Today’s Wall Street Journal reviews the results from Maine’s experiment with Obamacare: In 2003, the state to great fanfare enacted its own version of universal health care. Democratic Governor John Baldacci signed the plan into law with a bevy of familiar promises. By 2009, it would cover all of Maine’s approximately 128,000 uninsured citizens. System-wide controls on hospital and physician costs would hold down insurance premiums. There would be no tax increases. The program was going to provide insurance for everyone and save businesses and patients money at the same …
As part of his on-going effort to reduce carbon emissions – or perhaps in an effort to charm a conservative-leaning audience that’s skeptical of his health care plans – President Obama, Wednesday, honored Jimmie Johnson, the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, and extolled the virtues of this “uniquely American sport.” It’s not a sport he appears to have much liking for: his jokes were labored and he butchered the name of one of the honorees. Presidents have to do a lot of this sort of thing, of course, and it …
Around the country, many parents and students are preparing for the first day of school. For high school seniors, this means time is running out to select the best college; for many college students, this means perusing the course catalog and wondering if “Introduction to Popular TV and Movies,” and “Science of Stuff” are still open. The U.S. News and World Report, released yesterday, is often the first stop when students (and parents) consider which college to attend. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale routinely rank as the top three national schools. …
This fall the Supreme Court will hear two cases from Florida challenging a state’s ability to sentence violent juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole. Long unquestioned, life without parole for the very worst juvenile offenders only recently came under fire after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy reasoned in the majority opinion in Roper v Simmons that since teenagers are susceptible to negative influences, including peer pressure, capital punishment violated their 8th Amendment rights. Leftist activists have seized on this language, and are mounting a coordinated misinformation campaign to …
In a cover story today, the Washington Examiner highlights the continuing exodus from traditional public schools in the D.C. school system: By Monday’s first school bell, charters project at least 28,000 students, or about 2,400 more than last year, while D.C. Public Schools expect about 45,000, or 2,000 fewer than in spring.dc This year’s decline follows a trend that has continued for decades. According to the Examiner, nearly 30,000 students have left the city’s public school system. Much of the exodus has been into the charter school system, which has …
Answer: they both want to punish Colombia. Venezuela’s authoritarian, anti-American President Chavez claims Colombia threatens his national security, runs around too much with the “Empire,” [the U.S.], and will one day provoke a war with Venezuela. For these reasons, he aims to punish Colombia by cutting off trade and undermining economic security in Colombia and Venezuela. Being the economic kingpin of Venezuela, he can make it happen. Chavez’s latest attack on Colombia and President Uribe comes just as the U.S. and Colombia move toward agreement on how to operate regular …
First came President Barack Obama’s proposal to reduce the tax deductions for charitable contributions. Now Cash for Clunkers, as predicted, is also hurting charities nationwide. USA Today reports: Charities across the country are concerned that the popular “cash-for-clunkers” program will entice people to junk old cars for credit toward new ones rather than donate them. “We know there’s going to be a significant impact,” says Chad Iseman, director of the Kidney Cars program for the National Kidney Foundation. Iseman says the foundation gets about 19% of its annual revenue from …
On this week’s season premiere of the popular AMC show “Mad Men” viewers were reminded about the punitive high tax rates in the 1960s: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx8bQ-hqIUY[/youtube] This episode of Mad Men takes place in 1963, when the top income tax rate was 91 percent on incomes over $200,000 ($400,000 for married couples). That translates to about $1.4 million in 2009 dollars. The top rate today is 35 percent on incomes over $372,950. In 1963, by comparison, incomes over $10,000 (about $70,000 in 2009 dollars) paid 38 percent. As the scene from …
If you like what’s happened to the auto industry, you’ll love this. Bloomberg is reporting today that Ron Bloom — the head of the Obama Administration’s automobile task force — will soon get an expanded portfolio, with responsiblity for crafting Administration policies for all manufacturing industries. Yet another Obama Administration czar? Don’t expect the White House to use the dreaded “C” word, but that seems to be the plan. By itself, of course, that’s no bad thing — after all even George Bush had a “manufacturing czar” within his Commerce …
Last week the Politico published results of their study on President Barack Obama’s public speeches since taking office, concluding that Obama’s rhetoric had “downplayed” the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to DefenseNews, President Obama’s lack of attention to our national security is not confined to rhetoric. DefenseNews reports: Seven months into the Obama administration, key senior U.S. Defense Department jobs remain vacant even as the Pentagon reshapes its strategic focus and molds the 2011 spending plan. Of 47 Pentagon posts that require Senate confirmation, eight are filled by holdovers …
