The Ignored Lesson and Teachable Moment from the 2016 Election
Lennie Jarratt, Townhall
Ever since Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, America has seen protests, riots, cancelled college classes, and teachers wailing and gnashing their teeth over Trump’s plans for education. This reaction shows a fundamental misunderstanding of government’s role in our lives and offers an important real-life civics lesson that many educators ignore. Americans do not have confidence in a powerful big government led by someone they do not trust. READ MORE
Ease Federal Control of the Nation’s Lands
Rob Natelson, RealClearPolicy
Reasonable people can disagree about how much land the federal government should own, but how much is too much? The Constitution authorizes more federal ownership than some conservatives claim, but it certainly does not authorize federal rule over nearly 30 percent of the country. The Founding Fathers would have viewed the current situation with alarm. When politicians and bureaucrats govern vast swaths of a state’s territory, they put a stranglehold on much of that state’s economy. READ MORE
Trump Calls for Speedier Approval of New Drugs
In a meeting with pharmaceutical executives Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he wants the person he appoints to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to facilitate faster approval of live-saving drugs, especially for patients with terminal illnesses. Health Care News Managing Editor Michael Hamilton said in response: “President Trump’s frustration with FDA’s laborious approval process for new drugs resonates with millions of Americans eager for more freedom and less government in health care.” READ MORE
Featured Podcast: Veronique de Rugy: President Trump’s Proposed $1 Trillion Government Infrastructure Stimulus Plan
Budget & Tax News Managing Editor Jesse Hathaway talks with Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy about Trump’s proposed $1 trillion government infrastructure stimulus plan. De Rugy says there are more ways government infrastructure plans can go wrong than ways they can go right. She has serious doubts about the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus and notes infrastructure projects are particularly ill-suited for boosting the economy. LISTEN TO MORE
IT’S ON! HEARTLAND’S NEXT CLIMATE CONFERENCE
The 12th International Conference on Climate Change, taking place on Thursday and Friday, March 23–24 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, will feature the courageous men and women who spoke the truth about climate change during the height of the global warming scare. Now, many of them are advising the new administration or joining it in senior positions. Meet the scientists, economists, engineers, and policy experts who persuaded Trump that man-made global warming is not a crisis, and thus it’s time to end the war on fossil fuels. Space is limited, so reserve your place today! SUBSCRIBE HERE
No, Nick, Renewable Energy Is Not a Panacea
H. Sterling Burnett, Climate Change Weekly
On January 5, Wired magazine published a missive by Nick Stockton, “No Matter What Trump Does, Green Energy Will Prevail.” He claims the United States will lose out in the global economy if it does not continue to push green energy to the detriment of fossil fuels. A close examination of the facts shows Stockton’s post if full of half-truths – a piece of wishful thinking. READ MORE
FDA Hiring Freeze No Problem for Trump’s Nominees
Michael Hamilton, Consumer Power Report
Here’s a chill pill for the not-so-merry band of alarmists worrying how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can possibly function with reduced regulatory power and under the federal hiring freeze instated by President Donald Trump’s executive orders. In addition to ignoring the exemption for situations ‘deemed necessary to ensure national security and public safety,’ the alarmists forget something: An FDA staffed to less than full capacity is a problem only if Trump intends FDA to remain the leviathan agency it has become in recent decades. READ MORE
Higher Ed Groups Lobby Trump for More Campus Rights
Teresa Mull, School Choice Weekly
K–12 isn’t the only education system getting a lot of attention from the new presidential administration. Watchdog reports that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education sent Trump a letter soon after his inauguration pleading for action to protect free speech on college campuses across the country. Judging by the most recent protests at the University of California at Berkeley, action to protect free speech is needed now more than ever. READ MORE
Trump Is Deregulating – Fast. Congress Needs to Get Up to Speed
Seton Motley, RedState
Trump has wasted no time tackling the issues he promised the American public. He has already tightened controls on immigration, slashed regulations, and done everything he could to end Obamacare as promised. He can only do so much alone, which begs the question: What is the Republican Congress doing? Nothing. Republicans have the reins now, they need to get on board and fast. READ MORE
Bonus Podcast: In The Tank (ep73) – Oil Pipeline Safety, State Solutions to Obamacare, Privatizing DC’s Metro, and Road Beers
Hosts John Nothdurft and Donny Kendal discuss work from think tanks around the country including The Heartland Institute, Palmetto Promise Institute, Alabama Policy Institute, and Cato Institute. Featured this week is research from The Heartland Institute’s own Isaac Orr on pipeline safety, as well as new work on understanding the damage Obamacare does to states. LISTEN TO MORE
New TV Series Focuses on America’s Heartland
Justin Haskins, Freedom Pub
If you’re not familiar with CarbonTV, you should be. It and channels like it are the future of television. CarbonTV features original high-quality video content focusing mostly on topics of interest to the “outdoor enthusiast,” but it also features a number of shows that highlight blue-collar America. Many of the shows on CarbonTV are filmed in a style that’s similar to mini documentaries or other popular reality TV shows. READ MORE
Jim Lakely is the Vice President and Director of Communications of The Heartland Institute.
