As a member of European Parliament, Daniel Hannan has seen our future, and it isn’t pretty. The fiery British politician (and YouTube sensation) was at The Heritage Foundation last week to discuss his new book, “The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America” and to sound the alarm to Americans of the creeping European-style socialism that is gaining ground among our government. Before his lecture, he sat down with us to discuss his warning to America and made clear that the core principles undergirding Western democracies are under …
Congress did something important yesterday: It took a stand on behalf of American security, and it did so at the risk of angering our European allies. That took some guts, but it was the right thing to do. The European Union is a critical partner for America in maintaining our national security. Europe serves as a gateway for travel to the U.S. and a welcome trading partner for our goods. European nations have sent troops to fight in Afghanistan and—under the umbrella of NATO—to Libya. Our own security benefits from …
The Washington Post is right. In an editorial today, the paper called to account the European Parliament, whose fixations on “amorphous anxieties” about privacy (to use the Post’s words) are threatening American security. The Parliament, for reasons one suspects of local politics, is rushing headlong toward a confrontation with the United States over the sharing of air travel data (known as Passenger Name Records). The U.S. uses data like this to track and capture terrorists like Faisal Shazad, the Times Square bomber. It is too early to tell whether it …
Last week, European Parliament member Daniel Hannan promoted his new book, The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America, at the Cato Institute. In what he called “a message from the future,” Hannan gave ample warning of what will happen if we do not change our path toward Euro-socialism, but he also provides a note of hope for the American ideal. One never knows what to expect from a man who is known for being a viral video celebrity—unless that man is Daniel Hannan. Ruffling feathers in …
Earlier this month while in Brussels, Vice President Joe Biden told the European Parliament that while “some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, DC as the ‘capital of the free world’ … it seems to me that this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title.” How revealing. The European Union is a profoundly anti-democratic institution, created and forced …
Sometimes when presidents are elected, they siphon off old vestiges of previous administrations. Perhaps they discard a rarely used perk or discontinue a tradition such as the playing of “Hail to the Chief.” But never has this nation seen an administration treat the idea of American exceptionalism in the same manner you would a used Oval Office carpet. Sure, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden recognize that America was once the leader of the free world, they simply think that the line of thinking is something to be admired in …
Following the introduction of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has claimed its first scalp thanks to the increased powers bestowed upon it by the Treaty; and it has a distinctly anti-American flavor. Voting in Strasbourg, Parliamentarians voted down an EU-US agreement on tracking terrorist financing which was agreed in November 2009, before the passage of the Lisbon Treaty. Top Administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are reportedly furious. The Terrorism Finance Tracking Project, introduced after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is now in jeopardy. This comes in …
President Obama’s decision to skip the annual U.S.-EU summit in Europe, May 24-25, has not endeared him to some Europeans; many of whom once again feel spurned by the man they have so greatly admired, and whose election they so ardently wished for. As reported by The New York Times, “In addition to the palpable sense of insult among European officials, there is a growing concern that Europe is being taken for granted and losing importance in American eyes compared with the rise of a newly truculent China.” The problem …
Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan came to Heritage today to remind Americans why and how to avoid Europe’s mistakes. On March 24, 2009, Daniel Hannan became an overnight internet sensation when a YouTube recording of his three-minute speech responding to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s remarks before the European Parliament went viral. As the most viewed video for two days running and with over 2.4 million views to date, Dan Hannan’s speech opposing higher public spending, tax increases and record borrowing in the current economic crisis sparked international …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs[/youtube]In a speech during Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to the European Parliament on March 24, 2009, British Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan gives a striking speech directed at his Prime Minister, explaining the pitfalls of liberal borrow-spend-bailout policies. Sound familiar? Instead of DVDs, President Obama should have given Gordon Brown his teleprompter, because without it, there is no response to this.
