Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Arthur Milikh, assistant director of the B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics at The Heritage Foundation, explained in a column earlier this week why Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was right when he said both the Senate and the president should sign on to treaties: In a letter written by Sen. Tom Cotton and…
A full two weeks after voting to regulate the Internet as a public utility, the Federal Communications Commission has finally revealed the text of its Open Internet Order to the American public. Weighing in at 400 pages, the decision is an immense one—but it’s clear that the order’s impact on the Internet and the economy…
Hillary Clinton broke her silence this week to address the scandal involving emails during her time at the State Department. Although it was refreshing to hear the former secretary of state finally speak, it was shocking to see how clumsily she handled the defense of her actions. After all, it is hardly Hillary Clinton’s first…
“How can you have people who know nothing about yoga regulating yoga schools?” That was the complaint made to The New York Times by the aptly-named Annie Prasad Freedom, founder of a yoga studio in Denver. In Colorado, yoga teacher instructors like Freedom face a host of regulations and must be certified by the state….
The letter to Iran signed by 47 Republican senators has provoked a lot of commentary—and some welcome clarification on the White House’s negotiations with Iran. The letter argued that any deal President Obama makes with Iran isn’t binding past his second term. “[W]e will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved…
The shock of U.S. International Broadcasting CEO Andrew Lack’s resignation on March 3 could be felt all the way from the broadcasting complex’s main office to the State Department. From The New York Times and The Washington Post to cable and network news, Lack’s departure made waves. Lack briefly held a post that had been…
The Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson is the latest commentator to paint conservative critics of the Federal Reserve as dangerous and misinformed. Samuelson discounts auditing the Fed and imposing a monetary policy rule as merely ideological, but the truth is that he’s overly dismissive. These common sense reforms do have their share of scholarly support and…
On Monday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined by 46 other Republican senators, published an “open letter” to Iran and its government officials taking the position that an agreement with President Obama over Iran’s nuclear program may not be worth the paper it’s not yet printed on. Some commentators claim the letter violates the Logan Act,…
Student protests on Tuesday turned sour after police violently broke up a peaceful protest in Letpadan, Burma. Police arrested an estimated 120 protesters, journalists, and Buddhist monks. This crackdown is the latest evidence that the Obama Administration’s headlong embrace of the regime has been misguided from the start. Demonstrators were protesting an education bill passed…
Despite the recent improvement in our nation’s economic outlook, small businesses and entrepreneurs face significant challenges from today’s burdensome regulatory framework. While the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5 percent, these numbers don’t tell the whole story. The labor force participation rate—which excludes people who are no longer actively searching for work (and hence serves…
For the majority of states that adopted the Common Core national standards in 2010, this is the school year in which testing begins. And the haste with which Common Core was adopted and implemented has caused problems, adding to a host of concerns already surrounding Common Core. In an article last month in Education Week…
Last week the Obama administration announced it would move ahead with a new Department of Labor rule designed to provide uniform fiduciary rules for anyone providing retirement investment advice. In general, a fiduciary standard requires financial advisers to put their individual client’s interests above their own. Sounds simple enough. But the new rule could impose…
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally addressed the festering issue of her use of a private email account for official State Department business in a press conference Tuesday at the United Nations. Clinton said she turned over 50,000 emails to the government archives, as required by law, but she also revealed 32,000 emails had…
Yes, the March update to the Congressional Budget Office’s January 2015 estimates of the cost of Obamacare over the next decade contains some good news—overall projected costs have gone down. But, as the report explains, although CBO has changed many of its projections for Obamacare, little of the difference is actually attributable to Obamacare. Instead,…
Leading cybersecurity analysts met at the 2015 SecureWorld conference in Boston on March 4–5 to discuss the emerging threats and increasingly noticeable drawbacks of cyber regulations. Panelists not only discussed the new, more complex, and difficult-to-detect types of threats, but also agreed that regulatory compliance is the wrong way to strengthen cybersecurity. The Weakness of…
That both the world and mainland China benefit from an autonomous Hong Kong was on display once again Tuesday when Twitter announced it has set up its Chinese headquarters in the former British colony. It shows a congressional push linking U.S. privileges to the continuation of such self-rule is timely. The media giant’s move will…
In a letter written by Sen. Tom Cotton and 46 other senators to Iran’s leadership—but also, of course, intended for President Obama—the signatories state that without Senate ratification, a deal between the United States and Iran is unlikely to outlast the current president. This letter perfectly showcases the intelligence beneath our constitutional design. For America’s…
Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the constitutional status of state laws defining marriage as the exclusive union of husband and wife. The overarching question before the Supreme Court is not whether an exclusively male–female marriage policy is the best, but only whether it is allowed by the U.S. Constitution….
Hillary Clinton finally talked to reporters today about her decision to use her personal e-mail while at the State Department. Here’s my take on what she said. I also spoke to MSNBC about Clinton’s press conference:
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a federal appellate court ruling against Notre Dame University in its challenge to the Obamacare mandate that forces employers to provide healthcare coverage of abortion-inducing drugs and devices. The justices instructed the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit to reconsider the case in light of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in…