The reaction of bloggers in two remaining communist dictatorships to the recent deaths of pro-freedom crusader Vaclav Havel and his polar opposite, North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Il, tells you all you need to know about why communists can’t hold elections. In the restricted cyberspace afforded to Chinese and Cubans Havel is being hailed as a hero while Kim is derided for the evil he represented. In a roundup on Chinese cyber reactions to the two deaths, the BBC observed that contrary to China’s official stance, comments by Chinese microbloggers …
The Obama Administration’s risky decision to seek the quickest possible exit from Iraq has contributed to a mushrooming political crisis there that is rapidly unraveling the hard-won gains of U.S. troops and threatens to plunge the country into a civil war that will greatly benefit Iran. Shortly after the December 15 end-of-mission ceremony for U.S. troops, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki purged many senior Sunni Arab political leaders from his fractious governing coalition. Maliki’s government, dominated by Shiite political parties of various stripes, also announced that it will prosecute Vice …
Oregon cheese, IHOP pancakes, and a Hawaiian chocolate festival. Your mouth may be watering right now, but watch out—there’s a bitter aftertaste. These foodstuffs are just three of 100 items in Senator Tom Coburn’s (R–OK) Wastebook 2011, a report detailing Washington’s egregious use of $6.9 billion in taxpayer dollars this year. That figure amounts to 13.8 million iPads, and more fruitcakes than a person could eat in one lifetime. It’s about $2 billion more than Congress appropriated to its own branch of government in fiscal year (FY) 2011. Better yet, …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, expert Bruce Klingner discusses all the latest surrounding North Korea and the death of Kim Jong Il. Click here to listen. Will Kim Jong-Un, Kim Jong Il’s son, lead North Korea down the same path? How are relations with the U.S. and South Korea affected by Kim Jong Il’s death? And what should U.S. policy be moving foward. Click the link above to listen to Klingner answer those questions and more! To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on …
The political battle over extending the payroll tax holiday is understandably confusing for many Americans, so it is worthwhile to step back and see how we got into this mess. Americans have come to expect Washington’s lamentable dysfunction, but this instance is of a different sort than most. First, the issue: A 2 percentage point cut in the federal payroll tax, enacted for 2011, is set to expire at the end of the year. The policy was dubbed a “holiday,” not because it was enacted during Christmas, but because it …
When it comes to creating jobs, North Dakota has found the right formula. The state has the largest percentage increase in employment over the past year and was the fastest of all 50 to recover from the recession. The reason is simple: energy production. “North Dakota has been the poster child for what can happen when we unleash free enterprise and allow states to develop and commercialize their resources,” Heritage’s Nick Loris wrote recently on The Foundry. “North Dakota is drilling at record pace.” The state’s unemployment rate is 3.4 …
Last week the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) requested review by the U.S. Supreme Court in Alpha Delta Chi v. Reed, a case involving two Christian student organizations at San Diego State University. According to ADF, San Diego State University denied official recognition to the two Christian organizations because they require members and/or leaders to agree with the organizations’ religious beliefs. To receive official recognition, student organizations are required to abide by a nondiscrimination policy, which includes a prohibition on religious-based discrimination in selecting members and leaders. But this requirement actually …
A federal court this week barred the simultaneous application of anti-dumping and countervailing duties to imports from China, a practice begun by the Department of Commerce in 2007. Commerce has rightly classified China a “non-market economy” for purposes of applying anti-dumping duties against goods sold in the U.S. at below-market prices. At the same time, however, it has lifted that classification for purposes of applying countervailing duties against Chinese subsidies in the same sector. In a politically sensitive decision, the court ruled these two different kinds of duties could not be simultaneously …
Amid all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the Occupy Wall Street movement continues in Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza encampment. Since it’s the season of giving, Accuracy in Media‘s Ben Johnson donned a Santa Claus hat and visited the site to ask for donations for the homeless. Was he successful? Watch and see for yourself. We’d hate to give away the ending.
