After months of financial turmoil, an Energy Department-backed lithium ion battery company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, Ener1, received a $118 million grant from DOE in 2010 as part of the president’s stimulus package. The money, which went to Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel, aimed to promote renewable energy storage battery technology for electrical grid use. But despite generous federal support for the company, Ener1 was racked by problems last year. In October, NASDAQ delisted the company due to non-compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission filing requirements. A … More

How many times should your money be taxed? One time? Two times? Three times? Four? Sounds like a ridiculous proposition, but that’s the true story of capital gains taxes in America, and it’s one that’s not being told in the continuing debate over Governor Mitt Romney’s taxes. For more than a week, the media has focused on the subject of just how much Romney pays in taxes. On Tuesday, the governor released his tax returns indicating that he paid about 15 percent in taxes last year. At first blush, that … More

With a growing number of school choice programs comes a growing body of research on how educational opportunity benefits students. These benefits manifest themselves in outcomes such as higher graduation rates, increased academic achievement, and higher levels of parent satisfaction with their children’s schools. Students in school choice programs graduate at significantly higher rates than their public school peers. A 2010 gold-standard evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP)—a voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C.—revealed that over 90 percent of DCOSP students graduated from high school, compared … More

From “Born to Run” to “Born in the USA,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town” to “Human Touch,” Bruce Springsteen has brought his brand of rock from the streets of New Jersey to the farms of the heartland, speaking to the American experience as a poet with a six-string. For more than 40 years, he has carried the torch of rock-and-roll to millions of fans, and now he’s headed back on tour, this time with a new song that, believe it or not, speaks to conservative values. Sure, it might seem … More

Premiering in February – Nullification the Movie!

During his State of the Union speech, President Obama introduced a new plan to save responsible homeowner $3,000 a year on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low interest rates. Americans would be wise to be cautious, however, about the new efforts by the federal government. The federal government’s previous intervention in the market has distorted the housing market’s natural forces and postponed the economic recovery. So far, government interventions and the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have cost taxpayers $300 billion. The new plan may cost taxpayers … More

“Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires,” asserted President Obama in his State of the Union Address. President Obama referred to steep tariffs that his Administration imposed on tires imported from China. Not everyone sees it that way. According to the Tire Industry Association (TIA): TIA believes this was a politically motivated decision that will end up costing more jobs than it saves. These tariffs will not bring back the jobs that the union claims have been lost; it will not create … More

Amidst the many policy prescriptions of last night’s speech, President Obama’s State of the Union address was notably void of comment on the religious liberty conflicts his own Administration has created. In yet another assault on religious organizations’ freedom, the Obama Administration released a decision Friday afternoon finalizing an Obamacare health insurance mandate that will restrict the religious liberty of employers to act in accordance with their conscience. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a finalized version of an Obamacare mandate that will require almost all insurance … More

Recognizing that the TSA will never rein itself in, several state lawmakers have taken up James Madison’s call to interpose on behalf of their citizens.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is a program designed to fund high-risk, high-reward projects that the private sector would not embark upon on its own. ARPA-E has as its mission reducing energy imports, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases. The program is meant to “focus on creative ‘out-of-the-box’ transformational energy research that industry by itself cannot or will not support due to its high risk but where success would provide dramatic benefits for the nation.” The House Committee on Science, Space … More