Indonesia Continues to Disappoint on Religious Freedom

Robertus Pudyanto/Aflo/Newscom The United States Commission on Individual Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has again rated Indonesia as a Tier 2 country. The Tier 2 designation indicates that “violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are particularly severe.” It means that the country is on the threshold of joining Burma, China, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea […]

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Iranian flag

Iran’s Bogus “Election” Process

Newscom Iranian authorities on Tuesday announced the approval of eight candidates who will be allowed to compete in the June 14 presidential election. The Guardian Council, which vetted the candidates, made sure that Iran’s next president will be a pliable servant of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The regime hopes to repair its sagging […]

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Muslim Brotherhood symbol and Obama

President Wishes Away Terrorism

Pat Benic/UPI/Newscom Today, President Obama acknowledged the myriad terrorist threats around the world during his remarks at the National Defense University. Yet his description was much rosier than reality: “Today, the core of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat.” That point is debatable by itself, but it more importantly glosses […]

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Obama Administration Refuses to Label London Attack as Terrorism

Newscom Yesterday’s appalling attack on a London street in the middle of the day, which left a British solider dead, was a barbaric act of terrorism perpetrated by Islamist fundamentalists. British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged the motivations behind yesterday’s cowardly act by saying: This country will be absolutely resolute in its stand against violent […]

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Cost of Illegal Immigration and Amnesty Could Be Higher

American taxpayers cannot afford the cost of amnesty. The cost of illegal immigration and amnesty could amount to $6.3 trillion, which would fall on American taxpayers over the long term, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis. As Heritage showed, the majority of illegal immigrants receiving amnesty would receive far more in taxpayer-funded benefits than they […]

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Social Security Benefits and Cost of Living: Protecting Against Inflation

Adopting the chained CPI (Consumer Price Index) in Social Security to more accurately account for changes in the cost of living is a small first step toward fixing a broken program that is currently accelerating its own demise by paying excess benefits. Fifty-seven million Americans receive Social Security benefits, and many live on these benefits […]

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Pro-Internet-Tax Groups Get the Facts Wrong

A letter from a small group of four pro-Internet-tax advocacy groups sent to Members of Congress yesterday claims that The Heritage Foundation is wrong on the policy and the facts regarding the issue of Internet sales taxes. Their assertion falls short. There are several fatal problems with the bill, which would allow states to force […]

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Energy Efficiency Bill Is a Big Step in the Wrong Direction

Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call/Newscom Senator Byron Dorgan (D–ND) told Greenwire (subscription required) that an energy efficiency bill that passed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would be a necessary “first step” to more federal efforts to overhaul energy policy. The legislation, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D–NH) and Rob Portman (R–OH), contains a […]

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President Obama, Bangladesh Has Faced Enough Tragedy, Don’t Take Away Jobs, Too

Sumon Yusuf/Polaris/Newscom Since late last year, workers in Bangladesh have been beset by tragedy after tragedy. First there was a factory fire that killed over 100 garment workers in November. Then last month a garment complex collapsed, killing over 1,000 people. Now, as if to add insult to injury, the Obama Administration is threatening to […]

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Information Missing from Studies on the “Benefits” of State Medicaid Expansion

Newscom Advocates of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion have produced a number of studies in various states that project significant economic benefits if states adopt the expansion. However, most of those studies omit one or more key factors that, when included, make expansion scenarios look considerably less rosy. Job creation. Many state-level studies project that adopting […]

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