Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
The new movie “Captive,” which opens this weekend, breaks the typical Hollywood mold. “Captive” tells the true story of drug addict Ashley Smith, who, while being held captive in her own apartment, reads the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Pastor Rick Warren to her captor, Brian Nichols. Through this transformative experience, both characters are given…
Senior research fellow Robert Rector wrote earlier this week on the Census Bureau's poverty report: Today, the Census Bureau will release its annual poverty report. It will almost certainly report that over 40 million Americans “live in poverty.” But what does it mean to be poor in America? To the average American, the word “poverty”…
Laura Leigh Hicks is a high school student with a simple message about the U.S. Constitution: Read it. She submitted this winning PSA to Constituting America’s We the Future contest. Today, on the Constitution’s 228th birthday, the group shared the PSA to bring awareness to America’s founding document. >>> The Heritage Guide to the Constitution
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has passed a bill to lift America’s decades-long ban on crude oil. Three Democrats joined all of the Republicans in passing the bill out of committee, 31-19. The bill now goes to the full House for passage. The White House opposes the bill, with spokesman Josh Earnest saying: This…
“What we are seeing today under ISIS is genocide. We should not be afraid of using that word. Politicians worldwide, unfortunately, are afraid of this because genocide has legal implications for governments, for all of us. But we should call a spade a spade. When genocide is committed we are obliged to take steps to…
As Oct. 1 approaches my inbox fills more every day with junk mail from health IT vendors offering solutions to my presumed panic. What panic? Well, as most inside medicine know, Oct. 1, 2015, is a red-letter day that will bring the biggest single change to medical billing in the last 30 years (thanks to…
Why, oh why, is it so hard for Republicans to do the right thing and put up a good fight to end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood? On this issue, and others before it, it seems the GOP leadership has decided that principles and campaign promises must succumb to the “what we believe is politically…
In the early years of the conservative movement, when few black Americans supported Barry Goldwater for president, one young man stood out. To quote Bill Buckley, Jay Parker was black and conservative and proud of it. Born and raised in South Philadelphia, Jay moved to Washington, D.C. to begin his own public affairs firm, attracting clients…
When Andrew Killion opened District Crossfit in 2010, he was training a few handfuls of people in a converted auto garage. Today, Killion oversees one of the largest Crossfit gyms in Washington, D.C., with six full-time employees—called “coaches” in the Crossfit lingo—who help more than 400 members sweat their way through daily workouts in a…
Federal funding for most government agencies and departments expires on Sept. 30. Lawmakers have just a few working days left to avert a government shutdown. At the same time, Congress is also facing budget deadlines this winter on the national debt, highway programs, regulations, and taxes. So can lawmakers do? The Heritage Foundation has published…
National holidays are about gratitude. On Veterans Day we honor veterans by offering our gratitude for their service and sacrifice. On Thanksgiving we offer our appreciation, as Washington explains in the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, to God and nation. Today, on Constitution Day, we offer our gratitude to the framers of the Constitution while honoring…
As we commemorate Constitution Day this Sep. 17th, we might recall the exceptional contributions of the shy, 5’6”, not much more than 100 lb. fellow from Piedmont, Va. who is generally considered the Father of the Constitution. As modest as James Madison was in appearance and demeanor, he made up for in his aspiration for…
Social media are ablaze with the story of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, a student at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. On Monday morning, the amateur inventor brought a home-made clock to school to show to a teacher. Shortly later, he was led out by the police in handcuffs. I expect they will have more to…
Last May, Congress passed the first concurrent budget resolution in six years. The resolution produced a path to balance by fiscal year 2024 in large part because of an assumption that the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s coverage expansion would be repealed, reducing spending and the deficit by almost $2 trillion over the next 10 years….
Stocks tumbled in several major markets earlier this week because, supposedly, investors were nervous about this weeks Fed meeting. The Fed has flirted with raising its interest rate target for months now, but mixed economic news keeps giving them cold feet. When it does finally raise its target rate, it will be the first time…
The limitations of survey data are reflected in the political adage that, “the only poll that counts is on Election Day.” In other words, real numbers trump survey projections. Even so, surveys can still add value by offering insights not otherwise inferable from the available hard data. For instance, election and voter registration data do…
The Army will hold an Article 32 hearing for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl this week at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The hearing, which may take a few days, is standard for all military court-martials where felony charges have been preferred against the accused, unless the accused chooses to waive the hearing. Sgt. Bergdahl has…
Australian politicians have again treated the nation like a failed Pacific Island state, launching yet another coup to topple a serving prime minister. Prime Minister Tony Abbott was cut down by one of his Liberal Party cabinet ministers, Malcolm Turnbull, in a party room vote brought on Monday. Abbott, a conservative, visited the Heritage Foundation…
Here’s how the federal government rewards an energy company for upgrading its power plants to lower costs for families and businesses and improving the environment: slap them with a nearly a million dollar fine, force them to close power plant units and lay off employees and make them millions of dollars in environmental mitigation projects….
Today, the Census Bureau will release its annual poverty report. It will almost certainly report that over 40 million Americans “live in poverty.” But what does it mean to be poor in America? To the average American, the word “poverty” suggests significant material deprivation. But the actual living conditions of those the government defines as…