Discipline and cohesion.

Worth a follow-up only because critics wondered why the Defense Department hadn’t responded in full to earlier questions about its supposedly new policy restricting proselytizing by “leaders.” In the middle of the Benghazi hearings yesterday, Ben Goad at The Hill did get the Pentagon on record with a confirmation that, er, nothing has changed: The [...]

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First Amendment and military discipline.

Did the Pentagon bar Christians from talking about their faith while serving in the military? Not exactly, but a new push to aggressively stop proselytizing has chaplains nervous, according to the Deseret News: The latest salvo came this week when conservative blogger Todd Starnes wrote on Fox News and the Christian Post that the Pentagon confirmed that “religious proselytization [...]

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Duty.

This one’s long but stick with it. The good stuff doesn’t start happening until after we’re treated to the thousandth iteration of Charlie Rangel’s master plan to end war as we know it by reinstituting a military draft which virtually no one supports and which Congress will never again feel safe voting for. A draft [...]

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Accolades.

On Tuesday, President Obama signed an executive order meant to enhance our country’s cyber-defenses by directing government officials to improve the channels of cybersecurity information-sharing between the federal entities and companies that manage the various aspects of our digital infrastructure. Reviews were mixed, via Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order [...]

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The other side of the COIN

Previously, I offered some of my own admittedly last century feelings about sending American women into direct, front line combat roles. That sparked a fair bit of discussion, including the submission of a letter from a woman who has seen action in the war and who was surprisingly sympathetic with at least some of my [...]

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Mourning an American Hero

Some tragic news comes to us out of Texas this weekend. Chris Kyle, the most prolific and successful sniper in the history of US special forces, was murdered along with another individual in Texas. The Navy Seal was 39 years old. A man is under arrest in connection with the killing of two men at [...]

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Front lines.

Statement by the President on the Opening of Combat Units to Women Today, by moving to open more military positions—including ground combat units—to women, our armed forces have taken another historic step toward harnessing the talents and skills of all our citizens. This milestone reflects the courageous and patriotic service of women through more than [...]

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Norms.

I don’t know if part of the rationale for yesterday’s kinda’-sorta’ out-of-left-field announcement that the Pentagon is lifting the ban on women serving in direct combat is supposed to be some kind of barrier-breaking, legacy-building last hurrah for Leon Panetta, but if that’s the case, I’m not sure that that legacy will be a very [...]

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Er, do the terrorists know that?

When pressed on foreign policy during his campaign for reelection, President Obama continually talked up the death of Osama bin Laden, the winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the substantially “diminished” threat of al Qaeda as his major credentials. During his second inaugural speech this afternoon, however, President Obama talked a [...]

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Going nowhere?

I have to say, I am thoroughly pumped about seeing the OBL-takedown flick Zero Dark Thirty; judging from the trailers and early reviews, it sounds like it’s a fair representation of the military and the goals of the entire operation. It’s not like we don’t all know how it’s going to end, but anything that [...]

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Meet the new boss.

Remember when the Egyptian army was supposed to be a check on the Brotherhood’s power, not an arm of it? As his proposed compromise faded and tensions mounted on Sunday, Mr. Morsi followed through on plans announced the day before to authorize the military to protect national institutions and polling places. His order, printed in [...]

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HOOYAH!

I generally have to count myself out of all of the weekend football talk that goes on around here — I’m ashamed to confess, I’m pretty clueless when it comes to stats, teams, rules, etc; it’s just not my thing — but if there’s one sports-related thing I do know how to do well, it’s [...]

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Proliferation.

Back in 2007, when Vladimir Putin promised to rebuild Russia’s military and resume its activities on the world stage, Westerners were complacent.  Russia was an economic basket case, after all.  It would take years for modernization programs to kick in.  And even when they did, they would bring Russian capabilities to no more than what [...]

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Great green fleet?

During this trying fiscal time, when we’re bumping up against our debt ceiling and facing monstrously huge unfunded liabilities, and when any sane person can acknowledge that deep cuts to the national budget must be made, it’s comforting to know that we can at least come together and agree to shave off some of the [...]

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But "this is about honor, courage, and love for America."

The Daily Caller captured an extraordinary moment on Fox News last night, during Geraldo Rivera’s interview of the father of Tyrone Woods, the slain Special Forces security agent who gave his life in defending our consulate in Benghazi and protecting Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the first US Ambassador murdered in office in 33 years.  Charles [...]

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Stupid.

If this were any other show, I’d assume that the interviewer knew the answer and was just playing dumb as an excuse to fling this accusation. But this is “The View” so … right, Whoopi probably really didn’t know and didn’t care enough to check. It took me roughly 80 seconds of googling to find [...]

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Terror.

I don’t want to inch too far out on the limb here, but I’m starting to suspect that this was preplanned. U.S. intelligence indicates that 50 or more people, many of them masked, were responsible for the Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Gun trucks provided added firepower. The attackers set [...]

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It's all your money!

Yesterday, Reuters reported that (federally-bailed-out) General Motors’ Chevy Volt is selling at a loss of as much as $49,000 per vehicle, and that certain experts think it doesn’t look likely that GM will ever make that money back. GM fired back today, claiming that Reuters performed an unfair, “grossly wrong” assessment of their business operations, [...]

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Swiftboating! Birtherism! Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

Earlier this week, a group of former special forces and intelligence agents launched a media campaign criticizing President Obama for the White House’s poor handling of sensitive national-security information and for Team Obama persistently using the death of Osama bin Laden as a subject for bragging rights. The Obama campaign can’t have that — Obama [...]

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No experience required

With the now official selection of Paul Ryan as the running mate to Mitt Romney, (and the President’s team taking their first shots at him) we have the final pairings of the four men running for the highest offices in the land. And for the first time since 1944, not one of them has ever [...]

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Serving those who serve

Nothing is ever easy in Ohio, it seems, at least when it comes to politics and elections. The latest significant dust-up involves a pair of 2011 changes to the Buckeye State’s voting laws concerning early voting. Early voting previously was allowed right up until the day before the election, but has now been terminated on [...]

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Doubtful.

Well … maybe, but that depends on what remedy the lawsuit demands.  The DNC, Ohio Democrats, and the campaign for Barack Obama’s re-election have indeed filed a lawsuit in Ohio over an exception for early voting for members of the military and civilians overseas, claiming it sets up an unconstitutionally “disparate” treatment from other voters.  [...]

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Running with scissors.

This morning, President Obama landed in Mansfield, Ohio at an Air National Guard base he wants closed, according to his latest budget. The White House seemed unaware that the C-27 aircraft was even on its chopping block. It’s not the first time the president has been confused about what defense cuts are in his budget. [...]

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Not mincing words.

As President Obama is wont to remind us (no, but really — would anyone like to place bets on how many times we’ll hear about it again before November?), he gave the order that led to our amazing special forces taking out Osama bin Laden. (‘Murika!) To hear President Obama & Friends tell the story, [...]

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2.14 million U.S. jobs will disappear

The congressional Super Committee is long gone, but the consequences of its failure will be felt by millions of Americans unless Congress addresses mandatory cuts that take effect Jan. 2, 2013. A new study released today by economist Stephen S. Fuller of George Mason University and the Aerospace Industries Association estimates that 2.14 million U.S. [...]

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