China’s Leadership Succession: From Bad to Worse
In the wake of the Beidaihe leadership conference, Chinese leaders almost certainly expected to return to their posts, pending the 18th Party Congress this fall,… Read More
New State Dept. “Fact Sheets” Push More Government, More Spending on Foreign Aid
Recently, The Heritage Foundation reported that the State Department is making major changes to its venerable series of “Background Notes”—transforming them from useful reference materials… Read More
George Washington Gives Model of Presidential Leadership
The old joke about baseball in the District of Columbia was that Washington is “first in war, first in peace, and last in the league.”… Read More
FACT CHECK: Salazar Exaggerates Obama’s Record on Energy Production
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar touted President Obama’s record on reducing oil dependence in a speech delivered in Charlotte, NC, this week. Salazar pointed to a decrease in… Read More
Did Castro Channel Marco Rubio and the American Dream?
A charismatic young Hispanic politician yesterday delivered one of the best speeches in recent memory on the American Dream. In retelling the story of his… Read More
Major Obama Bundler Steve Westly Rewarded With Convention Speech
Venture corporatist Steve Westly benefitted personally and financially from President Obama’s push for green energy after supporting the president with major campaign contributions. Tonight he’ll take… Read More
South African Government Using Mining Industry as a Scapegoat for Shootings
The South African government has responded poorly to the shootings at the Lonmin mines. Instead of considering its own regulatory policies and the burdensome influence… Read More
U.S. Should Quit U.N.’s “Programme of Action”
Today marks the second week of the 2012 Review Conference for the U.N.’s “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in… Read More
VIDEO: Heritage’s Robert Rector Sets the Record Straight on Welfare Reform
The so-called “fact checkers” are acting more like President Obama’s surrogates than independent analysts. On issue after issue, they’re simply ignoring the facts. And when… Read More
Why Does MSNBC Want to Go Backwards?
Who knew that telling people they have rights would be so controversial? In his nationally televised address Wednesday night, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) reminded Americans… Read More
Eisenhower, Goldwater, and Reagan on GOP Foreign Policy
In an election year dominated by worries about jobs and the economy, it’s easy to forget that the president’s major constitutional concern is supposed to… Read More
An Affinity for Free Markets Among Anti-Capitalist RNC Protesters
Brian has a tough job. He’s a socialist trying to sell a commodity. Wandering around Tuesday’s protest near the Republican convention in Tampa, FL, he… Read More
News
Do Political Conventions Matter?
Delegates have known for months (or longer) whom their parties will nominate for President. With such predictability, the national conventions have been taken for granted,… Read More
Venezuela Refinery Disaster Spotlights Chavez’s Mismanagement
Early on August 25, a gas leak in a storage facility at Venezuela’s largest refinery led to a deadly explosion that so far has claimed… Read More
Morning Bell: Political Convention Drama Begins
This week’s Republican National Convention is already experiencing its own drama thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac, which has postponed most of the events until tomorrow…. Read More
Waiting for North Korean Reform…and Waiting…
In recent weeks, Pyongyang has begun yet another charm offensive by reaching out to Beijing, Washington, and Tokyo. The diplomatic initiative follows the anointing of… Read More
News
New Mexico Photographer’s Religious Freedom Case Goes to State Supreme Court
The New Mexico Supreme Court recently announced that it will consider the case of a Christian photographer who objected for religious reasons to photographing a… Read More
Organization of American States Flops on Assange Case
On August 24, foreign ministers from Latin America And the Caribbean Will gather in Washington for a meeting of the venerable Organization of American States… Read More
Morning Bell: WikiLeaks’ Anti-Americanism Now Backed by Ecuador
Yesterday, WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange, a 41-year-old Australian fleeing rape charges, stood on the balcony of Ecuador’s London embassy and told the President of the… Read More
Julian Assange’s Sordid Ego Trip
After hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for two months, Julian Assange was granted asylum in Ecuador yesterday to avoid extradition to Sweden, where… Read More
Burma: Human Rights Situation Underscores Need for Careful, Go-Slow Approach
As the persecution and human rights violations against ethnic minorities in Burma continue, the U.S., ASEAN, and other stakeholders need to examine their engagement with… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama Edits Official State Department Documents to Tout Himself
Inserting himself into the biographies of past presidents on the White House website apparently wasn’t enough for President Obama. His State Department is now editing… Read More
Obama Transforms State Department “Background Notes” Into Campaign Material
Production by U.S. embassies of the State Department’s long-running series of annual “Background Notes” covering every country in the world had long been considered a… Read More
Ex-Im Bank Makes $2 Billion Loan for South Africa Green-Energy Projects
The U.S. Export-Import Bank inked a $2 billion clean-energy loan offer with South Africa to help fund the country’s green-energy push and drum up sales… Read More
The New Public Diplomacy: The American Story Starts with Knowing Ourselves
A newly published study by the American Security Project (ASP), “The New Public Diplomacy Imperative,” highlights public diplomacy (PD) as a crucial element of our… Read More
Russia Trade and Human Rights: Still Time for Congress to Act
Earlier this year, over protests from the country’s communist party, Russia agreed to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Now Congress is considering legislation that… Read More
The Results Are In: Chinese Stimulus Fails
Almost four years after implementation of worldwide economic “stimulus,” global growth remains stalled. In the U.S., the unemployment rate is still over 8 percent. In… Read More
Cuba: Cosmetic Changes Will Not Save the Castro Regime
Today, Cubans are reportedly being allowed to listen to Gloria Estefan. She and about 50 other artists were, until this week, blacklisted and banned. However,… Read More
A Somali Maritime Force? Think Again
Earlier this week, Somalia’s prime minister and presidential hopeful Abdiweli Mohamed Ali announced that his government seeks to establish a marine task force to stop… Read More
More Obama Donors Benefit From USDA’s Latest Loan Guarantee
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a large loan guarantee to a biofuel company whose investors donated handsome sums to the Obama campaign. Some… Read More
