House Cloakroom: Analysis: After a wild week resulting in a last minute deal on a continuing resolution (CR) that finishes the fiscal year, the House returns under a one week funding bridge to allow full action on a complete package by the end of this week. Much of the agreement is outlined to the public, but the full details of the measure will be released early in the week in legislative language and a vote looks likely on Wednesday. The House officially returns to the floor on Tuesday night to …
According to The Telegraph of London on April 8, Russia is demanding direct operational control of U.S. and allied missile defense systems in negotiations regarding missile defense cooperation. While the U.S. is right to be seeking Russian cooperation in the area of missile defense—more defensive strategic postures would benefit both the U.S. and Russia in addressing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the missiles used to deliver them—the U.S. should reject this Russian demand.
It’s a common-sense idea that criminals should not be able to escape justice in one country simply by fleeing to another. In this Internet age, it’s also common sense that citizens of one country should not be able commit crimes electronically in another without fear of punishment. This is the problem that extradition is intended to solve. Of course, it’s also true that all democratic nations have the obligation to protect the rights of their citizens and uphold their national sovereignty. Thus, any system of extradition must balance the national …
Friday night, Speaker John Boehner secured a huge win for D.C.’s schoolchildren. In a vital triumph for low-income families in the nation’s capital, Speaker Boehner succeeded in reauthorizing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in the long-term continuing resolution. Over at National Review Online, Kathryn Lopez writes that “John Boehner just walked Barack Obama into being a civil-rights leader.” For the past two years, low-income families in D.C. have been fighting to regain access to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program after it was placed on life support by Senator Richard Durbin. …
This Congress was sent to Washington with a simple mandate from the American people: cut federal spending and get government under control. Friday night’s budget compromise to avert a government shutdown embraced these principles, but also left plenty of work to be done. Congress has finally started cutting spending instead of running up the tab on future generations, and we hope the budget deal changed the culture of Washington. No longer should budgets be railroaded through Washington that increase spending and grow government. From here on out, the question should …
Teen substance abuse is once again on the rise, according to a national study of adolescent drug and alcohol use released this week. The annual release of the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) showed an alarming increase in adolescent substance abuse since 2008. According to the study (PDF), teen illicit drug use and prescription drug abuse have significantly increased in the past three years. Marijuana use among adolescents increased 22 percent from 2008 to 2010, with nearly 40 percent of teens using the drug within the past year. Ecstasy use …
The Obama Administration’s explanations for why the U.S. intervened in Libya reveal a common, disconcerting theme: a reliance upon the relatively new idea of a “responsibility to protect” (R2P). In a letter to Congress, President Obama announced that Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi “has forfeited his responsibility to protect his own citizens.” And, in his speech to the nation explaining the military operations against Libya’s leader, he said “we have a responsibility to act.” Where does this idea come from? It appears to have gained prominence in a report commissioned by …
Just weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained to Congress that America is losing the information war against Al Qaeda, China and Russia, it appears that Clinton’s own State Department is one of the impediments to success. For more than 18 months, the State Department has hoarded nearly $30 million, appropriated by Congress for Internet freedom measures across the globe. While that money sits in a State Department bank account, repressive regimes are blocking Internet access and restricting information. China and Russia have even developed their own English-language broadcasts. What’s …
As chaos grips the Arab world and the international community’s focus, the United States and other world leaders should not forget about the ruthless military junta in Burma. The Heritage Foundation recently hosted British filmmaker Rex Bloomstein and his latest documentary, The Prison Where I Live. The film contrasts the lives of two famed comedians: Michael Mittermeier of Germany and Maung Thura of Burma, better known as Zarganar. It reveals the cruel barbarism of the military dictatorship in Burma and how it victimizes those who dare to speak out against …
On Tuesday, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced that U.S. teen birth rates dropped to their lowest rate in decades. According to the report, the number of teenage births has declined by nearly 40 percent in the last 20 years. Of course, this is good news, especially considering the myriad negative implications for children born to teen moms, such as lower school achievement and an increased risk of becoming teen parents themselves. But there’s a flipside to this positive news. Despite the dip in teen births, over …
