It was only fitting that Stephen Colbert, host of a comedy faux news show, testified before Congress in character and make-up regarding the treatment of migrant workers. It just demonstrates how unserious Congress is with tackling our broken borders and deeply flawed immigration system. That is, if there was a point to it all—even some of the Congressional “leadership” did not get it. According to reports, “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D–MD) said comedian Stephen Colbert embarrassed himself last week when he testified before Congress. ‘I think his testimony was …
A quality education in America shouldn’t come down to a lottery ball. But that’s exactly how life plays out for many low-income families seeking an alternative to failing public schools. With limited enrollment at charter schools and private schools financially out of reach, they are left with little choice but to play the odds in hopes of a brighter future. “It’s heartbreaking,” President Obama said about a scene in the new Waiting for Superman documentary. “And when you see these parents in the film, you are reminded that — I …
Friday’s testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights by Christopher Coates — a career Justice Department lawyer and supervisor — knocked down the Potemkin Village that the Obama administration has built to obscure why Justice officials dismissed a voter-intimidation case against two members of New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia. Coates, former chief of the Voting Section in the Civil Rights Division, testified that Justice officials purposefully dropped the New Black Panthers case because they didn’t want to enforce the Voting Rights Act against minority defendants accused of violating …
House Republicans released a “Pledge to America” last week detailing legislative proposals for the next Congress to address the nation’s challenges with deficits, health care policy, entitlements, and taxes. The Pledge underscored its sponsors’ commitment “to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.” Putting flesh on these bones will require sustained effort from a new Congress, since the current body has spent much of 2010 passing lengthy bills that many members have not had the time to read, …
There’s been a lot of misinformation when it comes to the new health care law—but not in the way Obamacare supporters have been claiming. We heard early on in the health reform debate that a massive overhaul of the private health care sector would bend the health care cost downward. But when that looked unlikely under the best scenarios, Obamacare proponents pivoted and said the American public would embrace this law. Even former President Bill Clinton recently admitted he was wrong in saying that Democrats would pick up additional support …
It should anger black Americans that, for decades, government at all levels has denied black parents and their children the opportunity to pursue a quality education at the school of their choice, all in the name of politics. Generations of young black people are condemned to lives of desperation and hopelessness through the failure of our school system. Some have called parental choice “the civil rights issue of our time” and we need to understand that the public school bureaucracy, for reasons they need to explain, is standing in the …
In celebration of Constitution Day, The Heritage Foundation welcomed its new neighbor and ally across the street: Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship. Hillsdale College in Michigan has been an institution committed to “educating for liberty” since 1844, but with the addition of the Kirby Center, this education will expand from students to policy makers, public servants, and all citizens. In addition to housing students in the Washington-Hillsdale Intern Program (which has experienced success in D.C. for over 35 years), the Kirby Center will …
Heads of state and global leaders gathered at the U.N. this week to bemoan a lack of progress on meeting many of the targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) originally outlined in 2000. With the notable exception of President Obama, those speaking at the summit generally ignored the evidence about what consistently works to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of individuals and families across the world: greater economic freedom and rule of law. Instead, the discussions have focused on increasing foreign aid to countries and regions furthest from …
While Colombia’s new president Manuel Santos was at the United Nations today, he received welcomed news: Colombia’s military had located and attacked a camp belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Killed in the assault was Jorge Briceno (born Victor Julio Suarez, AKA El Mono Jojoy) second highest FARC commander, military mastermind, and emblematic hard-line leader. Santos called it a “historic moment.” As chief of the Eastern Bloc, Briceno commanded the largest single body of FARC fighters. He was also an architect of the terrorist strategy of kidnapping …
This morning on the Today Show, host Matt Lauer sat down with President Obama to discuss his Administration’s policies on school reform. Toward the end of the interview, a viewer’s question on President Obama’s decision to send his children to private school spurred a discussion about school choice. Viewer: “As a father of two very delightful and seemingly very bright daughters, I wanted to know whether or not you think that Malia and Sasha would get the same high-quality, rigorous education in a D.C. public school, as compared to their …
