On Wednesday, the federal Hyde Amendment turns 50 years old. First passed on Sept. 30, 1976, the Hyde Amendment is a provision of the annual appropriations bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services. It largely prevents federal taxpayer dollars from funding elective abortions through the Medicaid program. The passage of the Hyde […]
There are moments when a symbol becomes more than a symbol. A flag is a simple piece of fabric. But what it represents — a country, a people, a history — can deeply inspire us. And sometimes, when that flag is planted by someone who has chosen to stand beside you in your darkest hour, […]
With less than six weeks until Election Day, we are hearing misguided calls to ban diesel exports as a quick fix for domestic fuel costs. A ban is the wrong answer to a real problem. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and turmoil in the Middle East continue to display what happens when refining capacity is decimated, […]
Somewhere in America today, a woman is dropping off her child at school. A young man is beginning his first job. A mother is comforting a sick child. A grandfather is meeting his newest grandbaby. They do not know one another. They may know little about the Hyde Amendment. But they may share something extraordinary: […]
The Trump administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deserve credit for taking Medicaid fraud seriously and working to strengthen its integrity. As they consider changes to Medicaid-funded autism services, it is important that the safeguards they implement protect taxpayer dollars while also preserving access to high-quality care for families who depend on […]
The most critical asset emerging from the war in Ukraine is not a new tactical drone or a precision missile. It is the digital information driving those systems. While defense planners across the globe continue to focus heavily on manufacturing hardware, a quiet race is underway to control the algorithmic backbone of modern warfare. The […]
Thanks to President Donald Trump’s leadership, working-class voters are trending Republican after generations of leaning Democratic. In 2019, Democrats were still more likely to call themselves working-class, 46% to Republicans’ 34%. That reversed by 2022, and today 67% of Republicans call themselves working-class, climbing to 82% among Republicans in blue-collar jobs. The GOP has adjusted […]
There is a grim resignation that America no longer builds, that our permitting system for energy projects is irreparably bloated and unnavigable. The nation that once constructed the Empire State Building in a year now leaves permit applications to languish for decades. The window of opportunity for this Congress to fix this universally recognized challenge […]
Central banks talk about interest rate hikes in very clinical terms. They call them a painful but necessary medicine. The Federal Reserve Board is currently locked into an aggressive tightening cycle. The American public must now accept a cooling labor market. Families face credit card debt at multi-decade highs and prohibitive mortgage rates. The official […]
Every September, Washington holds a fire sale on your money. Agencies with cash left rush to sign contracts and cut grant checks before Sept. 30, because they fear leftover funds will invite future budget cuts. Think Black Friday with a federal seal. That rush costs real money. A study in the American Economic Review found […]
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently released a 25-page open letter to the public. In addition to making a case against President Donald Trump, the Guard seeks to justify the Iranian nuclear energy posture. The tone was remarkably moderate. Iranian officials argued that their nuclear program is peaceful, normal, and economically necessary. They claim that […]
The tragic deaths of University of Mississippi students Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang have turned the national spotlight on the dangers of kratom, the drug known as “gas-station heroin” for its cheapness, addictiveness, and ubiquity. These are just two of the countless reasons why the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions, where I serve as CEO, […]
Recent high-profile battles between the White House and corporate media outlets have resulted in historic bans, courtroom fights over press credentials, and the sudden exclusion of major networks from the Air Force One travel pool — and inadvertently exposed a dark secret. These public spats pulled back the curtain on the subsidized world of the […]
In 1534, Spanish officials urged the Crown to garrison Mona Island as La llave de las Indias — the key to the Indies. Madrid refused, allowing French corsairs to exploit the unprotected mesa and repeatedly sack San German. Centuries later, German submarine U-156 shelled Camp Cofresi, treating a civilian camp as a military target. Eventually, […]
