Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) wants the National Labor Relations Board to turn over all documents related to its recent complaint against The Boeing Co. The NLRB, already facing a backlash for its meddling in a private company’s business decision, is now under fire for the secretive process it used to reach that conclusion. DeMint’s wide-ranging Freedom of Information Act request suggests that politically connected special interests influenced the NLRB’s complaint against the company. The federal agency has asked an administrative law judge to halt expansion of Boeing’s operations in South …
Today marks the 67th anniversary of Allied troops storming Normandy in what was known as D-Day. It was the knockout blow to Axis forces in Europe during World War II and the catalyst to ending the war in the Atlantic Theater. The heroism has been memorialized in countless movies and television documentaries, but nothing could truly capture the horrors of the battlefield on that day. The sacrifice of the brave young men was almost overwhelming. The largest assault in World War II came at a heavy price, but freedom was …
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in town this week for a visit to the White House, where President Obama will present her with the Medal of Freedom. Her visit comes at a time when the United States and Germany are struggling to find common ground on a variety of issues. The two world leaders will have much to discuss besides the global economy, and neither should substitute style for substance. For starters, Merkel will need to explain why her government is pursing further cuts to Germany’s already small defense …
Ethanol subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year continue to lose support among the public and in Congress. King Corn, understandably not too happy about this change in public attitude, has launched an extensive lobbying campaign targeting Capitol Hill and beyond. The Corn Farmers Coalition has launched a visible ad campaign in Washington, in addition to revamping its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Featuring the faces of happy corn-growing families carrying messages of the industry’s progress on billboards all throughout the D.C. metro system, the …
In President Barack Obama’s first two years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) averaged 108 disaster declarations per year. In less than six months, FEMA already has issued 100 declarations in 2011. The record year remains 1996, when President Bill Clinton issued 157 declarations. If FEMA maintains this pace for the rest of the year, it will exceed 200 declarations and push President Obama’s yearly average to 139 per year. This figure would continue the trend started by President George H. W. Bush of presidential Administrations exceeding the previous Administration’s …
The House Republican Study Committee (RSC) has deployed a new theme to be introduced into the debt limit increase debate: “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” The debt limit is expected to be considered by both chambers of Congress by August 2. House conservatives have drawn up a list of demands in consideration for allowing the debt limit to be increased. The fault lines are clear in the debate right now. The Los Angeles Times reports today that there is a standoff between the two parties on a debt limit deal, and …
For the masses in repressive regimes like Iran, the Internet represents the last bastion of freedom of expression—but not for long. Early this year, Iran announced its plan to create a cyber army, 25,000 strong, to strengthen state control of the Internet. But why should the Iranian government waste its time controlling and filtering the Internet when it can create its own? Scratch the World Wide Web—here comes the Iranian Wide Web. While Iran was once a leader in Internet access in the Middle East—it was the first Muslim nation …
Iran’s uranium enrichment program has increased its production rate by 17 percent in recent months and by 84 percent since 2009, according to a new study by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. Author Greg Jones projected that Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to fuel a nuclear weapon in about 62 days if it chose to do so. Jones based his estimate on data drawn from the May 24 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which spelled out in greater detail than ever before the growing concerns that …
A frequent accusation against conservative Medicare reform proposals is that they would “end Medicare as we know it.” But the reality is that Obamacare has already accomplished this. One example is a new program that will, for the first time, attempt to pay for quality by penalizing hospitals that fail to meet bureaucratically created standards for quality and efficiency. Achieving better value in Medicare should be a goal of any serious reform plan, but the new law’s solution is unlikely to succeed. Instead, it will negatively impact patients and the …
In the 1995 movie The Net, Sandra Bullock fights computer hackers attempting to cyber-sabotage her life. The hackers successfully change her identity, manipulate U.S. markets, and access the private personal data of U.S. officials. While the clunky looking computers, cell phones, and storyline in the movie are joked about today, cyber terrorism is a real—and much bigger—threat 16 years later. Protecting America is no longer just a matter of diplomacy and sending armed forces overseas to fight. In the past 10 years, national defense has become a multifaceted intelligence enterprise, …
