Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
One of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers let loose a bit of truth and self-admission to the Financial Times: We still need help, and that help must come from taxpayers. The wind production tax credit, a generous $23 per-megawatt-hour tax credit the producer receives for 10 years, expired last year. At that rate, taxpayers…
On Friday, the White House announced that President Obama would remove Russia’s eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade program that gives preferential tariff treatment to developing countries. The move, which the Administration telegraphed as far back as 2013, is justified under GSP program guidelines that limit participation to only poor countries….
Six-year-old Darren Baysore wanted to honor his father on the one-year anniversary of his death. More than 1 million pictures later, he succeeded. On Sept. 26, 2013, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Baysore Jr. was killed in Afghanistan. But before his deployment, he looked up at the stars and told Darren, “I love you to…
My business is a victim of Operation Choke Point—a government program run by the U.S. Department of Justice—which shuts down businesses it doesn’t like by cutting off their access to banks and payment processors. In my case, that’s TomKat Ammunition, which sells ammunition in Maryland. All we want to do is be able to operate our business without…
Monday’s action from the Supreme Court is, as I noted, a setback for sound constitutional self-government and a setback for a healthy marriage culture. Rather than a single Roe v. Wade of marriage, where the Supreme Court would redefine marriage across the nation, the Court, by refusing to hear any of the marriage cases, has…
California’s recent drought has many people, including policymakers, looking to point the finger at global warming. The authors of several recent scientific papers aren’t so sure. A report by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society compiled the work of 20 research groups studying extreme weather events from 2013. The report concluded “that natural variability…
In his recent speech about the economy, President Obama noted that “there are still some kind of dopey regulations on the books.” He didn’t note that his Administration has been adding to them at a dizzying rate. For example, one of the dopiest, in concept and execution, was last year’s rule to regulate the energy…
A first case of Ebola has hit the United States, resulting in concerns and questions about containing the virus and keeping it out of the country. Those who promised Ebola never would reach our shores were being unrealistic. The disease is now so widespread that a handful of cases spreading internationally is inevitable. What all…
We can all agree that all students should have access to top-notch teachers. But the approach the Obama administration is taking is unlikely to lead to this. Last Wednesday, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent 14,000 school districts a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter outlining administration guidance on resource equity—ensuring resources and good teachers…
With less than a month until the 2014 elections, candidates on both sides are relying on top donors to fund their campaign operations. The Center for Responsive Politics calculated the amount of money individuals have contributed to federal candidates, parties, political action committees, 527 organizations, super PACs and Carey committees. Of the top six donors,…
The Supreme Court’s decision to let rulings by lower court judges stand that redefine marriage is both tragic and indefensible. By refusing to rule if the states can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution. The fact that the Supreme Court justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted…
This isn’t OK. The Supreme Court’s decision today to not hear any of the cases on same-sex marriage means, as my colleague Ryan T. Anderson writes, that “lower court rulings that struck down state marriage laws now will go into effect, forcing the redefinition of marriage in [Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, Oklahoma and Utah] and potentially…
The federal government is about to get kicked off Rikers Island. Taking a page from the Obama immigration playbook, the New York City Council this week is deciding which immigration laws it wants to enforce and which ones it does not. Under the proposed legislation that will very likely pass the Democrat-controlled council, the New…
Actress Blake Lively creatively announced her pregnancy today on her lifestyle website, Preserve. The announcement came in the form of a photo essay focused on family with a few photos hinting at what was to come at the end – an ethereal photo of Lively cradling a tiny bump. The Preserve editorial team wrote a…
Today the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review appeals from Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin on the definition of marriage. This means that lower court rulings that struck down state marriage laws now will go into effect, forcing the redefinition of marriage in these states and potentially in other states in the 4th, 7th,…
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rise of terrorist groups ISIS and Khorasan in Iraq and Syria, the world clearly remains a dangerous place. The multitude of threats to the U.S. and its allies highlight the importance of U.S. nuclear capability, even in the post–Cold War era. U.S. nuclear weapons capability remains important for…
If you’re a millennial who recently returned to your college campus or started your first job, you probably haven’t paid much attention to the trillion-dollar spending measure Congress passed without much fanfare. And why should you have? How does it affect your life? Spending decisions made in Washington can seem abstract and irrelevant for what…
Here is a prediction: The defense budget will get a cash Band-Aid in 2016. Washington may be about to experience one of those rare moments when smart politics coincides with smart policies. Instead of wringing its hands over surviving under “austerity” budgets as far as the eye can see, the Pentagon ought to be thinking…
When July 4 rolls around, there’s no mistaking it. There are fireworks, parades and other patriotic tributes to our Declaration of Independence. If you’re like most Americans, Sept. 17 comes and goes without any fanfare. It’s a shame, really. Constitution Day may lack the flair and pageantry of our national birthday, but without this landmark…
Good economic news has been rare enough the past few years that it’s easy to be skeptical when it appears. But data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics say job vacancies, economy-wide, rose 18 percent during the first half of 2014. And Gallup polling data show the same thing: a 20 percent increase in respondents who report…