More Carter Redux in the Middle East

From the outset of the Obama presidency and the emergence of the Obama Doctrine, the similarities between this Administration and that of Jimmy Carter have been striking. Like Obama, Carter trumpeted soft power and international institutions as the means to solve the most perplexing foreign policy problems. The programs of both Presidents hinged on the […]

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Defense Spending: What Would Reagan Do?

In his State of the Union address to Congress, President Obama acknowledged the problems of massive deficit spending and mounting debt and offered a general plan that he said would restore fiscal health. It includes cuts to the defense budget. With two ongoing wars, numerous asymmetrical threats to our security, and the depleted state of […]

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Hands Off My Purse! Why Money Bills Originate in the House

The House of Representatives is not merely a larger Senate. The Constitution divided the legislative branch into two Houses, with different constituencies, term lengths, sizes, and functions for each house. For example, only the Senate offers advice and consent on treaties and appointments of judges and executive officials. And as Erik M. Jensen explains in […]

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Video: Obamacare – True or False Questions

Yesterday at a hearing of the House Budget Committee, Rep. McClintock asked two simple true or false questions about the two principal promises made in support of Obamacare. 1. Whether Obamacare would truly reduce costs; and 2. Whether Obamacare would threaten existing plans. Chief Actuary of Medicare Robert Foster’s blunt admission underscores the reason why […]

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A Show of Iranian Unity

Iranian political dissidents are notorious for their bitter factions and for not being able to work together—probably the single biggest cultural asset the Islamic Republic regime has. However, the Iran Democratic Transition Conference showed Iranians finding unity on a common purpose, bringing democracy to their home country where the longing for it runs deep. Taking […]

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Russia to Tighten Security After Bombing

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that public transportation would undergo a security overhaul in his country following a suicide bombing Monday at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. He criticized airport officials as having been “absolutely passive” about security, and called for “comprehensive security” instead. “Unfortunately, it should be intrusive,” he said. “Each of us […]

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Clay Pigeons to Ward Off Blackouts

The Israel Electric Company carried out an unusual repair operation in Hod HaSharon, near Tel Aviv, this week. Technicians stationed a flock of clay pigeons atop electric poles and transformers in the Neve Neeman neighborhood of the city in an attempt to put an end to repeat blackouts. The fake pigeons are intended to ward […]

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