We appreciate that folks at the White House are not having a good day. It started when a liberal commentator on their favorite network called the President a vulgarity, and it has not gotten better. The debt ceiling speech that liberal pundit Chris Matthews fantasized would turn the president into “Give ‘Em Hell, Barry” (Matthews’ words, not ours) has not exactly set the world on fire. Unemployment is still 9.1%, we are no closer to a deal to cut spending and pollster Rasmussen announced that only 21% of Americans strongly …
Struck by the rapid disintegration of the family in American life, Heritage’s Chuck Donovan recently called for a “Marshall Plan for Marriage” to rebuild the traditional institution and re-establish its importance. In an interview with National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez posted today, Donovan talks candidly about why this work is crucial to the nation’s economic, social and moral well-being. At the outset of their Q & A, Lopez questions Donovan’s intentional shorthand reference to America’s multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Europe after World War II, which got its nickname from …
Florida, already an education reform leader, took further steps this week to expand educational opportunity and provide more school choice for families. Governor Rick Scott (R), who on Monday signed five bills to broaden educational opportunities for K–12 students, remarked: “Everything we can do to encourage more choice, we should be doing it.” And Governor Scott is serious about expanding options. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Scott’s bills increase students’ options in a variety of ways, providing more choice between charter, public, virtual, and private schools. Charter School Choice. High-performing …
Nuclear proliferation is one of the most serious challenges facing America today. It is only a matter of time before Iran achieves nuclear capabilities. Despite international sanctions aimed at forcing the Islamic Republic to abandon its proliferation activities, Iran has tested various essential components for a nuclear warhead. A nuclear-armed Iran would jeopardize international security and stability. The direct threat posed by Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon is amplified by the indirect threat posed by a destabilizing multipolar nuclear arms race in the Middle East as countries follow suit …
Click here to join the chat! We are joined by Heritage’s Senior Fellow in Government Studies, Brian Darling and he is taking your questions about the next steps Congress and the President can take to reach a deal and what the best options to take are. Use the form to submit your questions and we will answer as many we we can. Lunch with Heritage feat. Brian Darling
Here we go again. On May 11, Senator Dick Durbin (D–IL) again introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or “DREAM” Act (S. 952). The bill allows for illegal immigrants between the ages of 15–35 who attend college or serve in the military for two years to obtain legal permanent resident status. The act has been a hotly debated topic for the better part of a decade when the first edition was introduced in the 107th Congress. The text of the legislation has barely changed, but the …
Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Judith McHale recently announced that she is moving on, leaving the job after just two years in office. Of her Bush Administration predecessors—Karen Hughes, Patricia Harrison, and James Glassman—only Hughes lasted as long. The United States has faced great global challenges in the aftermath of 9/11 in the fight for “hearts and minds” among Muslim populations. When looking at the attitudes towards the United States in the Middle East, it is clear that we have not made a dent. Regrettably, the turnover at the …
Evolution and inevitability are words much in the news lately regarding same-sex marriage. The victory for marriage redefinition advocates in New York has sparked a new round of assertions that Americans can stop thinking about and debating this basic institution of civil society. Vice President Joe Biden sounded a similar theme after the repeal of the military law on homosexual conduct last December. “Inevitability” is a hardy perennial, therefore, but hardly correct. The debate over marriage has entered a new phase, but it is nowhere near an endgame. First, the …
The Senate canceled next week’s recess to address the country’s debt crisis. It’s an issue in the headlines every day as lawmakers and the White House debate a debt-reduction plan. Why does it matter? The national debt is set to explode in the coming decades as spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security skyrockets. Even the International Monetary Fund has warned United States that it must reduce its debt or face serious economic consequences. Without action, the national debt will eventually reach a staggering 344 percent …
Reading the results of the latest Pew poll on how to interpret the Constitution, I was reminded of an insightful remark by the great essayist Montaigne: “It is very easy, upon accepted foundations, to build what you please.” What really matters, in other words, is the question. Once you’ve framed the problem a certain way, the range of answers is necessarily circumscribed and it becomes much easier to nudge your audience in a particular direction. Consider the question posed by the Pew Research Center: “Should the Supreme Court base its …
