Cal Thomas
Columns by Cal Thomas
Israel’s enemies are impediment to peace
President Trump is about to score a religious trifecta, visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome, the "home" of three monotheistic religions. The president has said he wants to make the ultimate deal and achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Published May 8, 2017
Lying press should be kept at arm’s length
President Trump and I have something in common. We were both invited to last Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner, and we declined. Published May 3, 2017
Obamas exploit the presidency for financial gain
The headline in the March 5, 1929 edition of the Chicago Tribune read, "Plain Citizen Coolidge Shuts Desk and Quietly Goes Home." Calvin Coolidge would write a newspaper column from Northampton, Mass., for which he presumably was paid a pittance, but other than that he refused to exploit his notoriety or accomplishments as president for money. Published May 1, 2017
Conservative journalists have different take on Trump
President Trump did something Monday I have long advocated. He met with a small group of conservative journalists, pundits and radio talk show hosts. I was among them. Published April 26, 2017
Terrorist threats must be preemptively met
As is almost always the case, signs of trouble preceded the latest shooting in Paris, which left one police officer dead and wounded two bystanders before police killed the gunman, later identified as French national Karim Cheurfi, a known criminal with a long, violent record. ISIS claimed to be behind the attack. According to police, a note praising ISIS fell out of Cheurfi's pocket when he fell. Published April 24, 2017
North Korea situation continues to deteriorate
There was a moment at Press Secretary Sean Spicer's White House briefing Monday that was significant. Asked by a reporter about North Korea's missile launch last weekend, Mr. Spicer said the administration was aware of the launch and that "it failed." End of story. Next question, please. Published April 19, 2017
Tax system simplification can be accomplished
Thanks to the beneficence of the federal government (and the calendar), we Americans have until midnight on April 18 to file our income taxes. It's too bad filing taxes wasn't an easier process. Published April 17, 2017
Arkansas death row push will bring guilty to justice
Nearly three dozen men sit on death row in Arkansas, where capital punishment has been suspended since 2005. Unless clemency is granted, seven of them -- an eighth man was granted a temporary reprieve -- will be given lethal injections all within a 10-day period, between April 17 and 27. Published April 12, 2017
Donald Trump hopes for Middle East peace will collide with reality
In Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful creatures that lured sailors to their doom with their hypnotic voices. In Homer's epic "The Odyssey," ships came to ruin on jagged reefs, following siren song, the pull of the beautiful voices so strong that the hero Odysseus, in order not to succumb, commanded that his crew lash him to the mast of his ship, and not untie him, until they were in safe waters. Published April 10, 2017
Mike Pence refusing to dine with a woman alone respects Billy Graham Rule
Millennials and others of a certain age have not lived in a time when fidelity was universally valued and mostly supported by culture -- though sometimes hypocritically -- and its opposite was roundly condemned. There was even a time when a divorced person could not expect to become president, though plenty of married presidents managed to conduct clandestine affairs, often with the indulgence of the media. Published April 5, 2017
Democrats block Supreme Court pick when it’s convenient
What goes around comes around is one of life's undeniable truisms and never more than in the politics of Washington, D.C. (the "D.C." increasingly standing for dysfunctional city). Published April 3, 2017
Congressmen’s trust of colleagues builds over time
Tony Hall served in Congress for 24 years, representing Ohio's 3rd District. The Democrat left in 2002 to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, appointed by President George W. Bush. Published March 29, 2017
Donald Trump needs less personality, more policy to get things done
In the aftermath of the debacle over the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Trump can learn a valuable lesson that will serve him well in the next battle over tax reform and other issues. Published March 27, 2017
High school rape in Maryland shows need for tougher immigration policy
A rough translation of Maryland's state motto is "Strong Deeds, Gentle Words." In the case of a 14-year-old girl who was recently raped and sodomized in a restroom at Rockville High School by two males students, both immigrants, one facing a deportation hearing, that motto in practice has been reversed. Published March 22, 2017
Repealing Obamacare must be done by Congress
Readers of a certain age may recall ads for Ivory Soap, which claimed to be 99 and forty-four one-hundredths percent pure. If the soap could have reached 100 percent purity, the company would likely have made the claim. Published March 20, 2017
Trump budget will test Republican ideology
President Trump presents his first budget to Congress on Thursday. It is, as The Washington Post points out, "historic" because if adopted, it would be the biggest contraction in the federal government since the end of World War II. Predictably, a Post story focuses on the number of federal workers it estimates could lose their jobs, rather than on whether those jobs and the programs associated with them are necessary. Published March 15, 2017
War on poverty has been a failure
Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to spend $1.4 billion of New York's resources to solve the persistent problem of poverty in central Brooklyn. If he wins legislative approval, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, intends to spend the money on affordable housing, job training, anti-violence programs, recreational space, even obesity. Some cynics suggest the proposal is targeted at boosting Mr. Cuomo's presidential prospects in 2020, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and take his proposals seriously. Published March 13, 2017
WikiLeaks will show CIA undermining America
Most Americans, I suspect, have the attitude that if the government is spying on someone there is probably a good reason. In the latest document dump by WikiLeaks, Julian Assange's outfit may cause some to rethink that premise. Published March 8, 2017
Donald Trump effect benefits retirees
Here are two scenarios. One: you are a retiree who in recent years has been concerned about the value of your stock portfolio. Suddenly, the value of your stocks and stock-based mutual funds surges, the Dow rising 1,000 points to record highs within weeks. Published March 6, 2017
Donald Trump speech shows president reinventing himself
For Republicans who have been concerned that President Trump has not been specific about his policies and about where he wants to take the country, Tuesday night's address to Congress and the nation was a welcome relief. For liberals, however, it was a problem precisely because he offered specifics. Published March 1, 2017
