Big Government & Religion
Could the rise in government spending-from economic stimulus to health care reform to education spending-endanger the vitality of religion in America? That's a question University of Virginia Professor W. Bradford Wilcox discussed recently in the Wall Street Journal. The study's authors, Anthony Gill and Erik Lundsgaarde, found an "inverse relationship between religious observance and welfare spending."
Sarah Palin In, Then Out, Back In - and Now Again Out of Fundraising Dinner
After being invited - for a second time - to speak to the annual joint fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Palin was told abruptly Saturday night that she would not be allowed to address the thousands of Republicans there after all.
Palin Fends Off Ethics Charges
"My investigation has uncovered no evidence that the governor or her husband received anything of value in exchange for the governor wearing the Team Arctic jacket when she acted as the official starter of the 2009 Iron Dog," said Thomas Daniel, the investigator. "I also note that most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on them."
Predicting the End of Recession: Texas to be an Early Riser
by Bill Dedman
If you want to be in the right place when the recovery starts, that place may be in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas or Washington.
USA Today Reports: 4 States Yet to Agree to National Education Standards for Rigor
Fifty states, 50 different sets of academic standards. Right? Maybe not for much longer. Dismayed that students are slipping further behind their international peers, 46 states have agreed in principle to develop a set of rigorous criteria - the Common Core State Standards Initiative - designed to prepare high school graduates for college and the workforce. Kids who are taking algebra I, for example, would be expected to learn the same material whether they're in Massachusetts or Mississippi.
How Value Added Taxes Threaten American Prosperity
by Laura Elizabeth Morales
It's summer time and you were hoping to take a much-needed vacation with your family; in fact, your vacation has been planned for over a year now. Your family lives comfortably, but money is tight with a kid in college and another in high school. You work well over 40 hours a week to make ends meet and this vacation is finally a chance to get free from the concrete jungle of your downtown office.
Bank Bailout Fund Underwrites Automakers
The Treasury Department's bank bailout fund is starting to look more like an automaker bailout fund as the United States gets deeper into the car business and banks work furiously to cut their ties to the government and return their bailout money.
Supreme Court Backs Judges' Recusals in Big Donors' Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that judges must step aside in cases involving their large political contributors, prompting renewed calls for Texas to change a system in which judges raise money to run in partisan elections.
U.S. House Restricts Ethics Probes
When Democrats made their case during the 2006 elections about why they should control Congress, they offered up Republican lawmakers like Mark Foley and Rick Renzi as examples of the "culture of corruption" they wanted to rid from Washington.
Pay-Go's Promise Routinely Broken by Washington
The pay-as-you-go rules President Obama is resurrecting as a solution to runaway federal spending have been repeatedly violated by Congress and the White House, allowing hundreds of billions of dollars to be spent without the required spending cuts or tax increases.
Military Warns Against Detainee Transfers
Military intelligence officials have quietly told Congress they advised against transferring 25 of the 60 Guantanamo Bay terror detainees deemed eligible for relocation by the Obama administration, including five who are considered to be highly dangerous and likely to return to the battlefield.
Mirandizing Terrorists?
by Gary Bauer
The Weekly Standard and Fox News are reporting today that the Obama Administration has "quietly" ordered the FBI to read highly-valued terrorist suspects their Miranda rights at U.S. military detention facilities in Afghanistan. If you have watched any television crime show you are probably familiar with the Miranda warning.
