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Trump is right to want open sea lanes

Is it worth it to the United States to enforce freedom of navigation on the seas? That question was a subplot in the instantly famous leaked Signal chat over an operation to hit Houthi targets in Yemen. Vice President J.D. Vance expressed skepticism, noting that more European than U.S. trade passes through the Suez Canal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, on the other hand, were strongly in favor. Hegseth correctly called freedom of navigation “a core national interest.” Open sea lanes are necessary to U.S. commercial shipping and ...

Caterwauling over a Kennedy Center coup

Our media elites love to tout themselves as “independent” and “fact-based.” But on almost any story on Donald Trump, they can’t help but put those words in the shredder. The Kennedy Center illustrates one major difference between the two Trump terms. In the first term, the president deferred to the leftists who gave all the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017 to Democrats and Trump haters. He chose not to attend the ceremony so no honoree would refuse to attend and then hail themselves as “brave.” It was atypically polite and deferential, and Trump received zero credit. In ...

Women are not incubators for the state

U.S. President Donald Trump just wrapped up Women’s History Month by crowning himself the “Fertilization President.” The claim is almost as unsettling as the time a guy at a soiree here in France casually mentioned that under Vichy France’s Nazi rule, I would have been forced to reproduce — with him. Both of these comments are creepy for the same reason: they imply that a woman’s body is some kind of national asset - like an oil reserve. Women’s parents never handed them over to the state at birth. Nor did we slide down some kind of government managed toll-road and out ...

As Easter nears, set aside quiet time to reflect

In preparation for Easter, many Christians and Catholics have been observing Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and will continue for 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving until April 17. Not everyone necessarily abstains from food. Many people are choosing to fast from social media or other popular indulgences, such as coffee, sweets and television. While I do prepare to reflect on Christ’s triumph on the cross and praise God for His gift of salvation during this time of year, I have never observed Lent. The Southern Baptist church that I grew up in did not lead members ...

Aid is a necessary building block for a better world

The arguments the Trump administration makes to justify dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development are, for the most part, just ill-informed wisecracks. To call the United States’ $10 million contribution to support male circumcision in Mozambique “ appalling waste,” as President Donald Trump has done, reveals his ignorance of how the procedure helps prevent HIV infections. A grant to support better farming practices in Liberia is hardly “ridiculous” or “malicious.” Though it is true that opium poppy growers in Afghanistan have benefited from aid to improve ...

Shut down the DOE ASAP

A recent report from the American Enterprise Institute summarizes results from the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress — also known as the nation’s report card. The test, given every two years, reports scores of our nation’s children in reading and math at the fourth grade and eighth grade levels. AEI characterizes the most recent results as a “five-alarm fire.” I call it simply pathetic. In 2024, 40% of fourth graders scored below “basic level” in reading. This is 25% worse than 2013, when 32% scored below “basic level.” NAEP rates scores ...