According to the Associated Press, a “survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center says that nearly 6 in 10, or 57 percent, say the country is not better prepared for another disaster like a hurricane. Roughly equal numbers of Democrats, Republicans and independents share that gloomy outlook.” Americans are pretty smart. Actually, the U,S. is better prepared for hurricanes than it was several years ago, in part because the federal government has dedicated a lot of time and resources preparing for this kind of disaster. Even more importantly, the states …
Despite the Obama Administration’s assertion that the push for states to adopt national education standards and tests is completely voluntary, concerns have been raised from the beginning about the federal “carrot and stick” approach driving their adoption. A key qualification for a Race to the Top grant was moving toward adoption of “common” standards and tests, and the Department of Education has indicated that receipt of federal Title I money—the largest federal obligation to public schools—could be contingent upon a state’s adoption of the standards. Catherine Gewertz at Education Week …
Vice President Joe Biden is at it again, this time spouting off on his desire to raise taxes through the looming expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The White House favors extending current tax policy—but only for individuals making under $200,000 and families making under $250,000, allowing rates to increase for the “the super rich.” (A family making $250,000 is doing well, to be sure, but super rich?) But the bigger logical lapses lie in the White House’s arguments in support of higher taxes. The reality is that …
Remember Audi’s absurd “Green Police” Super Bowl commercial where green cops arrest citizens for using plastic bags, plastic water bottles and sort through the community’s trash cans to ensure they’re recycling? Well, the absurdity is about to hit the streets of Cleveland. Cleveland.com reports: It would be a stretch to say that Big Brother will hang out in Clevelanders’ trash cans, but the city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling—and fine them $100 if they don’t. The move is part of a high-tech collection …
A recent story by Fox News provides yet another example of the United Nations Development Program’s refusal to accede to an unfortunate reality: that the organization’s efforts to work with, and through, the world’s most despotic regimes are regularly twisted to serve the goals of the regime rather than the people suffering under their rule. According to the story: An independent assessment of a $100 million United Nations Development Program aid effort in Burma calls it ‘disappointing,’ and ‘unsatisfactory,’ and suggests that major portions of the program be discontinued next …
When Education Secretary Arne Duncan first unveiled his Race to the Top (RttT) program in July of last year, he admitted that “when I was superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools, I did not always welcome calls from the U.S. Department of Education. That’s because the department, from its inception in 1980, has traditionally been a compliance-driven agency.” But, he continued, that was all about to change because his RttT program, funded by $4.35 billion of economic stimulus cash, would be a “competition” that scrutinized “state applications for a coordinated …
It is with great anticipation that I announce an exciting new direction for Heritage today: the creation of the Center for Policy Innovation. This has long been a dream of our colleague Stuart Butler and others here at Heritage, and we are excited to finally make it a reality. Dr. Butler, who has led our domestic and economic research team since 1982, will become Director of the Center he has envisioned. He will also remain a member of our Senior Management team and serve as a Distinguished Fellow. He has …
Editor’s Note: On the right, please watch our exclusive interview with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and then below, please read an original guest blog to The Foundry from the Governor himself. We’ve been through a global recession. Now we’re fighting through a stalled recovery. Revenues are the lowest they’ve been in half a century. Their finances a wreck, many states have effectively sunk into bankruptcy. Indiana is still afloat. In fact, we’ve fared better than most. We continue to meet our obligations without raising taxes, and the reserves we carefully …
The cold blooded murder of 72 illegal migrants by members of Mexico’s notorious Zeta cartel in the state of Tamaulipas is another stark and gruesome reminder of the current criminal and drug-related turmoil in Mexico. According to press reports the victims came from Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil and Ecuador. The lone survivor stated the migrants were killed for failing to pay off their Mexican captors. This massacre runs against the conventional narrative that the escalating violence in Mexico primarily pits drug trafficker-against-drug trafficker. It shows the significant overlap between transnational …
A recent national study shows that the majority of U.S. parents and their teens support sexual abstinence before marriage. But the Obama Administration doesn’t want you to know this. Early last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) completed the National Survey of Adolescents and Their Parents: Attitudes and Opinions about Sex and Abstinence. Results show that the majority of parents favor abstinence and the abstinence message. However, while HHS released a brief summary of the results, when researcher Dr. Lisa Rue of the University of Northern Colorado …
