Category: Defense and Security

Two Letters to Read And At Least One That Is Missing

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 Plus, Reflections on the Harris Effect

There Are Some Special People Among Us

I had the pleasure and the opportunity to work with some of them over the years. Some were political appointees, but most were career civil servants, government leaders, or military officers. A couple of characteristics made them special over the long haul.

One, they were dedicated to the principle of service to the country. They were, without exception in my experience, leader-servants. They all believed passionately in the country. Most had a copy of the constitution with them pretty much always (me,

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You May Have Heard About A Shooting Last Weekend?

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Tragedy, Opportunity, Accelerator, Brake? Yes, Likely All of the Above

What This Blog is NOT About

Everyone and their brother started writing about the PA shooting within minutes of the event. Like the debate we talked about earlier, I find it useful to give things a couple of days to sort out at least a little. This blog will not recap the event, blow by blow. We have all had more of that than we need. I remember when it broke on tv, I found myself thinking-

“Oh great. This will be continuous coverage by everyone everywhere for at least the next 24 hours,

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Six for Today

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A Range of Very Different Topics To Fill Our Basket This Week

First, A Moment to Reflect Upon Memorial Day

Yesterday was Memorial Day. This is being published a day after Memorial Day. Hope yours was a meaningful one and that you reflected at least a little on what they day means and the service members who sacrificed it all. Of all our national holidays, this is one of the  most purposeful and thoughtful. I had the opportunity to participate in a local service yesterday; it was a powerful thing to be in the midst of a large group that absolutely understood what this day honors and commemorates.

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One Issue Illuminates It All

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Some Issues Bring a Laser Focus On Our Politics. Here is a Big One

Déjà Vu, All Over Again

 Several years ago, I read a fascinating, if discouraging, series of articles in The Atlantic. The writer did a thorough job, literally going all around the world, to determine the cost and quality of medical care for a common medical procedure (if I remember correctly, it was a knee replacement).

In the end, he determined that were you to deliberately design the most dysfunctional system imaginable (too expensive, poor overall national health,

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Politics, Technology, Middle East War, and Super Ants

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Something for Everyone Today

Taylor Swift Rigs The Super Bowl!

By now, you have surely heard about the Right Wing conspiracy theories that Taylor Swift has somehow conspired to right the Super Bowl for her boyfriend’s team to win and, according to one version, she will then appear at half-time to endorse Biden.

How nuts can these people get?! It really is amazing how this mindset has established itself among a lot of people. If something happens or is pending that I don’t like, there MUST be a conspiracy to blame, no matter how outlandish it seems.

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Lessons in Foreign Policy That Will be Referenced Forever

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Israel’s Very Existence is Under Threat. Bad Decisions Do Not Help

Welcome to the Impossibilities of Foreign Policy

 Foreign affairs are often the most impossible endeavor in human interaction. It is a process filled with emotion and inadequate information. Personalities of leaders rise to the occasion or make it worse. One is often in conflict with allies and the necessity of working with adversaries.

Valid goals conflict with each other. Timelines are unforgiving. Risks may be high but almost impossible to measure as to likelihood. Choices are often all bad; at best, each choice carries real costs.

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The Middle East – Again

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The History is Ugly, The Future is Doubtful – Is This Really The Best We Can All Do?

This Terrible Situation

In every imaginable way, this is about as bad as it gets – and it will get worse.

Unspeakable violence – pure savagery, unspeakable murders were committed against Israel. Over 1300 died, including babies, handicapped, people asleep in their own beds. Thousands more were wounded. None feel secure, anywhere. Israel, meant to be a home for a people on the very edge of annihilation, suffered the worst attack and intelligence failure since the country was founded.

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The House, the Middle East, & One Athlete

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A Varied Mix to Ponder This Week – Much in the Balance, Everywhere

The House of Representatives

That seems an odd title of late: it’s not much of a House, and it seems to represent few of us. As if all the ongoing tensions in that small zoo where not enough, now we have a Speaker fired by 8 of his members, no clear replacement or plan to get one possibly worthy of the title, only about 30 days before the US Government goes broke, and Ukraine held hostage by a pouting few.

October is going to be an interesting month,

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A Perpetual Conundrum: Immigration & Migration

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How Solvable is This? Are There Wins to be Had, for Anyone?

The American Experience with Immigration

Historically and in modern times, America has been shaped in many ways by immigrants. Much of our progress, culture, and social construct comes from immigrants. After all, the ancestors of most of us were immigrants, too. I think one could make the case that so much that is good about this country comes from immigration. I acknowledge that Native Americans might take exception to that idea, and they surely have a point. But that is another conversation, for another time.

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Welcome to the Rogue’s Gallery

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Six “Winners” Who Merit Our Disdain

Highlighting a Few People That Are Disappointments to Civilization

As we all know, the world has at least its share of less than laudable souls walking the Earth. We might even feel that we are way over our quota of such people in recent years.

Still, even in this category of n’er-do-wells some people stand out as exceptional wastes of oxygen. Today, we call out six of them worthy of our highest scorn and our lowest esteem.

The Latest Trump Indictment Gives Us Two Such Individuals

One,

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