Fellow Americans: It has been over three years (1,111 days to be precise) since the U.S. Senate last passed a budget. The last time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) fulfilled his legal responsibility, Conan was still on NBC, Tea Parties hadn’t come together and the iPad hadn’t yet been introduced. This is one of the biggest abdications of power we have seen on the part of our government in modern time. And there is no excuse. The Senate needs only 51 votes to pass a budget. Democrats have had …
We at Heritage were saddened to learn of the death of Christian leader, cultural commentator and former White House counselor Charles W. “Chuck” Colson. America is the land of second chances — and few men have made more of theirs than Chuck Colson did. For in addition to loving and serving his country, the former Marine captain and “President’s hatchetman” came to love and serve a God of second chances. As an author, speaker and laborer in the vineyard, Chuck spent the past four decades encouraging others to escape poverty, …
Fellow Americans: It has been two years this week since the passage of Obamacare, and the firestorm it ignited has not abated but only spread and intensified. Most Americans have already made up their minds, understanding that until it is completely removed, the cancer of Obamacare threatens not only our healthcare and our economy but also our most fundamental liberties and constitutional self-government. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on its constitutionality, bringing this intolerable act to the forefront of the American mind once again and reminding the …
When President George W. Bush presented James Q. Wilson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian award, he said that whatever the subject, Professor Wilson “writes with intellectual rigor, with moral clarity, to the appreciation of a wide and growing audience.” Jim’s passing this morning at age 80 robs us of an intellectual giant, but we find solace in knowing that his legacy lives on. Jim was a great teacher, a good man, and a longtime friend. For many years he told the truth and taught the …
It was with great sadness that I heard this morning Andrew Breitbart passed away from natural causes at the young age of 43. Our first thoughts turn to his family: his wife Susie and his four children. He loved them with the same passion he had for his crusades on behalf of freedom. The prayers of the Heritage family are with them. This is a loss for the entire country. The cause of truth and freedom will be without one of its biggest champions. Andrew was fearless. He took on …
We keep hearing that the economy is in a “jobless recovery.” What’s holding American companies back? Why aren’t they hiring more people? High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our economy. And small businesses, which fuel so much economic growth and hire so many people, often wind up particularly hard-hit by them. You don’t have to be a doctrinaire conservative to realize this. The Economist, the London-based news weekly – and a supporter of President …
UPDATE: Many people have been asking about the schedule of the bus tour. The most current schedule can be found at http://www.valuesbus.com/ The United States is at a crossroads. Over the course of the next 10 months, Americans will watch as the future of our country is debated — state by state, county by county, and town by town. In the 2012 presidential election, voters will make a fundamental decision that will have vast implications for future generations and the very survival of the American dream. That’s why today The …
Heritage Foundation President Edwin J. Feulner today issued the following statement on the death of former Heritage Fellow Tony Blankley: Tony Blankley was a man of principle and passion. A penetrating analyst and compelling commentator, he was a straight shooter who never missed his mark. As press secretary and advisor to Newt Gingrich, he helped craft the “Contract With America,” mapping a course of responsible government that captured the imagination—and the support—of the American people. As the editorial page editor of The Washington Times, he demonstrated a mastery of foreign …
The cause of freedom lost a passionate advocate with the death of former Czech president, dissident and playwright Vaclav Havel. President Havel inspired freedom-loving peoples throughout Europe in 1989, the “year of miracles.” Defying one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in history, Havel led Czechoslovakia from the darkness of Soviet totalitarianism to the light of democracy. Small wonder that he was one of the first recipients of the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom, awarded by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. In the years that followed, Mr. Havel became …
Most of us have heard or read at least part of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation at some point. But even those who have heard it many times can overlook two important aspects of this important document. The first is its timing: October 3, 1863. The nation had already endured two years of appalling carnage on the battlefields of the Civil War. And although Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg seemed to mark a turning point in favor of the Union, there was no clear light at the end of the …
