Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Last month, in a speech at Northwestern University, President Barack Obama declared that the midterm elections were actually a referendum on his policies. “I am not on the ballot … But make no mistake: (My) policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.” How right he was. And how resoundingly voters rejected those…
When it comes to how the Pentagon buys new stuff, everyone’s a critic. The zeal for reform rivals that of Carrie Nation when she first took up her hatchet. Yet, despite numerous initiatives—complete with promises, new laws and regulations—the complaints continue to pile up. Perhaps it is time for a different take on acquisition reform….
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…
Ready to pay more for Internet access? Me neither. Unfortunately, that's exactly what we can expect under the "net neutrality" rules being pushed by President Obama. "Net neutrality" may sound harmless, but there would be nothing neutral about this change. Currently, broadband providers such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast are treated differently than traditional telephone…
NATO recently confirmed that Russian tanks were moving into rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine. But Russia’s aggression under Vladimir Putin didn’t begin in Ukraine and, unless the West stops vacillating, it won’t end there, either. After the 2003 Rose Revolution, the nation of Georgia, in the Caucasus, became a staunch American ally. But in 2008, it was…
A new multimedia history museum is now under construction in Washington, D.C.—an eight-story, 430,000 square-foot experience dedicated to the best-selling, most-read and most-banned book of all time: the Bible. Slated to open in fall 2017, the Museum of the Bible will be a significant addition to the city’s cultural and tourism landscape, offering a scholarly…
I was wrong. I once believed that no matter who was elected president, he would never be quite as good as I hoped he would be, nor would he end up being as bad as I feared he might be. I still stand by the former belief, but President Obama has proven me undeniably wrong…
On March 14, 2014, the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it did not intend to renew its contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which since 1998 has managed policy and technical features of the Internet’s domain name system (DNS). However, the NTIA stated it would not…
Social media can be a double-edged sword for terrorists groups such as ISIS, a fact that its leadership appears to be aware of. According to recent reports, the group’s top cadre has curtailed electronic communications, hoping to shrink its footprint and exposure to western intelligence agencies. A terrorist group of the 21st century, ISIS is…
If you caught President Obama’s immigration speech last night or have scanned the conversation on Twitter today, you might have read some congratulatory remarks as well as some sarcastic tweets. We compiled a few below. .@AP says there were “notable omissions” in @BarackObama’s #immigration speech last night. Read their #FactCheck here-http://t.co/16SZDs27Tg — Diane Black (@RepDianeBlack)…
Immigration, immigration and more immigration. After reports surfaced about President Obama’s 10-step plan to take executive action on immigration, lawmakers and the media flooded our screens with alternative plans and warnings. Last night, he made it official. In other news, Pope Francis is holding a raffle, and one photographer proved cows can be artistic. Check…
Earlier this week, Heritage's Hans von Spakovsky and John Malcom wrote: According to the Associated Press, as well as House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., President Barack Obama’s plan to provide executive amnesty to more than 5 million illegal immigrants is no different than unilateral actions that were…
Tonight, President Obama called for reasonable debate while attacking an army of straw men: those who want to rip children out of the arms of parents, deport college graduates, close off the country to immigration and those who want to do nothing to fix our broken immigration system. There’s just one catch: Nobody is calling…
In the past, President Obama has been adamant that he won’t use executive action on immigration reform. To cite just one example, he said in 2010 in an Univision interview: I am president, I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress…
A Change.org petition to get the Duggar family’s show, “19 Kids and Counting,” off the air is gaining steam. The petition, which has gathered close to 80,000 signatures, says it wants the show canceled to help “end LGBTQ fear mongering by the Duggars.” That so-called “LGBTQ fear mongering”? It’s about the Duggars’ opposition to a…
The 2014 Global Slavery Index (GSI) found that there are nearly 36 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Of that, 36 million, nearly two-thirds, are from Asia. Without serious attention from the U.S. and Asian governments, millions of adults and children will continue to be forced into bonded labor, sex trafficking, slave-like conditions, and child…
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called for the creation of a Senate Select Committee on Benghazi in an interview this week on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. Graham has been one of the most persistent critics of the Obama administration’s handling of Benghazi since day one. The administration was under threat from Graham to hold up the…
At least 15 social and political activists were arrested in Cambodia in yet another attempt by the Hun Sen government to silence dissent. The incident is as a reminder that, without consistent international attention, Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) will continue to violate the rights and freedoms of Cambodians. Land rights activists,…
Last week, the Department of Defense published its long-awaited review of the U.S. nuclear enterprise. The review and renewed Russian nuclear threats to NATO attracted new attention to weapons that in 2009 the President promised both to maintain and to rid the world of. This conflicting rhetoric from the highest level of the government has…
Helping the poor is not an issue that is exclusive to one side of the political spectrum. The question is not whether to help those in need but how best to help them. A timely example that illustrates the differing approaches the left and right have on this is the role of Medicaid in the…