SaddleBrooke Republican Club

Chen Guangcheng: The Value of One Voice

Walter Lohman — Sun, 20 May 2012 02:54:42 +0000

Activist Chen Guangcheng and his immediate family are out of China. This is a good thing, and the Obama Administration deserves credit for making it happen. There will be plenty of opportunity for the American political system to assess the Administration’s initial handling of the matter and what it says about its foreign policy priorities. There are certainly lessons there to be learned. Today, however, is not an occasion for a policy debate. It is a time for Americans to welcome Chen and his family to freedom in America, to pray for … More

Liberals Say Public Broadcasting’s $445 Million Federal Subsidy Is ‘Tiny’

Rob Bluey — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:45:45 +0000

NPR, PBS and other public broadcasting outlets are asking taxpayers to fork over $445 million in funding for the next fiscal year. But not if Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) have anything to say about it. The conservative lawmakers want to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the steward of the federal government’s “investment” in public radio and TV. Congress created CPB in 1967, and DeMint and Lamborn think it’s time to cut it off from the federal trough. Their move comes as the agency prepares to report to … More

Daniel in the Looter’s Den: My Adventures at the UN

Daniel J. Mitchell — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:03:48 +0000

By Daniel J. Mitchell

I was at the United Nations yesterday for something called “The High Level Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy.” Most speakers, including the secretary general of the United Nations, the president of the European Commission, Paul Volcker, and Joseph Stiglitz, to varying degrees blamed private markets for the fiscal and financial problems [...]

Daniel in the Looter’s Den: My Adventures at the UN is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

NATO and Missile Defense: Words in a Summit Declaration Will Not Be Enough

Luke Coffey — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:50:36 +0000

When NATO leaders meet this weekend in Chicago, they are expected to announce an Interim Missile Defense Capability in Europe. This announcement might read well in the summit’s declaration, but a lot more will need to be done before the members of the alliance will be protected from the ever-increasing missile threat. According to NATO’s strategic concept, “The greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.” This core tenant is what … More

NATO Summit 2012: Without New Investment by Europeans, NATO’s Future Is in Doubt

Luke Coffey — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:54:28 +0000

At the NATO Summit in Chicago this weekend, leaders will gather to discuss a number of issues facing the alliance. Top of the agenda will be Afghanistan, improving NATO’s military capabilities, and extending NATO’s partnerships with regional and global partners. However, nothing agreed at the summit will matter if America’s European allies do not start spending what is required on defense. Defense spending inside NATO is increasingly declining. As Libya and other NATO campaigns have demonstrated time and again, Europe relies too much on the U.S. to pick up the … More

Iran’s Queasiness with Western Values Continues

David Weinberger — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:51:28 +0000

In case anyone was unconvinced about Iran’s hostility toward everything associated with Western values, recent provocations leave no doubt. After blocking the Olympics website, refusing to admit a Davis Cup tennis player, and slandering the Olympic logo for being “racist,” Iran’s latest flaunt is its threat to sue Google. Why? Because Google maps has no label for the Persian Gulf. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast: Toying with modern technologies in political issues is among the new measures by the enemies against Iran, (and) in this regard, Google has … More

Pawlenty and Boehner Agree: Stop Taxmageddon Now

Curtis Dubay — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:36:48 +0000

Former Governor Tim Pawlenty (R–MN), national co-chair of the Romney for President campaign, appeared on CNBC yesterday and chastised President Obama for failing to lead on stopping Taxmageddon before the November election. Pawlenty is right: Washington should stop Taxmageddon now. Heritage has been saying just that for weeks. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH) understands that Taxmageddon must be stopped soon. In a speech this week before the Peter G. Peterson 2012 Fiscal Summit, Speaker made clear the House will vote to stop Taxmageddon before the November election: We … More

HSAs Could Bring Health Costs Down; Too Bad Obamacare Destroys Them

Alyene Senger — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:03:16 +0000

Consumer-directed health plans have become increasing popular because of their ability to save consumers money. Breaking research published by Health Affairs shows that if consumer-directed health plans increased as a share of employer-sponsored plans from 12.4 percent to 50 percent, it could save $57.1 billion annually in national health expenditures. The report states, “Savings of this magnitude would account for 7 percent of all health care spending for the population with employer-sponsored insurance and 4 percent for the nonelderly population as a whole.” The study uses two types of consumer-directed … More

‘Lawsuit Contentions, Like Beer Itself, Can Be Dangerous When Over-Quaffed by the Naive’

Walter Olson — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:06:09 +0000

By Walter Olson

To be fair about it, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has written some pretty good stuff about the Drug War and other topics. But when he’s having a weak day, he’s weaker than watered beer, or so I conclude in a new Reason piece about his latest crusade. Last week Kristof urged readers to [...]

‘Lawsuit Contentions, Like Beer Itself, Can Be Dangerous When Over-Quaffed by the Naive’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

NATO Summit Will Reaffirm Afghanistan’s Weakness

Malou Innocent — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:03:53 +0000

By Malou Innocent

The focus of the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago will be Afghanistan. President Obama is expected to speak of the need for solidarity from the international community. His only major success will be a pledge from NATO members to commit funds to Afghanistan well beyond 2014. Difficult questions surrounding the mission’s long-term sustainability will remain [...]

NATO Summit Will Reaffirm Afghanistan’s Weakness is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog