To Support and Defend: Understanding the Oath of Office

This Wednesday, all 435 Members of the House of Representatives and the 33 incoming Senators will perform a constitutional rite that harkens back to the country’s founding. “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned,” reads Article VI of the Constitution, “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.” The Members of Congress will […]

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Constitutional Know-Nothings

The 112th Congress has an unprecedented plan. They are going to read the Constitution-the document that each member will swear to uphold-aloud on their first day. When asked on MSNBC to comment, Washington Post writer Ezra Klein replied “It’s a gimmick. I mean, you can say two things about it. One, is that it has […]

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The Age of Uncertainty

Entrepreneurs fret daily over economic uncertainty. Case in point: Even with passage of the lame-duck tax deal, they still don’t know what their tax burden will be two years from now. Approval of that deal lifted what The Wall Street Journal dubs the “world of the temporary tax code” to unprecedented heights. The Journal explains: […]

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Democracy Building in Interesting Times

The Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and Taiwan’s Institute for National Policy Research, are organizing a full day public conference in Taipei on January 10 entitled “Democracy Building in Interesting Times.” The conference, co-hosted by Heritage Foundation President Edwin J. Feulner, is intended to give folks in Asia who are […]

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Do We Still Believe in American Sovereignty?

The current language surrounding American foreign policy (and the New START Treaty in particular) is diplomatic and courteous.  It is also dangerously ambiguous about American sovereignty.  As Steven Groves explains in the latest installment of the Understanding America series, “Sovereignty is a simple idea: the United States is an independent nation, governed by the American […]

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Old Tricks for New Dangers in Germany

Two days ago the German Ministry of Interior conducted raids against 2 fundamentalist Islamic groups — — Invitation to Paradise, in the cities of Brunswick and Moenchengladbach, and the Islamic Culture Center of Bremen, on the North Sea coast. The pretext for the raids was to take action against “anti-constitutional organizations”. The ministry’s statement added […]

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A Reading List With New Common Sense

It is that time of the year again: Christmas gift list guides are out. (Find out which book made both the Claremont Institute’s book list and Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s reading list!) If you are looking for the perfect gift, a good book for the airplane, or something to do while the in-laws […]

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Arizona Immigration Law in the Supreme Court: Employers Who Knowingly Hire Illegal Aliens

The oral arguments in the Supreme Court on Wednesday in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting were an interesting mix of tap dancing, political correctness, and duplicity. In Whiting, the Chamber of Commerce sued the state of Arizona over its 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act, which (1) authorizes the suspension and revocation of the business […]

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