Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
There's no war on Christmas in our hearts. From Natalie Johnson's report earlier this month: Despite annual controversy surrounding religious holiday displays, nearly 3 out of 4 Americans believe Christian symbols should be allowed on government property, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew found that 44 percent of Americans believe Christian symbols such as the…
There are at least two things you can count on when it comes to Americans and Christmastime. One is that they like to put up Nativity scenes. The other is that they don’t like being told what to do, especially by outsiders. So you can imagine how the residents of an Indiana town feel about…
The state of religious freedom in India is in question after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament declared that on Christmas Day he would host a Hindu conversion ceremony, a ceremony where Christians and Muslims are publicly pressured to abandon their faith. While the conversion ceremony has since been temporarily called off after the BJP…
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a thorough and interesting report on how the tax code treats capital income. The goal of the report is to show how the tax code applies differently to various forms of capital. It also offers possible policies that would reduce those disparities. The report finds that the average…
There is no doubt that the economy has languished in its recovery from the Great Recession, which ended more than five years ago. But signs are emerging that it is finally shaking free the weight of President Obama’s anti-growth policies. The latest bit of good news is that the economy grew at 5 percent in the third…
North Korea’s cyber attack on Sony has generated debate as to whether it was an “act of war” or “cyber-vandalism.” The answer lies in between the two extremes – the cyber attack was an act of international terrorism intended to coerce or intimidate the population. As such, the United States should return North Korea to…
Myth 1. The U.S. and other nations face a policy choice between sanctions or engagement All instruments of national power should be used simultaneously in conjunction with each other as part of a comprehensive, integrated strategy. No tool is meant to be used in isolation, so statements such as “Sanctions by themselves won’t be effective”…
This year the U.S. Department of Agriculture misspent $2.4 billion on food stamps, according to a November report from the USDA Office of Inspector General. “Misspending” means the USDA gave a household either more or less food stamp benefits than it should have received. Historical data shows most misspending results in overpayments. Although $2.4 billion…
“Are you saying public education is just a funding mechanism? … Is all education now public [and parents] can just choose?” asked Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Rice during oral arguments over the constitutionality of Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program. The case has brought forth a question that has been at the forefront…
In early October, President Obama warned his supporters to “make no mistake: these policies [of mine] are on the ballot. Every single one of them.” After the November elections, he probably wishes he hadn’t said that. The scale of the liberal defeat is remarkable, as are its causes. In 2008, Obama had long coattails: When…
Lawmakers already are talking about reauthorizing No Child Left Behind — the George W. Bush-era education initiative. “I’d like to have the president’s signature on it before summer,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who will assume chairmanship of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when Congress convenes in January. But lawmakers…
Why did President Obama go for broke on Cuba, announcing the United States would normalize relations with that repressive regime? The answer appears in his statement to the nation. There, the president not only made clear that this change has been on his bucket list for some time, but also that his knowledge of Cuba…
President Obama has made it quite clear he wants to see more renewable energy in the United States. Then why is his administration making it more expensive? The U.S. government recently announced plans to impose taxes of up to 78.42 percent on imported solar parts to protect U.S. manufacturers from foreign competition. In this case,…
Before hopping on a plane to Lima last Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a key speech on Latin America in which he again engaged in the ritualistic self-flagellation for which this administration has lamentably come to be known. Kerry’s apologia included everything that’s been in the news for the past month, and then…
Michael Romanchock recently got let go. But he was not “downsized.” His employer had no issues with his performance. Romanchock got fired for not paying dues to the Teamsters. His experience demonstrates how right-to-work would help Wisconsin’s workers and unemployed. Romanchock started his job in June last year. This March, the Teamsters sent him a…
Whoa! Sure, we should be thrilled the Cubans have released American Alan Gross, but Team Obama’s plan to normalize diplomatic relations with the Castro regime as a result is a bad idea. At best. First, it’s not as if this were some sort of humanitarian gesture on the part of the Cubans. They got three…
It’s one thing to experience “buyer’s remorse” when the product is something you can return easily, from new clothes to a set of high-end speakers. It’s another when you’re talking about your state’s educational standards. Yet more and more states are finding that there’s simply no living with Common Core. Parents, teachers, students and lawmakers…
Is the tea party a movement or just a mood? That was the question posed by Weekly Standard columnist and Fox News contributor Steven Hayes as he kicked off a panel at the Heritage Foundation celebrating the 5th anniversary of the tea party. Hayes and his co-panelists, Heritage Action for America CEO Michael Needham and…
IRS Commissioner Josh Koskinen complained recently about Congress cutting the agency’s budget by $350 million in the recent budget deal. Koskinen warns that taxpayer service will be hurt because the IRS will have to furlough employees and make other adjustments because of the reduction of funding. The IRS has an impossible job. It is tasked…
A grand jury convened by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams has indicted two Democratic state legislators for accepting bribes in exchange for voting against a voter ID bill, among other legislative actions. The grand jury findings also represent a withering rejection of the unjustifiable behavior of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who shut down the…