Gibson Guitar is an American icon. Musicians ranging from blues legend B.B. King to rock stars with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith have used its guitars. Today, however, the guitar maker is facing a high-profile persecution from its own government. The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing a case that smacks of overcriminalization. Federal agents raided Gibson’s Nashville headquarters in August, the second raid on the company since 2009. Agents were working off a tip that Gibson broke laws in India and Madagascar, two countries that supply Gibson with ebony and other …
Medicare—on its current path—cannot be sustained. At a recent hearing held by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Ranking Member Senator Bob Corker (R–TN) stressed the importance of Medicare reform. According to Corker, in 2011, “The U.S. spent $572 billion on Medicare, and spending is projected to increase to $1 trillion in 2021.” The relationship between the amount citizens pay in to Medicare and the benefits they receive presents another losing equation for taxpayers. If an average couple combined makes $87,000 a year, they will pay $119,000 (including their employers’ …
Former Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi is dead from wounds he suffered during his capture near his hometown of Sirte, according to Reuters reports. If the news turns out to be true, it would be great news for the people of Libya who have long suffered under Qadhafi’s tyrannical rule and who have waged a months-long civil war to end the decades-old dictatorship. However, just as the death of Saddam Hussein did not mark the end of hostilities in Iraq and the death of Osama bin Laden did not spell the …
Apparently unemployment is not much of a problem in the private sector. At least Senator Harry Reid (D–NV) thinks so. Debating the Senate’s proposed $35 billion bailout for state and local governments, Reid argued, “It’s very clear that private sector jobs have been doing just fine. It’s the public sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that’s what this legislation is all about.” Senator Reid is not just mistaken; he has his facts exactly backwards. If the recession has barely touched one sector of the economy, it is …
Carl H. Lindner, Jr. died October 17 at the age of 92. With his passing The Heritage Foundation lost a longtime friend and supporter, the conservative cause lost a stouthearted champion, the business world lost one of its great successes, and America lost one of her most loyal sons. Carl’s success story is a remarkable one. He dropped out of school at the age of 14 and made his fortune the old-fashioned way, earning it through many years of 80-hour weeks and guided by a business sense of rare insight. …
It was reported early in October that Russia’s first fourth-generation nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine, the Severodvinsk, successfully conducted its first sea trials. In naval terms, a fourth-generation submarine belongs to the latest and most modern generation of submarines. The Severodvinsk is a Project 885 submarine of the Yásen’ (ash tree) class that has been described as “an undersea nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser.” Plans are for six or seven Yásen’ class submarines to be built, with the second vessel, Kazan, currently under construction. The Severodvinsk has significant characteristics and capabilities. It has …
The Supreme Court’s term has barely begun, and yet speculation already abounds regarding when the Court will hear and how it will decide politically controversial cases such as Obamacare, racial preferences, immigration, and same-sex marriage. Court watchers offer their predictions on the outcomes of the cases, but many if not most simply presume that the justices will decide the cases based on what they individually believe to be good policy, rather than based on any requirement in the law. Liberal activist judges have given the public reason to believe judging …
They are at it again. Despite numerous unsuccessful tries to develop a government-facilitated plan to refinance problem mortgages, another one appears to be on the horizon. This one, currently being considered by state and federal officials and large mortgage lenders, has a better focus than earlier versions, but would at best help only a small minority of those who have been promised assistance in the past. The good news is that it would focus on providing help for those who have continued to pay their mortgages on time, despite the …
Camping out for nearly a month, yelling, chanting, and painting signs is apparently some people’s idea of a good time. But given all this time on their hands, and with just a little guidance, “Occupy Wall Street” protestors might really make a difference. They could, for example, help out this small-business owner. Gene Mark has some creative action items for the protestors of “Occupy Wall Street.” In his witty Huffington Post piece, filled with good-natured sarcasm, Mark calls on the protestors to help his small business during protest down time. …
Remember when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of Obamacare that Congress will “have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it”? Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is now taking that approach with his attempt to revamp education in America. And just as that strategy was a terrible idea for health care, it’s the wrong move for education, as well. The Senate today will begin the markup of Harkin’s 860-page proposal to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), now known as No Child Left Behind …
