For the rest of the week, we will be highlighting the top 10 videos, blog posts, papers, and charts of 2011. Listed below are the top 10 Heritage videos as determined by views on The Heritage Foundation’s YouTube channel. Have a YouTube account? Subscribe to our channel to be among the first to find out about new videos. #10: Freshmen Lawmakers Make the Case for Government Spending Cuts Many of the freshmen serving in the 112th Congress were elected last November riding a wave of Tea Party activism, fueled in … More

The plastic bag police scored a victory in Seattle this week. The liberal enclave imposed a ban on plastic bags and a 5-cent tax on paper bags, joining other major cities in the latest nanny-state crackdown sweeping the nation. Seattle’s ban applies to all grocery, retail and convenience stores. It exempts farmers’ markets, however. The ordinance takes effect in July 2012. Seattle’s action comes three years after the City Council tried to impose a 20-cent tax on all bags. That idea was shot down by voters in a referendum. It’s … More

Marine Master Sgt. Robert Allen sings a song he wrote for his wife for Christmas. Allen is deployed in Afghanistan, and we’re proud to share this video with you today. Our thoughts and prayers are with our armed forces stationed around the worl…

It’s one of the most famous and widely shared pieces of music in history. Handel intended his oratorio “Messiah” for Lent, and it was first performed just after Easter 1742. But over the centuries, public performances of the masterwork became a rite of Christmas. It is 270 years since Handel composed the classic, yet crowds continue to gather and listen, once again, for hours. Today’s audiences typically reserve that kind of time for a Lady Gaga concert or the opening of a new “Mission Impossible” movie. What explains the enduring … More

Amid all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the Occupy Wall Street movement continues in Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza encampment. Since it’s the season of giving, Accuracy in Media‘s Ben Johnson donned a Santa Claus hat a…

Support for Obamacare sunk to 29 percent in the latest Associated Press poll. The widespread dissatisfaction with President Obama’s signature achievement is one reason Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has developed health care reform that puts patients first rather than government. Price, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, understands health care better than most. Before coming to Congress, he spent nearly 20 years in private practice as an orthopedic surgeon. He’s now using the lessons from that experience to undo the damage of Obamacare by promoting a plan called the … More

Names such as Adolf Hitler and Mickey Mouse will be allowed on petitions to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), as long as they include a valid date and Wisconsin mailing address on the petition forms, a state election board ruled on Tuesday. “We will flag them,” Government Accountability Board elections specialist David Buerger said, “but we will not strike them without challenge.” The board unanimously approved the proposed standard. The petition drive against Walker and his lieutenant governor had gathered about 300,000 signatures by the end of November. Organizers … More

When Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) asked Attorney General Eric Holder to explain the letters concerning Fast and Furious that were withdrawn by DOJ because they were “inaccurate,” as well other misstatements by Holder’s Justice Department in the investigation of the gun-walking disaster, Holder was quick to his own defense, arguing that no one lied. “Tell me what’s the difference between lying and misleading Congress, in this context?” Sensenbrenner asked. “Well, if you want to have this legal conversation, it all has to do with your state of mind and whether … More

Iran is conducting anti-U.S. operations from Latin America, including military training camps in Venezuela, and expanding its reach across the border from the U.S. in Mexico, according to footage unveiled late Thursday by the largest Spanish-language network in the United States, Univision. The documentary showed a former Iran senior official accepting a plan to launch from Mexico a cyber war on the United States, one that would cripple U.S. computer systems, including the White House, the FBI, the CIA and several nuclear plants. The official, former Iranian Ambassador to Mexico … More

President Obama’s economic stimulus was supposed to revive America’s economy and put people back to work. But nearly three years after Democrats rammed the bill through Congress, it’s a clear-cut failure. The nation’s 8.6 percent unemployment rate stands out as one of consequences. Then there is the high-profile Solyndra scandal and countless other government schemes gone awry. In a new video from Reason.tv, Jim Epstein takes a closer look at other examples — in a setting just a few miles from Capitol Hill. In Silver Spring, MD, government contractors pocketed … More