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Does either party want to win Senate race in Texas?

National Columnists

One of the worst features of the election primary system in our polarized “Red vs. Blue” time is the tendency of primary voters to flock to the candidate they most want to “destroy” the other party, not the candidate best positioned to do so. Let’s say a zombie is scratching at your door. You’ve got a shotgun, a handgun and your favorite frying pan. The shotgun has the greatest chance of success, the handgun — if one is careful and skilled — has a solid chance of working, and the frying pan? It probably won’t dispatch the threat but, come on, how cool would it be to ...

Are mandated digital IDs next?

National Columnists

Politicians push government IDs. In a TSA announcement, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem sternly warns, “You will need a REAL ID to travel by air or visit federal buildings.” European politicians go much further, reports Stossel TV producer Kristin Tokarev. They’re pushing government-mandated digital IDs that tie your identity to nearly everything you do. Spain’s prime minister promises “an end to anonymity” online! Britain’s prime minister warns, “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID.” Queen Maxima of ...

Why Johnny can’t read or do math

National Columnists

Reading and math scores are abysmal across the country, as national testing results keep documenting. Illiteracy rates are rising: The number of 16- to 24-year-olds reading at the lowest literacy levels increased from 16% in 2017 to 25% in 2023, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. In some inner-city schools, less than half of kids are reading or doing math at grade-level proficiency. Many high school grads can’t read their diplomas. As an economist, I would submit that this is our greatest crisis. It puts the future of American prosperity in grave ...

Transparency needed to reduce health costs

Local Columnists

Healthcare prices are out of control. The average cost of a three-day hospital stay in the United States now exceeds $30,000. A simple MRI can cost $300 in one facility, or $3,000 in another – sometimes in the same city. For working families and employers, these numbers are not abstractions. They can mean the difference between financial security and debt. Over the past two decades, hospitals have effectively consolidated into powerful, regional monopolies – ”nonprofits” with billions in surpluses. All the while, they’ve expanded with enormous government subsidies – ...

This should be season of peace

National Columnists

Historians considering the state of American depravity will doubtless pause to reflect on the remarkable support in certain quarters for accused killer Luigi Mangione, charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk last year. Mangione was caught on video pumping bullets into Thompson, a father of two, as he entered a hotel. There were times when cold-blooded murder would inspire universal revulsion; however, we do not seem to be living in those times. It isn’t that anyone doubts Mangione committed the murder, but rather that many Americans praise ...

This Christmas, revive lost art of matchmaking

National Columnists

Forget Christmas socks, board games or even cash. The gift many single young adults want most is a spouse. Put on your Santa hat and keep your eyes out for potential matches. Marriage is a bedrock societal institution. It’s beneficial for those who tie the knot, too. “Today, married women live longer, earn more and report more meaning in their lives, compared to single women,” Sophie Anderson and Brad Wilcox wrote recently for the Institute for Family Studies. “They are also markedly happier than their single peers.” Married men are better off, too. The truth about ...