June 26, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward

Amnesty doesn’t work

“Amnesty doesn’t work,” Heritage scholar and former Attorney General Edwin Meese says in a new video. “It only encourages more people to come into the United States.”

“Amnesty doesn’t work,” Heritage scholar and former Attorney General Edwin Meese says in a new video. “It only encourages more people to come into the United States.”

Watch the full video of Ed Meese online

The Heritage Foundation needs your help to spread the word about the consequences of the immigration bill. Here’s two ways you can help:

• Forward the video of Ed Meese to your friends
• Encourage them to sign up for MyHeritage.org e-mails

Immigration update

The revived “compromise” immigration bill passed an early test today when Senators voted 64-35 to reopen debate. They will spend the next two days discussing the legislation and considering amendments before a procedural vote Thursday and a possible final vote Friday.

Click here for a list of Heritage’s latest analysis of the immigration proposal.

J.C. Watts on why Heritage matters

The Heritage Foundation forms a vital part of the conservative movement, former Rep. J.C. Watts said in a wide-ranging speech to Heritage members in New York last Thursday.

Watch the video of J.C. Watts’ speech online

Read more about Watts’ remarks

—By DeEtte Chatterton and Nathaniel Ward

Good news on spending

With the liberal Congress pushing its radical agenda, it’s refreshing to see that one group of lawmakers is actually standing up for conservative values.

Heritage’s Rob Bluey points out that conservatives in the House of Representatives are holdin firm on out-of-control spending—and their stand has worked. “House Republicans have coalesced around the issue of federal spending, handing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a stinging defeat on earmark reform and sending their liberal colleagues a unified message not to exceed the president's budget requests.”

Conservatives scored a triumph, he explains, when they “managed to round up 147 members to sign a letter vowing to uphold the president’s veto of spending bills that exceed his budget requests. That’s one member more than the 146 needed to sustain a veto.”

But he warns that it’s too early to celebrate, since liberals still have every intention of ramming through bloated big-government spending bills.

Remembering Russell Kirk

Speaking at the Heritage Foundation last week, scholar and noted author George Nash recounted Russell Kirk’s remarkable life and his essential conservative writings.

“On the issues that truly mattered, Russell Kirk stood his ground, and because he did, we his grateful heirs can carry on,” said Nash, one of the conservative movement’s foremost historians.

Read more about Kirk’s conservative legacy.

—By DeEtte Chatterton

In other news

• The Supreme Court handed down an important victory for free speech yesterday. The justices overturned parts of the onerous McCain-Feingold campaign finance “reform” law that prohibited issue advertising by third parties. In another speech-related decision, the Court held that schools may block students from advocating drug use, even if the advocacy isn’t explicit.
• The Supreme Court also ruled against environmental activists who argued the Bush administration had done too little to protect endangered species, and rejected a lawsuit against the administration’s faith-based programs by an atheist group.
• Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) has joined Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R-IN) call for American troops in Iraq to begin their withdrawal. Neither called for a timetable for this retreat, but both said the Bush administration should make it clear to Iraq’s government and neighbors that American forces are leaving.
• The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act died in the Senate today when the measure failed to gain sufficient support to hold a vote. The bill would have imposed substantial economic controls to benefit unions and stripped workers of their right to a fair unionization vote.
• Left-leaning Gordon Brown will become Britain’s Prime Minister tomorrow. Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair will serve as a Middle East envoy.
• The liberal leadership in Congress last week introduced a series of tax hikes specifically targeting investment firms, punishing those whose finances help drive the economy. “Congress must ensure that our tax code is fair,” Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) said without irony as he promoted a bill to treat some taxpayers more unfairly than others.
• Ali Hassan al-Majeed, better known as “Chemical Ali” for his use of chemical weapons to crush enemies of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, was sentenced to death Sunday.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the black marks against Russia’s history are nothing compared to those of the United States. Perhaps not coincidentally, elements of the anti-American Left use the same arguments.

Coming up at Heritage

To attend the following Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org.  All times are Eastern.

• On Wednesday, June 27, at noon, James Carafano hosts a panel discussion aimed at sorting out Hollywood hype from principled solutions for energy policy.
• On Monday, July 2 at 10 am Tim Kane hosts speakers Bryan Caplan and Phillip Levy, who will discuss the future of international free enterprise.

• On Monday, July 10 at noon, James Phillips hosts a panel discussion on the new book Taking on Tehran, featuring Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. DeEtte Chatterton contributed to this report.

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