Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Do individuals who claim they avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms) really know what GMOs are? That’s a question posed by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel in this video. For background, according to the FDA: Genetic engineering is the name for certain methods that scientists use to introduce new traits or characteristics to an organism….
The first rule for managing a crisis? Act like a grown-up. Looking and really acting like an effective leader in tough times is job one. That can be a tough task–particularly, in responding to a public health crisis with a deadly disease like Ebola. Distant wars and tax inversions are one thing: some care, some…
After six years and several court cases, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has finally released the report that every American has paid for and could help move the nation’s commercial nuclear industry back on track. The NRC’s Safety Evaluation Report Volume 3 concluded that long-term storage of nuclear waste after the closure of the proposed…
We’re about to learn a lot more about the extent of the terrorist plot behind the attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi. On Tuesday, a grand jury in Washington, D.C., handed down 17 new charges against Abu Ahmed Khattalah, so far the only man arrested in the murders of the four Americans in…
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal recently spoke at the American Enterprise Institute to introduce his vision for defense policy. He pointed out that America has a tool at its disposal that isn’t the traditional weapon or diplomatic position: America’s vast energy supply. Jindal said energy exports can strengthen ties with allies who need energy and can counterbalance…
Domestic mining is a key cog in the American economy. According to a recent report commissioned by the National Mining Association (NMA), it could be an even bigger cog if the federal government would get out of the way. The new report by SNL Financial entitled “Mines to Market” details the significant economic benefits of…
Why isn’t the 2014 mid-term election more interesting? Control of Congress hangs in the balance, but there’s just something lacking this year. Next to die-hard politicos who follow every poll and race, or folks who live in a state with a contested Senate race, how many Americans could actually name one of the current Senate…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an application to block parts of H.B. 2, Texas’s abortion law made famous by State Sen. Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster from going into effect while the case is pending. In Whole Women’s Health v. Lakey, a federal district court struck down as unconstitutional H.B. 2’s requirements that doctors…
President Obama’s invocation of the language of “responsibility to protect” to justify his use of military force against Libya has been exposed for what it was—political expediency. As recently noted by Cliff May in “The Demise of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ at the UN,” the intervention in Libya marked the “apogee” of R2P, as the doctrine…
Concerns over the U.S. response to Ebola heightened when medical officials confirmed that a second individual involved with delivering treatment to the original Ebola patient contracted the disease. Getting treatment procedure right is absolutely vital. It’s critical for reassuring the American people public officials have the ways and means necessary to prevent an outbreak of…
Employee morale at the Department of Homeland Security has sunk to new lows, despite new leadership under Secretary Jeh Johnson and other senior DHS officials. The 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey found that only 21 percent of employees in the DHS Science and Technology Directorate had confidence in their leadership’s ability to “generate high levels…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has waddled back onto the world stage ending, or at least reducing, widespread speculation of coups or assassinations in Pyongyang. On Oct. 14, North Korean official media released photos of Kim, albeit photos of him using a cane for the first time. Questions remain, such as what medical condition required…
Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes government intimidation. When the Houston City Council passed an ordinance that some claim would allow men into women’s restrooms, and vice-versa, voters got mad. Many pastors got mad too–and they helped organize a petition drive to remove the law from the books. They reportedly got more than…
Ebola’s devastating impact throughout West Africa—along with several cases in Europe and the United States—has garnered global attention, but the affected countries are now suffering from a hidden impact of the outbreak. Non-Ebola deaths are skyrocketing in West Africa because of the increased strain on an already weak medical and emergency response capability. According to…
One in five United States residents now speak a language other than English at home. That was the headliner coming out of a report released this month by the Center for Immigration Studies. The report is based on data from the 2013 American Community Survey that shows those speaking a language other than English reached…
Today marks the 238th day opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has spent locked away in a Venezuelan military prison. Arrested for leading peaceful antigovernment demonstrations, Leopoldo is currently standing trial and could face up to 10 years in prison. Much like the recent demonstrations seen in Ukraine, the Venezuelan government’s response has been deadly and undemocratic….
Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the question whether the Constitution protects individual economic activity without undue—some might say any—government regulation or interference. Various scholars have bemoaned the Supreme Court’s disdainful treatment of economic freedoms and its single-minded focus on one or another variation of the concept of ‘privacy’ as a predicate of…
We appear to be making progress when it comes to combating ISIS propaganda online. That is the message from Rick Stengel, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, in an interview with CNN. “We have evidence that there are young people who are not joining because we have somehow interceded,” said Stengel, who had just returned…
As world leaders remain locked in on the threat of ISIS, the U.S. Department of Defense laid out its plan to fight a different battle: ice caps. In a new report, DOD argues that climate change poses “immediate risks to U.S. national security” because of warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more…
President Obama once again has warned Republicans they will be committing political “suicide” if they do not legalize millions of illegal immigrants. “If they were thinking long-term politically, it is suicide for them not to do this,” Obama said in a town hall Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. “Because the demographics of the country are…