Opinion

Ten days after a U.S. F-22 fighter aircraft downed a People’s Liberation Army surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast, U.S. and Chinese officials are struggling to find an exit ramp.

A shooting at Michigan State University left three people dead and five others wounded.

To help the legislative branch be less of a bureaucratic mess and better representatives of their constituents, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has reintroduced several pieces of legislation that would make Congress better at its job. The Write the Laws Act, One Subject at a Time Act, Read the Bills Act, and a new Senate rule were all proposed by Paul last week to empower congressmen and senators to honor their obligations as legislators and be more effective and efficient in governing.

HALEY, TRUMP, AND A GOP RACE LIKE NO OTHER. Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) announced her candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination this morning. Word was she would jump in at an event in Charleston tomorrow, but Haley scooped herself with the release of a 3.5-minute video that constitutes an announcement. The event in Charleston will essentially be a live re-announcement.

Whatever inflation relief the end of 2022 seemed to give the country has come to a standstill. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer price index inflation skyrocketed from December of last year to this January, with CPI inflation stagnating at 6.4% at an annualized rate.

Studies show that school choice voucher programs save states money. Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, in particular, is expected to save the state about $500 million in education expenses this year while costing only $377 million. Statewide public school enrollment has declined by 31,000 since the ESA program began and is currently 70,000 below budget projections, as Corey DeAngelis and Jason Bedrick pointed out the other day in the Wall Street Journal.

An immoral proposal to use “brain stem dead” women to act as incubators for babies should be rejected for the ethical problems it presents. The idea of “whole body gestational donations” goes back decades, but it has recently been resurrected in an essay by University of Oslo ethicist Anna Smajdor, which has prompted further media coverage and debate.

Every day, millions post on social media platforms (status updates, tweets, photographs, videos) under the assumption that First Amendment protections on freedom of speech apply in the digital realm in the same way they apply to in-person speech. Unfortunately, recent coercive interactions between the federal government and social media platforms, commonly known as "jawboning," have denied millions of people their First Amendment rights and put Washington bureaucrats in control of online speech.

President Joe Biden talks a great deal about the importance of democratic accountability and good government. The public has a right to expect the federal government to provide timely and accurate information on important matters. This is worth emphasizing as America grapples with the recent shooting down of several unidentified flying objects.

During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden touted the benefits of banning noncompete clauses. But he did not ask Congress for approval, permission, or even discussion. Instead, he is relying on a small agency to change the law for him.