In the latest anti-Western rant, the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has blamed the United States and the West for once again thwarting bilateral relations with Russia by deploying missile defense in Europe and “lying” about NATO enlargement. However, his statements are clearly political propaganda intended for internal consumption and distort the reality of events. Yet they raise questions regarding Russia’s commitment to President Barak Obama’s “reset” policy and broader Russian integration with the West. For example, Putin has chosen to criticize the current missile defense plan of the Obama …
The EPA recently proposed a new grading requirement for new car stickers. The A–D grading system would rank cars according to their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions to help consumers make better choices. In the new grading scheme, the Ford Focus gets a B and the Toyota Prius gets an A–. What does this tell consumers? As it turns out, not much. Already on the new car sticker are two more useful bits of information. The first is the EPA’s estimate of annual fuel cost. For the Focus it …
Both the Bush and Obama Administrations implemented tougher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles with the message that more stringent regulations will reduce carbon dioxide and save consumers money because they’ll be purchasing less gas. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced fleet-wide requirements of 34.1 miles per gallon in 2016 for all automakers in the U.S. Now, are the agencies trying to guilt you into buying a hybrid? The Wall Street Journal reports: The government proposed labeling each new passenger vehicle with a …
Across the country, college students are starting classes, but that does not mean they are receiving an education. The American Council for Trustees and Alumni’s latest report and website What Will They Learn reveals that most colleges and universities are not providing students a well-rounded education. Of the 719 colleges and universities analyzed in this report, only 16 institutions of higher education (that is, 2% of colleges) provide a coherent, content-rich general education or core curriculum. These few “A” rated schools require students to take courses in composition, literature, a …
Obamacare requires insurers to meet a federally-specified medical loss ratio. That is, they must spend a certain percentage of premiums on medical expenses. The remainder can be used to cover administrative costs and, if there’s anything left, profits. But if insurers don’t shell out enough in medical losses to meet the requirement, they’ll have to rebate the difference to policyholders The idea is to limit insurers’ profits and create incentives to reduce administrative costs. But it’s not as clear cut as it sounds. After all, what exactly counts as a …
Eric Holder’s Justice Department really seems to believe that its primary responsibility is to help aliens who violate federal law as opposed to tax-paying citizens of the United States. What else can one say about the latest action filed by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division against Arizona community colleges claiming they violated federal law when they asked noncitizens applying for jobs to produce their green cards? According to news reports, the complaint was filed with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, an administrative office within the Justice Department that …
Aside from the wooden performance, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about President Barack Obama’s Oval Office address on Iraq last night. The President again evinced the impression that he viewed Iraq as a distraction, and he twice said he wanted to “turn the page” to other issues. As forgettable as the address was however, once placed into the broader context of foreign policy speeches and actions, a clear Obama Doctrine can now be defined, as James Carafano and Kim Holmes do in a new paper released today. Downplaying American Sovereignty: …
