Cal Thomas stories, Page 2

The debate Thursday night between President Biden and former president Donald Trump on CNN ought to be more than rehearsed answers and soundbites we’ve heard before. Polls show Americans are alarmed over what many feel is the unraveling of our country when it comes to the economy, uncontrolled immigration and...

Once in America — and in some parts of the world — we were gifted by great orators, men and women who could by the power and content of their words inspire, motivate and sometimes unify their nations. Today, we have politicians who mumble, slur their words, repeat themselves and...

The 1970s are remembered for many things: the end of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, American hostages held for 444 days by Iran and disco (ugh). In 1978, Pope John Paul II became leader of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1979, Jimmy Carter accused Americans of...

Despite what some Iranian leaders say to the gullible West, denying their intention to build nuclear weapons, Tehran’s pursuit of weapons-grade fissile material and the development of ballistic missiles to potentially deliver a nuclear warhead continues unimpeded. Though it is obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention, The...

Fifty-six years ago in August 1968, Richard Nixon achieved what The New York Times called “the greatest reversal of fortune in American political history.” Times columnist James Reston went further, calling it “the greatest comeback since Lazarus.” This from a newspaper, along with The Washington Post, that hated Nixon, as...

Last Friday in Washington, there was evidence of why only 16% of the public approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a Gallup poll. During a House Oversight Committee hearing on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a...

Many people have made money by following the advice of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. His recommendations about which stocks to buy, which to sell and where to invest (or not) have earned him the “Oracle of Omaha” title. I prefer a modern cultural version: “the Taylor Swift of Capitalism.”...

Every approach to curtailing Iran from its threats and behavior toward Israel and other countries has failed. In 2023, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials accused of planning assassinations overseas. In 2024, it “reapproved a sanctions waiver that unlocks upwards of $10 billion in frozen...

Was it as bad for you as it was for me? Sending Washington money we earn, but Washington doesn’t, I mean? It’s not just being part of half the nation that pays taxes while the other half doesn’t that bothers me. It’s the waste and unnecessary programs and agencies that...

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” — Polonius to his son Laertes in “Hamlet” It may be too late given the number of Americans who have willingly allowed themselves to become dependent on government more than themselves, but it’s worth trying. Our $34 trillion debt is unsustainable, according to...

A mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow killed more than 130 people. With many others seriously or gravely wounded the number of dead is likely to rise. The Islamic state released a statement claiming “credit” for the incident. Eleven suspects have been arrested. Early reports suggested the U.S....

When some people appear beyond help because of addiction or other circumstances they can’t control, family members have been known to stage an intervention. Congress and President Biden need an intervention as their addiction to spending exceeds anything seen in history. In his State of the Union address last week,...

When the government shuts down the people responsible continue to receive their pay because they are considered “essential.” These include the president and members of Congress. It reminds me of when it snows in Washington (as opposed to the snow jobs we get all year from politicians). The guy on...

In the aftermath of “from the river to the sea” anti-Israel protests on many college campuses and in the streets comes a perfectly timed book by Johns Hopkins University professor Benjamin Ginsberg titled “The New American Anti-Semitism: The Left, The Right, and the Jews.” Ginsberg is especially hard on progressives...

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News Monday night as Iowa voters caucused and delivered a decisive victory for Donald Trump in his quest to win the Republican presidential nomination and a second term as president. Gingrich joyfully predicted that Trump would not only win the...

“Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. That’s not going to happen.” — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush during a 2016 debate with Trump. After watching too many of the Republican non-debates and the insults each of the candidates (and former candidates) have...

The resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay after “facing national backlash for her administration’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and allegations of plagiarism in her scholarly work” does not solve the problem at America’s oldest college and other elite schools. She and many other university presidents are only a...

At the end of the year, we hear predictions about the future, many of which have been proven wrong: from the end of the world due to climate change, to the telephone is just a toy. (There is a story, probably apocryphal, that in 1876, the president of Western Union,...

More than 150 Iowa “faith leaders” have announced they are supporting Donald Trump in the state’s forthcoming caucuses. At the same time, Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Iowa evangelical leader, is supporting Ron DeSantis. Predictably, Donald Trump slammed Vander Plaats as a “scammer.” You stay classy, Donald. Could this suggest...

Congress just passed — and President Biden just signed — the latest short-term government funding bill to keep the government running. The bill, which essentially kicks the can down the road, ensures that taxpayers will continue to pay for a bloated government until January, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray,...

We have again entered the season of gratitude. You remember gratitude, don’t you? It was what we expressed before we became entitled. Last Saturday was the observance of Veterans Day, during which many thanked those who served in the military and have protected our freedoms. Next week is Thanksgiving, when...

I never saw an episode of “Friends,” but that is probably because I am from the television era that began with black- and-white pictures and television screens so small you had to draw a chair up to the box to see a flickering image. Back then, celebrity was a byproduct...

Among the top priorities for newly selected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was his announced intention to form a bipartisan panel to cut massive spending that has led to an unsustainable $33 trillion national debt. The pragmatist in me cheers, but the cynic in me says asking Congress to cut...

Some popular shows on PBS and cable TV are about renovating old houses - taking dilapidated, out-of-fashion and dreary houses and turning them into modern, functioning, and attractive places in which to live. Renovation is precisely what is needed in our country whose national debt, open borders and as we’ve...

On “60 Minutes” last Sunday, President Biden said he thinks it would be a “mistake … for Israel to occupy … Gaza again.” He also conceded that eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon “is a necessary requirement.” At the same time, the president said, “There needs to be a path...