Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Cosmopolitan magazine recently published an article with a headline that read “7 Women Who Could Be Our First Female President.” Among those seven, of course, is not a single conservative or Republican-leaning lady. Instead, Cosmo lists a handful of progressive women who it believes are “eminently qualified” for the job. But in reality, there’s no shortage…
Transgender politics have taken Americans by surprise, and caught some lawmakers off guard. Just a few short years ago, not many could have imagined a high-profile showdown over transgender men and women’s access to single-sex bathrooms in North Carolina. But transgender ideology is not just infecting our laws. It is intruding into the lives of…
The Second Amendment is subject to persistent threats these days, and it didn’t receive any help from a majority of the Supreme Court last week. By a margin of 7-2, the court denied review in a gun rights case out of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Peruta v. California. The decision leaves in…
That the brilliant wordsmith Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence is indisputable, but a lesser-known fact is that the man who played the indispensable role in its adoption by the Continental Congress in July 1776 was John Adams of Massachusetts, our second president. Jefferson later confirmed Adams’ role as the…
Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the amount of freedom in their lives. When Gallup asked them in 2006, 91 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the amount of freedom they have. That compares to just 75 percent who say they are today. This drop parallels an alarming decrease by the United States’ ranking…
Editor’s note: What could be more appropriate this Fourth of July weekend than to round up some audience comments on basic American freedoms such as freedom of religion, speech, and the press? Happy Independence Day.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: There is a disconnect in the statement Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., put on his Senate website after…
The House passed two closely watched immigration bills this week, one of which seeks to impose penalties on localities that refuse to assist federal officials in enforcing immigration laws. Such localities are better known today as “sanctuary cities.” While sanctuary cities are a serious problem, not all localities are opposed to helping enforce federal law….
This week, The Heritage Foundation is updating its Voter Fraud Database with 89 new entries, including 75 convictions and a slew of overturned elections and civil fines targeting vote fraudsters. With these latest additions, the database now documents 581 cases of proven voter fraud and 848 criminal convictions. Heritage’s database proves not only that voter…
On Tuesday, a massive cyberattack hit Ukraine. The very next day, professor Scott Jasper of the Naval Postgraduate School offered a systematic analysis of the United States’ existing strategic cyber deterrence options, of which active cyber defense will play the leading role in the years ahead. Active cyber defense may be the answer to the…
Justice Neil Gorsuch closed out his first two months on the Supreme Court this week, leaving conservatives cautiously optimistic about the future direction of the court. Though he only participated in a limited number of cases this term, his commitment to textualism was evident in these early opinions. If this is a sign of what’s…
For years, most Americans have looked to Washington for relief from Obamacare. To be sure, Congress must pass and the president must sign a full repeal of Obamacare so that states and citizens can regain their health care freedom and decision-making. But even while Obamacare remains law, states have the tools to stop and roll…
“One step forward, two steps back.” That’s how we summed up the situation the last time an offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling proposal was announced. That was in January 2015, when the Obama administration included several areas off the coast of Alaska and parts of the Atlantic coast in the 2017-2022 federal leasing…
According to recent reports, Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise backed by federal taxpayers, plans to expand its role in the housing finance system by further relaxing general underwriting standards for allowable loans held in its financial portfolio. Under the expected policy change, Fannie Mae would broadly cover mortgages with high borrower debt-to-income ratios by increasing…
President Donald Trump spoke on Thursday about what can be done to help the commercial nuclear power industry as part of Energy Week. “A complete review of U.S. nuclear energy policy will help us find new ways to revitalize this crucial energy resource,” the president said in remarks at the Department of Energy. The timing…
Socialist Evo Morales has been president of Bolivia for over a decade. Although he claims to be working for the people, his populist policies have been a major roadblock on Bolivia’s path to economic growth and development. During the Morales years, Bolivia has plunged in The Heritage Foundation’s annual Index of Economic Freedom. It remains…
As Congress works to undo the damage caused by Obamacare, members are looking for ways to maximize their opportunity to address Obamacare’s problems that drove up premium costs for insurance and reduced access to plans. One innovative idea currently under consideration: expanding the use of health savings accounts. These are tax-advantaged accounts that let individuals…
The numbers are staggering. Until about a month ago, we had thought drug overdoses were responsible for some 52,000 American lives in 2015. Now the most recent reporting reveals that number may be closer to 60,000 in 2016. Think about that: We could now build the equivalent of one Vietnam Memorial Wall a year given…
I won’t lie: I am a big Elmo fan. Elmo keeps my 15-month-old daughter captivated and content when she is melting down in a car ride two hours from home. Elmo lets me brush her hair or trim her nails. Elmo lets me have a second cup of coffee in peace. We rarely put the…
President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold their first face-to-face meetings in Washington on June 29 and 30. While there are a host of issues that the two presidents could disagree on when they meet at the White House, the real focus of the Trump-Moon summit, beyond cultivating a personal connection…