By appointing Susan Rice as his National Security Advisor, President Obama proved his loyalty to his friends but also showed questionable concern for the real security threats facing the United States.

Rice was the President’s first choice to replace former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but her appointment was quickly shut down by the Senate, Heritage Foundation national security expert Steven Bucci writes.

Rice was the frontrunner to replace Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State until her credibility was destroyed over mishandling the truth of the terrorist murders of four Americans in Benghazi. She simply became radioactive and clearly would never pass Senate confirmation.

What was President Obama’s response to the Senate’s rejection? He appointed his friend to a position that didn’t require approval from anyone. Continue Reading »

Obamacare is in a very precarious position. Heritage Foundation health care expert Nina Owcharenko suggests that states prepare ahead of the “likely collapse” of Obamacare.

Even before Obamacare’s full implementation, its vulnerabilities are becoming ever more obvious. Owcharenko explains:

The dismissiveness of the Administration, the lack of confidence in Congress, and the continued lack of public support and understanding of the law itself all add to the unavoidable structural challenges facing the law.

These cracks in the structural foundation of Obamacare contribute to the likelihood of its collapse. And if it does, what will states do? Continue Reading »

President Obama has been very slow to respond to Syria’s use of chemical weapons.

In a speech in December 2012, he argued that the use of chemical weapons in that country’s civil war would be a “game changer.” Yet despite recent credible reports that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has used such weapons, President Obama is urging restraint and arguing for verification before taking any action.

That may not be the whole story, though. Continue Reading »

The farm bill continues to rock the boat on Capitol Hill. The House version of the farm bill actually includes a tax on rocks. Yes, rocks.

Heritage Foundation expert Diane Katz writes:

The House Agriculture Committee, in its infinite wisdom, has actually approved an amendment to the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (H.R. 1947) to permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enforce an involuntary levy on businesses that quarry and fabricate granite, sandstone, slate, limestone, marble, travertine, and quartzite.

The tax revenue would be directed to a new organization, the Natural Stone Research and Promotion Board, which would be overseen by the USDA. As under the Christmas tree tax, affected businesses would be forced to support this marketing association whether they want their marketing services or not. Continue Reading »

Catesby Jones owns a small business in Virginia called Peace Frogs. Along with his three dozen employees, he makes T-shirts, baseball caps and other “cool” stuff, which he sells online.

He credits his success to the internet. “By reaching out to a worldwide base of customers, companies in rural parts like ours can thrive and have a much bigger presence than they otherwise would through traditional sales.”

Jones is incredibly concerned with the threat of the Internet Sales Tax. Big businesses with the money to lobby Congress are pushing for the measure, which they can afford to pay. But it would hurt small internet-based businesses like Peace Frogs.

Watch The Heritage Foundation video above to learn more about Catsby Jones’s story. Then tell us in the comments: do you think it’s fair for Congress to impose a punishing tax like this on Jones’ business?

Every child is unique. There is not a one-size-fits-all model for educating them, but that is exactly what liberals are attempting to create with Common Core.

Common Core would establish a national education curriculum, standards, and testing on all students across the United States. Heritage Foundation expert Lindsey Burke outlines three major issues with this approach:

1. It has no track record of success. Common Core has not been proven to improve academic outcomes. Nevertheless, Burke explains, the “Obama Administration has pushed states to adopt national standards and assessments in exchange for offers of billions of dollars in federal funding and waivers from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind.”
2. It centralizes power in Washington. Individual school districts have proven time and time again that they are capable of managing their own educational curriculum and standards. Each state, district, and school has unique needs and circumstances to achieve what is best for their students. Burke elaborates: “common core assumes curriculum driven by federal bureaucrats and national organizations – are preferable to the state and local reform efforts guided by input from parents, teachers and taxpayers.”
3. It discourages innovation. By mandating top-down federal standards, common core takes away classroom innovation and forces teachers to teach to the centralized standards and tests, removing creativity and individuality from the classroom.

Common Core is an unproven system that would centralize power and strip creativity from teachers. Read more about Heritage’s education research on our education website.

What do you think about instituting a Common Core education? 

Photo: Newscom

Remember back in 2011 when President Obama tried to impose a Christmas tree tax? It would have imposed a federal tax on the tree you buy to — no joke — fund marketing to promote the image and sale of Christmas trees. After Heritage Foundation expert David Addington exposed this ridiculous effort, President Obama issued a stay of the tax.

Well, it turns out the Christmas tree tax is back — and it’s in this year’s farm bill. Continue Reading »

A startling lack of accountability inside the IRS should make Americans reconsider the effects of a large and intrusive government. As The Heritage Foundation’s John Von Kannon writes, “even after the current scandal is cleaned up, the IRS’s built-in bureaucratic problems will remain.”

Revelations that the IRS unfairly targeted conservative organizations reveal a disturbing lack of accountability and oversight inside the agency. This takes on even greater significance given the expanded power the IRS was granted to implement and oversee key parts of Obamacare. Continue Reading »

Photo: Newscom

The Obama administration is proposing to replace the only remaining Republican member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the body which oversees the U.S. government’s international radio and television broadcasts. This move is “a power grab that is as outrageous as it is brazen,” The Heritage Foundation’s Helle Dale writes.

Dale explains the BBG’s role in promoting America’s interests through public diplomacy: Continue Reading »

With the debate over the proposed Farm Bill heating up, The Heritage Foundation’s Daren Bakst and Diane Katz ask and answer 10 questions about the wayward bill.

1. What Is the Farm Bill?

The “farm bill” is a deceiving name name for this recurring piece of legislation. It is really just a food stamp bill mixed with numerous agriculture subsidies. Bakst and Katz note that “the vast majority of spending—about 80 percent in the 2008 bill—is dedicated to food stamps and other nutrition programs.” This isn’t really a farm bill —  it’s a welfare bill.

Continue Reading »