Swine flu panic has claimed it s first victim. Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) is calling for the Mexican border to be shut down. He told The Hill: “The public needs to be aware of the serious threat of swine flu, and we need to close our borders to Mexico immediately and completely until this is resolved.” Massa’s statement is irresponsibly insane. Heritage fellow James Carafano explains: There are some basic facts that Americans ought to know. The first is that the news coverage is driven more by the unusual nature …
Yesterday the citizens of New York and New Jersey who lived through 9/11 were witness to an ominous flashback. A massive aircraft, trailed closely by an F-16 fighter jet, descended towards the city and flew so close and low to Manhattan skyscrapers that office building windows rattled. Fortunately this was not a terrorist attack, but a poorly thought out photo-op by White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera. Before being appointed by President Barack Obama to his current post, Caldera most recently served on the board of directors for the …
Early this morning we asked a question on the Heritage Foundation’s Twitter and Facebook pages: What were Obama’s best and worst moments in his 1st 100 days, in your opinion? The response was overwhelming. We had 130 comments on Facebook and over 100 replies/messages on Twitter. Although there were many responses, the theme was constant. The majority thought that the President’s best moment came when the Navy was able to ward off the Pirates and send Capt. Richard Phillips home safely. We wrote about that event, praising the Navy Seals who performed the rescue. It was …
It Must Grow on Trees The Stimulus Bill: In his first 100 days, President Obama signed a $787 billion “stimulus” bill that with interest totals $1.1 trillion in new spending. At no time during these 100 days did anyone on Capitol Hill read the entire bill, despite its rapid of growth of government in size and scope. Is Not Temporary: All projections on stimulus spending assume that none of the new government programs will continue ad infinitum, which goes against the Washington trend of making programs longer, bigger, but never …
The President’s now famous reliance on a teleprompter has led to some tough moments for him, but none tougher than today’s awkward back and forth between him and the glass screen.
President Barack Obama is attempting the mitigate the sting of his astronomical spending spree during his first 100 days by lauding a forthcoming $100 million spending cut. Heritage budget expert Brian Riedl has some real ideas on how to save money and grow the economy, but in the meantime even liberal superstar Paul Krugman thinks this is chump change: ‘Pretty soon, even here in Washington, it adds up to real money,’ says the president. Except, you know, really it doesn’t. Let’s say the administration finds $100 million in efficiencies every working …
Pepperdine economist George Reisman reminds us, and hopefully our policymakers, that we shouldn’t be creating jobs for the sake of creating jobs: Indeed, advancing the goals of environmentalism is capable of creating a virtually limitless number of jobs. Big-rig trucks and their “polluting” emissions might be done away with by replacing them with human porters who would carry freight on their backs. Ocean-going ships and their emissions might be done away with by replacing their “dirty engines” with the clean labor of banks of oarsmen. (Sails would be a substitute …
In August of 2008, the president of the largest SEIU local in the country, former-Los Angeles local member Tyrone Freeman, resigned after the Los Angeles Times revealed that Freeman fleeced his fellow union members — who make about $9 an hour caring for the infirm and disabled — of over $1 million in 2006 and 2007 alone. When Freeman was first faced with the charges, he sent out “lieutenants” to force other union members to sign loyalty oaths supporting his continued presidency. Now President Barack Obama has made it easier for …
FOREIGN POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY The Good Iraq and Afghanistan: In his first 100 days, President Obama has largely continued to implement the strategic course laid out by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, which makes sense. U.S. vital interests do not change because of partisan shifts in power, and neither do the facts on the ground, the resources available to the nation, or the enemy’s objectives. The Bad Dumbing Down Missile Defense: In his first 100 days, the President approved a roughly 20% cut for missile defense …
The New York Times reports today: Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase the supply of physicians to meet the needs of an aging population and millions of uninsured people who would gain coverage under legislation championed by the president. The officials said they were particularly concerned about shortages of primary care providers who are the main source of health care for most Americans. The rapid growth of government controlled health care is already driving talent away from the medical profession. If a public …
