The sudden firing of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki while he was abroad on a diplomatic mission lying for his country is a sign of growing political tension within Iran’s increasingly isolated government. The abrupt sacking of Mottaki, who has served as Iran’s top diplomat since the installation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government in 2005, is another indication of growing schisms in the ruling establishment, which is under increasing international pressure due to its continued defiance on the nuclear issue. Mottaki has been replaced on an interim basis by the head of …
Many baseball fans and sports writers woke up yesterday morning scratching their heads to Cliff Lee’s decision to turn down a deal worth $154 million over 7 years with the New York Yankees to join the Philadelphia Phillies for a mere $120 million over 5 years. As ESPN columnist Jayson Stark put it, “Does anyone out there remember anything like this — a player who’d been portrayed as being obsessed with getting every possible dollar out there, who then decided he didn’t really need, like, 30 million of those dollars …
When the Mexican government imposed punitive tariffs last year on $2.4 billion in American products the average Mexican citizen may not have noticed. But no more. Try finding a U.S.-grown Christmas tree in Mexico City this week. They are scarce since Mexico’s usual suppliers of holiday evergreens, growers in the states of California and Oregon, have been priced out of the market by a 20 percent tariff. Oregon potato growers and Washington pear exporters are also singing the Christmas blues. No partridges in American-grown pear trees for Mexico this year. …
Many Americans praise the first ten amendments to our Constitution, collectively called the Bill of Rights, as providing the true protection of our liberty. But if the Bill of Rights had not been added on December 15, 1791 (which we now celebrate as Bill of Rights Day), would our fundamental liberties still be protected? Would the original Constitution be enough to guard our liberty? A bill of rights was controversial during the ratification debates over the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists made it their rallying cry. Many founders, though, rejected the inclusion …
The year 2011 will be the year of decision for underfunded state and local governments with pension and debt problems. The end of federal money from the stimulus package that many cities and states have used to prop up their finances, combined with the outsized cost of meeting their pension promises, will force a growing number of these governments to act. The immediate reaction for many will be to try to pass the cost onto the federal taxpayers in the form of a bailout, but Congress should strongly resist any …
Gallup released a poll this morning showing that the American people dislike this 111th Congress more than any other Congress. Specifically, a full 83% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job while only 13% approve. That is the worst approval rating in more than 30 years of tracking congressional job performance. Why do Americans so despise this Congress? The reckless way it spends other people’s money, for starters. One would have thought that after getting “shellacked” at the polls this November, Congress would have gotten the …
It is that time of the year again: Christmas gift list guides are out. (Find out which book made both the Claremont Institute’s book list and Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s reading list!) If you are looking for the perfect gift, a good book for the airplane, or something to do while the in-laws are visiting, check out the New Common Sense book list. In addition to our First Principles perspective on the issues of the day, the weekly e-newsletter New Common Sense features a book of interest on …
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has just released an omnibus spending bill that will lock-in 2010 spending levels through the next fiscal year (ending September 30). The 1,924 page bill (pdf) contains unknown thousands of earmarks and will prevent the next Congress from making spending cuts until fiscal year 2012. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) released the following statement: The attempt by Democrat leadership to rush through a nearly 2,000 page spending bill in the final days of the lame-duck session ignores the clear will expressed by the voters this past …
This year, Social Security paid out more money than it took in for the first time since 1983. If the economy rebounds, Social Security is expected to be in the black by 2012 and will stay that way until 2015. But starting in 2016 Social Security will be in the red for as long as the Social Security Trustees can see. Under current law, Social Security is scheduled to pay out $7.7 trillion more in benefits over the next 75 years than it can afford to pay from its payroll …
An ongoing study in Yellowstone National Park seeks to measure the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a response to geologic activity and as a possible predictor of some geologic events. A story covering this study notes that researchers estimate that Yellowstone emits 45,000 tons of CO2 per day. That is about 16.5 million tons per year. The EPA estimates that the average car emits between five and six tons of CO2 per year. So natural geologic activity in Yellowstone contributes CO2 equivalent to about 3 million cars. The current …
