Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Despite many politicians hailing green energy programs as a success, taxpayers are likely to take a $2.21 billion hit for the Department of Energy’s loan and loan guarantee programs, according to a new government study. If that weren’t bad enough, though, these taxpayer-backed programs have far-reaching, unseen costs to the American economy. A recently published…
In some cases, federal financial regulators have to consider the incremental impact of new rules and regulations. But they hardly ever are required to examine the cumulative effect of all previously implemented regulations. After decades of increasing federal requirements on financial firms, this weakness allows regulators to ignore an enormous burden on our capital markets….
Following 19 interdictions along the Central and South American coasts, the crew of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell returned home on April 16 with over 28,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $424 million. Collectively, these busts are a significant accomplishment for the sea service; however, they only represent a portion of the…
Washington policymakers are overlooking a potentially serious foreign policy crisis: the mounting Russian pressure, economic, political and military, on the tiny but strategically located Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Within the Baltic states, all of which have sizeable Russian populations, Moscow is conducting an intensive Russification campaign. It is, for example, underwriting pro-Russian…
In the first quarter of 2015 (January, February and March), the economy exhibited weakness that has become all too common during the Obama era. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the economy grew at just 0.2 percent during that time. At 0.2 percent growth, the economy was dangerously close to not growing at all,…
Is the Obama administration about to wage war on religious schools? One of the more startling portions of oral arguments today at the Supreme Court was the willingness of the Obama administration’s Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, to admit that religious schools that affirm marriage as the union of a man and a woman may lose…
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang announced the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) initiative during their visits to Southeast Asian countries in October 2013. The AIIB will focus on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and is expected to be fully established by the end of 2015. As of…
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, killed at least 5,000 people and injured thousands more, and the number of casualties continues to climb. The international community, especially other nations in South Asia, has responded quickly but more needs to be done to help the thousands of refugees. Survivors of the earthquake…
Oral arguments at the Supreme Court today were fascinating. Over two and a half hours of discussion about whether the Constitution requires all 50 states to treat same-sex relationships as marriages highlighted one essential truth: There are good policy arguments on both sides of the marriage debate and the Constitution doesn’t take sides in it….
Over this past weekend, I spoke to constituents in the eastern part of Nebraska. The one topic that came up every single place we went was the President Obama’s attempted Iranian nuclear deal. Not one time did we hear from anybody who thinks the Obama administration’s plans with regard to Iran are in the United…
This week, House and Senate negotiators are expected to pass their budget plan. After the House and Senate passed their respective budget blueprints in March, Congress is now debating the final details for its fiscal year 2016 concurrent budget resolution. The House and Senate budgets made progress in several areas, and fell short in others….
The briefs are in—over 150 in all—and today the Supreme Court will hear the arguments in the cases on states’ freedom to make marriage policy. Here are highlights of points made in the amicus briefs supporting man-woman marriage laws that the Court should consider: More than 50 million Americans voted to retain the man-woman definition of marriage—61…
Today the U.S. Supreme Court will meet for more than two hours to hear oral arguments about same-sex marriage. So why does this matter? Sarah Torre, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, explains what you need to know about the case. >>> Don’t Silence the 50 Million Who Voted for One Man-One Woman Marriage
As the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments about gay marriage Tuesday, it’s important to realize what the justices are actually being asked to settle. Here’s the bottom line: Whatever people may think about marriage as a policy matter, everyone should be able to recognize the U.S. Constitution does not settle this question. Unelected judges…
Did you know Texas imposes stringent license regulations in order to open an African hair braiding business, including a requirement to attend more than 2,000 hours of barber school? Now the Texas Legislature is moving forward on a bill that gives their citizens the freedom to pursue a career in this field without onerous regulatory…
As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in cases involving the freedom of states to make marriage policy, thousands gathered Saturday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the third annual March for Marriage. The event’s largest crowd to date called on the Court to respect the voice of the American people,…
On Tuesday, April 28, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller will be up before a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals again, his second appearance there in two weeks. But this time, instead of arguing over the unconstitutionality of President Obama’s immigration amnesty plan, he will be arguing that the Texas voter ID…
“We need to be having a conversation about this,” said Ryan T. Anderson in an interview on CNN Monday morning about Bruce Jenner’s decision to talk about why he now identifies as transgender. “This is great that Bruce Jenner is telling his story.” “I think it will be important that we hear other peoples’ stories,…
Last week, The Heritage Foundation, the Institute for Justice, the American Conservative Union, and the Charles Koch Institute co-hosted a panel discussion at the Capitol, highlighting the need for reform of the nation’s civil forfeiture laws. Civil asset forfeiture is the legal tool that enables law enforcement authorities to seize property or currency they suspect…
I have some bad news for Americans and our allies around the world: President Obama is quite good at making bad deals, particularly with dangerous regimes and groups. The nuclear negotiations with Iran are but the most recent example. A nuclear “framework agreement” has been reached, but the latest deal coming out of Switzerland is…