America’s history is plagued by a succession of conflicts for which we have been unprepared or insufficiently committed, having succumbed to the belief that peace is a guarantee of its own existence. Over the last century, from the beginning of the Korean War to post-Vietnam, the military has too often been forced to do more with less, and each time ultimately required a significant expenditure in both blood and wealth to bring them back from the brink. With significant defense cuts already during his tenure, President Obama has recently proposed …
“A recent national survey revealed an overwhelming majority of American voters believe they aren’t getting their money’s worth from public schools,” writes Representative John Kline (R–MN), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, yesterday in the Indianapolis Star. And with data showing that education spending has tripled in the last 30 years while student achievement has stagnated, it’s no wonder people are alarmed. Yet, despite the long track record of failing to improve the nation’s schools, for the last 45 years the United States has continued to take …
The director of the federal agency responsible for the drilling permit logjam in the Gulf of Mexico has said his agency is too understaffed to address the slowdown in permits — but he now plans to divert his already limited staff resources to the additional regulation of oilfield service providers and contractors. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement exists primarily to regulate oil and gas companies — but Director Michael Bromwich insists he has the legal authority to regulate drilling rig suppliers and other contractors as well. …
Was it legal for the United States to enter Pakistan, without their consent, to kill or capture Osama bin Laden? The successful raid by the SEALs on May 2, 2011, which apparently occurred without the express or implied permission of Pakistan, has kicked off a debate in policy and legal circles. The short answer is, under these circumstances, yes. There are, to be sure, several legal and policy issues surrounding this operation. The broad legal question, however, as succinctly put by former State Department Legal Advisor Ashley Deeks, is this: …
Full-time lifeguards in Newport Beach, Calif., make over $100,000 a year, with the highest paid earners topping over $200,000. And if you think that’s bad, wait till you hear this: Those same lifeguards can retire at age 50 in good health and receive a well stocked lifetime government pension and full government benefits until death, costing the city nearly $108,000 per healthy, retired lifeguard every single year. If a lifeguard lives until he’s 80, he costs the state $3 million – a huge sum of money that could be better …
Every month, 400 adolescent girls are sold on Internet sites, on street corners, and in the backroom deals of sex traffickers. An estimated 300 such transactions occur every day. The girls come from every socioeconomic background: Many are runaways or abused children; some are kidnapped. The average age of entry into the local sex market is between 12 and 14 years old. This heartbreaking reality is not a story from a red-light district in a third world country. Shockingly, these statistics describe the daily plight of hundreds of children right …
It is potentially the 39th terrorist plot foiled against the United States since the attack on September 11, 2001. Yesterday, the NYPD arrested two men seeking to purchase hand grenades and guns for a possible attack against New York City synagogues. This is nothing new—at least three of the attempted terrorist plots since 9/11 have targeted synagogues or Jewish centers and, by our count, this would be the 11th plot against the Big Apple. While some have been holding their breath for the possibility of retaliation following the death of …
Is the end near for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)? Things have been pretty glum over the past few years, as the government-owned organization has reported loss after loss. The latest hit? A whopping $2.2 billion for the second quarter. That follows a loss in fiscal year 2010 of some $8.5 billion. And if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for USPS, it’s an oncoming train, as it projects that by September it will run out of cash and default on a payment owed to the …
We have had the first break in the Democratic cone of silence over President Obama’s proposed Executive Order that attempts to implement provisions of the failed DISCLOSE Act. The EO would require government contractors to report all of their contributions (including the personal contributions of their employees) to candidates, as well as donations to third-party, independent organizations that engage in political speech prior to bidding on government contacts. John Fund at the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Steny Hoyer (D-MD.), House Minority Whip and the second-ranking member of the …
Yesterday, The Heritage Foundation filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, reiterating Heritage’s opposition to the individual mandate that is a key piece of the Obamacare statute. This is the first time we have ever filed such a brief—as far anyone around here can remember. But we had no other choice. In its merits brief before the appeals court, the U.S. government quoted a 21-year-old statement by a Heritage Foundation policy expert supporting an individual mandate for health insurance, when Heritage’s view today is to the …
