Terror in India
December 3, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward
Terror in India
Large questions remain unanswered about who is responsible for last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
Heritage Foundation expert Lisa Curtis suggests the terrorists may have had foreign connections: "By using names that relate to India, the terrorists clearly want to portray themselves as indigenous, but given the level of sophistication, planning, and organization of the attacks, especially Wednesday's assault on Mumbai, they almost certainly have external links and support."
»Read the rest of the analysis on MyHeriage.org
—David Talbot
What to do if America is attacked
In the unlikely but possible event that a Mumbai-style assault were made on American soil, Heritage expert James Carafano offers a list of "do's and don'ts" for our leaders.
Though America has not seen a domestic attack in seven years, he explains, "it is unrealistic to believe that that all homeland security efforts will deny every attack every time."
»Read Carafano's list of do's and don'ts on MyHeritage.org
—David Talbot
Heritage helps fight onerous EPA regulations
When the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to impose harsh new controls on carbon dioxide as part of a scheme to halt global warming, The Heritage Foundation leapt into action to counter this threat.
We set up a website, StopEPA.com, to send comments to the EPA about the grave threat these regulations would pose to the economy. By the time the comments period closed last Friday, Heritage members and supporters had contributed more than 14,000 comments to the agency—or almost ten percent of all submissions.
—David Talbot
Costly visitor center distorts history
The new $621 million Capitol Visitor Center in Washington gets key facts about American history wrong, reports Matthew Spalding, director of Heritage's Center for American Studies.
"The Visitor Center twists and distorts the Constitution," argues Spalding, who toured the center before it opened at the request of Senator Jim DeMint. Instead of teaching visitors about the powers of government described in the Constitution, the center instructs visitors about the Constitution's "aspirations."
See for yourself. The Heritage Foundation has put the full text, including the script of an orientation film, online.
Spalding tells the Washington Times that "the visitor center selectively cuts passages from the Constitution, weighing in on a long-running debate about the scope and limits of federal power by taking the liberal side of the debate, envisioning broad congressional powers that the Founding Fathers never intended."
Instead of focusing on what the Constitution actually says, the Visitor Center suggests the founding document is a list of "aspirations" about knowledge, curiosity and other things not actually in the text.
In a column in the same newspaper, Spalding explains why this view is wrong. "I always thought (because it says so) that the Constitution was about the powers delegated to government by the people, who possess individual rights."
—David Talbot
Other Heritage work of note
- Will the automakers declare bankruptcy, or will they saddle taxpayers— "many of whom make far less than the average autoworker"—to foot the bill for their unaffordable pay packages and other inefficiencies? That's a question Heritage President Ed Feulner asked last week in The Washington Times about the likely automaker bailout. "Like the airlines that have gone through Chapter 11," Feulner points out, "automakers could emerge stronger in the end. Bankruptcy, not a bailout, is the answer."
- Rules put in place by the SEC stymie the ability of private ratings agencies to measure companies' financial soundness, Heritage vice president Stuart Butler writes, contributing in part to the financial meltdown. The SEC has curbed competition among these companies, he explains, who are actually paid by the organizations they review. It is as if "Consumer Reports financed itself by accepting payments from car companies or TV makers to rate their products."
In other news
- President-elect Barack Obama has announced several key nominations for government positions: for Secretary of State, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY); for Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who currently holds the post; for Secretary of the Treasury, New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner; for Secretary of Commerce, Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.); and for Attorney General, Eric Holder.
- New York's state legislature may not consider whether to redefine marriage during the current session, despite a campaign promise by the majority Democrats to allow same-sex marriages.
- Popular support for government regulations to control global warming is sagging around the world as the economy lags.
- European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says Britain may soon join the continental currency, the Euro. Barroso reflected typical Eurocrat condescension towards democracy when he said that while the British public opposes abandoning the Pound, "the people which matter in Britain are currently thinking about it."
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- Thursday, December 4 at noon — Christopher Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute will discuss his new book Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed.
- Friday, December 5 at noon – attorney and economist Joseph Kennedy will discuss his new book Ending Poverty: Changing Behavior, Guaranteeing Income, and Reforming Government.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. David Talbot contributed to this report.