Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
The anguish experienced by Connie Yates and Chris Gard—parents of Charlie Gard—has sparked outrage and sympathy across the globe. Their 11-month-old son died in hospice care from a rare genetic disease after losing an extended legal battle. The British National Health Service wanted to cease treatment for Charlie because it believed his case was hopeless….
August is the month when parents bid farewell to not only their college-bound youngsters but also a sizable chunk of cash for tuition. More than 18 million students attend our more than 4,300 degree-granting institutions. A question parents, their college-bound youngsters, and taxpayers should ask: Is college worth it? Let’s look at some of the…
The tolerance police at Google just struck another blow against increasing diversity in Silicon Valley by firing an employee who wrote a memo critiquing the company’s politically correct culture. Now, let’s be clear: While the Google software engineer who authored the memo had the right to say and write what he did—it’s called free speech—Google…
Montgomery County, Maryland, would have passed a $15 minimum wage if is wasn’t for County Executive Ike Leggett. Leggett, a Democrat, openly supports increasing the minimum wage. But when the county legislature narrowly approved a minimum wage hike last December, Leggett decided to veto it. The 30 percent minimum wage increase had passed by a…
The Trump administration has called for an “America first” trade policy. An important aspect of such a policy should be to protect Americans’ property from being stolen by foreign governments. Most U.S. trade agreements include a version of the Constitution’s “takings clause,” which requires governments to compensate Americans if they expropriate (i.e. steal) their property….
Earlier this year, Rep. Daniel Donovan, R-N.Y., introduced a bill that would criminalize the mailing of tableting or encapsulating machines with only few exceptions, presumably to prevent their use in illegal drug manufacturing. The basic function of a tableting machine is to compress powdered materials into solid tablets. These machines are often used by pharmaceutical…
The Senate’s failure to pass even a watered-down version of health care reform was compounded by its decision to leave Washington rather than finish the job. At this juncture, the nation’s governors and state legislators should use every legal means available to them to reform their health insurance markets to the best of their ability…
In the wake of Congress’ failure to pass Obamacare repeal and replace legislation, the Trump administration is reportedly debating whether to stop paying Obamacare’s “cost-sharing reduction” subsidies to health insurers. Those payments are the subject of a lawsuit brought two years ago by the House of Representatives arguing that the Obama administration lacked authority to…
As a transgender military veteran, an Army retiree, and the first person in the United States to have their sex legally declared as nonbinary, I have a vested interest in the outcome of the transgender military service ban. In the days when transgender military service was banned, I spent 18 years of torment fearing that…
The current House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act both seek welcome increases in the Pentagon’s defense budget. Unfortunately, the law of the land is the Budget Control Act and the limits and consequences imposed by it. This means that in 2018, the defense budget is legally limited to $551 billion. Any…
The growth of “broadband” (or high speed) internet access has bestowed enormous benefits on the American economy. Roughly 300 million Americans have access to broadband—increasingly on mobile devices—which enables them to buy and sell goods and services; carry out business transactions; connect with clients, friends, and relatives; and obtain their entertainment, among other uses. In…
Ethiopia, a huge and beautiful country that straddles the Great Rift Valley just north of the equator in Africa, traces its history to biblical times. Blessed with a long growing season and rich agricultural land, it is also a nation in political turmoil—albeit also one that is a key U.S. ally and partner in the…
After meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on May 4, I sat in the Rose Garden and listened as the president promised the Little Sisters of the Poor that their “long ordeal” with the government’s contraceptive mandate “would soon be over.” Yet here we are, nearly three months later, and the Health and Human…
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has indicated that the federal borrowing limit must be raised by Sept. 29, or the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills. Congress, which controls the purse strings of the U.S. government, should not abdicate that authority by writing Mnuchin a blank check and getting nothing in return…
Following the tragic death of American student Otto Warmbier, who was in a coma for a year in North Korean captivity, the Trump administration has decided to ban U.S. citizens from traveling to North Korea. The ban would also target a source of finances for North Korea’s ballistic missile programs and nuclear weapons. North Korea…
The U.S. economy created 209,000 jobs last month, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, exceeding expert predictions by nearly 30,000 jobs. This gives the Trump administration momentum to continue pushing for meaningful reforms that help grow the economy and increase prosperity. According to the report, the U-3 unemployment rate (unemployed…
The European Union, which has long interfered in the affairs of sovereign European nations, looks to be meddling in the political affairs of Poland. On Tuesday, July 25, the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, signed one of three controversial bills that would reform the judiciary to combat corruption, according to the ruling party. To the opposition,…
An “Oregon Trail”-style “Op-Doc” video game released by The New York Times just days before the 2016 election asks readers to “find out if your vote can survive the great, flawed adventure of American democracy.” The premise: The race of the character you choose determines whether your vote survives “the GOP’s tactics.” This biased game…
As President Donald Trump contemplates the next steps for the U.S. in Afghanistan, it is time to inject a dose of realism into what the U.S. mission is there and what America’s goals should be. For too long, many of our policymakers have explained the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in terms of nation building or…