Medicare Roundup: Setting the Record Straight

In recent weeks, liberal politicians, editorialists, and policy analysts have vigorously attacked reform of Medicare based on a defined contribution financing. In fact, this approach to reforming Medicare has a long bipartisan tradition, going back to the 1980s and Representatives Richard Gephardt (D–MO) and David Stockman (R–MI). In fact, much of this criticism is distorted, […]

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Chart of the Week: Obamacare’s Barrage of Tax Hikes Coming in 2013

The first presidential debate takes place in Denver on Wednesday with a focus on domestic issues, including President Obama’s unpopular health-care law. Obamacare imposes numerous tax increases on Americans, totaling more than $500 billion over a 10-year period. According to Heritage’s analysis, these higher tax rates on income and investment threaten to slow economic growth. […]

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Q&A: “Won’t Back Down” Producer Brings School Choice to Big Screen

The movie “Won’t Back Down” opened yesterday in more than 2,500 theaters across America. The film brings to the big screen the highly charged issue of education reform by showcasing how two committed parents take on the establishment. With a cast of stars, including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, the movie has already prompted protests […]

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Distinctly Different Approaches at the U.N.: Obama and Netanyahu on Iran

A nuclear-armed Iran was a key topic of discussion at the U.N. General Assembly this week, including speeches by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama. While both leaders agreed that “a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained,” there are key differences in approaching this issue. The following statements […]

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As Spain and Greece Burn, Estonia Offers a Lesson

A fire bomb explodes behind a riot police squad on September 26 in Athens, Greece, during clashes with demonstrators. (Photo: AFP) Over the past few days, new strikes and riots have convulsed Greece and Spain. Conventional wisdom (including from economist Paul Krugman) suggests that cuts in government spending—often described as “austerity”—are a primary cause of […]

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Muslim Leaders Make Case for Global Blasphemy Ban at U.N.

(CNSNews.com) – True to their word, the leaders of the world’s two most populous Muslim countries used their speeches at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday to call for a legally-binding, global anti-blasphemy protocol.Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Pakistan counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, both argued that insults against Mohammed, Islam’s prophet, incite violence […]

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Public Diplomacy as Apology

Judging by President Obama’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly yesterday, U.S. public diplomacy messaging on the Middle East crisis is stuck perpetually on a setting of “apology.”It has been this way since the much-criticized September 11 statement from the U.S. embassy in Cairo, which apologized to the threatening mob outside its gates for any […]

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Congress Still Using Commemorative Coins to Get Around Earmark Ban

House and Senate Republicans have introduced legislation that would prevent Congress from using commemorative coins to fund pet projects as a creative workaround to the earmark ban. In April, The Heritage Foundation’s sister organization, Heritage Action, first wrote about the commemorative coin process. Currently, Congressmen can introduce commemorative coin bills depicting national icons in their […]

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Obama’s Foreign Policy Strewn with “Bumps in the Road”

In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, President Obama referred to the problematic relations with Middle Eastern governments as “bumps in the road.” These “bumps” (failures, in reality) are the result of a policy based on profound naiveté and shortsightedness. When he came to office, President Obama attempted to portray himself as the antithesis […]

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