Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
San Francisco and other cities across the United States have created so-called “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens. These municipalities are defying federal immigration law, just like some Southern jurisdictions that defied federal civil rights laws in the 1960s. But unlike that earlier era, today’s sanctuary cities are creating safe havens for known criminals. Their policies have…
Russia continues to violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by fielding a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile system. Rose Gottemoeller and Brian McKeon, two high-level administration officials dealing with arms control issues, testified earlier this month before a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees on how the Obama administration is…
The Environmental Protection Agency recently commissioned an analysis of how EPA contractors and officials, on August 5, caused a deluge of 3 million gallons of water containing toxic heavy metals into the Animas River, which serves as a drinking water source for thousands of residents in Colorado and other states. The EPA activity that produced…
Although he probably didn’t mean to, Secretary of State John Kerry made a compelling case for why the U.S. and other countries should not go down the path of shutting down coal-fired plants, raising energy prices and stunting economic growth to combat global warming. Speaking in Paris, Kerry said: The fact is that even if…
U.S. immigration law awards a limited number of EB-5 visas to foreign entrepreneurs who create at least 10 U.S. jobs. The program is not perfect, and Congress is considering reauthorizing the program while also adding reforms intended to prevent abuse. Unfortunately, a provision buried away in that draft legislation threatens to make the program almost…
Mike Gonzalez wrote earlier this week on the president's national address: At his national address Sunday night, President Barack Obama lectured Americans at length on the evils of Islamophobia. That is a lofty sentiment, no doubt, but the harangue did strike many as disproportionate. After all, on this score Americans can already be rightly proud….
Tuesday, the House passed an amendment that would suspend those who have been to Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Sudan in the past 5 years from being eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This ban will affect the missionaries, humanitarian aid and rights workers, and journalists from France, United Kingdom, Japan, and 35 other…
In the first part of an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, Sen. Ted Cruz talks about why President Barack Obama won’t admit the United States is at war with radical Islam. Following his speech on national security at The Heritage Foundation, Cruz addressed the debate over banning Muslims from entering the U.S., whether France has…
After decades of initiatives in American public schools to close the achievement gap, the gap between low-income and non-minority students persists. A new study by the Friedman Foundation suggests that school choice may be our best tool for narrowing gaps and increasing integration in schools. In the study, titled “The Integration Anomaly: Comparing the Effects of…
PARIS–Cronyism is on display here at the United Nations climate conference (COP21), as developing countries aren’t the only ones trying to cash in on carbon regulations. The conference is full of exhibitors showcasing their carbon cutting technologies–each of which would benefit greatly from taxing carbon or forcing commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The general…
“It’s like Christmas Day,” exclaimed Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union. García was referring to passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law by President Barack Obama—who similarly referred to the new law as a “Christmas miracle”—earlier Thursday. On Wednesday, the U.S….
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asserted that his country has built a hydrogen nuclear bomb to “defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation.” If true, it would mark a significant and startling escalation in the regime’s ability to threaten the United States in its allies. While North Korea has developed an arsenal of…
It is the beginning of a new space age. On Nov. 25, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill passed by a Republican congress that provides legal clarity and economic incentives for the growing American private space flight industry. The law, which was moved through Congress by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Sen. Ted…
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in what is likely to be one of the most controversial cases of the current term: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. At issue is whether universities should be allowed to use racial preferences in their admissions programs. It’s the second time this case has made its way…
Critics of mens rea (criminal intent) reform claim it would shield white-collar criminals from prosecution. Rejecting the default criminal intent standard because we are rightfully upset by the lack of accountability for corporate wrongdoing is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face. Criminal intent standards improve the criminal law for white-collar criminals, migrant…
It was “déjà vu all over again” as Yogi Berra would have said, at the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, with protesters outside the court and race agitators like Al Sharpton leading the crowd, as the justices heard the case of Abigail Fisher for a second time. Two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Fisher’s…
If the price of milk increased at the same rate as public university tuition, today a gallon would cost $14.72. To put this into perspective, the cost of public higher education rose an astounding 538 percent between 1985 and 2013, while health care costs rose 286 percent. If milk actually reached this price, parents would…
It’s deal-making time in Washington, and as end-of-the-year funding deadlines approach, lawmakers are scrambling to make sure their priorities and pet projects are funded. Policy riders—or statutory language that essentially puts policy parameters around the money Congress intends to spend—have long been an important part of the congressional spending process. A well-known rider, for example,…
On Monday, for the first time, Beijing announced a “red alert.” The alarm was a consequence of the thick smog that had blanketed the city and was deemed a health hazard even to healthy residents of Beijing. The air quality is rated on a scale of zero to 500 (the higher the number, the worse…
Congress appears to be looking at a scaled back two-year extension of all the policies in the tax extenders, rather than the bigger deal that was being discussed. However, the two-year straight extension would be augmented by a two-year delay of the start of the Cadillac tax on high-cost health insurance plans. The Cadillac tax…