National Security on Townhall

Washington Post blasts Dems Budget Sun Mar 17

Bob Beauprez

Somebody must have realigned the planets. That's the only explanation I can fathom for the harsh criticism the editors of the Washington Post unloaded on the Senate Democrats newly released budget. ... more
Death Drone Dodge: The Evasiveness That Provoked Rand Paul's Filibuster Wed Mar 13

Jacob Sullum

Last month, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence gave John Brennan, the new CIA director, another opportunity to answer a question he had dodged at his confirmation hearing: "Could the administration carry out drone strikes inside the United States?" Brennan's written response: "This administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so." ... more
Obama Loses Afghanistan; Next Target India's Kashmir Mon Mar 11

Night Watch

Over the weekend an al Qaida spokesman in Pakistan stated in a video obituary for a fallen Kashmiri militant that after Afghanistan is retaken, Indian Kashmir is the next target. ... more
Holder: Budget Cuts May Hamper National Security Thu Mar 7

Washington, D.C.

Attorney General Eric Holder spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday to urge Congress to act on gun control legislation. He also said the recent budget cuts brought on by the sequester could hamper national security. ... more
Marathon: Rand Paul's Filibuster Continues Into the Night Wed Mar 6

Guy Benson
Please: Help a DC Bureaucrat Today Wed Mar 6

Ransom Notes Radio

Amazingly, most of us have gotten past day one of the sequester. But, what are you doing to help all those bureaucrats in DC maintain their average $90,000/year salary? John Ransom spoke about the DOW hitting new highs, and what that means for the economy, with George Jarkesy from the Wall Street Business Network. ... more
China "Fully Prepared for Currency War" Says China's Central Bank Deputy Governor Sun Mar 3

Mike Shedlock

Given the world's central bankers are already in a currency war, a policy statement made by a deputy-governor of China's central bank should not come as a surprise. ... more
Joe Biden’s Self-Defense Advice Sun Mar 3

Daniel J. Mitchell

Biden has reached new levels on unintentional humor with his recent advice on home defense, all of which appears to be illegal according to fellow Bulldog Mary Katherine Ham. ... more
And the Oscar for Sequester Goes to... Thu Feb 28

Bill Tatro

The NASA budget cut is most bothersome since the prime directive was to inspire Islamists worldwide about their role in space exploration. ... more
North Korea Praises Nukes Wed Feb 27

Night Watch

The honorifics are Stalinist in style. Those analysts who hoped that a younger, western educated Kim would be more modern and progressive have proven to be far too optimistic. Kim Jung Un's regime is more severe than that of Kim Chong-il. ... more
Asteroids Want to Destroy the Middle Class- and Women Wed Feb 27

John Ransom

“How stupid if we got hit because we weren’t looking?” former astronaut Ed Lu, who runs a non-profit that cheers for asteroid collisions, told Wired Magazine. “That seems crazy to me.” Yeah, it will be much better when the government spends lots of money on asteroid-watching, knows the big one will hit and does nothing. ... more
All the Coal, None of the Carbon- Almost Mon Feb 25

Bob Beauprez

The technology, known as Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CCDL), captures more than 99 percent of coal's carbon dioxide emissions based on laboratory research. ... more
The Rejection of America's Volunteer Military Mon Feb 25

Political Calculations

The end of volunteerism with the draft explains why the average age of those who served in World War 2 is 26 - it is the middle of the range from which the pool of those conscripted were drawn into service in the years from 5 December 1942 through the end of the war in 1945. ... more
Pro-American Vs. Anti-American at the U.S. Box Office Sun Feb 24

Political Calculations

The Hurt Locker suggests that U.S. military servicemen conducting operations against terrorists are psychologically-impaired, irresponsible rogue elements who are dangers to themselves and others. Zero Dark Thirty portrays American spies and secret military operatives as devoted avengers of a horrific act of terror against the United States. ... more
Russia-China Opposes Foreign Intervention on NKorea Sun Feb 24

Night Watch

That means the message in the Russian and Chinese joint statements is targeted at North Korea. The apparent implication is that North Korea can expect no diplomatic or political assistance from them to soften UN sanctions. If that implication is accurate, as it seems to be, North Korea is being cut off from it historic and primary benefactors. ... more
This Company is Harnessing the Cheapest Energy on Earth Sat Feb 23

Nathan Slaughter

If you've ever visited Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park or taken a hot springs bath, then you understand the basic principle. In the simplest terms, geothermal heat is produced deep in the earth's crust and then carried toward the surface by rising magma, the shifting of tectonic plates and other geologic forces. ... more
Soft Targets Back in Focus Sun Feb 17

Stewart Scott

The attack on the U.S. diplomatic office in Benghazi and the killing of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens led to months of media coverage that has included televised congressional hearings and fierce partisan and bureaucratic squabbles in the media. It was the terrorist equivalent of winning the lottery. ... more
U.S.-Iranian Dialogue in Obama's Second Term Sat Feb 16

George Friedman

Now, Iran no longer poses a strategic threat to U.S. interests in the way it did just a few years ago, and the prospect of Iran solidifying an arc of influence from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean has evaporated. Iran is on the defensive, trying to help its allies survive in Syria and Lebanon ... more
Eric Holder's Specialty: Patsies Thu Feb 14

Bill Tatro

One attendee in particular really caught my eye, namely U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who currently stars in the continuing drama entitled “Operation Fast and Furious.” ... more
China Surpasses U.S. in International Trade Wed Feb 13

Political Calculations

In 2012, China became the world's biggest trading nation, with the total value of that nation's exports and imports surpassing those of the United States. ... more
An Amusing Video Medley of Moral Preening on Guns from Piers Morgan Mon Feb 11

Daniel J. Mitchell

Here’s one that’s worth sharing just for entertainment value. It shows a British import desperately trying to gain visibility and ratings by engaging in a series of gun control debates. ... more
Defense Spending Hasn’t Been Cut by $600 Billion Mon Feb 11

Tad DeHaven

The following chart illustrates why it is ridiculous to act as if smaller future increases in projected spending amount to realized spending cuts. The chart shows the Congressional Budget Office’s August 2001 baseline estimate of defense spending from 2002 to 2011 versus the actual outlays ... more
Gallup: 63 percent of Iranians Want Nukes in Face of Sanctions Sun Feb 10

Night Watch

The majority of Iranians (63%) said that Iran should continue to develop its nuclear program, even given the scale of sanctions. ... more
Obama AWOL during Benghazi Attack Sat Feb 9

Bob Beauprez

Finally, five months after the terrorist assault, the American people and the families of those brave slain Americans find out that even though live video was being streamed back to Washington, even though requests for backup had been sent, the President left it to others to deal with the issue. ... more
Do White House leaks rise to level of impeachable offense? Wed Feb 6

America

New fallout from intelligence leaks that revealed national security initiatives. ... more
The Wrong Man for Defense Secretary Tue Feb 5

Phyllis Schlafly

Americans who are concerned about traditional freedoms and the Second Amendment have no difficulty understanding the message of the popular bumper strip: "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." It should be just as easy to grasp the corollary: If nukes are outlawed, only terrorist countries will have nukes. ... more