Cal Thomas

Signs have been a part of Middle East lore dating back to biblical times. People in the region take them seriously, which is why the signs emanating from the Biden administration are having serious ramifications. Recent rioting on the Temple Mount and rocket attacks on Jerusalem and other civilian areas from Hamas bases in Gaza signal that statements and actions (and inactions) by the Biden…

Thanks to the beneficence of the Internal Revenue Service -- and the fallout from COVID-19 -- we half of Americans who pay federal income taxes have been given until May 17 to file. Since I began earning enough to file Form 1040 and associated forms, I have only known one person who prepared his own taxes. That was Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who formerly headed the House Ways and Means…

The Central Intelligence Agency is always looking to recruit new agents and advertising is one way it has done so in the past. The difference this time is in a newly created series of recruitment videos that reflect the spirit of the age in which we live, rather than appealing to abilities and patriotism. The videos seem to suggest that the super-secret agency has been infiltrated, not by…

The commonwealth of Virginia, which used to be reliably red and mostly conservative, is providing more evidence of an increasingly blue and liberal hue. Virginia is "considering" renovating its math courses. As the publication Virginia Mercury noted, "In webinars (Virginia Department of Education) officials have been upfront that the initiative is based on data, especially standardized test…

"Power to the People" was a chant used by anti-war and civil rights protesters in the '60s. John Lennon wrote a song with that title in 1971. The idea flowed from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution which begins, "We the people." The concept behind that phrase was that the people, not the government, are sovereign and the government's power is granted to it by the governed.

The first question most people ask after mass shootings like the one last week at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis in which a 19-year-old male murdered eight people before taking his own life is "how did he get the gun?" He was known to authorities. A gun he previously owned was seized because he was believed to have mental problems. So, how did he manage to legally purchase two guns last…

If one can say the pandemic has had any positive side effect, it has been to help us focus on what the loss of liberties looks like. Such losses do not occur immediately but erode over time as people become increasingly comfortable with government claiming to know what is best for us. The Biden administration is proceeding on a downward spiral that has ended in lost liberties in nations of the…

When the NFL decided not to punish players who kneeled during the pre-game national anthem, some fans reacted by refusing to attend games, buy league merchandise, or watch games on TV. It took several years for the NFL to win fans back and some -- like me -- broke the habit and never returned, in person, or on TV.

At his news conference last Thursday, President Biden said of Georgia's new voting law, "It makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle." Jim Crow was not a person, but unlike most former presidents, he has a museum: The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. The name came from a song written by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice. From the museum webpage: "Rice, a struggling 'actor' (he did short solo skits…

When I heard Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas say last Sunday on "Meet the Press" that the southern border "is closed," it immediately brought to mind claims by Iraq's former information minister -- dubbed "Baghdad Bob" and "Comical Ali" (aka Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf) -- about Saddam Hussein's superior military forces. During the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, al-Sahaf said with…

When a politician promises to “tell the truth,” as President Biden did in his nationally televised address  last Thursday, you can add that statement to familiar ones lacking the ring of sincerity. They include: “The gun isn't loaded;” “the microphone is off;” “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” and “I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”

Evangelical Christians, who once were content with staying out of earthly concerns, have grown into an influential subset of American politics. Not all who identify with this label vote in unison. They voted in large numbers in 1976 for Jimmy Carter, but reversed course in 1980 and went for Ronald Reagan. In subsequent elections, a majority has voted for Republican candidates.

I recently had to cancel a long-planned trip to South America, either because the countries I wanted to enter are closed or required up to a two-week quarantine in a hotel. It doesn't matter that I have been vaccinated and have repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19. Several countries in Europe I would like to visit are also closed. Ireland imposes a 2,000 Euro fine for anyone leaving the…

Every sport has its boundaries. Rules for playing the game may occasionally change, but the boundaries remain. In baseball, a ball hit outside the foul line is out of play. In football, a catch made outside the sidelines is ruled incomplete. All games must be played within boundaries. No one would think of erasing them. If they did, how could they ever expect an orderly contest? Boundaries are…