By Jim Harper
I found a release put out by the American Legislative Exchange Council today a little too meek. So let’s talk about the debate around ALEC, a group I’ve been involved with as a volunteer advisor since before I joined Cato. (The Communications and Technology Task Force used to be called “Telecommunications and Information Technology,” but [...]
Democracy EXPOSED! is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
On March 28, Pope Benedict XVI completed his six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba. In both stops, the Pope sought to propagate the faith and demonstrate the connectivity between faith and the moral and spiritual conditions of modern man. In Cuba, the Pope did not visit with those who speak in opposition to the Castro regime. He did meet with a visibly aging, weakened Fidel Castro. Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardi said the Pope granted a meeting to Fidel Castro—but not to dissidents who had requested the same—out of the church’s … More
For months now, many encouraging signals have been coming from Burma’s military-backed regime. The list of reforms over the last year is well-known: release of hundreds of political prisoners, relaxation of press censorship and return of exiled journalists, legal amendments to allow for labor unions and strikes, ceasefires with ethnic groups, and legal changes permitting Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to contest the upcoming April 1 by-elections. There are caveats, of course, to this positive trajectory. The sentences of most … More
Since the uprising erupted last year, Bahrain has continued to experience unrest. Despite continuing reforms by the government, the opposition movement has steadily hardened its stance against the al-Khalifa monarchy. Last weekend, protests in Bahrain escalated in one of the most violent confrontations between the opposition movement and police. Tens of thousands blocked King Faisal Highway, the main thoroughfare to Manama’s financial district, demanding an end to the al-Khalifa monarchy. The government of Bahrain has responded to the unrest using a number of tactics, including restricting the media (international and … More
By Juan Carlos Hidalgo
The onslaught against Henrique Capriles Radonsky by Venezuelan state-run media has begun after his decisive victory in Sunday’s presidential primary. Capriles is now the nominee of the opposition coalition and …
Chávez’s Electoral Fraud Cushion is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
As many expected, Islamist parties will form a dominant majority in Egypt’s first freely elected parliament. The Islamists are here to stay and fear-mongering over their rise is unproductive, since Egyptians will judge for themselves whether Islamists are delivering on their promises. Moreover, understanding the dynamics that brought religious parties to power should be the [...]
Egypt’s Arab Spring, One Year Later is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
“Economic fairness” is expected to be the topic of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, during which he will likely sound the same populist notes of progressivism that America heard last month in his speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. Fairness, though, is in the eye of the beholder. And in the President’s eye, “fairness” means equality of outcomes, not of opportunity. He says he will “lay out a blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last,” but if his Kansas speech is any indication, that … More
Congress rarely considers a bill that would change the way Washington works. But this is exactly what the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would do. The REINS Act (H.R.10) would require Congress to approve all “major” regulations—those costing $100 million or more annually—before they take effect. On December 7, it passed the House of Representatives by an impressive vote of 241–184. It is now headed for consideration in the Senate. The Current Process Currently, Congress passes laws with overly broad or intentionally vague statutory language. … More
By Doug Bandow
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to the isolated nation of Burma, officially known as Myanmar, in an attempt to spur the reform process. “After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress,” said President Barack Obama of the troubled country. By visiting Burma Secretary Clinton can test the new government’s willingness to [...]
Hillary Clinton Heads to Burma is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
