America is not Iran, thank goodness

February 2, 2026

Over the past month, two governments faced widespread protests. One responded with mass killings. The other, under popular pressure, appears to be backing down. On Dec. 28, a collapse in the value of Iranian currency sparked demonstrations among shopkeepers in Tehran which then spread across the country. While it began as a protest against economic conditions, the goal soon turned to overthrowing the authoritarian regime that has ruled Iran for almost half a century. The government responded with murderous suppression. Estimates go as high as 36,000 people killed, about equal to the ...

Film tax credits, tariffs have common thread

February 2, 2026

Across America, officials promise to engineer the right economic outcomes by intervening in the market in just the right ways. Most people know that under Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the idea has exploded. Less appreciated is how enthusiastically governors and state legislators are embracing their own versions. They repeat the same claims: With the right mix of subsidies, protection and political direction, one government or another can revive strategic industries and deliver durable economic strength. The results tell a different story. Wherever it’s found, industrial ...

Is Osama Bin Laden getting his wish?

January 30, 2026

Before our failure to prevent 9/11, which led to wars in Iraq and America’s longest war ever in Afghanistan, America was able to pay its bills. We had a balanced budget, thanks to former President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress. So, I ask, is Osama bin Laden actually winning today in his quest to bankrupt America? Here is a fact: We have had to borrow money to pay the nation’s bills for the entire 21st century. When we cannot pay our bills, this means we are in a financial crisis, no matter how you sugarcoat it. For 25 years our politicians, both Democrats and ...

What business are we in with measles?

January 30, 2026

Measles is a “cost of doing business,” says a highly placed official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’d like to know what business that is. To be fair, let me finish the CDC principal deputy director’s quote. Ralph Abraham said that measles is a cost of doing business “with our borders being somewhat porous for global and international travel.” Thing is,the U.S. saw over 2,200 measles cases in 2025, the highest number since 1991 — when the border was presumably less porous and after the disease had been virtually eradicated. Its latest surge in ...

Consistency matters: Moral clarity requires it

January 30, 2026

As I read the commentary surrounding the latest deadly shooting in Minnesota, I see something deeper than disagreement over facts or law. I see a nation struggling to reconcile rights, authority, fear and accountability in moments when events move faster than judgment. Let’s begin with the Constitution and the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms is not granted by government; it is recognized as preexisting. Its historical purpose includes guarding against tyranny. But that truth does not cancel another: Constitutional rights were never meant to suspend moral responsibility or ...

Eisenhower used federal authority in Little Rock

January 29, 2026

Sorting through what exactly Alex Pretti did or did not do to provoke his death in Minneapolis at the hands of ICE agents is not enough to understand this tragedy. Pretti had a permit for his concealed weapon. But does the Second Amendment cover carrying it at an incendiary anti-ICE demonstration with motivation to do something? All this will be investigated and sorted out. But we need a bigger picture to put this tragedy in context. We must understand that our nation is now deeply splintered, with a divide where we no longer have shared common values. Consider that six years ...