It’s official: The Supreme Court announced today that it will take up the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) this term. This was hardly unexpected. As we previously noted, the High Court was almost certain to hear one or more of these cases after two federal circuit courts struck down DOMA as a violation of equal […]
The November employment report appeared to be good news. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest level since 2009, and the economy created 146,000 jobs. However, a closer reading of the details shows that the labor market is not recovering any faster but instead continuing its long, painful march to full recovery. The […]
Jim DeMint will leave the U.S. Senate next year to become president of The Heritage Foundation, succeeding Edwin J. Feulner, the man who first envisioned the think tank in 1973 and has led it as president for the past 36 years. These photos were taken at a Heritage staff meeting on December 6. Heritage Board […]
On November 29, the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) had its first successful test run, during which it intercepted an air-breathing target (that is, a missile that does not fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere). While the Pentagon decided not to procure the MEADS program, Congress recently eliminated the funding that would allow the completion […]
The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times had front-page stories yesterday on the Securities and Exchange Commission suing the China subsidiaries of major accounting firms for not cooperating with investigations into possible fraud at Chinese clients. The famous multinational auditors are complaining, the Chinese firms are complaining, the Chinese government is complaining. None of […]
Heavy rains wiping out crops, the Baltic Sea freezing over, unusually powerful earthquakes triggering tsunamis, and the largest flood recorded in central Europe. Top it off with famine, plague, and social unrest, and people began talking about the end of the world—in the early 14th century. These days, 14th-century Europe sounds a bit familiar in […]
The fiscal cliff is getting closer by the day, and it’s not just Washington wonks who are noticing. Even baseball players are on fiscal cliff watch. Government Executive recently looked at the details of Major League Baseball star B.J. Upton’s newly signed five-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. There’s at least one interesting provision: The […]
A painted welcome to President Obama in Burma. (Photo: EPA/Newscom) President Obama missed a key opportunity to advance robust religious liberty in prepared remarks delivered in Burma recently. This is especially disappointing given that Burma has a long track record of persecution against religious minorities; the plight of Muslims in its west is just the […]
The House Republican leadership has offered a substantive counteroffer to President Obama’s frivolous fiscal cliff proposal of last week. At first blush, it appears little more than categorical, pre-emptive capitulation. To be fair, the details of the Republican proposal are extraordinarily vague. Nor is much clarity or comfort gained from the three-page accompanying letter sent […]
House Cloakroom: December 3 – December 7 Analysis: The House has returned from its Thanksgiving vacation, when Members undoubtedly ate well and enjoyed numerous football games, to do… more of the same. They spent the most of the past week naming post offices until they finally got around to an immigration measure on Friday. All […]
