Opinion

The First is all about ideas, conversations, curiosity, and most of all freedom. To that end, we publish a plethora of content from both our own writers and outside contributors. We focus especially on real people, with real jobs, and real opinions, not the blather you see repeated on cable news.

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2024: Putin’s Campaign of Death | Steve Berman

2024: Putin’s Campaign of Death | Steve Berman

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains completely focused on the war, but reminders of Ukraine’s engrained corruption have also bubbled up, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin has prepared a new giant offensive for the upcoming one-year anniversary of his failed takeover of Ukraine. I hate using the term “phase” to describe an ongoing war. There’s …

COP CITY: Memphis Is About to Have an Atlanta-Sized Problem | Steve Berman

COP CITY: Memphis Is About to Have an Atlanta-Sized Problem | Steve Berman

Memphis, in 2021, had over 300 murders. In 2019, the city’s murder rate per 100,000 was 29.21, according to FBI data. That put it in the top ten violent cities in America. Atlanta was number 22, with a rate of 19.53. In 2021, Cerelyn Davis, Memphis’ first Black chief of police, initiated the SCORPION (“Street Crimes Operation …

UTOPIA? Complicated Problems Don’t Need Dorm-Room Solutions | Steve Berman

UTOPIA? Complicated Problems Don’t Need Dorm-Room Solutions | Steve Berman

So I was reading (dangerous! I know!) David’s post from yesterday about the “Fair Tax”. This got me to thinkin’, as the folks in south Georgia might could say. The “Fair Tax” proposal has been kicked around for decades, mostly in Ramada conference rooms by Libertarian delegates and among dorm-room fans of Ron Paul who …

HE GETS US: A Galaxy of Cash Behind Jesus Videos

HE GETS US: A Galaxy of Cash Behind Jesus Videos

There is an ad campaign called “He Gets Us” consisting of short videos relating Jesus Christ to our daily human lives. It covers topics like “Jesus was a refugee”, “was Jesus’ family perfect?”, “Did Jesus really struggle as I do?”, “Was Jesus ever lonely”, “Did Jesus face criticism?” and others. Each video is paired with …

1619 PROJECT: The Protocols of the Elders of Hulu | Steve Berman

1619 PROJECT: The Protocols of the Elders of Hulu | Steve Berman

A month ago, Hulu announced it would air a six-part “docu-series” called “The 1619 Project,” based on Nikole Hannah-Jones’ eponymous essay published in the New York Times Magazine. From Variety: Hosted by Hannah-Jones, “The 1619 Project” seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very …

2023: We’re Gonna Blow a 50-Amp Fuse | Steve Berman

2023: We’re Gonna Blow a 50-Amp Fuse | Steve Berman

An advisory committee of educated ignoramuses in San Francisco recommended that practically every Black person in the city, with few exceptions, receive $5 million from the government in reparations. The fact they failed to even touch on the repercussions of handing that kind of cash to people is the apotheosis of the spirit of the age in …

BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED CACHE: I Told You So | Steve Berman

BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED CACHE: I Told You So | Steve Berman

If you’re a proponent of do-nothing government, congratulations! You’ve just unlocked new achievements. Sigh. Yesterday, I warned that when Congress becomes an inquisitor, nothing good happens. I’ve been saying for a while that the relationship between the National Archives and former POTUSes is a bit collegial, or “fast and loose,” in the public vernacular. Really, there are …

INQUISITIONS: Oh, They’ll Find Something, But Please, Stop | Steve Berman

INQUISITIONS: Oh, They’ll Find Something, But Please, Stop | Steve Berman

“Here in my hand,” Mr. McCarthy said, his rapt audience of Republican women held by his earnest concern for our nation. “A list of 205.” Two hundred five names of “all the men in the State Department who have been named as members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring.” The list …

MCCARTHY SHOULD FRAME THIS QUOTE: “By God Sir! I Will Not Retreat!” | Steve Berman

MCCARTHY SHOULD FRAME THIS QUOTE: “By God Sir! I Will Not Retreat!” | Steve Berman

Kevin McCarthy has vowed to keep fighting for his quest to become Speaker of the House, despite a contingent of “burn it all down” members of his own party determined (and able!) to deny him. The last time the House may have been this divided, it took 133 ballots to elect a Speaker. McCarthy has called on the …