German Chancellor Angela Merkel, March 14, 2009: If we want to actually strengthen the effect of such [stimulus] packages you simply have to implement them and not talk about the next one before the first has actually taken effect. Bloomberg, March 26, 2009: Chancellor Angela Merkel is injecting 82 billion euros ($110 billion) into the economy, the biggest stimulus package in Europe. . . . Germany’s spending spree came after Merkel exasperated European Union leaders, who wanted her to endorse a collective 200 billion-euro rescue package for the 27-nation trade …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxA-39GSThQ[/youtube]Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner was named Power Player of the Week on this week’s edition of Fox News Sunday.
Yesterday on Face the Nation, CBS’s Bob Schieffer asked President Barack Obama: Mr. President, you’re scheduled to announce on Monday what you plan to do with the auto industry as they’re asking for more federal money. … You’ve told them they’re gonna have to cut back, present a different business plan. Our sources tell us that as far as the White House is concerned, they’re not there yet. Do they have to do more in order to get this money? President Obama replied: “Yes. They’re not quite there yet. … …
Out of the entire atmospheric makeup, only one to two percent is made up of greenhouse gases with the majority being nitrogen (about 78 percent) and oxygen (about 21 percent). Of that two percent, “planet-killing” carbon dioxide comprises only 3.62 percent while water vapor encompasses 95 percent. And of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, humans cause only 3.4 percent of annual CO2 emissions. What does this all boil down to? As shown by the accompanying graph, not very much. Indeed, anthropogenic effects are real but carbon is …
Heritage Fellow James E. Roberts has been one of the earliest and most vocal trade experts urging the reinstatement and expansion of the Mexico Trucking program. The pilot program, intended to ensure American compliance with the North American Free Trade Agreement, was recently ended by Congress and President Obama because of the poison pill provision slipped into the Omnibus Spending bill. As a result of this action, the government of Mexico retaliated by placing tariffs on nearly 90 U.S. products worth an estimated $2.4 billion. Yesterday, at an international trade …
The Washington Post has changed the headline on their North Korea story today from “North Korean Nuclear Test A Growing Possibility” to “North Korean Missile Test a Growing Possibility.” At least they didn’t adopt the official North Korea government line and call it a civilian satellite test. But the rest of the WaPo story remains unedited and the highlights underscore how real the threat of a nuclear and ballistic missile empowered North Korea is: While North Korea has been making missiles to intimidate its neighbors for nearly half a century, …
Republican leaders released their budget alternative yesterday, and it came under much criticism since it failed to include any hard numbers. On the bright side, though, the Republicans’ energy budget proposal doesn’t require much funding. The difference between the budgets is quite simple. Although both parties want to keep energy prices low, they have a different means to an end. President Obama’s budget taxes the nation’s reliable sources of energy, limits access to America’s energy resources, and “invests” in expensive and unproven renewable sources of energy – all to supposedly …
The long-awaited new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that President Barack Obama unveiled this morning is the clearest signal yet that the Obama Administration intends to dedicate the time, resources, and U.S. leadership necessary to stabilize the region and contain the terrorist threat in South Asia. Obama laid out a strong case for the American people on why we need to remain committed to Afghanistan, reminding that the terrorists responsible for 9/11 remained in Afghanistan and Pakistan and need to be defeated to ensure the future security of the American …
President Barack Obama continues to claim that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But as Heritage analyst Brian Riedl has pointed out, given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package, pledging to halve it by 2013 is hardly ambitious. Earlier this week we ran a Washington Post graphic which helps put President Obama’s budget deficits in context. Now we have produced our own graph that shows how Obama’s spending plans will double the national debt. Heritage Analyst …
Yesterday the Senate passed the Serve America Act which broadly expanded government “service” programs like AmeriCorps, by over 300%. As we explained last week when the House voted, the legislation dramatically increases federal involvement in the realm of volunteerism, continuing the trend toward an America in which “public service” only means working for the government. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) hammered this point home from the Senate floor: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TPi0gR-P8w[/youtube]
