Cal Thomas: Why stop at the Kennedy Center?
Earlier this month I attended the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with my wife and two friends to listen to a wonderful performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” The Kennedy Center has been among the few places in Washington (sports arenas are another) where one can get through a...
Cal Thomas: The plan to save Congress for the GOP
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles says she has a plan for keeping Congress in Republican hands in next year’s midterm elections. In an interview with the online show “The Mom View,” Wiles said she hasn’t informed the president about her plan but said it involves putting him on...
Cal Thomas: Conservative giants Buckley, Thatcher deserve more praise
While only a small number of us live to be 100, everyone’s birthday has a centenary date. For historians who seem mostly to be of the liberal persuasion and obituary writers (ditto) the way the 100th anniversary of a conservative’s birth usually results in one of the following: ignored, diminished...
Cal Thomas: We lose, they win
In 1988, when President Ronald Reagan was asked by a reporter during the summit in Moscow what his goal was in the Cold War, he said: “we win, they lose.” When it comes to today’s Russia and its unprovoked war with Ukraine, President Trump’s goal at least in practice and...
Cal Thomas: Republicans are failing to communicate
In the 1967 film “Cool Hand Luke,” the “Captain” says to Luke (Paul Newman): “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” The same could be said of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. While they have much to brag about — from a closed border, the deportation of...
Cal Thomas: After Gaza, what’s next?
In his address to Israel’s Knesset following the release of 20 living hostages by Hamas, President Donald Trump said several things that reflect wishful thinking. Among them: “The forces of chaos that have plagued the region are totally defeated.” “The enemies of all civilization are in retreat.” And the “long...
Cal Thomas: Bring back Clinton-Gingrich
On Aug. 5, 1997, President Bill Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress, led by Speaker Newt Gingrich, enacted the Balanced Budget Act. This bipartisan agreement aimed to balance the federal budget by 2002. Most of the credit goes to Gingrich because Clinton had vetoed previous Republican proposals for reducing the debt....
Cal Thomas: The girl on the train
She fled Ukraine for fear she might be killed in the war with Russia and came to America where she thought she might be safe. She was wrong. Iryna Zarutska, 23, was sitting alone on a train in Charlotte, N.C., when a security camera showed a man getting up from...
Cal Thomas: Flagging flag burners (again)
President Trump wants to penalize anyone who burns the American flag. After initially announcing his intent — apparently before being told the Supreme Court already has said burning the flag is protected under the free expression clause of the First Amendment — Trump said he wishes to criminalize such behavior...
Cal Thomas: Did Trump get rolled in Alaska?
Promising severe consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine and then apparently reversing himself is what sends a signal of weakness, not only to Putin, but to the world. On Saturday, Trump posted this on Truth Social: “It was determined by all that the...
Cal Thomas: Back to safer schools
As President Trump prepares to head to Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the killing” in Russia and Ukraine, what is being done to stop school shootings in America as millions of children begin returning to their schools this week? In my school days we had...
Cal Thomas: Why fixate on 2028?
August is usually downtime in Washington. Congress is in recess, the heat and humidity contribute to the desire to escape town for cooler weather, the president is normally somewhere else, and cable news is focused on shark attacks. Not this August. Cable news, especially, along with some newspapers, seem to...
Cal Thomas: Hey, Democrats, autopsies are for the dead
It’s being described by the media as an “autopsy,” an examination by Democrats as to why they lost the last presidential election and a congressional majority. According to The New York Times, the autopsy will not include Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second term, or Kamala Harris’ poor performance...
Cal Thomas: What standard? What scandal?
Following the resignation of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron after he was caught on a Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert in Boston cuddling with human resources chief Kristin Cabot (who is not his wife), the company issued the following statement: “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct...
Cal Thomas: Late-night TV not what it used to be
Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” has been canceled by CBS, effective next May. Critics of the decision are claiming politics is the reason. They are right, except the show has been too political. During its 10-year run, it has been a conduit for Democrats to attack President Trump and Republicans. There...
Cal Thomas: Politics in the pulpit
The Internal Revenue Service announced on Monday it is overturning a restraint on churches and other houses of worship that was supposed to keep them from endorsing candidates for political office. The root of the ban extends back to 1954. Then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, D-Texas, was running for reelection and faced...
Cal Thomas: Hit ’em hard and again
After Israel took out at least two of Iran’s top scientists behind the development of nuclear weapons (and promised to kill more), my high school fight song came to mind. At football games after a touchdown we sang, “Hit ’em hard and hit ’em again. Show ’em now that we’re...
Cal Thomas: The predators vs. the sloths
Six months after the Democrats’ disastrous performance in November’s election, The New York Times reports the party is “still searching for the path forward.” Democrats have hired consultants, one of whom asked voters what animal would they assign each party (elephants and donkeys, the traditional symbols for the respective parties,...
Cal Thomas: Watch your language — a chronicle of today’s improper English
The beginning of summer offers a columnist the opportunity to address subjects he might avoid the rest of the year because of his focus on domestic and foreign issues. Inattention to proper English seems to be a subject that few are bothering to address. I have been making a list...
Cal Thomas: Bad political theater in Newark
Political theater extends back to the Greeks. William Shakespeare wrote about politics in “Coriolanus” and other plays. A personal favorite of mine was “Fiorello!,” a 1959 musical about New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. What happened in Newark last week was political theater at its worst. New Jersey Democratic Reps....
Cal Thomas: Faith and government
Last week, President Trump announced the establishment of a White House Faith Office. Its purpose, as described in a White House announcement, is to “… empower faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship to better serve families and communities.” Don’t they already have access to a higher power? There...
Cal Thomas: Time to stamp out the post office
Better buy your “Forever” stamps now, because the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has announced another price increase. On July 13, the cost of a first-class stamp is scheduled to rise from 73 cents to 78 cents. The plan is to raise prices four more times by 2027. Meanwhile, it appears...
Cal Thomas: Tax Day, time to again feed the insatiable beast
America’s annual rituals and observances include days we usually celebrate together (July Fourth, Memorial Day, Veterans Day) or as members of special groups (Passover, Easter and Christmas). The one annual ritual it can be safely said most Americans despise is April 15, when the half of us who pay federal...
Cal Thomas: Injustice in Nashville
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is a man who has spent nearly 30 years on death row in a Nashville prison for murders that substantial evidence shows he did not commit. His name is Kevin Burns (KB, as he is...
Cal Thomas: Let us prey — a heretic in the White House
For the evangelical Christians who have given — and still give — overwhelming support to President Trump while refusing to criticize him for language and behavior they would presumably denounce in a fellow church member, here’s an easy one for you. There’s a heretic inside the White House. For those...
