If competition is healthy—most conservatives believe it is—the challenge presented by China and other nations in the field of public diplomacy ought to be a wakeup call to the U.S. government. While the United States invented the concept of public diplomacy, other contenders for international leadership are investing heavily in this branch of “soft power,” which focuses on promoting information, ideas, and values. As Washington awaits the results of the Obama Administration’s Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review (QDDR), which is far behind schedule, it is clear that leadership and strategic …
Two of the most prominent “safety net” hospitals in Massachusetts are facing sizable budget gaps again this year, and are turning to the feds to bail them out. Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) have long received, in part because of their emphasis on the under- and uninsured, greater political assistance in propping up their balance sheets. The desired Medicaid waiver amendment would be worth $86 million this year for CHA and $90 million for BMC. These institutions play an important role in Massachusetts, but the new …
On the anniversary of September 11, students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined with Americans across the country in holding an observance of the tragedy that rocked our nation 9 years ago. It was at this event that some students crossed the line, according to a letter to the editor submitted by a university administrator and published in the student paper last week. What was their offense? They dared to show pride in their country.
Yesterday marks six months since the passage of Obamacare. Here’s a quick review of what’s happened since then and what we have learned about the law: 1. Almost immediately after passage of the law, a number of major corporations had to take large write-downs against expectations of higher health care costs in the future. AT&T took a charge of $1 billion. Higher costs for companies mean fewer jobs. 2. The law will not lower national health care expenditures. The latest estimates by the government’s own actuaries now say annual per …
House Republicans should be commended for offering an alternative vision for America’s future, in their Pledge to America. It is an important element in moving America in the right direction. Conservatives must present ideas to America that are consistent with our nation’s founding principles and empower people, not government. The Pledge rightly frames the argument to be about the choices we face going forward and the need to return to core first principles, about the role of the state, popular consent and self-government. The most important constitutional reform a new …
Today, the much-talked-about film Waiting for Superman will make its premier. The movie, produced by David Guggenheim, reveals the gridlock created by school district bureaucracy, apathetic teachers, and teachers’ unions. According to reviews, the movie graphically displays how a broken school system is failing America’s children, leaving them in failing schools with little hope for a promising future. Reports William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal: It’s one thing to talk about “failing schools.” It’s another to see a man standing in the hallway of Alain Leroy Locke Senior High …
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a leadership challenge from a kingmaker in his own Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Ichiro Ozawa, and last Friday he reshuffled his cabinet. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was named the party’s secretary-general and number two to Kan. Okada leaves the foreign minister’s desk stacked high with unfinished business in Japan’s foreign relations, such as soothing bilateral tensions with Beijing over the recent collision of a Japanese patrol vessel and a Chinese fishing boat. Okada was also unable to resolve complicated negotiations over the relocation …
President Obama reportedly spent much of his meeting this week with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urging action to revalue the Chinese Yuan relative to the dollar. Simultaneously, Democrats in Congress are pushing a bill that would tack countervailing duties on Chinese imports in response to an alleged distortion of the exchange rate. Whether the Yuan is undervalued is a hard question. Given the many distortions in the Chinese economy, and despite assurances by protectionists to the contrary, we cannot really know, absent a free currency market, what the real exchange …
The probability of cap and trade becoming law rapidly diminished as more and more people saw it for what it truly is: a national energy tax. Since 85 percent of our energy comes from carbon-emitting fossil fuels, and the goal of cap and trade is to reduce carbon dioxide, a cap-and-trade system would raise the price of energy to discourage its use. Politicians knew very well that Americans wouldn’t stand for a national energy tax—especially during an election year—so despite several murmurs, the Senate failed to move legislation forward. Now, …
President Barack Obama’s second address to the United Nations General Assembly almost sounded as if he were speaking to voters on the campaign trail in Iowa, instead of fawning diplomats in Manhattan. He mentioned his financial reform, his commitment to fighting global warming, his efforts to withdrawal from Afghanistan and his new nuclear treaty with Russia. In classic Obama form, he mentioned the words “I,” “me” or “my” 34 times, including this line about his efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program: “Now let me be clear once more: The …
