Obama Puts Boots On The Ground -- In Western Africa 

President Obama announced a new plan today to put boots on the ground, up to 3,000 American troops. . . to fight the Ebola epidemic. Over the years, books and movies have speculated about Ebola escaping the jungles of Africa and spreading throughout the world. I couldn't help but have a visceral reaction to this news this morning, not to mention all the irony and contradictions that it represents. 

Tragically, nearly 2,500 people have died during this recent outbreak in five African countries. But as sad as that is, it is a mere fraction of the number of people who have been killed by radical Islamism -- a virus that is spreading much faster. 

The president is hesitant to put boots on the ground to fight the barbarians of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is what our military warriors are trained to do. They are trained to fight thugs like the Islamists. But Obama and his advisors have decided that sending 3,000 troops to West Africa to take on Ebola is an urgent national interest. 

As my friend Bill Kristol wrote today, "It will be interesting to see if President Obama explains why unilaterally putting boots on the ground for the sake of killing our enemies is unthinkable in Iraq and Syria, but, in order to cope with a virus, fine in Liberia."

This move is fraught with danger, and the potential unintended consequences are tremendous. What if some of our troops get infected? What if the infection spreads to the U.S.? Ebola has an 80% mortality rate. 

By the way, on this one, the president wants the U.S. to take the lead. Isn't this what the U.N. and the World Health Organization are for? Aren't they supposed to do more than just pass anti-Israel resolutions? 

Obamacare Is Back 

Obamacare is back in the news. Here's a rundown of the latest headlines:
 

• A new report from the Government Accountability Office finds that most Obamacare policies are in fact subsidizing abortions with your hard-earned tax dollars. Of 18 insurers examined for the report, the GAO found that 15 "indicated that the [abortion coverage] benefit is not subject to any restrictions, limitations, or exclusions." That means that more than 80% of insurers are ignoring rules meant to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion. 
   
• Remember all the stories last year about people losing the coverage they had because of Obamacare? It's happening again, this time to 250,000 Virginians. 
   
• More than 100,000 illegal immigrants were enrolled in Obamacare last year. The Obama Administration is supposedly trying to "deport" them from the system. If we'd enforce our immigration laws this wouldn't be a problem. 
   
• Another 360,000 enrollees are at risk of losing tax subsidies by the end of the month because they have so far failed to provide any proof of income eligibility. This is just more evidence of how Obamacare is rife with fraud. 
   
• A new analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office finds that spending on Obamacare's taxpayer-funded subsidies will increase eight fold over the course of the next ten years. Where is that money going to come from? 

  Don't Know Much About History 

  As most of you know, I was under-secretary of education in the Reagan Administration. And I have maintained a great interest in how we are educating our young people, especially about history and the American founding. 

  American Values recently conducted a little experiment on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Standing in front of a large "George Washington University" sign with a bust of our first president, we asked students a few questions about American history and the Constitution. All of the answers were "George Washington."

  While some students caught on to what we were doing, too many gave the wrong answers. (Even the one about who's on the one-dollar bill!) You can see some of the funnier responses here.

  I admit the video made me chuckle. The students seem very earnest. But they are being cheated by a society that believes it is no longer important to know much about our founding and our founding fathers. Please watch our short video and share it with your friends.