Many states offer “tax holidays” for shoppers during the back-to-school season, but families everywhere still pay extra at the checkout counter due to hidden import taxes that increase the price of everything from sneakers to baseball caps. We have produced a graphic to help you visualize those import tax rates for some popular back-to-school items.
Recently the Obama Administration hired former Houston police chief Harold Hurtt to coordinate state and local activities for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As The Heritage Foundation pointed out at the time, Hurtt seemed like an odd choice to head up an important position with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Hurtt is, after all, a well-documented supporter of “sanctuary city polices,” which puts him at odds, at least philosophically, with the agency’s mission. Seems like we’re not the only ones who noticed that the Obama Administration and the …
Good news on the efforts to defund ACORN: On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the injunction against the federal funding ban that had been granted by a federal district judge in New York, Clinton nominee Nina Gershon. Last fall, the ultra-radical Center for Constitutional Rights brought suit on behalf of ACORN, claiming the provisions in several federal appropriations laws barring distribution of U.S. taxpayers’ money to ACORN were unconstitutional “bills of attainder.” As I wrote at the time, Judge Gershon’s opinion would …
The New START Treaty, a treaty signed between the United States and Russia is promoted by the Obama Administration as a means toward a reduction of nuclear weapons between the nations. The problem is that President Obama was a terrible negotiator and made concessions that will harm American national security. The most important factor in assessing whether a Senator should support the idea of a treaty is whether the treaty will increase or decrease the national security of the United States. Sadly, this treaty would devastate missile defense and provide …
According to The Wall Street Journal’s announcement, Moscow will start to load fuel into Tehran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr on Saturday, August 21. Moscow also guaranteed a 10 year supply of the fuel to the reactor. From the moment the first drop of fuel is loaded, the plant will be considered a nuclear-energy installation as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency. And the ayatollahs will have the potential to produce the plutonium necessary for an atomic bomb, experts say. Additionally, “Bushehr gives Iran the pretext for needing …
Last night at the Beverly Hills home of “West Wing” producer John Wells, after the string quartet quieted down, President Barack Obama told the assembled Hollywood elite, who paid $2,500 a person for cocktails and $30,400 a couple for dinner: “We have been able to deliver the most progressive legislative agenda – one that helps working families – not just in one generation, maybe two, maybe three.” Half an hour later, after the President concluded “Even as the other side wants to offer fear, we’re going to offer hope,” the …
President Obama’s consummate campaign skills just might cost him. According to a report released by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Obama has orchestrated more propaganda activities to promote his agenda than any modern president — and he’s used federal funds to do it. “In 2009, the White House used the machinery of the Obama campaign to tout the President’s agenda through inappropriate and sometimes unlawful public relations and propaganda initiatives,” the House Oversight Committee staff writes. “The Obama administration’s propaganda is covert and expensive …
After a very protracted gestation and calls from Congress for its release, DOD today finally unveiled the latest report on China’s military capabilities, as called for under the FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. What is surprising in this report of some 83 pages is how little of its content is actually surprising. For example, the report reminds us that, not only is the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a large force, but it is also increasingly sophisticated. This sophistication is reflected in its growing ability to conduct joint operations (i.e., …
When President Barack Obama signed the latest bailout for spendthrift states and government unions, he claimed the $10 billion earmarked for education spending would save the jobs of 160,000 teachers. But as we pointed out before the bill was signed, this number was completely made up. Since local governments always exaggerate the number of government workers they will lay off, only a tiny fraction of teacher jobs was ever in real jeopardy. And even then, layoffs could have been avoided if teachers unions would have just agreed to pay freezes …
It looks like ethics and transparency are yet again taking a back seat at the Obama White House, this time with the little-noticed news that the president’s ‘ethics’ czar, Norm Eisen, is leaving to become a foreign ambassador and will not be replaced. Instead, his responsibilities (which included oversight of transparency and accountability, among others) are being handed over to White House counsel Bob Bauer. According to the Huffington Post, critics say Bauer is not the kind of guy one would want in charge of ensuring good, ethical government: “Our priorities are different,” …
