Cal Thomas

The lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II wrote many beautiful songs for Broadway musicals. One that was not beautiful, but powerful for what it said about race relations in 1949 when the show opened was “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.” The song was about being taught to hate. You also must be taught to love. In 2021 America, it looks increasingly like hate is winning.

Responding to Democrats in her party who are troubled by the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill that would forever transform America into a debtor nation, Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked a question: “Where would you cut?” Her question carries with it a conceit held by many contemporary politicians that every government program is sacred and must not be touched. Even suggesting that a decrease in…

In the matter of a new Texas law banning abortions six weeks after gestation, when a fetal heartbeat can usually be detected by vaginal ultrasound, suppose the headlines had been different? Instead of words like “most restrictive in nation” (The Wall Street Journal) and “Supreme Court refuses to block Texas law” (The Washington Post), along with four stories splashed across the front…

There once were summertimes when the living was easy, as the song from the Broadway musical “Porgy and Bess” melodically reminds us. But not this summer, not with COVID-19 still spreading dangerously across the land and uncertainty over what happens next after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Before the entire world became glued to the internet, social media, and summer TV re-…

In his address to Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt said: “… we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With…

When I was in public school, a TV ad asked: “It’s 10 o’clock Do you know where your children are?” Here’s a better question for today: Do you know what your children are being taught and exposed to in their schools?” This summer’s controversy over the teaching of critical race theory and whether to wear masks is only part of the problem. When kids claim to be a different sex than what they…

What has happened in Afghanistan will not stay in Afghanistan but will have a ripple effect throughout the region and beyond. In remarks Friday at the White House, President Biden again proved he is out of touch with reality. Responding to criticism that America’s credibility has been damaged due to his precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops, Biden said, “I have seen no question of our…

You have to give President Biden credit for consistency. Unfortunately, he has been consistently wrong. As Robert Gates, former defense secretary in the Obama administration once put it, Biden has "been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan (and former President Trump’s…

If a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, how terrible would it be to waste two simultaneous crises? While still in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and the Delta variant (isn’t “crisis” overused and thus losing its power?), comes a report from a panel of scientists assembled by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an organization that provides governments with…

They have been called many things: amoebas, spineless cowards, weaklings, and other names not suitable for print in a family newspaper. The modern characterization for many politicians who refuse to take a stand, especially in the midst of the growing and rapid threat of American socialism, is the word “weenie.” People fear being called names for expressing personal convictions (assuming they…

Semantics are important for how we communicate and define issues. One who controls words controls the narrative. So, take the words migrant and invader. Is there a difference? It's all in how they are perceived by some, and the effect their illegal border crossings have on the U.S. One definition of invasion should focus our attention: “The entrance or advent of anything troublesome or harmful…

The CDC adds to the confusion each time it issues new statements. The latest came last week from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky who said, "everyone wear a mask in indoor public settings in areas of substantial and high transmission, regardless of vaccination status." That has raised the obvious question: Why get vaccinated if you must behave like those who have not been vaccinated? Last Friday…

We have always had them among us: fortune tellers, diviners, readers of palms, tarot cards, tea leaves, stars, horoscopes, discerners of animal entrails, calling on gods of wood and stone, and all sorts of other “seers” who have attempted to convince the gullible that they have the power to predict the future. To some, climate change proponents are little more than modern-day soothsayers that…

RAPID CITY, South Dakota — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem likes to present herself as a “normal everyday” person “who enjoys life.” Appearing at FreedomFest 21, a gathering of 2,700 conservatives and libertarians, Noem said, “nobody knew who I was until liberals began attacking me every night on the national news.” She’s referring to her conservative views on economic and social issues.