National Blog - page 56
When They Came for Julian Assange
You probably heard Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, was arrested by British authorities yesterday. Mr. Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012. Assange is expected to be extradited to the United States, where [...]
This Week in Congress Update
Congressional leadership has pulled their spending plan because of objections from both the progressives and moderates. The moderates object to the higher spending levels without offsets while the progressives object that it increases [...]
Obamacare’s Unhappy Anniversary
Last month marked nine years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare) became law. Obamacare’s proponents promised that the law would reduce costs, expand access, and allow us to keep our doctors if we [...]
This Week in Congress Update: Republicans Go Nuclear, Democrats Bust the Budget
Yesterday, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell invoked the nuclear option to limit debate on most presidential nominations from 30 hours to two hours. Going nuclear means Senator McConnell raised a point of order that a nomination should only [...]
This Week in Congress
The Senate continues work on HR 268, the disaster supplemental spending bill. The $13 billion bill has run into controversy over the funding levels for aid to Puerto Rico, with President Trump wanting less funding while some Democrats want to [...]
Why the Statists Win
Ryan McMaken of the Mises Institute has a must-read essay on “One Reason the Left Wins.” McMaken’s reason for leftist success is that they never lose sight of their long-term goal, whether nationalized health care, gun control, or a green [...]
This Week in Congress
The House is in session Monday through Wednesday. This is a short week because the Democrats have their retreat this week. The retreat is usually earlier but was delayed because of the government shutdown. The most significant bill the House [...]
This Week in Congress Wrap-Up
Here is the roll-call vote on S.J.Res. 7, the resolution calling on the U.S. to end involvement in the Yemen Civil War. The vote was 247-176. Every Democrat plus 15 Republicans voted for the bill. Representative Justin Amash (MI-03) voted [...]
Death of the Filibuster?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s use of the nuclear option to change Senate rules and limit debate time for most nominees could make it impossible for Senators to speak against nominees favored by their own party’s leadership and it [...]
Trump Tells the Truth: Sanctions Cause People to Suffer
This week President Trump admitted what the Washington policy establishment of both parties would rather be kept quiet. Asked why he intervened to block a new round of sanctions on North Korea, he told the media that he believes the people of [...]