. I viewed the recent online collage of photos on CNN's website that showed students and parents holding candles at an evening vigil, a distraught police ...Read more
Trump's Jan. 6 Pardons Could Address Some Real Injustices: The President-Elect Makes Valid Points in Highlighting Potential Abuses of Prosecutorial Power
On his first day in office, President-elect Donald Trump promises, he will pardon at least some of the 1,500 or so people who have been charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He notes that most of those defendants were not violent and that they faced a lot of pressure to plead guilty, as about 1,000 have ...Read more
Churches Must Unite Across Racial Lines
One of the most encouraging stories of racial reconciliation among Southern Christian congregations is taking place in Mobile, Alabama, a port city that is still heavily segregated. The Black and White ministers who have come together to root out longstanding prejudice and simple fear of racial and cultural differences were featured in a ...Read more
Trump, the Self-Described 'Tariff Man,' Does Not Understand How Tariffs Work: Since the President-Elect Refuses to Admit That Tariffs Are Taxes Paid by Americans, He Sees No Downside to Raising Them
"I'm a big believer in tariffs," President-elect Donald Trump said this week, not for the first time. "I think they're beautiful."
Trump claims the heavy tariffs he plans to impose during his second term are "going to make us rich," at no cost to American businesses or consumers. That is a dangerous fantasy.
Trump's position on tariffs ...Read more
Give Ohio State Football Coach Ryan Day His Due
The traditional rivalry week of the college football season unfortunately concluded with some ugly visuals. Brawls broke out at the end of the Ohio State-Michigan game along with fights after wins by Arizona State, Florida and North Carolina State. Attempts by the victorious road teams to plant school flags on their opponents' fields triggered...Read more
The President Still Has Time to Show His Mercy Extends Beyond His Own Son: The Draconian Penalties That Hunter Biden Escaped Affect Many People Whose Fathers Cannot Save Them
"Hunter was singled out only because he is my son," Joe Biden said on Sunday, when he issued a pardon that saved Hunter Biden from serving time for his gun and tax crimes. That much was accurate, but not in the way the president meant.
Naked nepotism allowed Hunter Biden to avoid the consequences of a criminal justice system that punishes ...Read more
Trump Cannot Restrict Birthright Citizenship by Presidential Edict: The Executive Order That the President-Elect Plans to Issue Contradicts the Historical Understanding of the 14th Amendment
For 126 years, U.S. courts have recognized children born in this country as American citizens. President-elect Donald Trump plans to overturn that understanding by issuing an executive order on his first day in office.
That order, Trump claims, will "end automatic citizenship for children of illegal aliens." But the president cannot do that ...Read more
Don't Allow Fear to Paralyze You
Chapman University released its 10th consecutive study on fear in America toward the end of October, and the findings this year point to heightened anxiety and worry within the country. With 1,008 participants surveyed, Chapman researchers questioned them "about more than 90 fears and related behaviors." The top five responses were corrupt ...Read more
The New FCC Chairman's Agenda Contradicts Conservative Principles: Brendan Carr's Plans for 'Reining in Big Tech' Are a Threat to Limited Government, Free Speech, Free Markets and the Rule of Law
"The censorship cartel must be dismantled," Brendan Carr declared two days before President-elect Donald Trump picked him to chair the Federal Communications Commission. Trump described Carr as "a warrior for Free Speech."
Carr's plans for "reining in Big Tech" understandably appeal to Trump, who has long complained that the leading social ...Read more
Reject Narcissism and Selfishness -- Embrace the Golden Rule
I recently read an informative article by NPR's Amy Held that provides advice for talking to children who may be stressed about the presidential election results. Held features an interview with a 37-year-old father who voted for President-elect Donald Trump, but his two older children, 11 and 13, had apprehensive feelings about Trump's victory....Read more
Trump Has No Discernible Interest in Fiscal Responsibility: The President-Elect's Record and Campaign Positions Belie Elon Musk's Talk of Spending Cuts
Elon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump's bounciest adviser, thinks he can identify "at least" $2 trillion in federal budget cuts. Although critics derided the billionaire entrepreneur's suggestion as improbably ambitious, that assessment hinges on political assumptions rather than a cleareyed understanding of what could be accomplished if ...Read more
Divine Guidance Is Needed for Our Democracy
On the day after the presidential election, I saw several headlines proclaiming the result of former President Donald Trump's victory as a day of mourning, especially for Black Americans and Black women. On social media, the reactions posted from friends and others equated to being emotionally and physically drained and, in some cases, extremely...Read more
Nearly Five Years After Breonna Taylor's Death, Justice Remains Elusive: A Long-Delayed Conviction Illustrates the Difficulty of Holding Cops Accountable for Abusing Their Powers
On the night Breonna Taylor died, Detective Brett Hankison stood outside her apartment and blindly fired 10 rounds through a bedroom window and a sliding glass door, both of which were covered by blinds and curtains. Based on that reckless conduct, a federal jury in Louisville, Kentucky, last week convicted Hankison of willfully violating ...Read more