Opinion

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

The New Testament uses metaphors to describe a gathering of believers, including a family, a body, a vine and branches, and a spiritual house built of living stones. It's no longer possible to see Jesus, but those who are His followers are visible while working together, and Christ can be seen in each. We may have family members who drive us crazy, but in our family we are to develop working relationships. The key is acknowledging Jesus Christ as the head, as Paul mentions in Colossians 1:8.

GUEST COLUMN, Melanie Whittington, Center for Pharmacoeconomics

President Trump recently signed a new executive order advancing a "most favored nation" (MFN) approach to drug pricing. The policy would link U.S. prices for certain medicines to those paid in other high-income countries — an idea that's gaining traction as frustration over higher drug prices builds at home.

At first glance, MFN may seem like a desirable and reasonable step: if Germany or Japan can pay less for a drug, why can't we? But comparisons like these, while politically appealing, are far more complicated than they appear.

GUEST COLUMN, Russell Slifer, former Trademark Office undersecretary

The 119th Congress is in full swing, and one priority should be reforming the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) quasi-judicial patent review board.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) — originally intended to provide a streamlined process for reviewing patents — is increasingly being utilized to harm small innovators and deter investment in critical American industries.

GUEST COLUMN, J. Basil Dannebohm

Shortly after the inauguration, mortified by Trump’s return to power, former pastor John Pavlovitz said, “For likely the third time, you had a chance to reject his vitriol, to condemn his criminality, to prevent his lawlessness, to denounce his bigotry — and you flat-out refused. More than that, you celebrated it.”

Since then, many of us have lost count of how many times Trump supporters have remained silent or outright celebrated the heinousness of his regime.

Recently Dr. Jacqueline Antonovich, a historian and professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn., observed, “Like many other historians, I cringe when I hear people saying, ‘This is not who we are.’ Because historically, it is who we are. Again, and again. I think it’s better to say, “This is not who I want us to be.” And then ask yourself what you can do to change that.”