Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
By praising Ethiopia’s repressive regime for being “democratically elected” last week, President Obama was driving home once again something that should be abundantly clear by now: His administration marks a radical departure from previous ones when it comes to democracy promotion. On the contrary, the Obama legacy will be one of propping up dictatorial regimes…
As Americans set out to the beach this summer with their favorite novels in hand, federal officials are being asked to sue the nation’s largest bookseller, Amazon.com. Why? For not having higher prices. A group of authors and competing booksellers recently petitioned the Department of Justice to open an antitrust investigation into the activities of…
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Unfortunately, many journalists did not remember that when covering a new report claiming that $15-an-hour wages would raise fast food prices only 4 percent. A closer look shows that the study underlying the report had major methodological errors. More serious analysis shows that $15-an-hour…
Evenwel v. Abbott may wind up being the most important voting case in sixty years. Its political ramifications could rival those of Reynolds v. Sims, the 1964 case that established the principle of “one person, one vote” under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The key question in Evenwel is, what population does…
Until recently, most of our attention on drone wars has been about the debate over us going after bad guys with armed flying robots. Indeed, America’s drone wars are bigger than ever. The U.S. just announced it will start conducting armed drone flights against terrorists in Syria from the American airbase in Turkey. Now, however, the…
How exactly does a new and innovative product, perhaps dismissed at first as marginal or impracticable, become a major player in a market? It doesn’t tend to happen the same way that established products gain market share. So-called sustaining innovations occur within a market’s established competitors and make existing products more effective (and sometimes more…
On the surface, recent jobs numbers represent solid economic growth, yet polls show that Americans continue to worry about economic conditions. Further analysis helps explain this disconnect. While the headline jobs numbers are strong, many other economic indicators have not fully recovered. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that employers added 215,000 jobs while…
The war is on. Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed a vast information network across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as within the European Union. This network uses a very developed and coordinated use of social media networks and traditional news media outlets, as well as influence among European politicians, like former German Chancellor…
Nearly seven years into federal conservatorship, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, quintessential institutions of cronyism, look to remain a permanent fixture of the housing finance system. Earlier this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie’s regulating agency, announced that the government-sponsored enterprise would be relocating to its new and modern location in the next…
As the Chinese stock market unravels, liberal economists are eating their words on the supposed benefits of heavy government intervention in the financial sector. On Monday, the Shanghai stock index declined by 8.5 percent, the largest single-day drop in 8 years. Before this point, the government had already taken extraordinary steps to further preserve the…
Few can say they’ve had the chance to view the al-Qaeda terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba. I got the interesting opportunity by attending what is called a Periodic Review Board for three different al-Qaeda terrorists being held in Cuba. The three are among 116 detainees from 17 countries, currently held…
On August 8, 2014, the U.S. began an air campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. One year later, we have little to show for our efforts. ISIS is the first terror group to form a financially independent regime, as well as the first to provide civil services to civilians in its territory….
Michaela Dodge wrote this week on what President Obama got wrong in his Iran deal speech: On Wednesday, President Obama continued his push to sell the Iran deal to an increasingly skeptical American public. Unfortunately for the White House, Obama’s charm offensive won’t solve the major flaws in the Iran deal. The…
They are forbidden to leave their homes without a male escort, or they will be beaten. Their eyes must never be seen. Without a double-veil, they will be lashed. Shrouded in darkness, they’re forced to wear black. Over 550 Western women have traveled to Iraq and Syria, burned their passports, and joined the Islamic State,…
President Vladimir Putin set a new course for the Russian navy recently. While presiding over “Navy Day” in Baltiysk, Russia, he formally approved changes to Russia’s naval doctrine. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced the new naval doctrine at the Baltiysk naval station. Located in the strategically important Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the installation…
The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance has released an extensive bipartisan report on the IRS targeting scandal that makes it clear, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, “that the agency mistreated conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.” In fact, “political biases and poor management went hand in hand to let politically motivated behavior continue unchecked.” The…
Congress took another major step in revitalizing the U.S. Coast Guard recently when the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee voted to provide funding for a ninth national security cutter (NSC). While the official U.S. Coast Guard program of record remains at eight NSCs, a ninth hull in this fleet is merited for a number of…
A new vaccine has been found to be highly effective against the Ebola virus in the West African nation of Guinea. According to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization: “This is an extremely promising development. The credit goes to the Guinean Government, the people living in the communities and our partners in…
Onboard the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman earlier this month, the embedded Coast Guard team made waves. After spotting “suspicious packages in the water,” the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment seized and identified “approximately 775 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated wholesale value of $15.5 million.” The USS Kauffman is currently supporting Operation Martillo, “a…
A great deal of debate has arisen in wake of the administration’s controversial deal with Iran, and political figures around the world have weighed in with a full spectrum of opinions on the outcome of the deal. Many of the critics have rightly focused on the sunset facet of the deal, which frees Iran from…