The US is indebted mainly to …well.. Americans. Still, foreigners hold about 47 percent of the national debt, with China and Japan owning the biggest chunks, but not the majority. The U.S. owes somebody a whole pile of money. You knew that, right? Years of deficit spending have run up the national debt to a […]
A group of U.S. Senators called the Gang of Six has cobbled together the third Senate-originated half-baked idea this week that would lead to hiking the debt limit. All three Senate approaches — the McConnell Plan, the McConnell-Reid “Just Borrow More” Plan, and now the Gang of Six “Maybe Later in the Year” Plan — […]
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) visits Heritage today for The Bloggers Briefing. He will be discussing his new book, “The Great American Awakening: Two Years That Changed America, Washington, and Me,” which highlights the birth of the Tea Party. He will be joined by American Legislative Exchange Council Senior Director for Public Affairs Raegan Weber and […]
by Stephen Schwartz American Thinker July 17, 2011 Gertrude Stein, the controversial modernist author, spent part of her childhood in Oakland, California, a city on the southern border of Berkeley, home of the flagship campus of the University of California system. Returning to Oakland later in life, Stein is supposed to have complained, “there’s no […]
House Cloakroom: July 18 – July 22 Analysis: Next week will be a big week in the House for the fight over the debt ceiling increase. On Tuesday the House will vote on the cut, cap and balance plan that would reduce spending, enact a statutory spending cap and make an increase in the debt […]
Turkish authorities arrested 15 suspected al-Qaeda militants this week and foiled a plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in Ankara shortly before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to arrive in Turkey for a diplomatic conference regarding Libya. This should serve as a reminder that al-Qaeda has survived the loss of its founder, Osama […]
Everyone’s heard that Moody’s has threatened to downgrade our bond rating unless the debt ceiling is raised. We get that—crisis pending, yada, yada, yada. But if you read the announcement closely, there are important new points they added to the mix. First, Moody’s really doesn’t believe–that the President really will let Geithner default on our […]
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) says the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is finally “beginning to break down the walls of silence and refusal” from the Obama administration about the Operation Fast and Furious scandal. As its chairman, Issa has doggedly pursued answers on the illegal gun trafficking operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and […]
Social Security is currently unsustainable. It began running deficits in 2010 and its trust fund will be exhausted by 2036, which is when seniors will see about a 25 percent cut in benefits. This is the scenario we face if Congress and the President fail to enact meaningful entitlement reform and continue reckless fiscal policies. […]
It’s Round 2 in President Obama’s effort to get the U.S. Senate to agree to ratification of a major international treaty. Late last year, the President successfully pressed the Senate to ratify the New START treaty with Russia, which dealt with nuclear weapons. Now, it’s ramping up pressure on another treaty, the United Nations Convention […]
