Townhall Review | Conservative Commentary On Today's News

Last week, the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers transgender persons even though they do not appear in the legislation.

The opinion was written by Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore who writes—and I quote: “the funeral home fired the employee because she refused to abide by her employer's stereotypical conception of her sex.”

That ruling means that there is now no determinate meaning to sex or gender in the United States of America.

This is a direct threat to religious liberty because the Sixth Circuit said that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has no bearing on this employment question whatsoever.

The moral revolution has but one great barrier to its complete victory: that barrier is religious conviction.

Watch closely.

President Trump has agreed to go to a summit with the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jung Un.  Those who have watched three previous administrations fail to curb the North Korean nuclear program are stunned and wondering outl loud what could possibly come of such a meeting.

  If Donald Trump comes back with any concessions it will be a major win for his foreign policy even as the destruction of the physical caliphate of ISIS achieved under his watch is in sharp contrast to the fecklessness of the Obama years.  We are watching the renewal of a policy of peace through strength, and a key part of that is the massive budget increase passed by Congress earlier this year.  After 8 years of appeasement, American power is back and deployed around the globe.  It may be enough to bring calm to the Korean peninsula, or it may not work.  Either way, it is preferable to the appeasement that marked the Obama years.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has agreed to go to a summit with the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jung Un.  Those who have watched three previous administrations fail to curb the North Korean nuclear program are stunned and wondering outl loud what could possibly come of such a meeting.

  If Donald Trump comes back with any concessions it will be a major win for his foreign policy even as the destruction of the physical caliphate of ISIS achieved under his watch is in sharp contrast to the fecklessness of the Obama years.  We are watching the renewal of a policy of peace through strength, and a key part of that is the massive budget increase passed by Congress earlier this year.  After 8 years of appeasement, American power is back and deployed around the globe.  It may be enough to bring calm to the Korean peninsula, or it may not work.  Either way, it is preferable to the appeasement that marked the Obama years.

In late 1811 and early 1812, the town of New Madrid in the Missouri territory was hammered by three major earthquakes. “The ground heaved and pitched, hurling furniture, snapping trees and destroying barns and homesteads,” wrote Elizabeth Rusch in Smithsonian Magazine.

Like those earthquakes, the election of 2016 produced two “rivers” in U.S. media. One of those rivers is thoroughly inundated with anti-Trump, #NeverTrump debris and sediment. The other is almost wholly free of those ingredients.

It isn’t just cable news, the “two rivers” effect is mostly the result of the self-selected flows we direct ourselves to via Twitter feeds and chosen for us by Facebook’s and Google’s almighty algorithms.

The rise of partisanship on every issue, unmediated by respect for basic decency, is accelerating. Tapping the brakes, and eventually making a U-turn, is what the media need to do.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late 1811 and early 1812, the town of New Madrid in the Missouri territory was hammered by three major earthquakes. “The ground heaved and pitched, hurling furniture, snapping trees and destroying barns and homesteads,” wrote Elizabeth Rusch in Smithsonian Magazine.

Like those earthquakes, the election of 2016 produced two “rivers” in U.S. media. One of those rivers is thoroughly inundated with anti-Trump, #NeverTrump debris and sediment. The other is almost wholly free of those ingredients.

It isn’t just cable news, the “two rivers” effect is mostly the result of the self-selected flows we direct ourselves to via Twitter feeds and chosen for us by Facebook’s and Google’s almighty algorithms.

The rise of partisanship on every issue, unmediated by respect for basic decency, is accelerating. Tapping the brakes, and eventually making a U-turn, is what the media need to do.

The over-riding message from this year’s Academy Awards? “We’ve Learned Our Lesson!” Responding to the #MeToo movement and reports of erotic exploitation and sexism, presenters and Oscar winners frequently alluded to the scandal and made sanctimonious pledges to crack down on wrong-doers.

After complaints in recent years about scant Oscar attention to people of color, numerous black and Hispanic celebrities appeared on stage and Latinos won some of the most important Oscars—including Best Picture, Best Director, and best Foreign Language Film.

And after last year’s epic snafu with Warren Beatty announcing the wrong Best Picture winner, this year he received the right envelope.

Despite such improvements, a long predictable ceremony, with no blockbusters in serious contention, yielded some of the lowest TV ratings in Academy history.

Have the lessons really been learned?

Time will tell.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Townhall Review -- March 10, 2018

President Trump cracks down on a growing epidemic, opioids. Andrew Sullivan sits in with Michael Medved to discuss the deadly depths of this powerful and all too available drug.  Hugh Hewitt invites Ohio Senator Rob Portman about the STOP Act, a Congressional effort to address this life-ending menace. Heritage Foundation economist and presidential advisor Stephen Moore sits in with Larry Elder to talk about the dangers of the steel and aluminum tariffs that President Trump wants to implement. Pat Buchanan sits in with Mike Gallagher to share how the tarrifs actually are very pro-American.  Dennis Prager discusses the Antifa demonstrations surrounding Christina Hoff Sommers at Louis and Clark Law School. Hugh Hewitt speaks with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham about tariffs, FISA, and North Korea Denuclearization. Michael Medved shares new research from the Gallup organization on money and happiness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over twenty states filed a lawsuit last week targeted squarely at the heart of Obamacare. The battle is being led by the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton. He argues that because Congress—in the tax reform bill passed into law late last year—effectively ended Obamacare’s requirement that people buy health insurance, the rest of the law cannot stand.

The lawsuit poses no immediate threat to Obamacare.  But if it makes its way to the Supreme Court—as four other cases on the law already have—the law could be in jeopardy, especially if one of the liberal justices on the Court steps aside soon and President Trump gets the opportunity to name a replacement.

This all reminds us of just how unpopular Obamacare continues to be. 

If and until the courts step in, it’s still up to Congress and the Trump Administration to deal a decisive blow to Obamacare.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over twenty states filed a lawsuit last week targeted squarely at the heart of Obamacare. The battle is being led by the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton. He argues that because Congress—in the tax reform bill passed into law late last year—effectively ended Obamacare’s requirement that people buy health insurance, the rest of the law cannot stand.

The lawsuit poses no immediate threat to Obamacare.  But if it makes its way to the Supreme Court—as four other cases on the law already have—the law could be in jeopardy, especially if one of the liberal justices on the Court steps aside soon and President Trump gets the opportunity to name a replacement.

This all reminds us of just how unpopular Obamacare continues to be. 

If and until the courts step in, it’s still up to Congress and the Trump Administration to deal a decisive blow to Obamacare.

The over-riding message from this year’s Academy Awards? “We’ve Learned Our Lesson!” Responding to the #MeToo movement and reports of erotic exploitation and sexism, presenters and Oscar winners frequently alluded to the scandal and made sanctimonious pledges to crack down on wrong-doers.

After complaints in recent years about scant Oscar attention to people of color, numerous black and Hispanic celebrities appeared on stage and Latinos won some of the most important Oscars—including Best Picture, Best Director, and best Foreign Language Film.

And after last year’s epic snafu with Warren Beatty announcing the wrong Best Picture winner, this year he received the right envelope.

Despite such improvements, a long predictable ceremony, with no blockbusters in serious contention, yielded some of the lowest TV ratings in Academy history.

Have the lessons really been learned?

Time will tell.