On December 25, 2009, a Nigerian student attempted to ignite a mixture of powder and liquid on a Northwest Airlines flight landing in Detroit, Michigan. Passengers helped to stop the suspect from carrying out his mission after the device failed to fully detonate, marking the 28th foiled terror plot against the United States since 9/11. This attempted plot is an example of how terrorists continue in their attempts to harm Americans. But it also illustrates the need to work with international partners on countering terrorism, while defending the intelligence and …
A late end-of-year entry for the 2009 Claude Raines Award goes to a study just released by two economists at the University of Michigan finding that banks with political connections were more likely to get TARP funds than those without them. “Our results show that political connections play an important role in a firm’s access to capital,” said Denis Sosyura, who — along with Ran Duchin — authored the study. It’s a stunningly unsurprising result. Just imagine: politics affecting who gets federal bailout money. Who would have guessed? When you …
As Congress wraps up its final business for the year, there are at least a dozen detrimental policies included in the omnibus spending bill recently signed into law by the President. Taken as a whole, these policies devalue human life, weaken civil society, and undermine the family. Unfortunately, these provisions have largely gone unnoticed by the general public. The Dirty Dozen The Fiscal Year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill passed by Congress includes a slew of offensive items: 1. Elimination of abstinence education. Despite polling showing the vast majority of parents …
Christmas in the nation’s capital has evolved through the years. President George Washington held a Christmas party for Congress, starting with an early morning fox hunt. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln raised money to provide Christmas dinners for wounded Civil War soldiers. Benjamin Harrison set up the first Christmas tree in the White House in 1889. Teddy Roosevelt played Santa Claus for schoolchildren. Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge gave a Christmas speech on national radio. It was only 49 words long. Franklin Roosevelt did not hesitate to praise Christ expressly by …
As we reported last week, now that the public option is no longer part of Obamacare, President Barack Obama’s leftist base is open revolt over the bill’s requirement that all Americans must buy health insurance or pay a fine. We’ve been calling this a health insurance company bailout for months, and now Obamacare supporters like Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) are being taken to task by MSNBC hosts for the provision. Watch:
How did the European left rationalize communism’s crimes and transform itself into a viable political force after the fall of the Soviet Union? It’s all explained in “Last Exit to Utopia: The Survival of Socialism in a Post-Soviet Era.” First published in 2000, the book by the late French intellectual Jean-Francois Revel is only now available in English. But given Revel’s insights into today’s leftist movements, it couldn’t be more timely. The old left’s attempt to “excommunicate” modernity, as Revel describes it, is as alive today as it ever was. …
While many kids have sent their wish lists to Santa Claus, millions of kids around the country are wishing for an even more important gift this year—the chance to attend a good school. Brooke Dollins Terry of the Texas Public Policy Foundation published an important report documenting the long waiting lists at the Lone Star State’s charter schools. She found that: “Last year, 40,813 students were on waiting lists to attend a public charter school in Texas,” This number is more than double the 16,810 students the previous year.” Texas …
Christmas, 1776. Summer had begun with strong declarations of noble ideals, but by winter the cause of liberty seemed to be at low ebb. Having suffered defeat after defeat, many had all but given up hope. It looked like freedom would succumb yet again, as it had throughout history, to the forces of authoritarianism and tyranny. Then, on Christmas Day, 1776, a small band of colonial forces under the command of Gen. George Washington, having retreated all the way from New York, again crossed the Delaware River and brought battle …
As regular readers of the Foundry know, Congress has recently moved to end the popular and effective D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, denying low-income families the chance to attend a school of their parents’ choice. Meanwhile, other countries are pushing forward with plans to give all parents school choice. In September, Heritage’s Stuart Butler looked at the Sweden’s popular universal school voucher that began in 1992. Now, Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute explains that Qatar, the small Persian Gulf nation, is planning to move forward with a universal school …
This week National Journal Online asked their stable of health experts: Would the leading Democratic health care reform proposals result in a better or worse Medicare? Heritage Foundation Vice President for Domestic Policy Stuart Butler responded: On the face of it, the reform proposals would help ease the $37 trillion unfunded obligations of Medicare, making it a tad more viable for current and future seniors. But the savings on one credit card just become new liabilities on another. Moreover, if the key cuts actually went into place it would be …
