In a speech at Georgetown University on January 18th, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threw down the gauntlet at the State Department bureaucracy by expounding “transformational diplomacy” to shift the priority and direction of the department in the post-modern, post-Cold War era. Noting that the State Department has almost as many employees in Germany, with a population of 82 million, Read More ›
Your Jan. 17 editorial “The Keepers of K Street” ignored the most crucial source of “earmarks” in the congressional process — a campaign finance system that favors the bribery of interest groups over the contributions of citizens. Under McCain-Feingold, a citizen with diverse interests in the future of the nation is permitted to contribute $2,000. A political action committee representing Read More ›
Would you be willing to give up all of your tax deductions — state and local taxes, mortgage interest, church and charitable contributions, etc. — in exchange for sharply lower tax rates? With the return of Congress, the debate is about to begin again. One major obstacle to tax reform is the confusion in the minds of most Americans (and Read More ›
On Wednesday, January 18th, Dave Earling gave testimony in Olympia to both the House and Senate Transportation Committees. He was part of a panel with former Senator Slade Gorton and Mike Vaska. As the Legislature considers action on four pieces of legislation on transportation reform in Puget Sound. Earling spoke in favor of reform and highlighted three projects that the Read More ›
Three years ago, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack signed a law banning all human cloning (both for research and for reproduction). But he has just shifted his position 180 degrees, calling upon the state’s legislature to legalize human cloning for biomedical research. But rather than just admit he was wrong to sign the original bill, he has instead lied about the Read More ›
Dr. Philip S. Skell, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at Penn State University, has issued an open letter to the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee. With Dr. Skell’s permission we have published the full text of the letter below. Jan. 20, 2005 Dr. JoAnne AndersonExecutive DirectorS.C. Education Oversight Committee Read More ›
Tuesday’s 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court preventing the federal government from punishing doctors who prescribe federally controlled substances — narcotics — for suicide is being spun by euthanasia advocates as a big boost for their cause. Never mind that the ruling was very narrow and did not, as proponents claim, “uphold” Oregon’s law. And never mind that Justice Read More ›
This article, published by The Indianapolis Star , quotes Bret Swanson of Discovery Institute: “For a while, industry analysts had thought cable companies were winning. They had an edge because they were — and in many cases still are — less regulated than phone companies,” said Bret Swanson, executive editor of the technology investment newsletter Gilder Technology Report. The rest Read More ›
This article, published by OneWorld, quotes Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Hance Haney: However, Hance Haney, director of the technology and democracy project at the nonpartisan Discovery Institute in Washington, D.C., said there are holes in these arguments. Billing Internet companies to use networks will not necessarily hurt consumers but rather, could benefit them, said Haney, whose public policy think tank Read More ›
Seattle – Ohio’s science standards are not going to be downgraded by an education foundation as was mistakenly reported in the Dayton Daily News and elsewhere in Ohio this week. Chester Finn, President of the Fordham Foundation, released a statement saying: “Just to clarify, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has no plans to revisit or alter Ohio’s (or any other state’s) Read More ›