Knowing America’s history well is one of the first steps to becoming a well-rounded and knowledgeable conservative. It’s not always easy to remember the many dates, speeches, people, and events from the past 235 years, and The Heritage Foundation knows that. As a result, we have created a new one-stop shop for America’s first principles and historical inquiries on the newly designed Heritage First Principles website. With Congress in constant battles over tax policy and budgetary issues, the key questions underlying nearly every issue can be answered by America’s first …
Animal rights activists and commercial fisherman may find little common ground, but both can share their plight as victims of overcriminalization. The front page story in the Wall Street Journal juxtaposes these often-at-odds groups because they are vulnerable to the problems of overbroad and ambiguous legislation… along with the rest of us. Year after year, Congress proposes hundreds of criminal laws, and, frighteningly, many are enacted that do not require the accused to be aware that his conduct is illegal. Even the most casual observers of the criminal law system, …
Earlier today, President Obama confirmed the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born Islamist radical and an important leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). As a high-value target, Awlaki is said to have elevated AQAP to one of the most dangerous wings of the organization. He was a key asset in spreading jihadist propaganda, often engaging potential recruits and terrorist organizations outside al-Qaeda’s network. Awlaki’s death is a victory for the United States, but it is a far cry from ending the war on terrorism. AQAP’s prowess as an …
The National Organization for Marriage recently announced the launch of a new project called the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance. This vital project responds to growing concerns about the reprisals directed against many people who support marriage as one man and one woman. The Heritage Foundation has documented, for example, how people who supported Proposition 8, the California marriage amendment, were “subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry.” The goals of the …
