Obama the Lawgiver?
Although President Barack Obama correctly understood that his party had taken a "shellacking" in the November elections, he seems not to have drawn the obvious lesson from that defeat:...
About: Michael Tennant
Posts by Michael Tennant
Feds’ Financial Statements Impossible to Audit, Says GAO
According to the federal government’s 2010 financial statements, released in late December, the 2010 deficit was $1.29 trillion, a slight decrease from the 2009 deficit of $1.42 trillion. Despite...
Let Down by Public Schools, South Africa’s Poor Educated by the Free Market
South Africa’s public school system, like most government school systems, is a disaster. According to the Associated Press’s Donna Bryson, “Only a third of third-graders in South Africa meet...
Baby Boomers Bring Budget Bust
Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have said, quite presciently, “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Americans found out...
ObamaCare Repeal: Just What These Doctors Ordered
When, in 2009, the American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform bill, many Americans probably assumed that most physicians therefore backed the legislation. In fact, that...
Afghanistan Reconstruction: Billions Spent, But No One Knows Just How
Waste, fraud, and corruption are endemic to government projects. At least projects that take place close to home, however, can be monitored and the corruption exposed. Imagine how much...
Democrats Prepare for Battle Over ObamaCare in Next Congress
Back in September, when Republicans first floated the idea of starving the ObamaCare beast, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argued that "what the Republicans will be faced...
ObamaCare 2: Return of the Death Panels
In the original Star Wars, rebels fighting for freedom from the Empire destroyed Darth Vader’s Death Star, which was capable of obliterating an entire planet. The Empire was reluctant...
111th Congress Racks Up Record Debt
Leave it to Democrats to make the spendthrift Republicans of the George W. Bush era look like tightwads. “The federal government,” reports CNSNews.com, “has accumulated more new debt —...
“Cow Burp” Researchers Have a Beef With Government Waste Report
Scientists conducting research at taxpayers’ expense are, says ABC News, “outraged” over the fact that Sen. Tom Coburn’s Wastebook 2010 characterized their work as a study of “cow burps.”...
Dirty Deals on the “Dark Continent” Perpetuate Poverty
Why has Africa, a continent rich in human and natural resources, remained mired in poverty while the rest of the world has generally become more prosperous? As a December...
A Taxpayer’s Dime Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Did you know that in 2010 the federal government spent $2.9 million for a study of the video game "World of Warcraft"? How about $1.8 million for a neon...
How the Fed (Almost) Stole Christmas
One might think that the Federal Reserve is busy enough with bailing out foreign banks, monetizing federal debt, and inflating — er, quantitatively easing — the dollar into oblivion,...
Obama Ignores Afghanistan-Pakistan Reality
The Obama administration plans to release a review of U.S. policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan on December 16. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday that “the...
How to Steal $190,000 — and Get Away With It
On October 18, brothers Jesus and Jose Martinez were robbed of over $190,000 by an armed man. They know who the man is and who employs him, and both...
Uncle Sam’s Afghan Drug Lord
Governments’ dealings with paid informers are always risky. By his willingness to snitch on his friends and associates, the informer has demonstrated his untrustworthiness, so it is difficult for...
Virginia Judge Finds ObamaCare Individual Mandate Unconstitutional
Score one for the Constitution. U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson, in Richmond, Virginia, ruled December 13 that the ObamaCare individual mandate and its related penalties are unconstitutional,...
Pro-Lifers Score a Victory With Pitts Appointment
Conservatives may have lost some battles for committee chairmen in the incoming Republican-dominated House of Representatives, but they are making up for it when it comes to subcommittees. For...
Chairman Paul Gets a Relatively Warm Media Reception
The media response to the appointment of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) to the chairmanship of the House Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee has been swift and — somewhat surprisingly —...
Bernanke’s Christmas Present: Chairman Paul
It’s official: Texas Congressman Ron Paul will be the Chairman of the House Subcommittee for Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology when the 112th Congress convenes in January. Rep. Spencer...