Increasing crime—what’s to blame?
February 15, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward
The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released a report indicating that the crime rate edged up in 2005 compared to 2004, while a second report showed that crime was up in the first half of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Liberals were quick to pin the blame for this increase on recent cuts in federal subsidies for local law enforcement.
Liberals blame spending cuts. But what’s really at issue? Click here to find out.
Happy George Washington’s Birthday
Next Monday, many Americans will take the day off to celebrate George Washington’s Birthday, erroneously known in many circles as “President’s Day.” A few weeks back I mentioned that Heritage’s Matthew Spalding had written in American Legion Magazine about the importance of remembering what the holiday is really about: a celebration of our first President.
Click here to read his article online: “The Man Who Would Not Be King.”
The politics of global warming
Alarmist claims of catastrophic climate change are unsupported by science and may instead be furthering other agendas, regulation expert Christopher Horner said today at The Heritage Foundation.
“There’s a tremendous effort dedicated to alarm,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow said, but the alarmists have done little to solve the problem they talk so much about..
Few laws proposed in the name of controlling global warming would have any effect at all on the climate, Horner told the audience in Heritage’ Lehrman Auditorium. In fact, he argued that the United States “could de-industrialize tomorrow and it wouldn’t matter” in terms of climate change.
“Don’t tell me there’s a moral responsibility to act now unless you plan to propose something that will have an effect,” he said.
Blocking Hugo Chavez’s advance
Two weeks ago, Venezuela’s National Assembly granted sweeping new dictatorial powers to despot Hugo Chavez. He has pledged to push his nation further down the path towards socialism—a euphemism for economic, social and political ruin—with new government takeovers of industry, arduous new economic controls, and suppression of civil liberties.
But his ambitions may spell disaster for more than just Venezuelans. “The one thing that Mr. Chavez has purposefully hidden within his pointed language is his plan for the future of the whole Latin American and Caribbean region,” Heritage’s Helle Dale writes. Chavez seeks, as did ailing Cuban strongman Fidel Castro, to “incite revolution throughout Latin America.”
To counter this opportunistic power-grab, Dale insists, the United States should recommit to the region by reaching new economic and security accords with Latin American governments. “Unless the U.S. increases its presence in the region through support for democratic institutions and market institutions, the aspirations of Marti, Bolivar, Castro, and now Chavez may come to fruition.”
In other news
- President Bush said yesterday that there’s little doubt some of the weapons used by terrorists in Iraq come from Iran. Meanwhile, radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who commands a Shiite militia involved in some of that nation’s recent violence, has reportedly fled the country for Iran.
- The Mint plans to roll out a new series of dollar coins featuring portraits of each American President, starting with George Washington. Four coins will be released each year until all 43 presidents have appeared.
- The Bush administration has threatened to veto a bill that liberals pushed through a Congressional committee yesterday. The law, backed by Big Labor special interests, would abandon the secret ballot for workplace unionization drives. The secret ballot, Heritage Bradley Fellow James Sherk says, is a “free and fair” practice that allows “workers to vote their conscience in the privacy of the voting booth” without fear of coercion or intimidation.
- Former Vice President Al Gore will take his environmental scare-mongering on the road with a concert tour, The Washington Post reports.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other 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 Friday, February 16 at 11:30 am, Heritage Senior Fellow James Talent joins military experts to discuss plans to grow the size of the U.S. Army and the need for increased defense spending.
- On Friday, February 23 at 10:00 am, Heritage and the Center for Strategic and International Studies host a panel discussion on lessons learned from terrorist surveillance initiatives.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
