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Democratic Party Monopoly on the Black Vote Is Over
- Details
- By Star Parker
Dean of the nation's political analysts, Michael Barone, sat down with The Wall Street Journal to discuss the 2024 election.
The headline that emerged from that discussion was "Donald Trump's Rainbow Coalition," noting that the monopoly of the Democratic Party over the nation's Black vote seems to be over.
If this is true, and it indeed seems to be, the implications for the political dynamics of our nation's future are profound.
To Get Rid of Woke, Understand How It Got Started
- Details
- By Star Parker
Coincident with Donald Trump's electoral victory, increasing numbers of America's corporations are backing off their DEI -- diversity, equity, inclusion -- programs.
Trump opposition to DEI is clear, and J.D. Vance's bold opposition to this agenda was one of the reasons for his selection as Trump's running mate.
As the Trump transition team completes its work bringing in the new leadership that will run our government, it's clear that a priority is to uproot the woke rules, directives and institutions that Democrats have implanted in our federal government. Efforts will be made to de-woke the military, the Defense Department and other major government departments and agencies. And the Justice Department will work to use existing law to challenge the prevalence of woke rules that have so widely taken over the governance and operation of our universities.
Young, Black, Hispanic Americans Would Opt Out of Social Security Even If It Wasn't Broken
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- By Star Parker
I pull the following directly from the summary of the 2024 annual reports of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees:
"The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund (that is, Social Security) will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year's report. At that time, the fund's reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits."
Our Social Security system is broke.
What Happened? What's Next?
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- By Star Parker
Two weeks ago, I wrote, "There seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree ... that something is very wrong in our nation."
My point then was that all the polling data has been pointing in one direction -- Americans of all persuasions are not happy with what's happening in and the direction of our country.
Now we see, despite all the pessimism about the state of American democracy, that it works.
What's Wrong in Our Nation?
- Details
- By Star Parker
As we move to the conclusion of this election cycle, there seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree.
That is, that something is very wrong in our nation.
In the latest Gallup polling, only 22% say they are satisfied with the direction of the country. The highest this has been over the last 16 years was 45% back in February of 2020.
So, despite change in party control over these years, the sense that something is wrong in the country has persisted.
How Iran Steals Its Citizens' Wealth to Finance Terror
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- By Star Parker
The Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, just published, for 2024, its annual Economic Freedom of the World Report.
There are many ideas about what freedom means.
Economic freedom, which the Fraser Institute focuses on, is of key and central importance. It is about the extent to which individuals have control of their economic life.
It's about law that protects private property, having an honest court system that adjudicates disputes, that government power to interfere with and regulate enterprise is prudent and limited, that individuals and enterprises have freedom to do business not just at home but internationally, and that governments do not debase their national currency.
Why, In Our Free Country, Do We Lack Education Freedom?
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- By Star Parker
What issue could be more important to a nation's future than education?
A country is about people. How Americans act, work, think, choose -- live -- reflects their values.
K-12 education, of course, is about learning to read and do math. This is what we measure in test scores.
But education is a lot more than acquisition of technical skills. It is about transmission of values and our sense of meaning of what life is about.
Black Clergy Speak Out for Israel
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- By Star Parker
On Monday, Oct. 7, my organization, CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education, co-hosted with Michigan Lighthouse Ministries a press conference with more than 50 pastors from across the State of Michigan, noting the atrocities committed last year by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens and expressing solidarity with the State of Israel.
We chose a church in the state of Michigan for this program because Michigan is home to the largest Arab American population in the country.
It is also home to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American representative in the House of Representatives and one of the nation's most strident voices against Israel.
How We Cope Shows Men and Women Are Different
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- By Star Parker
I reported last week about the decided move of young women to the political left and away from the religious affiliation of their childhood.
But these measures, at least in the short run, do not appear to be relevant to the success young women are having in day-to-day living in America.
By measures such as work and academic achievement, young women are doing much better than young men.
Regarding work, as recently reported in The Wall Street Journal, more young women are now working than ever. The workforce participation rate of women ages 25-34, the percentage working or actively seeking work, stood at 78.5%, up nearly 6 percentage points from where it stood 10 years ago.
Why Are More Young Women Than Young Men Moving Left?
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- By Star Parker
It's not news that young people are further on the left of the political spectrum than older generations.
Of unique interest now is that the movement to the left is more disproportionate among young women than young men.
As a nation we should know this is happening and try to understand why.
Women, traditionally, have been the stabilizing cultural influence in chaotic times. It is women who have brought children into the world and raised them when men have not been reliable fathers and heads of households.
An Important New Book About Reagan and the Presidency
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- By Star Parker
Coincident with the new movie, "Reagan," is the release of an important new book about the Reagan presidency.
Ken Khachigian, chief speechwriter for Ronald Reagan from his presidential campaign in 1980 to the conclusion of his second term in 1988, has just published his memoirs from those years. The book, "Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan and Nixon," also includes, as noted in the title, time Khachigian worked with President Richard Nixon.
The book starts with his time in the White House at the end of the Nixon presidency and then includes the four years he worked with Nixon after his resignation.
Taking From Peter To Give to Paul Is Not America
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- By Star Parker
A newspaper story several years ago reported about an elementary school teacher who held elections in his class.
The students picked their candidates -- one little boy competing against one little girl.
The little boy stood up before the class and shared his ideas for changes that would improve their lives. The little girl stood up and promised that everyone who voted for her would get ice cream.
The little girl won, hands down.
Let's Stop Negotiating With Terrorists
- Details
- By Star Parker
My organization, CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education, organized a delegation of 20 prominent pastors to travel to Israel to host a press conference on Oct. 7 as a show of support for and solidarity with Israelis on the one-year anniversary of the horrendous, savage terrorist attack that took place.
A few days ago, we were notified by Delta Airlines that our flight was canceled.
Airlines are canceling flights in light of the ongoing hostilities and instability in security in the region.
The Nation Needs a Great Reawakening
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- By Star Parker
Over the years 1934-1961, British historian Arnold Toynbee published his 12-volume "A Study of History."
Toynbee studied the rise and fall of 23 civilizations. His conclusion was that great civilizations die not from external causes but from internal causes.
They commit suicide.
Toynbee concluded, In the words of one journalist, that "civilizations start to decay when they lose their moral fiber."
We don't have to be great historians to know that civilizations have come and gone. Forever is not a given fact of life.
Unions and Republicans
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- By Star Parker
The appearance of Sean O' Brien, president of the Teamsters Union, in a key speaking slot at the Republican National Convention, raised a lot of eyebrows across the political spectrum about what is going on both with unions and with the Republican Party.
The union agenda and the traditional Republican agenda -- free markets, free trade, free labor market competition -- is not a cocktail that we usually think of as going together.
But we are in a political time of razor-thin margins. Swing states will be won by margins hovering around 1%. Winning swing votes depends on the ability to penetrate the gray, to win over voters who may not be 100% on board with the candidate or the party's whole platform -- but who see the benefits of one side as exceeding the costs of the other side.
Will the Chevron Decision Fix Big Government?
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- By Star Parker
The Supreme Court recently ruled to overturn the Chevron doctrine precedent that has stood since 1984.
Recent precedent reversals, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, have gotten much more attention. But this change is of enormous importance, and everyone should know what it's about.
In the 1984 Chevron ruling, an environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, sued to overturn a decision by the Reagan-era Environmental Protection Agency to ease regulation of emissions. The court ruled to uphold the EPA decision, reasoning that, unless the point of dispute had been addressed by Congress, the federal agency's interpretation of a statute should stand.
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com
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