There aren’t many people who justify comparisons to Nelson Mandela, but longtime Burmese political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the few. For 20 years, Kyi incurred imprisonment, house arrest, and other forms of detention for attempting to bring democracy to the military-ruled Burma. This month, she is free and standing for parliament after erecting a pillar of freedom to her country through her political party, the National League for Democracy. Kyi has won the Nobel Peace Prize and is a powerful example of persevering, peaceful dissidence coming … More
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By Christopher Preble
I guess it’s not a huge surprise that a writer at The Daily Kos would characterize Cato as “Republican-supporting” when it suits a purpose. Just for their future reference, here is a laundry list of positions taken by Cato scholars that most Republicans (Beltway Republicans, at least) tend to abhor: Cutting military spending The Iraq [...]
Hey Daily Kos, Cato Is Not A ‘Republican-supporting’ Institution is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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By Christopher Preble
It appears some Republicans want to return to their familiar national security play book in their pursuit of the White House, accusing a Democratic president of gutting defense spending and undermining national security. An Associated Press story predicts that Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign may feature the “hawkish and often unilateral foreign policy prescriptions that guided [...]
Romney’s National Security Problem is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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We get it, the last thing President Obama wants is to be blamed for is the nation’s growing debt—or anything else, actually. But the statute of limitations on blaming President George W. Bush for everything—anything—must have run out by now. On the debt in particular, it’s sort of a hard thing to avoid considering President Obama is the first president in history to preside over four years of deficits in excess of $1 trillion. But in the time honored tradition of the Obama Administration, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner took to … More
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President Obama famously declared in this year’s State of the Union: “I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.” Heritage’s James Gattuso and Diane Katz have run the numbers. And Obama shouldn’t be bragging. Obama’s comparison encompassed all regulations, including federal rules for such things as Medicare rates, migratory birds and fireworks safety. And on that point, he was telling the truth. This week’s chart tests Obama’s claim by looking at the number of major regulations imposed by each administration. Major … More
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) decided his political stunt on judicial nominees wasn’t working. He abandoned the plan Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with Republicans to schedule votes for 12 district-court nominees and two circuit-court nominees before May 7. The deal ensures President Obama’s nominees will received an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. That’s exactly what conservatives like Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) had wanted. Lee, still outraged by Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments in January, has vowed to vote against each nominee until Obama rescinds the appointments. Reid, hoping … More
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Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has rightfully earned the reputation of running a do-nothing Senate. More than 1,000 days have elapsed since the upper chamber approved a budget. He’s currently ignoring the House-passed JOBS Act and actively opposing steps to lower gas prices. Now, in a blatant political stunt, Reid is attempting to blame the Republican minority for the Senate’s failure to confirm 17 of President Obama’s district court nominees. “Republicans have refused to allow us to even vote — won’t even allow us to vote — on these qualified judicial nominees,” … More
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President Obama’s use of drone strikes to target terrorists is depleting U.S. intelligence on al Qaeda and making America less safe in the process, according to Marc Thiessen, an American Enterprise Institute fellow. “The Obama administration has completely eliminated live capture of terrorists and bringing them in for interrogation,” Thiessen said. “As a result, we are not getting insight into the inner workings of al Qaeda.” Thiessen, author of “Courting Disaster” and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, spoke at Heritage about the Obama Doctrine. He joined us … More
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President Obama has used his executive power in many ways to expand the role of government. But there’s one area that stands out: Obama’s frequent and repeated use of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue emergency and disaster declarations. Heritage’s Matt Mayer reports that Obama “eviscerated the record books by issuing 243 declarations in 2011,” continuing an alarming pattern that begin under President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. Mayer says FEMA has become a “political pork-barrel spending agency.” The trend is illustrated in this week’s chart, which … More
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