Political Commentary & Opinion

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that it could lead to war. A Brookings Institution scholar wondered ominously if it was the “greatest catastrophe” of the 21st century. CNN’s Peter Bergen compared it to appeasing Hitler. And what exactly caused all these predictions of doom and bouts of anxiety? Not a violent military coup….

Government debt has grown by $13.6 trillion over the past two presidential administrations—from 54 percent of the economy when President George W. Bush took office to 102 percent today in President Barack Obama’s final months. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that debt will grow by another $9.8 trillion over the next decade, but only if…

With the clock ticking fast toward the July 15 expiration date for the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorization, House and Senate negotiators have finally reached a deal for a short-term extension. Though both the House and the Senate produced separate, divergent bills, the extension is needed because House and Senate leaders could not agree upon a…

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently issued a ruling that increased tariffs on some Chinese steel products. They included electric motors, appliances, and cars made from cold-rolled steel. Tariffs were raised by 500 percent on some other Chinese steel products. President Barack Obama and the major 2016 presidential aspirants, particularly Donald Trump, believe this measure…

Washington is broken. And American politics in 2016 seems to be a competition to assign blame for the federal government’s dysfunction, rising costs, and habitual failure to perform even its most basic responsibilities. The usual suspects offer up their favorite villains: Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressive, insiders and outsiders all accuse each other. But…

As Bangladesh comes to grip with the horrific terrorist attack July 1 at a café in an upscale neighborhood in Dhaka, the Sheikh Hasina government must focus on shutting down local Islamist militant groups and cooperating closely with U.S. authorities to determine whether the terrorists had operational links to global groups. The attack, which involved a 12-hour…

While America’s birthday has always been “solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other” as John Adams anticipated, these revelries were once paired with other traditions that kept the cause for celebration front of mind. Independence Day orations, often lasting…

In the wee hours of last Thursday morning, the House of Representatives passed a $1.1 billion emergency funding package to respond to and prepare for the ongoing health threat caused by the Zika virus. This was the same amount proposed by the Senate bill that was passed in May. However, unlike the Senate bill, the…

As the death toll mounts from the June 28 terrorist attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, it appears that the attack bears the fingerprints of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Turkish officials on Thursday charged that foreign fighters from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan executed the attacks after infiltrating Turkey from Raqqa, the ISIS…

After two years of investigation, many might be asking if the just released Benghazi report was worth it. The answer is yes. The administration’s concocted narrative blaming the Benghazi attack on an amateurish anti-Muslim video is a major focus in the report. With the publication of the 800-page report by the House Benghazi Select Committee on…

Senate agriculture leaders have come up with misguided legislation that would mandate labels for genetically engineered food (GMO). Here are some quick points that policymakers should consider regarding this legislation: 1. Preemption Whether Congress should preempt Vermont’s mandatory labeling law may have been a difficult question if legislation would have eliminated all mandatory labeling. However,…