Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
An analysis of mass shootings in the United States since the year 2002 shows that gun-wielding mass killers are more likely to strike where the Second Amendment right to bear arms has been supplanted by “gun-free zone” ordinances, be they federal, local, or specified by the owner of the property. The Stanford University Libraries’ dataset of…
Puerto Rican legislators and lobbyists have flooded Capitol Hill this year asking Congress to intervene on the debt-ridden island’s behalf. Sadly, the bailouts and bankruptcy law changes that Puerto Rico’s lobbyists seek would benefit Puerto Rico’s government without creating jobs or wage growth for most Puerto Ricans. Although most congressmen were not elected with Puerto…
In a major setback to the Obama administration’s climate agenda, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean Power Plan from taking effect until the legal challenges from states and industry groups fully play out. Twenty-five states, four state agencies, and dozens of industry groups challenged the Clean…
By now, Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime ode to the Black Panthers has entered the national consciousness. We all know what she was driving at. She was channeling the meme of the “black lives matter” movement. But why use the symbolism of the Black Panthers? After all, the group has long and sordid history of violence….
AMMAN, Jordan—The Islamic State, gaining operating territory in North Africa, has made clear its intentions of destabilizing the nascent democracy in Tunisia. Hoping this sun-drenched Mediterranean nation remains a democratic success story for the region is not enough to ensure that the country succeeds in this post-revolution period. Keenly aware of a growing sentiment of…
President Barack Obama has released his final budget to Congress, shifting the federal budget process into high gear. Budgeting for the nation is a complicated and iterative process. Here is how the president’s budget fits in to that process: Q: Who writes the president’s budget? A: Starting in the spring of the previous year, the…
President Barack Obama released his 2017 Fiscal Year Budget to Congress. Here is what Heritage Foundation researchers had to say about Obama’s budget: Energy Education Health Care Regulation and Spending Trade Agriculture Taxes Defense Energy Obama’s ‘Oil Fee’ Is a Regressive Gas Tax President Obama’s budget calls for a $10-per-barrel tax on oil, to pay for mass transit,…
Old-school feminists are not happy with young women these days. Seemingly commenting on why some young women favor Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, feminist icon Gloria Steinem explained it is because they were thinking, “Where are the boys?” Clinton supporter Madeleine Albright also is none too happy with “women who don’t help out other women” (presumably those who do not support Clinton),…
President Obama is submitting his final budget to Congress this week. Regardless of the contents of this budget, the president’s fiscal legacy is largely already written, and it’s a story of failed leadership, broken promises, and a more burdensome government for the American people. A Legacy of Higher Debt. Since President Barack Obama took office,…
One trillion dollars—that’s how much the government spent last year on means-tested welfare aid, providing cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services to poor and low-income individuals. The food stamp program is the nation’s second largest welfare program. The number of food stamp recipients has risen dramatically, from 17.2 million in 2000 to 45.8…
The federal government is no stranger to waste—some examples are egregious. From July 2013 through June 2014, over 4,000 transactions, worth just short of $1 million, were conducted at casinos using the Department of Defense’s government travel cards. Furthermore, nine hundred transactions, totaling $96,576, were made at “adult entertainment establishments.” As of May, 2015, only 41 percent of…
North Korea has again successfully put a satellite into orbit, demonstrating the same technology needed to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and showing that its long-range missile program is becoming increasingly reliable. In 2015, the U.S. commanders of U.S. Forces Korea, Pacific Command, and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) publicly assessed that North Korea…
A room with an ultrasound may seem like an unlikely setting for a chips commercial. But in an ad aired during the Super Bowl, Doritos cleverly suggested you don’t need to be outside the womb to have a serious chips craving. The ad showed an oblivious dad eating Doritos at his wife’s ultrasound. His wife…
Is the United States facing a constitutional crisis? Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., thinks so, saying that the Democratic Party has largely gone post-constitutional and that even inside the GOP, there is a crisis of confidence in the American idea. Sasse believes that many lawmakers like the idea of being in power, not understanding what the job…
Friday’s labor report confirms that too many hardworking Americans are unable to find the jobs they seek because U.S. job growth remains anemic, and average wages are stagnant. Americans want to work, but they’re hampered from doing so by labor laws that do not represent their interests. The latest labor report numbers show that 41,000 additional Americans…
The federal government is broken, and congressional weakness is to blame. The authors of the Constitution made Congress the most powerful of the federal government’s three co-equal branches. Congress was designed both as the most powerful and the most accountable to the people. Consent of the governed in a republic depends on transparent policymaking by…
After last year’s serious misadventure concerning Ebola, Americans take viruses very seriously. This year, we are confronting a very different threat with the Zika Virus. Let’s get some facts on the table, then discuss how we should go forward. First, Zika is a part of a family of viruses called Flavivirues. These started in Africa and have…
On Thursday, a three-judge panel vacated a ruling by a Maryland district court that had upheld the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and large-capacity magazines (holding more than 10 rounds). In Kolbe v. Hogan, the panel (in a 2-1 decision) sent the case back to the district court, holding that the district court judge…
One of the most iconic American events of the year is about to occur—the Super Bowl. Thousands of Americans (maybe even a few Canadians who have caught the bug) will be attending the game. If you were a terrorist, either from ISIS or al-Qaeda, or one of their affiliates, wouldn’t you love to go after…
Heritage Foundation expert Anthony Kim wrote earlier this week about the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom. Millions of people around the world are emerging from poverty thanks to rising economic freedom. But by sharp contrast, America’s economic freedom has been on a declining path over the past decade. According to the 2016 Index of Economic…