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  • Monthly Archives: April 2011

    Sea-Based Missile Defense Test Success a Major Step Forward

    In the wee hours of the morning of April 15, the U.S. Navy conducted a successful test of its Aegis ballistic missile defense system. The test marks a major milestone in U.S. missile defense capabilities because it signals that the Aegis system’s existing interceptor, the Standard Missile-3 Block IA (SM-3 IA), likely has an inherent capability to counter strategic missiles. This is because the target missile destroyed in this intercept test, which is of intermediate range, has characteristics that are not that different from strategic missiles. On this basis, the … More

    Save VOA Broadcasting to China

    The decision to cut Voice of America (VOA) Broadcasting to China has attracted a good deal of congressional attention, as well it should. While China has launched a worldwide public diplomacy and media offensive, the United States is looking at a greatly reduced international media presence if the projected cuts go through. Last week, the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations under Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R–CA), asked, “Is America’s Overseas Broadcasting Undermining our National Interest and the Fight against Tyrannical Regimes?” If you ask the reporters and editors of … More

    EPA Admits It Doesn’t Care About Jobs

    The Environmental Protection Agency, which boasts 18,000 full-time employees, a $10 billion budget, and has the power to impose economy-crippling regulations on the American way of life, has admitted a dangerous truth: to them, jobs just don’t matter. In a hearing Thursday before the House Environment and Economy Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Co) questioned EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus on the Agency’s economic analyses related to legislation. Specifically, Rep. Gardner asked whether the EPA considers the effect its regulations have on jobs. His answer: nope, it does not directly examine … More

    Colombia’s Decision on Drug Kingpin Hands Chavez a Victory

    The government of Colombia has made it official that it intends to send drug trafficking kingpin Walid Makled to Venezuela rather than the United States. It is a disappointing decision by a close ally in the international effort to combat illicit drugs and transnational crime. A major crime catch has slipped though the hands of the Obama Administration.

    School Choice Scores Another Big Win in Arizona

    Arizona families won big last week when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s school choice program, the Arizona Private School Tuition Tax Credit program. This week, Arizona students and families have another reason to celebrate. Arizona just created education savings accounts (ESAs) for special-needs students, providing families with more options when it comes to educating their children. This groundbreaking reform, signed into law on Tuesday by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R), represents a bounding leap forward.

    America Outmatches China Economically (For Now)

    China announced its economic results for the first quarter this morning. GDP was said to grow a strong 9.7 percent, while consumer inflation reached a worrisome 5 percent. Frankly, most Americans shouldn’t care that much. China’s economic importance is being overstated now, and even its considerable economic potential is sometimes overstated. The PRC is much poorer than the U.S., and its economic problems are considerable. The average American made more than 12 times as much as the average Chinese in 2009.

    Morning Bell: Hiding Future Tax Hikes on Tax Day 2011

    Today, April 15, is typically Tax Day. Taxpayers would usually be furiously figuring out how much they owe Uncle Sam right about now. In case you didn’t know it, taxpayers this year get a three-day reprieve because of a holiday in Washington, D.C., commemorating President Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation of slaves in the District. No matter what day Tax Day falls on in coming years, we’ll all be paying considerably higher taxes unless Washington’s reforms its reckless spending ways immediately. To make matters worse, Washington has been able to hide this enormous … More

    Lunch With Heritage: Online Chat on the Obama and Paul Ryan (R-WI) Budgets

    With his speech Wednesday, President Obama unveiled his plans for the FY 2012 budget that is loaded with more spending and tax increases. A few weeks ago, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveiled his Path to Prosperity that was loaded spending cuts and real tax reform. Join us right now. We are joined by Heritage’s Director of the Roe Center for Economic Policy Studies Alison Fraser. She will take your questions on both budget proposals. Lunch with Heritage feat. Alison Fraser

    U.N. Doesn’t Give America Its “Seat at the Table” in Maritime Disputes

    Call it the old “seat at the table” argument. The U.S. Senate should ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the argument goes, in order to give America “a seat at the table” in resolving maritime disputes. It’s an argument that has been made so many times that even its proponents no longer understand it. Recent developments in the South China Sea indicate that at best American support for UNCLOS is irrelevant to managing, let alone resolving, disputes in the Western Pacific.

    Gov. Scott Walker Goes to Washington

    After standing off against union protesters in Wisconsin over collective bargaining rights, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) came to Washington today to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. His message? The reforms he is implementing in his state are necessary and “truly progressive.” Many Governors, Democrat and Republican alike, are cutting state aid to schools and other local governments – which forces massive layoffs, massive property tax increases or both. In Wisconsin, we are doing something truly progressive. In addition to holding the line on spending and finding efficiencies … More