Cal Thomas
Columns by Cal Thomas
THOMAS: A taxing situation
Class warfare costs, but not the people at whom the rhetorical mortars are aimed. Published March 6, 2009
THOMAS: Guilty consciences
For social liberals, what is it about abortion that makes some of them consider it a sacrificial rite through which only the killing of an unborn child can truly liberate a woman from the clutches of paternalism? Published March 4, 2009
THOMAS: The president and the governor
After weeks of "talking down" the economy and concern among some of his supporters that his sobering prognosis for the nation's recovery might be affecting America's natural optimism, President Obama delivered a speech to Congress on Tuesday, parts of which sounded as if they could have been written by a Republican. Published February 27, 2009
THOMAS: Changing nation
"Always pay the bank" was my father's economic advice. In good times and in bad, whether I had low, moderate or high income, I always paid the bank. The bank now offers me loans. Published February 25, 2009
THOMAS: Time to say goodbye
General Motors made my first car. It was a 1955 two-tone Chevrolet with stick shift and black tires. It had an AM radio and air conditioning, if I hand-cranked the window down in summer. It came with bench seats, the better to have your date close to you. I bought it used (this was before cars were "pre-owned") in 1961. My Dad co-signed the $750 note, which I paid. Published February 20, 2009
THOMAS: Why Obamacare may beget euthanasia
Thanks to former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey and her recent essay on Bloomberg.com titled "Ruin your health with the Obama stimulus plan," we know of another problem with the just-passed stimulus bill, one that may threaten the lives of many Americans. Published February 18, 2009
THOMAS: The other Indiana
When President Obama visited Elkhart, Ind., on Monday to flog his economic stimulus plan (aka, more government spending), he saw a struggling town in the midst of a relatively prosperous state. Had he taken the time to visit Indianapolis and to meet with Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, he would have seen a different picture. Published February 13, 2009
THOMAS: Happiness or misery?
In Charles Dickens' novel "David Copperfield," Wilkins Micawber delivers an economics lesson to young David that has been lost on most congressional Democrats, the president and many of us. "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Published February 11, 2009
THOMAS: Honestly Abe
Had enough of Abraham Lincoln? Of course you haven't. In the bicentennial year of his birth, Lincoln is more interesting than ever. Published February 6, 2009
THOMAS: Once more into the breach
Like Linus van Pelt sitting alone in the pumpkin patch, George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, is in that dysfunctional region thinking that if he and the Obama administration demonstrate enough sincerity the diplomatic equivalent of the Great Pumpkin will arrive, making all things right. Published January 30, 2009
THOMAS: Our need to revive
President Obama's campaign theme of ending politics as usual and creating a new bipartisanship that will get things done for the American people is about to be tested now that he has the power - or at least some of the power - to make it happen. Published January 28, 2009
THOMAS: Significance of the moment
"What does change mean?" asked Woodrow Wilson in his Inaugural address. That is a question which will soon be answered by President Barack Obama. Published January 22, 2009
THOMAS: Insolvent!
The late Edward Bennett Williams, attorney and owner of The Washington Redskins, once said of his coach, George Allen — “I gave him an unlimited expense account and he exceeded it.” Published January 20, 2009
THOMAS: Welcome to prime time
Welcome to Washington, soon-to-be- "Mr. President." I know you've been here before for a short time as senator, but this is different. This is The Big Time, the world stage and you are the leading man. Published January 16, 2009
THOMAS: Jindal to GOP: Repent
BATON ROUGE, La. Published January 14, 2009
THOMAS: Bush’s exit interview
Entering the West Wing reception area for my last interview with President George W. Bush is a surreal experience. There is no one there, other than two Secret Service agents, a White House police officer and a receptionist. The place used to teem with people eager for a moment with the commander in chief, now people speak in hushed tones. A small TV set in the coatroom is tuned to Fox News. That will soon change. The news anchor is talking only about President-elect Barack Obama. With two weeks to go in the Bush administration, it's all about the "O," not the "W." Published January 8, 2009
THOMAS: Pigs at the trough
Like pigs waiting in line to get their snouts in the feeding trough, come many of the nation's governors - on the heels of the mayors - asking Washington for bailout money. Published January 7, 2009
THOMAS: Gaza Nazis
Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, are the Nazis of modern times. Israel is right to pound military targets inside Gaza. But much of the violence Israel brought on itself by giving up land it had to know would be used to rain death on its civilians. That is always the pattern. Published January 2, 2009
THOMAS: Make love, not war
One of the chants to come from the Vietnam antiwar movement was the memorable "make love, not war." That sentiment has resurfaced in a different but equally stimulating context, thanks to some creative people within U.S. intelligence. Published December 31, 2008
THOMAS: The politics of prayer
These days everything is political, or can be made so; even an Inaugural prayer. Published December 26, 2008
