Politicians looking for places to save money after an era of spending binges are now set to solve their self-made problem on the back of the U.S. military. Responding to this pressure, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen will conduct a press briefing at 2 p.m. to discuss efficiencies initiatives in the Department of Defense. Cutting the defense budget without any change in U.S. foreign policy commitments would cause direct harm to those in uniform. Instead of asking, “How we can cut …
It’s the beginning of a new year, and Illinois isn’t wasting any time getting education reform off to a good start. Teacher tenure reform is currently on the hotplate of Illinois lawmakers, with the House being set to vote on a measure January 12. The proposed legislation would “link teacher tenure to student test scores,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Under Illinois’s current system, “new teachers are offered tenure after three years on the job unless there are serious concerns about their work. After that, districts face a certain, protracted …
Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have more in common than you might assume: They both significantly influence society. The nation’s capital is home to the country’s lawmakers and Hollywood is home to the storytellers of our nation. Conservatives spend a lot of time focusing on the first but less on the latter. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is trying to change that. Speaking at Heritage earlier this week, Santorum noted that conservatives are often criticized for being out of touch with popular culture. “The problem in the past is that …
During the month of December, Venezuela’s authoritarian populist president actively used a lame duck legislature to expand his already unchecked executive power, culminating in a December 17 grant of “broad powers to enact laws by decree for a year and a half.” He did this before a new legislative body with a significant opposition presence took office on January 5. While undertaking the power grab, Chavez continued to bait the U.S. by saying he would not accept nominated envoy Larry Palmer, whose critical comments regarding Chavez’s support for terrorism and …
The New Year’s Eve Attack on a Coptic Church in Egypt has left by the last count 23 churchgoers dead. While the Egyptian security is busy trying to figure out what happened and in the meantime beat the Copts that are demonstrating in anger, the Egyptian public has acted, as it usually does, with denial. The attacks are claimed to be an attack on Egypt’s national unity, could not have been carried out by a Muslim or an Egyptian, and in a manner that reflects all the ills of a …
When now-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) was sworn in as Speaker on January 4, 2007, the national debt stood at $8.67 trillion. By the time Pelosi surrendered the gavel to Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) yesterday, the national debt stood at $14.01 trillion. At $5.34 trillion, that means Speaker Pelosi added more than $1 trillion in debt per year during her tenure as Speaker. And yet she has the audacity to tell reporters Tuesday: “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.” Only someone …
As the new Congress settles in, the House of Representatives prepares to vote on January 12 on a measure to repeal Obamacare. Proponents of the health care law claim that repeal would increase the federal deficit and that a vote to kill Obamacare without offsetting the “cost” is hypocritical. This couldn’t be more wrong. For starters, Obamacare will not reduce the deficit. Though the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the health law would create $124 billion in savings, the CBO is required to make unlikely assumptions and disregard budget …
In a twisted response to the devastating assassination of Pakistani Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, several hundred Pakistani clerics and so-called “scholars” signed a statement condoning the slaying and warning Pakistanis against grieving the death of the Governor. Adding insult to injury, several of the country’s clerics refused to lead funeral prayers for Taseer, who was shot down by his own bodyguard for defending the rights of religious minorities against the misuse of anti-blasphemy laws. Indeed, Pakistan’s top religious political parties said Taseer’s murder was justified and resulted from his failure …
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is keeping the promise she made last month. Today, she filed a bill to strike down the Federal Communications Commission’s recent move to enact net neutrality regulations. The Internet Freedom Act states Internet regulation is the sole prerogative of Congress, and is supported by more than 60 House members, including the majority of Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “I agree that the Internet faces a number of challenges,” Rep. Blackburn said in a statement. “Only Congress can address those challenges without compounding them. …
Last year, war was declared on McDonald’s Happy Meals and their toys. These meals are so dangerous and exploitative of children we were told that government simply must get involved. Nowhere was this nanny state silliness more on display than in San Francisco, where that city’s activist board of supervisors banned Happy Meals and other kids meals. But the action isn’t sitting well with many, including California Lieutenant Governor-elect and Gavin Newsom (D), who feel that the city’s “agenda of food justice” is ill-conceived. “Parents, not politicians,” said Newsom in an …
