Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
On Thursday the Senate sent yet another short term extension of the Highway Trust Fund to the president’s desk (the fourth this year). This latest short term extension means that members of the highway bill conference have until Dec. 4th to pass a bailout through hammering out the small differences between what has passed in…
There isn’t much for conservatives to love in the policies put forward in the proposed rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization currently moving through Congress. Proponents of the No Child Left Behind rewrite have argued that the proposal would prohibit the education secretary from encouraging states to adopt Common Core and would…
2015 has not been kind to Kazakhstan’s economy (the largest in Central Asia). Although it has the highest levels of economic freedom in the region, the country’s growth has slowed, with estimates now calling for just 2.8 percent, significantly less than last year’s 4.3 percent. The culprits in the decline? A weakened Russian currency and…
A humanitarian crisis is developing in Central America along the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Earlier this week, the Nicaraguan military began refusing to allow the passage of around 2,000 Cuban refugees fleeing the Castro dictatorship. Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista government (and close ally of the Castro regime) has even resorted to using teargas and…
Earlier this year, New Mexico abolished civil forfeiture, the tool that allows law enforcement agencies to seize property that they think has been used in, or is the result of, criminal activity. Most thought the new law permanently ended the practice in New Mexico. Five months after New Mexico’s sweeping reforms went into effect, the…
Before a bill to fund the federal government even makes it to the floor, some in the House are already ceding ground on funding for the completion of a license review of Yucca Mountain. Despite the Obama administration’s refusal to implement the program, Yucca Mountain was selected by Congress as a potential permanent repository to…
The world can breathe a little easier knowing that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, mastermind of the Paris terror attacks, was killed in a firefight with French authorities yesterday. Abaaoud’s terror attacks, which claimed 129 innocent lives last Friday, highlight the continued risk posed by the terrorist group known as the Islamic State—especially to western European nations who…
Dying patients simply don’t have the luxury of time, and many American patients with deadly diseases are being prevented from trying drugs that might extend their lives. David’s Story Take, for example, the story of David Huntly, an avid athlete, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. ALS…
Australians have always viewed America’s litigious culture with suspicion. Our “no worries mate” approach to life means we tend not to rush off to court at the drop of a hat. So last week when a state government commissioner ruled that the nation’s Catholic bishops may have broken the law in distributing their booklet “Don’t…
There are many reasons to praise President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered 152 years ago today. Its eloquent expressions. Its healing tone. Its inspiring message. As an editor, however, I must tip my hat to something else: its brevity. A presidential speech that’s only 272 words long brings new meaning to the word “concise.” Indeed,…
The Visa Waiver Program, or VWP, has recently been questioned in its ability weed-out terrorists attempting to travel to the U.S. This program requires member countries to meet certain security measures, including an increase in airport security, an increased sharing of intelligence on known suspected terrorists, and an exchange of biometric, biographic, and criminal data…
Can liberalism defend itself from its progeny? This question is rarely considered by liberals themselves. But after seeing the disturbances on America’s campuses over the last couple of weeks, they would be well-advised to start. Universities are supposed to be bastions of liberalism. Liberal administrators have insisted for decades that they know how to craft…
On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry visited French President Francois Hollande to show American support to the French government. Unfortunately Kerry then proceeded to undermine his message with comments to the media that showed monumental diplomatic incompetence. Talking about the January terrorist attack in Paris on the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Kerry suggested…
The terrorist attacks launched in Paris on Friday that killed at least 129 people have been claimed by and traced back to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. It is one more sign that the Islamic State (which has seized territory the size of Maryland inside Syria and Iraq) poses a growing terrorist threat…
Japan is in recession, again. A year ago, I wrote about Japan facing back-to-back decline in its quarterly gross domestic product (GDP). Despite the Japanese government’s admirable changes to corporate and social policies, continued misguided monetary policies have effectively created a black hole of wealth for Japanese bond holders. Preliminary results for Japan’s third-quarter GDP…
This morning 100 French police officers raided two apartment blocks in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, just days after the Paris terror attacks resulted in at least 129 deaths. After a dramatic seven hour gunfight in a residential building, two terror suspects have been killed and seven others wounded and captured. One man, yet to…
As the Obama administration prepares to leave for the U.N. climate treaty negotiations in Paris on Nov. 30, Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Kathleen Hartnett White outlines important climate questions: Q: What are some ideas missing in the global warming policy conversation? A: The official science driving global warming alarmism is based on models built to…
The Islamic State is likely taking a dangerous new tack in its war on all those who disagree with it. While there is much we still do not know about the terrorist attacks in Paris, the information trickling out indicates that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has claimed responsibility, is in…
Those following the debate over Planned Parenthood funding and recent efforts to repeal Obamacare may have heard or read about something lately called the “Byrd Rule.” As if the budget and lawmaking process in Washington weren’t already hard enough to follow, add this to the list of terms and legislative rules one must understand. Thankfully,…
Following the horrific attacks in Paris last week, Americans are right to have real concerns about who might be next in the terrorists’ cross hairs. One issue that has moved front and center is whether terrorists are able to enter the United States while posing as Syrian refugees. This has come after at least one…