Townhall Review | Commentaries

Why would any city punish the biggest companies in town by imposing a tax on every job those businesses create? That’s the question raised by a bi-partisan coalition seeking to overturn the newly imposed “Head Tax” in Seattle. The effort to repeal this obnoxious scheme in a voter referendum has already drawn strong support.

Meanwhile, nearby Tacoma isn’t hesitating with its own effort to lure frustrated Seattle businesses to relocate to a friendlier environment: instead of a new tax of $275 per job, they’d get a $275 tax credit for each new job. While Seattle leftists punish job creators to fund more homeless services, engaged voters and free market incentives can still overrule them.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has put a big number on a big board: 355 ships on the American fleet.It’s a big jump from the 280 or so presently afloat. The president doubled down at the graduation of Annapolis Midshipmen last week promising 355 ships soon, as he did on the deck of the carrier Ford in 2017:as he did at the Philadelphia Shipyard in 2016

This is a promise three times repeated, 350 ships. The Italians will build at least two of these powerful parts of the fleet in Wisconsin, as soon as the Pentagon says proceed to them or to somebody else. That’s what the Pentagon needs to do right now. The president has made it his word. He has promised. It can be done. But OMB and the Pentagon now need to recognize who is the president and to follow his wishes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When ABC canceled its top-rated Roseanne revival, Americans received another reminder that freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences.

No, the government can’t stop you from saying stupid things but a private business can terminate your employment if your offensive words damage that company’s image or bottom line. Kathy Griffin saw her career go up in flames when she appeared with a bloody replica of President Trump’s severed head, and NFL players will no longer be able to damage their league’s ratings by demonstrating against the national anthem.

Conservatives shouldn’t rush to Roseanne Barr’s defense: she’s a long-time leftist and conspiracy nut, who ran for the Green Party presidential nomination. Her recent embrace of Trump always seemed to be more a commercial strategy than a matter of conviction.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon has dropped ADF—the Alliance Defending Freedom—from their “Smile” charity program. They did so because the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center labeled the a group who are leading defenders of the the First Amendment and religious liberty as a hate group. The Smile program permits customers to donate part of their Amazon purchases to the charity of their choice.

Of course, ADF is no hate group, but that doesn’t matter to the SPLC. Their M.O. is to label mainstream conservative groups as hate-groups.

So why should the rest of us care?

Citizens should care because labeling everything the left doesn’t like as racist polarizes society and degrades civility. It’s long past time for Amazon to put its owners and its customers interests ahead of activists and the personal political biases of management. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Are My Friends Really My Friends?”

That’s the title of recent article in The New York Times. Teddy Wayne writes, “In the age of digital media, do we have more friends? We are certainly connected to many people who we identify as friends, but are they really friends?”

The bottom line—surprise—is many of the people in the digital world we identify as friends really aren't friends.

But I was fascinated to see the citation of research by Oxford Professor of Evolutionary Psychology Robin Dunbar.

Working down from the larger circles of acquaintances, he says most people only have five confidants and only 1.5 people in the innermost circle.

I think he’s pessimistic on the innermost circle.

But: You might just want to put the smart phone down and take that up in conversation with your friend and a half.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dangerous world we are looking at today serves as an appropriate backdrop for our expression of gratitude for those who have died in the service of our nation.

 

From the time of our nation’s founding to today, well over 1.2 million Americans have paid the ultimate price in the service of our country.

 

Today is a day for us to say, “thank you.” It is also a day for us to dedicate ourselves.

 

In 1863 Abraham Lincoln called our country to an “unfinished work.” And, in many respects, we remain an unfinished work.

 

Our commitment—the commitment of “the living”—to the values and freedoms our honored veterans fought for makes clear that they did not die in vain.

 

To those who have served or are serving today: A grateful nation says, “thank you.”

 

To those listening who have a loved one who died for this great cause: A special thanks to you—and a heartfelt civilian salute from me (and all my friends here at the Salem Media Group).

 

Happy Memorial Day.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Media coverage of Britain’s royal wedding focused mostly on breaks with tradition—with a biracial, divorced, American bride and a couple that lived together before marriage. 

But the ceremony itself also sent some more traditional messages: in a nation with church attendance half what it is in America, the Christian themes and references must have puzzled secular Britons, joining husband and wife in the eyes of God, not just through power of government. Eight days after Megan and Harry united their fates, our younger daughter will make a similar commitment when we celebrate her marriage.

We may not provide the lavish trappings of a royal wedding, but bride and groom always reign as queen and king in Jewish tradition.  And may Shayna and Mark always treat one another as royalty!

I’m Michael Medved—proud papa.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Modern men are in trouble.

Just saying that sentence is a great way to get a reaction today. Some people scoff; others nod their head in sadness.

In our soft, fuzzy, gender-neutral age, the psychologist Jordan Peterson has dared to raise this matter in public. In a recent New York Times profile, his interviewer laughed at him for suggesting that men are failing today.

But look all around us: 97 percent of mass shooters are men. Men are leaving their families in record numbers. Men have dropped out of the workforce. And for every six college degrees earned by women, men earn four.

No: We don’t need to see the sexes as competing. We want men and women to flourish. But we can’t miss this: modern men are in trouble.

They need help.

It’s a spiritual issue. It’s a cultural issue—and solutions aren’t simple.

But we need more voices admitting that we’ve got a problem.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ADF—the Alliance Defending Freedom—has become the new ACLU in my view. They’re now the go-to organization to protecting, preserving and promoting First Amendment freedoms across the United States.

I’ve partnered with ADF for over a decade now. That’s why I was disturbed to learn that they have been removed from Amazon’s Smile program. That Smile program allows you to designate a charity of your choice to benefit from a small portion of your purchases on Amazon.

ADF—see them online at ADFlegal.org—is donor supported, so they could very much benefit from that income stream.

So why were they disqualified? Amazon has been leaning on the work of the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine who is and is not eligible for the Smile program. The SPLC has become little more than a fringe group of the left, though. It is not to be trusted.

It’s the SPLC that should be dumped.

Amazon should shift course—and shift course today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump recently announced his plan to lower prescription drug costs. It’s a solid plan that strikes the delicate balance between promoting innovation with the need to ensure that consumers have access to the medicines they need at a price they can afford.

Meanwhile, liberal politicians are continuing their calls for government price controls on prescription drugs, all while trumpeting the virtues of single-payer health care. Both policies would lead to lower quality care, more limited access to needed cures, and result in much higher government spending.

What our health care system needs is more competition to drive down prices. This plan helps.

The Trump Administration is right to focus on policies that speed access to the marketplace for generic drugs and new cures. Lower prices won’t happen overnight, but the policies the president has proposed will make a difference.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.