Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
With the sudden dominance of Republicans in Congress, state legislatures, and, of course, the White House, conservatives have an incredible opportunity to restore constitutional principles to government. Several lawmakers have brought back the old idea of congressional term limits to “drain the swamp” on Capitol Hill. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.,…
Open enrollment for Obamacare plans is well under way, having started Nov. 1 and running through Jan. 31, 2017. Not only is Obamacare proving unaffordable to millions of Americans—it is proving unconscionable for pro-life Americans who don’t want to pay for health care plans that cover abortion on demand or lack transparency about such coverage….
President Barack Obama has given Planned Parenthood a parting gift in the final weeks of his administration. As reported by The Daily Signal’s Kelsey Harkness, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would prohibit states from blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X family planning services grant money for reasons “unrelated”…
Democrats have lied about Obamacare from the beginning, but outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., apparently intends to tell the biggest lie of all as he exits the Washington scene. In an interview about whether Republicans in Congress would make good on their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Reid said, “You…
Facebook doesn’t think you know what’s “fake news” and what’s not. In an announcement Thursday, the social media giant said it was going to crack down on fake news through a variety of ways, including letting users report what they deem to be fake news. >>> The 4 Steps Facebook Is Taking to Crack Down on…
The need to improve and reform the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the $750 million agency that oversees all the civilian broadcasting services of the U.S. government, has long been obvious to Republicans and Democrats alike. In a statement to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2013, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the board “a…
It turns out the mainstream media fell for a fake story about Donald Trump supporters. On Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported, “A Muslim student who said she was harassed on the subway by drunken, hate-spewing white men shouting ‘Donald Trump!’ lied to police because she broke her curfew, law enforcement sources said.” Muslim girl…
Americans could be forgiven for thinking fracking poses an inherent threat to groundwater. The anti-fossil fuel “Keep It in the Ground” movement has waged a multimillion-dollar campaign to convince the public of that exact claim, even though there has never been any evidence to support the accusation. Indeed, anti-fracking activists were peddling “fake news” long…
“I love you, man.” It may not be the easiest thing to say, but it’s definitely the cheapest. Yes, sharing why you appreciate someone is much cheaper than buying the hottest gift on Amazon. Maybe more painful for you, but definitely the budget-friendly choice. If you find yourself thinking, “Ugh, feelings,” you’re in good company….
Finally, a reform plan has been introduced to preserve Social Security without troubling younger generations with undue debt and tax burdens. This plan, the Social Security Reform Act of 2016, was introduced last week by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. Johnson’s plan applies the right…
On this day 225 years ago, the states ratified one of the most significant documents in our government. We are reminded today that religious freedom is no new issue in American history. The Bill of Rights, comprised of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, enumerates sacred, fundamental rights that Congress may not violate….
Left-wing environmental groups are publicly melting down over the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the next administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some are even calling on the U.S. Senate to block his confirmation. None of this outrage is sincere, of course, but it still provides a valuable lesson:…
In spite of the new, relatively democratic government in Burma, discrimination against the Burmese Muslim minority Rohingya continues. New reports indicate a resurgence in violence, raising concerns that Rohingya are victims of genocide. In 2014 and 2015 about 47,000 Rohingya fled Burma by sea, contributing to what became known as the Southeast Asian migrant crisis….
The debate around school choice has shifted from whether states should enact education choice to how best to accomplish that goal. In a special report released on Monday—co-published by The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation—we discuss how this question will be especially important in Texas, which is considering adopting education savings accounts,…
In the midst of open enrollment for Obamacare, there is plenty of bad news for health law supporters, from skyrocketing premium rates to diminished insurer participation. Public opinion remains steadily opposed to the law. While some tracking polls try to highlight satisfaction with individual components of the law, Obamacare as a whole has largely been…
There’s real hope that the Trump administration will shake things up in Washington, D.C. This includes getting rid of the cronyism and the status quo that helps special interests at the expense of everybody else. This change is needed, and it’s especially needed when it comes to agriculture. Imagine an industry in which taxpayers provide…
Former Ambassador John Bolton is right about a lot of things, not the least of which is that the world is a dangerous place and that the foreign policy of the past eight years under President Barack Obama has made it more so. Yet, when asked about the possibility of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominating Bolton…
Media and advocacy groups have claimed that President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to be our next U.S. attorney general has killed criminal justice reform. But those naysayers have forgotten their history and the nature of federalism. In 2001, it was not a Democrat but Sessions who introduced measured sentencing legislation to…
Ever since the federal government embedded itself into the U.S. housing market, it has caused problems that ultimately cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. Most policymakers point to the New Deal era—when Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration were created—as the beginning of these interventions, but federal meddling in the housing finance sector predates the…
Among the long list of foreign leaders phoning President-elect Donald Trump in recent days was Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. According to some press reports, Trump described Kazakhstan’s progress since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union as “a miracle.” If Trump was referring to the country’s economic progress since the mid-1990s, his description wasn’t far…