Columnist.
When you think of the United States as being free, what comes to mind? The ability to speak your mind? To vote? To live and work where you please? Good answers, but there's another kind of liberty that's easily overlooked, although it affects nearly everything we do. I'm talking about economic freedom. How free are we to earn without being overtaxed and overregulated? How complicated is it to start a business and keep it running? Does our government spend too much? Can we trade freely with other countries?
Whether you're liberal or conservative, it's usually easy to say what you oppose. Both sides spend a good deal of time trying to shoot down policies from the other side. But do you know what you favor? It's not enough to simply say "no" all the time. Yes, that's an important function in our system of government. Opposing bad policies is part of the job. But only part. You also need to promote good policies. And if you lose sight of what you're for, you won't be able to do that — at least not effectively. That's why I'm glad to see the Heritage Foundation's "Solutions 2016" come out. It's more than a handbook of sensible policy solutions on a wide range of issues, both domestic and foreign. It's a gut check for conservatives — a reminder of why we do what we do.
America has always been a melting pot. We are a nation founded by people from all over the world who came here seeking a better life for themselves and their families. So why is immigration such a hot-button issue? To be sure, it has often been steeped in bitter controversy at various points throughout our history. Certain ethnic groups have bravely borne the brunt of suspicion and hostility — and proven their ability to become good, patriotic Americans. But today, the issue seems to have taken on a harder edge. Why?
A recent Gallup poll asked Americans to name the No. 1 issue facing the country. What do you suppose came out on top? Not the economy. Not health care. Not immigration. No, the issue that headed the list was terrorism. This hardly seems surprising in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Yet that didn't stop certain critics from dismissing this fear and airing the statistics that show you have more to fear from car accidents, heart disease and ingrown toenails than from terrorism.
Figuring out what to make of the climate change talks recently held in Paris isn't as easy as you might think. Talk about a confusing atmosphere. There was the positive: The Paris deal "establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis," President Obama said. "I believe this moment can be a turning point for the world." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "a monumental success for the planet and its people."
Yes, Mr. President, it was "an act of terrorism." The Obama administration has been so ineffective in reacting to the threat from the Islamic State (also called ISIS and ISIL) that hearing the president use that phrase to describe the San Bernardino attack felt like a real breakthrough. Unfortunately for a nation anxious to avoid becoming home to the next Paris-style strike, there was little else to cheer in his Oval Office address.
You'll find charts galore in the 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength, but two at the start of the detailed report are particularly troubling. One shows the overall state of our military. It's not "very strong" or even "strong," according to the foreign-policy experts who wrote the index, but "marginal" for all branches except one — the Army, which is rated as "weak." The other chart notes the threats to our vital interests. They range from "elevated" for Iran and Middle East terrorism, to "high" for Russia, China and Afghanistan-Pakistan terrorism, to "severe" for North Korea.
Many Americans still believe in this nation's enduring principles. It's easy, alas, for our gratitude to become perfunctory — more something we say than something we feel. But take it from someone who has traveled to many countries: A look at what some people around the globe endure can make your appreciation genuine.
Millions of people worldwide were horrified to learn that Paris had been attacked by terrorists. But some supporters of the student protests at the University of Missouri had a unique reason for their dismay: outrage over what had happened in France was taking the spotlight off their grievances. "Wow, all this ruckus on the news and on social media about Paris in ANOTHER COUNTRY, but nothing about #Mizzou in AMERICA," read one tweet reported by The Daily Caller. "I see a lot of celebrities posting about Paris and nothing about #Mizzou," another whined. And those are the less profane reactions.
It's billed as "the world's greatest deliberative body." But at a time when public polls routinely place the popularity of federal lawmakers in single digits, it's time to ask: What happened to the U.S. Senate? That's a question that has troubled many, both inside and outside of Washington, for a long time. The dysfunction has reached such a low that a freshman senator named Ben Sasse of Nebraska recently made it the subject of his first speech on the Senate floor.
It seems fitting that the Heritage Foundation released its latest Index of U.S. Military Strength just before Halloween. It makes for some scary reading. It's easy to assume that our military will always be prepared to not only defend our shores, but to protect our allies and interests worldwide. Indeed, to suggest otherwise might seem unnecessarily pessimistic. But wishful thinking doesn't keep you safe — doing the hard work to remain prepared does. You can't do that if you don't examine our actual state of readiness, and that's what the editors of the 2016 edition of the index have done.
"Some of these weapons [purchased by the EPA] are for full-scale military operations."
Even those of us who have worked in Washington for many years and become accustomed to the inner workings of government can still be amazed by what lurks behind the curtain sometimes. Case in point: the Environmental Protection Agency. Most Americans have at least heard of the EPA, even if they have only a dim notion of what the agency actually does. It tends to skate along under the radar, unless something unusual happens, such as the toxic spill that turned the Colorado's Animas River orange last August. Of course, what really made the spill unusual is that the EPA itself caused it.
Debate. It's the hallmark of an open society. We may hold different points of view on a certain topic, but we can express those views freely, without fear of repercussions. Unless, that is, you dare to question the idea of man-made global warming. That, apparently, puts you beyond the pale. You can insist the 1969 Apollo moon landing was staged, or that 9/11 was an "inside job," and it's "live and let live" time. But disagree with the view that climate change is not only occurring but is caused by human activity, and you invite a stay in a rubber room.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye is in Washington this week as the third of President Obama's summit trifecta with Northeast Asian leaders. She has the opportunity to address growing regional security challenges and reassert an important Korean role on the world stage. When I attended President Park's inauguration in 2013, I stated that I had "every confidence that she would carry South Korea's success and the relationship with the United States to new heights." Two years later, I believe my confidence was well-placed.
Not many people make a habit of carrying large amounts of cash around. After all, thieves could steal it. How ironic, then, that a growing threat to your money is the people you'd call if your money was stolen: the police. And all because of a little-known law-enforcement tool known as civil forfeiture. It allows police departments to keep the proceeds from whatever property they seize in the course of conducting an investigation or making an arrest.
To say that Pope Francis' visit to the United States drew a lot of media attention would be an understatement. The coverage was 'round-the-clock. Yet as a lifelong "cradle Catholic," educated by Jesuits, I couldn't help noticing what a remarkably incomplete, if not misleading, portrait emerged of the Holy Father. Ask most people what issues concern the pope, and they'll likely cite immigration and climate change. And yes, he has discussed them on many occasions, at times using terms that have led some liberals to declare the pontiff is a card-carrying socialist with little patience for allegedly "outdated" traditional church teachings.
A lot of things can date an old movie or TV show: clothes, furniture, cars. And another thing: cigarettes. They're all over the place in many films, markers of an era when smoking was far more common. It took a while — the surgeon general's report came out five decades ago — but the percentage of smokers has declined, and rather drastically. Growing awareness of the health risks of tobacco helped bring a sharp drop in public acceptance.
The modern conservative movement has lost one of its real heroes. John Von Kannon, "the Baron," has passed to a better place after a long struggle with cancer. Someone wrote that John had been battling cancer for more than a year. That's true, but as Bob Tyrrell, the longtime editor of The American Spectator and John's first boss, reminds us, John also battled cancer early in his life. In the mid-1970s, Bob and a group of us threw a party for John in New York City because he was dying of leukemia. But John managed to overcome it then, and shared with all of us another 40 years of friendship, fellowship, leadership and wise counsel.
Another school year is underway, and more parents than ever are using school choice to ensure the best education for their children. Or should I say trying to use them? Some groups, after all, are trying to thwart them. Who, you ask? Just ask parents in Nevada. The Silver State is one of five nationwide (along with Arizona, Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee) to have Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) that enable families to deposit their child's state per-pupil funding in an account that can be used for a variety of education options.
