Starting next summer, New Yorkers will get hit with a tax that is hard to believe even in the already overly-taxed metropolis of Manhattan. Firefighters will begin charging accident victims for their emergency services to the tune of hundreds of dollars, even if the victim was not at fault. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (I) newest tax would charge residents $490 for a car fire or accident with injury, $415 for a car fire without injury and $365 for any vehicle accident without injury. (New Yorkers must be relieved to know that …
Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood rescinded nearly $1.2 billion in stimulus funds from Wisconsin and Ohio after the states’ respective newly-elected governors, Scott Walker and John Kasich respectively, said they would follow through on their campaign promise not to waste their states’ money on high speed rail. So what does the Obama administration plan to do with this $1.2 billion? Pay for unemployment benefits? Balance the budget? Pay down the debt? No, of course not. They are going to spend …
On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden reportedly told House Democrats that the tax deal cut with Republicans was a “take it or leave it” proposition that could not be changed. But by last night, after fierce opposition from his leftist base, President Barack Obama was singing a different tune, telling NPR: “My sense is there are going to be discussions between both House and Senate leadership about all the final elements of the package. Keep in mind we didn’t actually write a bill.” Well now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …
If there is one thing that the left and the right often agree about these days when it comes to the Founding, it is that the Founders were isolationists. Look no further than George Washington, we are told: he proclaimed neutrality in the war between Britain and France, and he cemented the policy of isolationism in his Farewell Address, admonishing America to avoid entangling alliances. The Founders, though, were not isolationists or even non-interventionists. The Founders’ isolationism is a convenient narrative from progressive historians who are eager to dismiss the …
This week we are joined by Energy and Environment Research Associate Nick Loris. He will take questions about the little-publicized reinstatement of the the offshore oil drilling moratorium. This is especially bad for the Gulf of Mexico region that is still reeling from the BP disaster. Nick has written extensively on why it is important to continue drilling in the Gulf. The residents should not suffer because of a knee-jerk reaction made by the President. He has also talked with locals in New Orleans who are heavily in favor of …
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) announced today he would block the confirmation of Dr. Scott Doney to be chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration due to “concerns over scientific integrity at federal agencies and the White House.” These concerns stem from the recent Gulf offshore drilling moratorium and the ongoing lag in permit issuance since the ban was lifted in October. In a letter sent to President Obama today, Vitter characterizes it “as a continuing de facto moratorium.” Vitter also plans to hold a hearing before the Senate …
The oral arguments in the Supreme Court on Wednesday in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting were an interesting mix of tap dancing, political correctness, and duplicity. In Whiting, the Chamber of Commerce sued the state of Arizona over its 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act, which (1) authorizes the suspension and revocation of the business license of an employer that knowingly or intentionally employs unauthorized aliens, and (2) requires all employers to use the federal E-Verify program to confirm that the people they hire are legally authorized workers. The Chamber …
When I look back to the election of 2008, one of the main things I recall is the excitement on campus for the Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Staff and faculty donations for the Democrats outnumbered Republicans 3 to 1. Obama-Biden campaign signs covered the campus, and chants of “Yes We Can” could frequently be heard around the University. Yet two years later, the enthusiasm is gone. No longer do students speak of Obama as the answer to all their problems. Some even have turned against his ‘progressive’ agenda, in …
On December 5, British security detained Katya Zatuliveter, also known as the “British Anne Champan.” Anne, or Anya, was a redheaded Russian spy arrested in the U.S. and sent back home packing—to a meeting with Vladimir Putin, which led to a lucrative career on Russian TV. Now, it’s Katya’s turn: According to the British counterintelligence and security service MI5, Zatuliveter, allegedly a Russian spy, worked in the office of Mike Hancock, a Liberal Democrat MP. Zatuliveter is about to be deported from the United Kingdom on charges of having links …
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have dismantled over 75 percent of their nuclear weapons. Yet the spread of nuclear weapons has continued apace. The latest issue of the Journal of International Security Affairs provides insight into the question of the next stage of proliferation. As Heritage’s senior analyst Peter Brookes writes in the journal, Iran is one of the hottest candidates for obtaining nuclear weapons capability. The ayatollah regime in Tehran appears determined to continue with uranium enrichment, an essential step for developing …
