With Independence Day approaching it is easy to get caught up in celebration and neglect the true meanings of American ideas. Significant concepts have the tendency to be reduced to political rhetoric. Regrettably, the word patriot is among these great ideas whose meaning has been obscured and stripped of its American distinction. The general term patriot signifies a person having an attachment to their respective country or regime. It is based on a feeling, sentiment, or passion toward national loyalty. It is not surprising that the classic writer Ambrose Bierce …
In this third installment of our series highlighting the thoughts of conservative and libertarian leaders on American Independence and the Founding, we asked: What do you think was the most important idea of the Founders? (This series will continue until July 4.) Jamie Radtke, Chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriot Federation: In my opinion, one of their most significant achievements was the idea of a written constitution. Our U.S. Constitution was designed to serve as a limitation on federal powers, which is what makes it unique and powerful. It …
Last night Professor Robbie George of Princeton University appeared on a panel discussing social justice on Glenn Beck’s television show. He offered the following comment about the confusion that’s often present in conversations about social justice: In the Catholic tradition the concept of social justice has a long history, and an honorable history, and what it refers to is the fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of common life. But what has happened very often [is] … the concept has become corrupted and used as a pretext for advancing …
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Social Security Policy Options report, which highlights some of the proposals made by policymakers and legislators to restore the Social Security program to long-term sustainability. Social Security, which provides living assistance to retired workers and those with disabilities, is in need of immediate reform. Social Security ran its first deficits since 1983 this year, and though economic recovery is expected to raise revenues higher than outlays once again for a few years, the program will be running permanent deficits from 2016 on. …
Embarrassed. Ashamed. Failure. These words don’t typically describe an accomplished doctor, but Martha Boone doesn’t fit the mold. The Atlanta urologist is an outspoken critic of Obamacare, warning her patients about its disastrous consequences and alerting fellow doctors to the ramifications for her profession. Lately, however, she’s spent more time worried about the survival of her own practice. With the new health care law about to add more patients to government-run insurance programs, Boone wondered how she would survive with dwindling Medicare reimbursements to cover her older patients. Because many doctors double as …
Last night the House passed a “budget enforcement resolution” setting discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2011 at $1.12 trillion. This is approximately $7 billion less than President Obama’s budget and $3 billion less than the Senate proposal. However, the resolution isn’t newsworthy so much for what it contains but rather for what it lacks. Make no mistake: This is not a true budget. All future federal spending and revenue projections, which would normally be included in an actual budget resolution, are conspicuously absent in what was passed last night. …
At this point, Americans on every imaginable side of the deficit debate agree that federal spending is out of control. Something must be done—but the question is, what, and how, and by whom? Lawmakers on Capitol Hill talk about deficit reduction an awful lot—so why haven’t they done anything about it yet? A recent article in The Hill highlights comments made by Heritage scholar Stuart Butler at a recent discussion sponsored by the Raben Group, a Democratic lobbying firm. Butler pointed out that the problem with addressing out-of-control federal spending …
Since President Obama took office, there has been very little wiggle room for Members of Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement. This week the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee granted the President’s push for bipartisanship, ironically by creating a bipartisan oil spill commission that would compete with the Administration’s Obama-appointed one. The Hill reports: Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in agreeing to create a new bipartisan panel whose members would mostly be appointed by Congress. The proposal—offered by Sen. John …
Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident Commander for the BP oil spill, admitted in yesterday’s White House briefing that the government has failed to meet the President’s goal of recovering 90 percent of the flow coming from the spill site by the end of June. He conceded that that goal wouldn’t be attainable without installing a new cap. REPORTER: A few weeks ago, one percentage figure that has been used by the President, and I believe you, Admiral Allen, was 90 percent — a few weeks ago the President said that …
In this second installment of our series highlighting the thoughts of conservative and libertarian leaders on the American Founding, we asked: Do you have a favorite story about America’s Founding? (This series will continue until July 4.) Eric O’Keefe, Chairman of the Sam Adams Alliance: The Boston Tea Party happened during a time of very low taxes, and the tea in the harbor had the lowest price of any tea from Britain for years, because the British government sharply lowered the duties on the tea, while retaining a modest tax. …
