Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
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…
Republicans may control the Senate as well as the House come January, but that doesn't guarantee conservative leadership. Pulling from lifetime scores by Heritage Action for America, this infographic ranks the new lineup of House leaders by their conservative (or not-so-conservative) voting records. >>> Conservatives Wary as Texan Wins Bid to Head House's Republican Study Group
The U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency completed a successful test of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) interceptors this past week, marking the 10th anniversary of the Aegis missile defense system becoming operational. During this simulated attack, the SM-3 Block IB destroyed a short-range ballistic missile and the two SM-2 Block…
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to allow Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., to vote by proxy in the Democratic House leadership elections held this week–a decision that drew “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart’s mockery on Tuesday night. Duckworth, who lost both her legs during her military service in the Irag War, is currently eight…
A new report from The National Center on Family Homelessness concludes that “the challenges of single parenting” is one of the leading causes of homelessness. This conclusion makes sense. Single-parenthood drastically increases the likelihood of poverty and the risks of negative outcomes for children. Tragically, today more than 40 percent of children are born outside of…
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 taken by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. However, this claim…
The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has contracted with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to manage core functions of the Internet since ICANN was established in 1998, including managing policy and technical features of the Internet’s domain name system (DNS). Since the establishment of ICANN, the federal government has…
At the annual Defense Forum at the Reagan Presidential Library, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a much-publicized speech last Saturday about how to make sure our military is ready to defend the nation’s vital interest in these difficult days. But Hagel didn’t describe a plan to deliver “game-changing” technology; he gave a speech about planning…
It is no accident that the collapse of marriage in America largely began with the War on Poverty and the proliferation of means-tested welfare programs that it fostered. When the War on Poverty began, only a single welfare program—Aid to Families with Dependent Children —assisted single parents. Today, dozens of programs provide benefits to families…
It’s been more than 50 years since William F. Buckley first complained, “Though liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing other points of view, it sometimes shocks them to learn that there are other points of view.” Since then, things have only gotten worse. At the dawn of the Obama era, for example,…
More than $2 billion in “questionable” payments was paid out to nearly 25,000 Disability Insurance (DI) recipients, according to a recent report by the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of the Inspector General. The report states that 44 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) with particularly high numbers of decisions and high rates of benefit approval were…
Can’t keep up with all the Jonathan Gruber videos? American Commitment, the organization that released the first Gruber clip, has released a new video compiling all of the Obamacare architect’s controversial comments.
No one’s praying habits have attracted as much attention in recent years as those of former NFL player Tim Tebow. His public displays of faith, both on and off the football field, spurred attention, ignited debate, and even led to the Tebowing trend. Now, Christian singer Tanner Clark reveals Tebow’s priorities haven’t changed (hat tip: IJ…
President Obama hasn’t been shy about his interest in using an executive action to grant some of the immigration initiatives he’s failed to get through Congress. But in 2011, Obama took a different view on executive action on immigration. This is what he said: Now, I know some people want me to bypass Congress and…
When federal bureaucrats drive up costs for American families and businesses through heavy-handed regulation, it shouldn’t be too much to ask for a solid scientific underpinning for that regulation. And it shouldn’t be too big of a burden for the federal government to make its data available to the public. Congressman David Schweikert’s, R-Ariz., Secret…
For the first time, a federal court has struck down a regulation under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for exceeding the government’s constitutional power. The Endangered Species Act has long been known as a property owners’ curse and the most invincible law on the books. It is primarily a land-use control law that gives…
After nine months of deployment, the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group returned home to Norfolk, Va., Saturday. The strike group, which includes an aircraft carrier named after the 41st president, carried out the first airstrikes in Iraq in early August, steamed a total of 73,400 nautical miles and was the first on the scene providing U.S….
Japan is suffering another economic free fall. Following a second quarter GDP decline of an annualized 7.3 percent, this last quarter the economy in Tokyo sank again by another 1.6 percent. The land of the rising sun is looking a lot like the land of the setting sun. There are lessons here for U.S. policymakers…
Japan’s economy contracted by 1.6 percent annually between July and September, according to preliminary results released Sunday night. Following a second-quarter contraction of 7.3 percent, Japan has fallen into a recession, casting a shadow over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic plan “Abenomics.” Japan should end its quantitative easing, which has increased its national debt, and…
The latest propaganda video released by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) featured the beheading of Peter Kassig, an American humanitarian aid worker who had traveled to Syria to help distressed Syrians. Kassig, who was taken hostage in October 2013 and converted to Islam while in captivity, was the third American and…