Restore Greatness to Our Hemisphere: Freedom for Our Schools and Additional Insights

Foreign desk: Revitalize This Hemisphere

“It’s no coincidence that my inaugural trip abroad as secretary of state” kept “me within our hemisphere,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio elaborates in The Wall Street Journal. “President Trump’s foreign policy initiative starts at home.” While Trump’s “primary objectives” include securing borders that may “require firm measures,” the area is “filled with opportunities. We can fortify trade links, establish partnerships to manage migration, and bolster our hemisphere’s security.” Additionally, we can shift “supply chains to the Western Hemisphere,” paving “the way for economic development for our neighbors and our own ‘economic security.” With increased prosperity for our neighbors, “the motivation for emigration diminishes,” allowing them to “better withstand influences from countries like China.” Ultimately, “making America great again includes assisting our neighbors in their pursuit of greatness.”

Ed beat: Liberate Our Schools!

“Another troubling National School Report Card” underscores that America’s children’s education cannot be entrusted “to the leftist teachers unions and administrators who have wreaked havoc on our previously top-notch schools,” exclaims the Issues & Insights editorial board. “Despite significant funding,” our educational institutions are failing. We are dealing with “inefficient public school administrators and even more problematic teachers unions.” We require “reforms that restore the authority of parents and local communities” — which means “more charter schools, Education Savings Accounts, vouchers, and increased school choice for families.” Congress just made “a promising initial step” towards liberating schools “from the constraints of bureaucracy and left-leaning ideologies” by enhancing school choice and facilitating “parents’ ability to fund their children’s education.” “Let’s keep the momentum going.”

Culture critic: Rebels With Purpose

Robby Soave from Reason highlights a recurring theme in New York Magazine’s cover story about “the MAGA-supporting youth who participated in events surrounding Trump’s second inauguration”: Young people tend to resist the wishes of their parents. “A segment of these youth is pushing back against the stringent enforcement of language-focused cancel culture.” Indeed, New York’s “Brock Colyar explores their preference for expressive language.” This “contrarian and somewhat abrasive attitude” could be intrinsically linked to youth culture. Just as “young individuals opposed their parents’ generation” in the 1990s, the current generation is challenging the politically correct narrative in favor of a more culturally conservative outlook. “To the extent this is the case, it’s practically unavoidable: Every prevailing culture provokes a countercultural response.”

Eye on Albany: Hochul’s Medicaid Deception

Governor Hochul claims “the current path of Medicaid expenditure is ‘not sustainable,’” yet “the increase is even steeper than she and her budget director have admitted,” cautions Bill Hammond from the Empire Center. If implemented, Hochul’s proposal, which neglects billions more outlined by other agencies, “would indicate a 20 percent hike from what lawmakers thought they approved just nine months prior.” State budget planners seem to be “shifting funds in and out of the ‘other agency’ category partly as a financial tactic” — giving the impression they are adhering to “a self-imposed limit on Medicaid spending.” To bring Medicaid “under acceptable control,” Hochul must provide “an exhaustive and clear breakdown of just how unsustainable the situation is.”

Conservative: Gabbard the Political Chameleon

Tulsi Gabbard has taken the practice of Cabinet nominees distancing themselves “from previously controversial remarks” to “new extremes” during her Senate confirmation hearing, asserts Jim Geraghty of National Review. She stated “she no longer upheld certain strongly articulated positions she had just half a year ago” regarding the killing of Qassem Soleimani, federal FISA surveillance powers, the Ukraine conflict, etc. “If the disparity between her past statements and her current remarks makes her appear foolish or like an unprincipled weather vane, that’s not my responsibility. Don’t direct your frustration at me for recalling what she previously articulated; direct it toward her for what she’s asserting now.” “Does it seem as though all of Gabbard’s views are open to negotiation in exchange for a prominent government position?”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board