Doug Bandow argues against NATO expansion on the basis that more friends mean more war. Does that mean that fewer friends will mean less war? Perhaps someone should tell President Obama that his great world apology tour, trying to win new friends and influence old ones, is not only displeasing to conservatives who believe in America’s exceptionalism, but also to the neo-isolationists. There is no basis for thinking that if America withdraws from the world, then the world will let it live in splendid isolation. Withdrawing from the world would not …
“Life experiences could make a difference,” said Judge Sotomayor in response to a question by Sen. Session. But, she says, “not the result.” So do they or don’t they? Sen. Sessions noted her comment that “[m]y experience affects the facts I see.” Does the Judge, he asked, stand by that statement today? “No, I do not stand by the understanding of that statement.” In other words, its meaning? So does she disclaim it or not? It would be an easy thing to do.
In remarks last week to the H1N1 Preparedness Summit, President Barack Obama made what might be his most accurate statement since becoming president. When talking about efforts to deal with a possible pandemic, President Obama said: “And we’ve looked at past cases of this being properly handled and situations like this being improperly handled, and one of the most important differences is where it’s well handled, state and local officials have complete ownership over this issue, they are providing good ideas to the federal government, they are critical links to …
On July 2, 2009, the Congressional Budget Office produced its second preliminary analysis of title I of the “Affordable Health Choices Act,” as drafted by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). This CBO “score” has been used a great deal over the past few weeks in the specific analysis of the HELP version of health care reform legislation, but it also is a valuable lesson in using caution against oversimplification. It provides some, but not all of the critical answers needed to fully understand reform legislation. …
Sen. Leahy asked Judge Sotomayor about several of her controversial statements, including this one: Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases…. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better …
President Barack Obama travels to Macomb Community College in Michigan today where he will unveil $12 billion in aid to the nation’s community colleges. According to Politico, the President’s message will be that “in a competitive global economy, the country’s economic viability depends upon the education and skills of its workers, who will increasingly need to have college experience.” True enough, but who exactly does the President believe will be hiring all of these workers? The unemployment rate in Michigan is more than 14% and the state is projected to …
Left-leaning groups want to include millions of pretend people in the real-life 2010 Census. It almost happened in 2000. This time, they might get their way. The administration claims it has “no plans” to use statistical sampling to augment the actual headcount next year by adding millions of fictitious people. Statistical sampling creates profiles of make-believe people, assigning them an address, a gender, race, age, income, and other characteristics. And it counts them, just as though they were counted by a census worker. The Left argues that minorities and illegal …
Leaders of eight industrialized nations met last week in Italy to discuss a number of critical issues, including climate change, and in what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a “historic agreement,” the G8 agreed that “average global temperatures shouldn’t increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius[,] in a significant new acknowledgment in the fight against global warming.” So, the G8 reached an agreement on global temperatures. A certain amount of pretentiousness lingers from this statement. As if it’s something they can really control – limiting global temperatures increases to …
MOSCOW – Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church has been enhancing its clout in the nation’s politics. ROC officials have actively been offering comment on the executive’s various initiatives and are seeking to gain a higher profile in public policies. The ROC has been most vocal over the introduction of sexual education in Russian public schools, but has also been a long advocate for an Orthodox basics course. Although Russia is not a mono-confessional nation, the church and state, for now, are separate.
