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  • Monthly Archives: May 2010

    Gordon Brown Must Not Cling to Power

    With about 90 percent of votes counted in the U.K. general election, the Conservative Party has emerged as the biggest party, with over 300 seats projected, but short of an overall majority. The ruling Labour Party has suffered its biggest defeat in decades, and the Liberals have failed to benefit from “Cleggmania.” However, the early indications are that Gordon Brown is still determined to cling to power in a hung parliament, and will try to form a coalition government with the Liberals. This would be disastrous for Britain, and would … More

    The Left Hopes for a Tea Party Terrorist

    Last week, someone tried to detonate a roadside car bomb in Times Square. And while investigators were searching for the guilty terrorist, some liberals in this country had already found a culprit – you. That’s right. We’ve entered an era where some on the left expressly hope that when terrorist attacks occur, the guilty parties are their fellow Americans, not Islamic jihadists. It’s crazy, but true. After Times Square attack, a narrative quickly emerged that the bomber was a lone wolf and may be a conservative, probably a tea partier. … More

    A Victory for the Rule of Law

    Do you remember Anna Nicole Smith? The Playboy model died from a drug overdose back in 2007, but the litigation over her late husband J. Howard Marshall’s estate lived on. After forum shopping for a friendly venue and multiple appeals that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court (where Anna Nicole’s appearance at oral arguments was widely covered by the press), recent decisions from the federal appeals court in California hearing the case suggest that it is finally coming to a close: her husband’s estate plan, which … More

    Outside the Beltway: What Country is California in Again?

    < Do American citizens have the right to express pride in their country by wearing the American flag public? Not in California they don’t. KNTV reports: On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population. Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break … More

    The End of a Good Run for Chicago School Choice Bill

    In a disappointing turn of events, the Illinois House has rejected a school voucher bill that would have enabled up to 30,000 children to escape the underperforming Chicago public schools to attend a private school of their choice. But the story here – that a monumental school choice program was introduced by a Democratic Senator, passed through the Democrat-controlled Senate, out of the House Education Committee on a 10-1 vote, and seriously considered in the Democrat-controlled House, is something the Democrats who currently control the House and Senate in Washington … More

    Side Effects: Physician-Owned Hospitals Face New Regulations, Limits on Growth

    Obamacare was going to expand access to higher-quality health care for all Americans, right? Well, though the legislation can purport to extend health insurance for millions of currently uninsured Americans, when it comes to access to high-quality care, Obamacare is more likely to have the opposite effect. One way the President’s health plan will kill quality care is by putting a chokehold on physician-owned hospitals. Tight regulations include a ban on expansion, restrictions on new investments, requirements to submit annual reports to the feds, and fines for failure to comply … More

    America to Debt Commission: Read Our Lips—No New Taxes.

    Last week, the President’s debt commission held its kick-off meeting.  The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, a group of 18 lawmakers and policy experts, has been tasked with proposing a solution to the mounting financial crisis facing the United States government. As we show in our 2010 Budget Chart Book, federal spending is on track to skyrocket as the population ages and more Americans become eligible for entitlement benefits, which include Medicare and Social Security.  Together, entitlement programs represent a $46 trillion long-term unfunded liability.  If this situation … More

    Video of the Week: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s Ode to Orwell

    The scene opens up on an image of the Earth and slowly zooms in down through the clouds while an ominous female narrator declares, “Your name is Tom … You live just off of 5th Street … Nice car, Tom—nice house.” As the camera sinks lower and lower, it finally stops to hovers over Tom’s house while the narrator warns him to pay his outstanding debt because after all, “we do know who you are.” The scene fades and the words, “Find Us Before We Find You” are flashed on the screen … More

    Politics and Economics: A Deadly Mixture

    The tragic events unfolding in Greece, where at least three people have died in political rioting protesting austerity measures being imposed as part of an EU and IMF financial bailout, is a vivid reminder of the danger when the line between government and commerce is blurred or destroyed. In a free market economy, individual firms rise and fall, individual banks succeed or fail, and individual employees prosper or struggle, depending on their own effort and ingenuity. Individual failure, while painful, is not a threat to society, and a well functioning … More

    FCC on Broadband Regulation: “No, Wait, It Is a Duck After All”

    The Federal Communications Commission is nothing if not persistant. Exactly one month ago today, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that the FCC had no authority to regulate the Internet. But yesterday, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announced the agency would try to do so anyway. Specifically, Genachowski wants to put into place so-called “net neutrality” rules, restricting how broadband network providers such as Verizon and Comcast can manage traffic on their networks. No statue, however, actually gives the FCC power to regulate broadband networks. Congress has only given the agency … More