Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Of the myriad of mind-blowing flaws contained in the Iran nuclear deal—a subject that has dominated the foreign policy debate across the country this summer—there’s one angle that hasn’t gotten enough attention. It’s the possibility that Iran could outsource its nuclear program. In other words, Tehran could play along with the P5+1 (China, France, Germany,…
A brand new taxi design was unveiled this week to mixed fanfare in New York City, known as the Taxi of Tomorrow Over the next 10 years, NYC Taxi organizations will direct about 80 percent of their fleet to adopt the new car. The problem? The new car’s aren’t hybrids – even as electric vehicles…
Ryan Anderson, William E. Simon senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, appeared on CNN today to talk about the case of Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk currently jailed over her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses. In his interview, Anderson discussed ways that both same-sex marriages could go forward and Davis’ religious freedom concerns could…
The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s August jobs report showed little change in the labor market. The payroll survey reported employers added a net 173,000 jobs last month. This was slightly below the 218,000 net jobs a month growth in the first seven months of the year. That difference is well within the survey’s margin of…
Katie Tubb wrote earlier this week on President Obama's trip to Alaska: President Obama gave a doom and gloom speech yesterday at the Global Leadership in the Arctic (GLACIER) conference in Alaska to build momentum for the U.N. climate deal in Paris this December. So far less than one third of countries have submitted plans…
Rowan County, Ky., is a lesson for America in how not to resolve social conflict. The local head clerk is sitting in jail, and a judge has ordered her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. When the Supreme Court redefined marriage for the nation in an activist decision this…
Remember the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal in April, 2014 that exposed veterans had died as a result of waiting for healthcare? Veterans were placed on fake wait lists and were signed up for ghost clinics and records were manipulated. Deceit had become the norm in order to make the VA look better in an…
After Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced in June that the island cannot pay its $72 billion debt, there has been an effort to rewrite contracts by granting Puerto Rico access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy. A recent deal between the island’s state-owned power authority and a group of bondholders demonstrates that bankruptcy is not…
Wednesday, a 34th Senator came out in favor of the flawed Iran Deal, which means the Senate will not veto President Obama’s agreement. A majority of Americans however – including the country’s top military brass and national security experts and practitioners – oppose the deal. The administration’s pro-deal arguments have been generally misleading and insufficient to…
The nations that have ratified the controversial Arms Trade Treaty, which seeks to regulate the international sale of conventional arms, concluded their first meeting last week in Cancun. One order of business at the four-day meeting was to pick the location for the Arms Trade Treaty’s headquarters – its secretariat. And when the time to…
Planned Parenthood does not offer any women’s health services that are not offered by other health care centers. None. The same services it provides are abundantly available, especially serving low-income individuals in urban and rural locations, while at the same time these alternative facilities don’t perform abortions. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health…
South Korean President Park Geun-hye traveled to Beijing this week to attend events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. She met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss North Korea—both the regime’s recent provocations and the nascent effort at inter-Korean reconciliation. Both leaders warned North Korea against committing further provocations….
Haiti finally held legislative elections last month. As Jacky Charles of the Miami Herald reported, they were “violent” and “chaotic.” But at least they happened. President Michel Martelly, in office since 2011, has weakened Haiti’s fragmented institutions and heightened political instability. He is surrounded by a network of friends and aides who, according to the…
Over the last several weeks, the Center for Medical Progress has released nine shocking undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s gruesome practice of selling organs of aborted babies. People need to watch these videos because they show exactly why $500 million in taxpayer money should be directed away from Planned Parenthood and toward health care providers…
President Obama gave a doom and gloom speech yesterday at the Global Leadership in the Arctic (GLACIER) conference in Alaska to build momentum for the U.N. climate deal in Paris this December. So far less than one third of countries have submitted plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by the Wall Street Journal’s count. According…
KYIV, Ukraine—One year ago I was in Mariupol, Ukraine, when the first cease-fire was signed on Sept. 5, 2014. Late that afternoon I visited the still smoldering battlefields outside the city. There had been a battle that day and the day prior, involving tanks and artillery. The aftermath was tragic. Many soldiers still lay dead…
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling redefining marriage throughout the country, there’s an open question as to what happens to people who believe marriage is the union of husband and wife. Yesterday the Supreme Court declined to review a lower court’s ruling requiring the county clerk of Rowan County, Ky., to issue marriage…
North Dakota just legalized police drones to be outfitted with tasers, pepper spray, and other “non-lethal” weaponry. As the drone debate continues over right to airspace versus right to privacy, the North Dakota bill is the first that moves the devices from a surveillance and reconnaissance tool into a flying weapon, lethal or not. Privacy…
Good news: The number of Americans using food stamps in 2014 declined slightly from the previous year. So why does the 2015 Index of Culture and Opportunity say this indicator is headed in the “wrong direction”? There are a couple of reasons. For one, the food stamp program (officially known now as the Supplemental Nutrition…
The debate about defense spending will likely reignite in September as Congress returns from recess and the end of the fiscal year draws near. Unfortunately, much of that debate will not be very helpful or informative. Instead of arguing the merits of a particular military spending level, much of the debate will revolve around Democratic…