The Fortress Myth
For the second time in less than four years, there has been a mass shooting at a U.S. military installation. According to Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, at least…
Silver Lining (Government Shutdown Edition)
Contrary to what you hear from Harry Reid and the mainstream media, there is (at least) one silver lining to the current government shutdown. For at least a few days,…
A Convenient (and Profitable) Exit
Lois Lerner, the embattled director of the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organizations Division, has announced her retirement from the agency. She leaves under a cloud, but will collect a pension estimated…
Your Tax Dollars Take Flight
If you’re near Andrews AFB in the Washington, DC area (or MacDill AFB in Tampa) later this week, look up and watch. You’ll see hundreds of thousands of your tax…
The Gathering Storm (Long-Range Training Edition)
Like other modern militaries, the Israeli Air Force routinely conducts long-range training missions, sharpening navigation and air refueling skills that would be needed for a strike against a distant target…
Missing Man
When CBS presents its special on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, one key figure will be conspiciously absent. And we’re not referring to Walter Cronkite…
Nuclear Blues
The Air Force’s troubled nuclear enterprise is in hot water–again. According to the Associated Press, at least two missile launch crews have been caught napping this year with the blast…
The Greatest Day in History, Redux
…from this blog on Veteran’s Day 2008: George Smiley’s post on the 90th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, the “war to end all wars.” As we…
The Next Disaster
***UPDATE/10 Nov/ The terms “backbone” and “France” are rarely mentioned in the same sentence, but today marks an exception to that general rule. According to various media accounts, the proposed…
After America (Persian Gulf Edition)
Early in Barack Obama’s first term, unnamed members of his senior staff said one of the administration’s goals was to “manage America’s decline” on the world stage. And on that…
The Forgotten Anchor
November marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To a lesser degree, it is also remembered as (perhaps) the finest hour in the history of…
"Leaders" Behaving Badly
Christmas has come and gone, but it’s not too late to bequeath a few lumps of coal to so-called “leaders,” caught in the act of behaving badly. We’ll begin with…
Huckabee Bows Out
Mike Huckabee’s syndicated radio talk show went out with a whimper last week. The former Arkansas governor announced earlier this year that he would end his daily talk program at…
Today's Reading Assignment
…from George Leef, writing at Forbes.com: “More College Does Not Beget More Economic Prosperity” As Mr. Leef reminds us, the national obsession with sending millions of young people to the…
Flying Towards a Waterfall
While there has been much coverage–and debate–regarding sequestration’s impact on the U.S. military, there is another crisis that has received far less attention, yet the long-term consequences are equally serious.…
The War at 50
Tom Fletcher speaks with President Johnson on his front porch in Martin County, Kentucky in 1964. LBJ used the visit to launch his “War on Poverty.” (Louisville Courier-Journal) Fifty years…
Reinforcements
Amid the hubub over former SecDef Robert Gates’s new memoir–and disclosures that Hillary and Barack Obama staked out national security positions based purely on political concerns–comes this rather surprising announcement…
Mishap Deja Vu?
An Air Force MC-12 surveillance aircraft, like the one that crashed today in Afghanistan. Previous crashes and near-catastrophic stall incidents involving the MC-12 have been blamed on limited crew training.…
The Homeless Colonel
Something about this story doesn’t add up. As you probably know, veterans make up a disproportionate share of the nation’s homeless. In fact, the Veteran’s Administration launched an emergency effort…
Ending the Air Force's Nuclear Erosion
Passing through the Philadelphia airport a few nights ago, I skimmed through a copy of “Duty,” the recently-released memoir from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Of course, almost anyone who…