Free Republic

Redefining marriage to include same–sex unions poses significant threats to the religious liberties of people who continue to believe that marriage is a rela­tionship between a man and a woman. These threats have loomed large for several years, but recent devel­opments, including the recent Connecticut and California judicial decisions redefining marriage to include same–sex unions, have refocused attention on the issue in a new, particularly urgent way.Our society has traditionally considered marriage to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman based on the understanding that marriage is a fundamental social institution ordered to the common good...

The Heritage Foundation today asked Barack Obama to immediately pull two ads that misrepresent the views of Heritage’s Rea Hederman. The campaign has released a 30-second TV ad with false information and repeats it on the campaign website. The following letter was sent by Heritage lawyer Alan P. Dye to the Obama campaign.

The Heritage Foundation today asked Barack Obama to immediately pull two ads that misrepresent the views of Heritage's Rea Hederman. The campaign has released a 30-second TV ad with false information and repeats it on the campaign website. The following letter was sent by Heritage lawyer Alan P. Dye to the Obama campaign. The campaign advertisements suggest, quite falsely, that Heritage and one of its analysts support your tax plan. Mr. Hederman clearly believes your tax plan would be bad not only for the country, but for the middle class. The Heritage Foundation believes that your advertisements' use of its...

"Stop lying about our record!" says the think tank: The Heritage Foundation today asked Barack Obama to immediately pull two ads that misrepresent the views of Heritage’s Rea Hederman. The campaign has released a 30-second TV ad with false information and repeats it on the campaign website. The following letter was sent by Heritage lawyer Alan P. Dye to the Obama campaign. Dear Senator Obama: Two recent campaign advertisements seriously misrepresent the views of my client, The Heritage Foundation. They suggest, quite falsely, that The Heritage Foundation and one of its analysts support your tax plan. The print ad on...

This past Friday the Supreme Court issued an order setting aside a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals order forcing Ohio’s secretary of state Jennifer Brunner to verify the accuracy of the information provided on applications for voter registration. The Ohio Republican Party had sued to force Brunner to comply with the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) after widespread reports of voter registration fraud. The Court expressed no opinion on whether Brunner was following HAVA — it threw the case out on the grounds that the Republican party didn’t have the right to sue to force compliance.As Heritage fellow Hans...

Obama has claimed that he would lower taxes on 95% of workers - even though more than 50% of workers don't even pay taxes! What he says is true, but what it really means is that he is reintroducing a massive increase in the welfare state, costing about $30 billion per year. According to the Center for Data Analysis' microsimulation modeling, Obama would increase the number of tax filers who receive a check from the government without paying any taxes including payroll taxes - people filing just to receive a welfare check - by about 10 million. Where will the...

The statistics on teen sexuality in the United States are troubling. About 7 percent of high school stu­dents report having had sex before the age of 13. By ninth grade, one-third of high school students have engaged in sexual activity, and by 12th grade, two-thirds.[1]  Yet the majority of these teens, 60 percent overall and 67 percent among younger adolescents, regret their first experience and wish they had waited longer.[2] Teen Sexual Activity and OutcomesEarly sexual activity is associated with a host of negative outcomes that can have lasting physical, emotional, social, and economic impacts on the lives of young...

Financial markets in the United States and around the world face a dire emergency requiring urgent and decisive action. Some key parts of the credit market are on the verge of gridlock, resulting not just in the collapse of major financial institutions but also in credit disruption that is severely weakening the long-term prospects of non-financial companies. And while this is currently most visible in Wall Street and in the financial sector, it is only a matter of time before the fallout hits Main Street, with potentially devastating economic effects for typical American households. Swift action is needed to deal...

At 9:30 this morning, the President spoke on the continuing negotiations with Congress to pass a plan to address the credit crisis. The gist of his remarks was: If it be done, let it be done quickly. Conservatives must append a further mandate: If it be done, let it be done constitutionally. Constitutionality is not a mere feature of legislation; it is a threshold requirement. All Members of Congress take a pledge to "support and defend the Constitution," and that duty does not fade away in a time of crisis—indeed, it is then especially that constitutional fidelity is most crucial...

Anyone who tries to explain the Wall Street crisis in a single sound-bite is foolish…or worse. But House Democratic Leaders have found a culprit they can agree on: deregulation. “This is the fruit of decades of ‘leave the market alone, don’t regulate it. It will take care of itself,” Says House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank. His solution? “Clearly we’ve got to get some regulation here.” “The Bush Administration’s eight long years of failed deregulation policies” is the problem, declares House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “A stark failure of the economy and this administration’s laissez faire, take the referee off the...

When it comes to the demographics of the U.S. military, conventional wisdom alleges the armed forces are a magnet for poorly educated and disadvantaged minorities who enter the service because they lack better options. However, a new Heritage Foundation report debunks those assumptions. According to the study's findings, 95 percent of military officers earned at least a bachelor's degree and more than 98 percent of enlisted members have obtained a high-school degree—numbers far greater than their civilian peers. The report also found that minorities are not overrepresented in the military, with officers and enlisted troops more likely to come from...

Glenn Spencer, director of research at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke to conservative bloggers at the Heritage Foundation about the left’s top legislative plan to pass “card-check.” Union numbers have been down in past years, and the passage of card check would mean violating a worker’s privacy at the voting booth when choosing whether or not to join a union. As of now, A worker’s vote is private, which means that the worker knows that neither a paid union official nor a supervisor will ever know how he voted. However, an Obama administration could very well change not only...

With only six months left in office, President Bush has finally repealed presidential restrictions on oil drilling in American waters. Now it's Congress' turn to do the same and start bringing more domestic energy online. To almost anyone outside of Washington, making better use of domestic energy resources would seem a painfully obvious step at a time when gasoline is topping $4 a gallon. However, much of the nation's energy potential remains off-limits. This includes 85 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf, thanks to longstanding government prohibitions. Congressional restrictions have been in place since 1982, while the White House policy...

For decades, China has been a stalwart ally of Robert Mugabe. This relationship began in the 1970s, when China armed Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) guerrillas against white rule in Southern Rhodesia.[1] Subsequently, it was no surprise when China and Russia vetoed a July 12 United Nations Security Council resolution to sanction Mugabe and key figures in his government for their role in unleashing a campaign of violence and intimidation that forced opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangarai to withdraw from last month's Zimbabwean run-off election. This incident is only the most recent example of the detrimental role China plays...

The 'Coburn Omnibus' by Brian Darling Coburn Omnibus Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has angered Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) so much that Reid is planning to force through a vote on a so-called “Coburn Omnibus” bill before the August Recess. The “Coburn Omnibus” is a package of about 100 bills. Coburn is blocking passage of them because of the million-dollar price tag and the fact that many of them would use taxpayer funds to buy up private lands and enrich developers. Much like the late conservative hero “Senator No” (Jesse Helms), Coburn seems to be the only conservative willing to...

jesse helms has passed away

[Heritage Lecture #1090 -- Delivered April 24, 2008] ... It is likewise an honor to be here tonight and to speak to you of responsibility, because I'm keenly aware of the fact that in this room tonight we have an entire army of crusaders for freedom. ... I admire you and thank you for the hard work that you do. You and your colleagues do this because you love and are dedicated to the simple idea of human liberty. You see it as your birthright, and you fight on its behalf. You understand that man precedes the state, and that...

"In January 2004, Congress passed the District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, the first federally funded school voucher program in the United States. Now known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, this initiative provides scholarships of up to $7,500 to more than 1,900 low-income students in the District. A recent U.S. Department of Education (DOE) evaluation of the program should provide policymakers with some encouragement, as the report demonstrates that the Opportunity Scholarship Program is having a positive impact on students and families alike.[1]" "The DOE evaluation reviews the first two years of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship...

My name is William W. Beach. I am the director of the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation. Mr. Chairman and members of the Joint Economic Committee, I do not present myself this morning as an expert on the battlefronts in the global war on terror. Others are here today or have testified before you who wear the badges of experts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I, like most citizens, have my...

Today's Guests: David Kreutzer - Heritage Foundation Policy Analyst To talk with Sean during his show (3-6PM EST) Call: 800.941.7326