Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing today on the 2014 National Defense Panel Report, which was released in July of this year. During the opening remarks, Reps. Buck McKeon, R- Calif., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., lauded the bipartisan nature of the committee. Both believed that the importance of defense policy demanded that members…
In the aftermath of Ferguson, President Obama will issue an executive order designed to improve a federal program that allows local police departments to obtain military surplus equipment, according to reports. Currently, through Section 1033 of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress has authorized the transfer of excess military equipment to local law enforcement officials…
Republican lawmakers are pushing hard to corral President Obama’s rogue Environmental Protection Agency with stringent bills and a blunt warning against finalizing its most dangerous land grab ever, the pending redefinition of “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, which would seize power over almost any property that gets wet regardless of what it is…
As news stirs around OPEC's decision to not cut oil production, we've pulled together the chart below with a closer look at the surging production in the United States. Energy expert Nick Loris, the Herbert and Joyce Morgan fellow at The Heritage Foundation, argues that even if OPEC had decided to cut oil production, it wouldn't be a…
The Heritage Foundation is calculating that President Obama’s executive action on immigration could lead to as much as $40 billion in additional federal spending annually. Appearing on Fox News’ Special Report Tuesday, Heritage Foundation vice president Derrick Morgan explained the reasoning behind how the number was calculated: “Anybody with an average 10th grade education will probably…
On November 28, the terrorist group Boko Haram attacked a mosque in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria, killing more than 100 people according to reports. The attack during Friday prayers is yet another reminder of Boko Haram’s violent insurgency. While Boko Haram has been active in Nigeria for years, the group catapulted to international…
On November 15, a crowd of 30,000 Georgian protestors took to the streets of Tbilisi to protest Russian policies in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In 2008, Russia invaded and occupied these regions, which account for about 20 percent of Georgia’s territory. Russia is one of only four nations that recognize the “sovereignty” of these regions….
Congress has returned from the mid-term elections and members are hammering out the details of the National Defense Authorization Act. NDAA, which has passed for more than 50 years consecutively, provides policy guidance for the U.S. defense budget. The importance of the NDAA to the defense budgeting process and its traditional status as a "must-pass"…
Rumors are swirling that the Obama Administration could try to push the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “reform package” through the lame duck Congress. As they have in the past, conservatives should again stand firm in opposition. They should insist that the IMF reform package itself be reformed to retain American sovereignty at the IMF, and…
Germans refer to “Close of Business” as Feierabend, which literally translated means something like party night. Now some in Germany want to impose a work communications blackout during this sacred time. Germany already mandates a host of labor policies, including a minimum of 24 paid vacation days plus holidays and 14 weeks of paid maternity…
As oil prices decline, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has decided not to cut oil production. OPEC’s production decision is not a new one. And the group of oil-producing nations could very well announce a cut in oil supply in the future if oil prices continue to fall. Either way, the price impact from…
Last week, Sony Pictures was the victim of a cyber intrusion. So far, at least 5 motion pictures, including war film “Fury” with Brad Pitt and the remake of “Annie” starring Jamie Foxx, have subsequently been leaked online. Speculation has it that North Korea, a known cyber aggressor, may be behind the attacks, even though…
What’s your very favorite song? Maybe it’s something by the Beatles. Maybe it’s a little Bob Dylan number. Maybe it’s Beyoncé. Now imagine singing that song that you love so much in all 50 states, each time in front of an audience of thousands. Sound like a nightmare? For Janine Stange, that song is the…
Social Security’s trustees projected in 1983 that the recently enacted Social Security reforms would keep the program active for at least the next 75 years, through 2058. However, according to research by Rachel Greszler, a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, that approach date has accelerated. "If the trend since 1983 continues, the program…
The city of Sunrise is back in the headlines. Last year, city officials caught flack for luring criminals from around the country into the Florida community just to seize their cash and cars under civil forfeiture laws. Now, the city’s forfeiture program has earned it a rebuke from the federal government. In an audit of the…
Like Theodore Roosevelt, Barack Obama knows that the presidency makes an effective bully pulpit — even when you have historically low approval ratings. He showed that earlier this month when — in an unusually deep wade into the decision-making process at the supposedly independent Federal Communications Commission — the president came out four-square in favor…
Remember the KGB? According to Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom, Andrew Bennett, Russia is back to its old tricks of intimidation—specifically in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Bennett says Russian security officials have been found sitting in the back of Kiev Patriarch Orthodox churches taking notes during liturgies with the goal of intimidating worshipers and the clergy. In…
At first blush, it may appear that the fight to thwart marijuana legalization is a lost cause. Pot pushers want you to believe that legalization is inevitable. They point to legalization successes this November in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. But Big Pot lost in Florida, and five cities in pot-crazy Colorado outlawed…
Recently I had the pleasure of testifying at a Senate hearing. The topic was “Improving Financial Institution Supervision: Examining and Addressing Regulatory Capture.” “Regulatory capture” refers to a common phenomenon: individuals serving as regulators come to identify with the firms they regulate at least as much as with the agencies that employ them. Thus, the regulator…
Breaking news from the White House: Chuck Hagel lacks the skills to be defense secretary. Talk about understatement. That’s like the last soldier on the roof of the Saigon embassy saying the Vietnam War might not be going our way. It’s not as if anyone ever really thought Hagel was all that qualified to begin…