Today, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. On this date in 1787, delegates from each state signed the final Constitution, securing our rights and assuring the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. It is now the longest lasting, most imitated national constitution in the world. The Constitution unified the country by providing a stable national government over the 13 separate states. The Constitution continues to unify us as Americans — and as conservatives. As Americans, the continued success and viability of our country depends on our fidelity to, and …
Of all the days President Obama could have chosen to announce that the United States will abandon its plans for a missile defense site in the Czech Republic and Poland, September 17 was possibly the worst he could have chosen. As any Pole could tell you, this was the date the Soviet army invaded Poland in World War II, after Nazi Germany had launched its assault on the country on September 1. Doesn’t anyone at the State Department, the Pentagon or the National Security Council engage in cultural intelligence at …
The House is expected to vote today on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which would end the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, transferring student lending exclusively to the federal Direct Loan and Perkins Loan programs – effectively ending federally subsidized private lending. While the proposed legislation will drastically change the dynamics of the student loan industry, it will also expand the federal government’s role in early childhood education – to the tune of $8 billion. The SAFRA establishes an $8 billion Early Learning Challenge Fund …
Despite continued controversy surrounding the idea, President Obama and certain Democratic leaders of Congress continue to support health care legislation that includes a new government-run health plan, commonly known as the “public option.” Liberal advocates who are pushing the so-called public option believe that a new government plan would keep private insurers “honest” and help control health care costs. Conservatives—including analysts at Heritage—have instead argued that a public plan (especially one that’s modeled on Medicare) would arbitrarily cut payments to health care providers and shift costs onto private payers, causing …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HAeNMi1I4[/youtube] Last night, Nina Owcharenko, Deputy Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation went into the ‘No Spin Zone’ to discuss with Bill O’Reilly the specifics of Senator Max Baucus’ (D-MT) newly unveiled Health Care Reform legislation. As Nina puts it: “Well, actually it has the same fundamental problems that the other bills making their way through Congress have. It’s got a public plan. Baucus just calls it a co-op. It’s got massive federal regulation over insurance and benefits, a massive Medicaid expansion, and an employer mandate …
Representative Rob Bishop’s (R-UT) is concerned about how the Department of the Interior is – or perhaps more appropriately isn’t – working with the Department of Homeland Security to secure our borders, and he let Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar know it at a hearing of the Committee on Natural Resources. As evidence of the issue’s gravity, Bishop points to a 2004 Interior Department report that had never been released to the public. According to the report the vast majority of the Organ National Pipe Monument in Arizona has …
The Wall Street Journal reports today: Russia on Thursday welcomed the news but said it saw no reason to offer concessions in return. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last November to station tactical Iskander missiles on Poland’s border if the U.S. system was deployed. Anticipating President Barack Obama‘s surrender to Russia on missile defense, The Heritage Foundation hosted an event featuring Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) this past Tuesday, titled, No Grand Bargain with Russia: Why Missile Defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic Are Vital to the Security of Europe …
Reuters reports today: If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey. Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower salaries or cut jobs, the survey from professional services firm Towers Perrin said on Thursday. Eighty-seven percent of employers said they were very likely or likely to cut benefits if reform leads to higher costs. Only 11 percent said they would accept lower profits. This study confirms what conservatives have been …
This week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates poignantly described the emerging high-end asymmetrical challenge that China’s military poses to the United States: Their investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and ballistic missiles could threaten America’s primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific – in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups. This would degrade the effectiveness of short-range fighters and put more of a premium on being able to strike from over the horizon – whatever form that capability might …
I have always been thankful that so many of our country’s greatest leaders and statesmen were able to be on this earth at the same time and place to draft the Constitution. As a lifelong student of history and government, we were blessed as a nation to have individuals that put self-interest and sectionalism aside to debate, argue, draft and sign the Constitution. Our Constitution has been that beacon upon the hill, that guiding star at night, and that shining city that millions of persons around the word have longed …
