Hot questions, timely topics, timeless principles. Welcome to Townhall Magazine’s June 2013 issue! Check out an exclusive sneak peek of a few stories that made our pages, including part of our conversation with Thomas Sowell.

Order Townhall Magazine today for these can't-miss articles:

--*Cover Story*: In an exclusive interview with Townhall Assistant Editor Kate Hicks, Dr. Thomas Sowell breaks down one of the nation's most sensitive topics--race--and his latest new on the issue, titled "Intellectuals and Race." *Scroll down for an exclusive excerpt of the article!*

--“Does Concealed Carry Belong in Churches and Schools?”: A trainer, a schoolteacher and security experts help break down the issue. 

--"Watch Out for the Green Team": Obama seems poised to make his green agenda a top priority in this term. How far will his likely Cabinet go to make that happen?

--"Who's Afraid of Adoption?": Why hasn't adoption been elevated in the national pro-life vs. pro-abortion discussion?Townhall investigates the challenges of talking about adoption to women in crisis pregnancies—and how the pro-life community should be handling it.

--"Have You Met ... ”: Meet a representative who traded in a military uniform and FBI undercover work on Wall Street to serve in Congress.

Remember, our print features are generally 100 percent exclusive ... most won't run in full online!

Excerpted from Townhall Magazine's June cover story, "A Mind for All Seasons," by Kate Hicks:

In "Intellectuals and Race," Sowell defines “intellectuals” as “people whose work begins and ends with ideas.”

Yet he’s quick to point out that this is not a compliment: “[Intellectual] is an occupational designation, rather than an honorific title, and it implies nothing about the mental level of those in the occupation.” Indeed, the intellectuals in question throughout the book have propagated harebrained “theories” about race, ranging from eugenics in the 1930s to today’s affirmative action proponents.

“Intellectuals and Race” traces the history of those ideas, revealing the intelligentsia’s sordid affairs with entirely unscientific—yet eminently racist—concepts. Using actual data, Sowell then refutes the claims these intellectuals have made to justify their repugnant worldviews.

Despite the fact that Sowell’s personal experiences were not the driving force behind his exploration of how intellectuals have engaged race, his own story provides some anecdotal evidence to support his argument that multiculturalism has done more harm than good. Indeed, he is a veritable case study of the phenomena he discusses.

On its face, the world-renowned economist and author’s early life belies the incredible difference in circumstances he faced compared to today’s black youth. Born in North Carolina and raised in Harlem during the 1940s and 1950s, he tells Townhall the Harlem where he grew up looks very little like the Harlem of today.

“At one time years ago, people said that I was urging other blacks to follow in my footsteps, which was utter nonsense, because the things that were available to me are not available to them. In fact, that’s one of the problems,” he says. “I doubt very seriously whether a kid growing up in Harlem in the same place where I grew up will have half the opportunities to get ahead that I had. Just the pure deterioration of the public school system deprives him of that.”

It is partly due to the education system in place in his time that Sowell was able to succeed in ways unimaginable today, despite the fact that he dropped out of high school at 17. As he chronicles in his autobiography, “A Personal Odyssey,” he joined the Marine Corps, serving as a photographer in the Korean War, and eventually made his way to the hallowed Ivy League, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1958. Master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Columbia University and University of Chicago, respectively, followed.

Yet while Sowell pursued higher degrees and launched his storied career, multiculturalism was taking hold in his old neighborhood and black neighborhoods nationwide. Sowell points out that the trend did away with ability groupings in school and did more to foster a sense of anger toward any disadvantages kids may have, rather than cultivate the desire to overcome them. As Sowell himself studied for his doctorate, race riots were erupting in the streets. Sowell recounted to Townhall how his brother was present for an episode in Detroit.

“My older brother happened to be out there in those riots in, I think it was, 1968, … I heard he was out there asking the rioters, ‘Where are you going to shop after you burn down this man’s store?’ There’s no sense of what is politick in our family. It must be genetic,” he says.

....

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Some aren’t old enough to drive a car, or vote, or have even reached the designation of teenager. One survivor told of how girls were shown a horrific act perpetuated on one victim who tried to escape.

Yet it’s likely less than 1 percent of an estimated almost 21 million human trafficking victims worldwide are identified, according to Capitol Hill testimony given Tuesday by Bradley Myles, executive director and CEO of Polaris Project, a non-profit that combats human trafficking.

That was just one of several shocking statistics that came up in the hearing held by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which focused on local and private sector initiatives to combat human trafficking.

Chairman Ed Royce said in his opening statement that some estimates put the number of American citizen children who are such victims within U.S. borders at 100,000. 

“These are not just faraway problems affecting the developing world,” Royce said.

Another witness at the hearing was Don Knabe, who is the Los Angeles County Supervisor for the Fourth District and has worked extensively on this issue. He talked about the average age of prostitution being between 12-13. He told the story of a probation officer who received word that a 10-year-old girl was taken into custody at 6 pm on a Tuesday for prostitution.

For gangs, explained Knabe, human trafficking ends up being more lucrative than the trafficking of drugs or guns, and safer—for the criminals.

The real-life horrors of forced human labor take many forms—from forced conscription of child soldiers to sexual servitude, as Royce discussed in his opening statement.

Fixing the problem requires overcoming multiple challenges in all facets of the process:

--One pressing difficulty is housing the victims. According to Knabe, the pimp is often waiting for a trafficked child, usually faced with a misdemeanor, outside the court after the minor is released. Finding safe housing for these children, however, is difficult. Sometimes the children end up in the juvenile hall, where another victim who still wants to be involved in the prostitution ring may snitch on their location. Poe mentioned a statistic from Myles’ organization which said last year there were only 1644 beds for trafficking victims in the U.S.

--Legislative hurdles: A key component revolves around treating children who have been trafficked as victims, rather than criminals because of the acts committed.  Myles said certain states are looking at changing laws to do just that, but he believes something such as a Sense of the Congress resolution would help the situation. Another legal hang-up is that prosecutors have to prove the sex trafficker knew the victim was a child.

--Public awareness: People have not yet comprehend such things are happening in their own communities.  While Knabe mentioned Los Angeles’ two major ports, airport, and proximity to the border, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois mentioned St. Louis and Chicago. Myles said communities need to be saturated with awareness of what trafficking is, how to spot it, and what to do when it’s discovered. Sometimes, law enforcement members are no more aware of this issue than the public.

--Federal problem: According to Royce and Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, there is also a struggle with the State Department to get them to accurately label some countries where trafficking may be a major issue.  “In the past 13 years, international peer pressure and the potential threat of U.S. sanctions have pushed many nations to try to avoid the stain of a ‘Tier 3’ designation in the State Department’s annual report, and more than 130 countries have enacted anti-trafficking laws,” Royce said. “The struggle that Chairman Chris Smith and I have had over the last few years is with the State Department and their lack of willingness – their lack of honesty in naming names and in putting on the Tier 3 list those countries that are involved.”

As the spotlight intensifies on these problems, however, there is also good work being done to combat the evils of human trafficking:

--One focus of Myles’ group has been anti-trafficking hotlines. One which they operate, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, has “fielded over 75,000 calls and played a role in identifying nearly 9,000 survivors of trafficking to date.”  Myles explained making sure people know about the anti-trafficking hotlines are a good way to reach victims (number available here).  One such hotline, a local one, was used by two Midwest girls who were conned to D.C. and forced into sex trafficking.  A police officer saw them, thought something was amiss, and gave them the hotline number the girls then used when the pimp was asleep.  Law enforcement was able to extract the girls from the situation, and they’re now doing well, according to Myles.

--There have also been successful collaborations with private enterprises.  Knabe mentioned how Clear Channel and Lamar Advertising gave over 100 billboards and 50 digital displays as part of a campaign in Los Angeles to raise awareness of sex trafficking.

--Another creation Knube detailed was the Collaborative Court: “Through the Court, we are able to provide the young girls with a victim-centered response team to help them with their physical and mental health issues, and to support them with housing, education and training services.” This was done through a federal grant.

Over time, the relationship between the establishment GOP and grassroots members has wilted more than a bouquet of roses after Valentine’s Day. November’s election results meant the return of a question that’s haunted American politics for several years: is a third party the way to go for those unhappy within the GOP? Or will such a split ensure the very causes these voters are fighting to promote will never become policy in D.C.? Two Townhall staffers, Guy Benson and Heather Ginsberg, step up to offer their personal cases for and against such a third party.

To read, subscribe to Townhall Magazine today.

In July 2012, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, landed himself in hot water for uncharacteristically politically incorrect remarks. At a fundraiser in Jerusalem, Romney pointed out the economic disparity between Israel and the Palestinians. Geography could not explain it, but something else could; paraphrasing the economist David Landes, author of the influential “The Wealth and Poverty of Nations,” Romney said, “Culture makes all the difference.”

What happened next was about as inevitable as death and taxes. Romney was called a racist by the Palestinians and their supporters. Bizarre stories in The New York Times and Washington Post designed to make Romney look foolish had the reverse effect: the articles were so riddled with bias and ignorance about the Middle East it was hard to believe the reporters were willing to put their names on them. And Romney’s comments were without question correct: he simply repeated not only what economists and historians have concluded but what Arab intellectuals and educators have themselves said for decades.

The debate that raged on in the wake of his comments focused, perhaps understandably, on only the Palestinian side of the equation. That’s too bad, because just as the Jewish people believe they have a responsibility to be a “light among the nations” by keeping to exemplary moral and ethical behavior, so too does Israel have something to say on economic policy, having weathered the recent global financial crisis better than her Western colleagues and counterparts.

The debate that raged on in the wake of his comments focused, perhaps understandably, on only the Palestinian side of the equation. That’s too bad, because just as the Jewish people believe they have a responsibility to be a “light among the nations” by keeping to exemplary moral and ethical behavior, so too does Israel have something to say on economic policy, having weathered the recent global financial crisis better than her Western colleagues and counterparts.

This was illustrated perfectly in a February Washington Post profile of Stanley Fischer, who announced he will step down this year as the governor of Israel’s central bank. Fischer has attained heroic status in Israel, and the piece’s author, Dylan Matthews, was no less subtle, headlining his profile: “Stan Fischer saved Israel’s economy. Can he save America’s?” Fischer’s record withstands the scrutiny such claims draw: he by and large has earned his plaudits. And, in the end, it has been this mix of economic policy and culture that allowed Israel to flourish in a way somewhat foreign to its neighbors.

...

The stabilization program revolved around a successful plan to immediately and dramatically reduce the government deficit, rein in union wages and cut inflation. It worked and completely restructured the Israeli government’s approach to the economy by easing the regulatory state and giving the private sector much of the economic space previously clogged by the government. Because it decreased government expenditure, it also reduced the state’s dependence on foreign aid and other external sources of income. In the following years, other steps were taken to put the private sector on more equal footing with the government in regard to tax and investment rules.

The timing of the stabilization program was crucial—not only because the Israeli economy was spiraling fast but also because the fall of the Soviet Union would bring an influx of an enormous number of immigrants who could only be absorbed effectively by a healthy job market. As Ben-Bassat notes, between 1989— just before the mass immigration began—and 1996, Israel’s unemployment rate actually dropped 2.6 percentage points, an almost unbelievable statistic. (Ben-Bassat adds that the absorption of the immigrants was so successful it actually lowered unemployment among non-immigrants as well.)

The other element integral to the success of Israel’s economy is the high-tech sector. This is the core of the start-up nation, as evidenced by the book that coined the term, written by Dan Senor and Saul Singer in 2009. And this can be boiled down to the intersection of two factors: first, the risk-taking culture appropriately praised by Senor and Singer; and second, a pitch-perfect example of how necessity can be the mother of invention. It is Israel’s geopolitical predicament, for example, that convinced tech maven Shai Agassi of the need to develop electric cars as a feasible alternative that could make Israel energy independent and which led to the founding of the electric transport company Better Place in 2007. And learning how to recognize the web fingerprints of a potential terrorist while serving in the Israel Defense Forces enabled Shvat Shaked, founder of Fraud Sciences, to create pathbreaking e-commerce security software for PayPal. According to Rivlin, between 1995 and 2008 Israel’s high technology output increased 183.5 percent.

In 2010, Israel’s status as an elite, free market economy was confirmed with an invitation to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). While this puts the Jewish state in the top tier of world economies, the contrast with Israel’s immediate neighbors is especially striking. The World Economic Forum ranks Israel 26th in global competitiveness; Egypt comes in at 107, Jordan at 64, Lebanon at 91, and Syria—now disintegrating into violent collapse—isn’t included in the ranking at all. Israel’s bureaucracy may still be daunting, but Transparency International puts Israel in 39th place in its global corruption perceptions index; Egypt lands at number 118, Jordan at 58, Lebanon at 128, and Syria at 144. The International Monetary Fund puts Israel’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at around $33,000 for 2012, Egypt’s around $3,000, Lebanon’s at a little over $11,000, and Jordan’s at slightly under $5,000.

Even among Israel’s OECD peers, her economic strength is apparent. Among Israeli adults aged 25-64, 80 percent have the equivalent of a high school degree—higher than the OECD average of 74 percent. Average personal financial wealth in Israel is at $47,750, well above the OECD average of $36,238. Life expectancy at birth in Israel is approximately 82, which is two years more than the OECD average. Given these numbers, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Israelis work more and longer hours than the OECD average. The willingness to work those long hours may have something to do with the fact that Israel—a country with a population of under 8 million—has more companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange than every country except the U.S. and China.

There is one more piece to the story of Israel’s “economic miracle,” as Senor and Singer term it. In between the grand 1985 economic stabilization plan and Fischer’s deft monetary policy that shielded Israel from the worst of the global downturn in 2008, there was a major economic achievement led by Benjamin Netanyahu in 2003....

Excerpted from Townhall Magazine's May feature, "Israel: Beating the Economic Odds," by Seth Mandel. To read more of Mandel's analysis, subscribe to Townhall Magazine today.

A collection of officials including the colonel superidendent of the Massachusetts state police, Gov. Deval Patrick, and Mayor Thomas Menino just gave a brief press conference with relatively few updates on the current situation regarding the Boston marathon suspect #2. They took no questions.

The stay in doors request for the public continues unchanged for the time being.

The colonel superidentent of the Massachusetts state police said they were progressing through the neighborhood door-to-door, street-to-street. Sixty to 70 percent of what they wanted to cover had been covered at the time of the press conference.

They also said more leads have just developed, and there will be a briefing hopefully again later today.

They also announced that, this afternoon, there will be a controlled explosion over in Cambridge, done out of abundance of caution and for safety of law enforcement officials there who need to search.

Information coming out of Boston has been fast, furious, and often incorrect. Here's what we know:

--The FBI began releasing photos of two suspects (this was yesterday). (Townhall)

--Two suspects in the Boston marathon bombing have been identified "by law enforcement officials and family members" as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. (AP)

--The first suspect has died. That is confirmed, but the details still need clarification. This ABC story says he was killed after "exchanging gunfire" with police: "Officials at Beth Israel Hospital reported they received one patient who later died, but would not confirm it was the first suspect. That patient came in under guard and had suffered blast, shrapnel and so many gunshot wounds that caregivers were 'unable to count' them." (ABC)

--Unfortunately, an MIT police officer, Sean Collier, has also died because of the suspects. (ABC)

As far as additional information, that's where it gets sticky. This story, for example, paints an odd picture of the older brother, whose uncle said he called the uncle on Thursday to ask for forgiveness. He also reportedly complimented the uncle for "keeping up with his Muslim prayers." But apparently, the uncle had to get the full story from the news:

Alvi Tsarnaev only learned that his nephew was a suspect, shot dead, in the news Friday morning.

"Killing innocent people, I cannot forgive that," he said. "It's crazy. I don't believe it now even. How can I forgive this?"

There's also reports that Suspect 1 assaulted his girfriend. (Foreign Policy)

--Another uncle, clearly irate, gave a press conferece calling for the second suspect to turn himself in (note: story has been updated to clarify that there were two uncles--initially I thought they were the same).

Hot questions, timely topics, timeless principles. Welcome to Townhall Magazine’s May 2013 issue! Check out an exclusive sneak peek of a few stories that made our pages by scrolling down below.

Order Townhall Magazine today for these additional can't-miss topics:

--“A Force for Good: Guns and the Economy”: What effect does the gun industry have on both the U.S. economy and economies worldwide? Will D.C. sabotage this relationship? Katie Pavlich investigates.

--"Is There Room for a Third Party?": Would a third party help on the Right in American politics?  Two Townhall staffers debate and offer the cases for and against.

--"Israel: Beating the Economic Odds": Israel’s economic prowess currently stands in stark contrast to its neighbors. How did a country now labeled an ‘economic miracle’ manage to beat the odds?  

--10 Game Show Titles That Fit the Obama Administration”: From “The Weakest Link” to “Let’s Make a Deal,” the past four years have made this list an easy sell.

--*Cover Story*: Conservatives empower women to choose the toughest job of all, and so we’ve set out to accomplish what so few people are willing to do these days: defend mom.  The nine women we profile in “Defending Mom” have been world-class ambassadors for all facets of motherhood and show espousing conservative ideals doesn’t put limits on what women can accomplish.

Remember, our print features are generally 100 percent exclusive ... most won't run in full online!

Excerpted from Townhall Magazine's May cover story, "Defending Mom," by the Townhall staff:

As conservatives, we know these women as leaders in our communities, heroines in our culture, and most likely veterans of epic battles on topics ranging from curfews to cash. But we’re here to recognize their most important job of all—one that’s so obviously important it shouldn’t require a defense, yet needs one against the constant barrage of attacks from cultural and political spheres: motherhood. Not only have the women we’ve profiled below been world-class ambassadors for all facets of motherhood, they show espousing conservative ideals doesn’t put limits on what women can accomplish. You see, conservatives believe motherhood is as empowering as any top job at a Fortune 500 company. So as we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day, this is our thanks to the women who have unapologetically taken on the toughest job in the world: being a mom.

Nikki Haley-"Military Moms"

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is a rising star in the Republican Party and cognizant of the path that’s led her there.

“Almost 45 years after my parents fi rst became Americans,” she declared at the 2012 Republican National Convention, “I stand before you and them tonight as the proud governor of South Carolina.”

But public service isn’t the only way the Haley family is giving back to the country they love. In January, the Palmetto State governor said goodbye to her husband, Michael—a captain in the South Carolina National Guard—as he departed for the first stage of a year-long deployment that will eventually take him to Afghanistan.

“We are a proud military family who understands the sacrifi ces any family goes through when a loved one is serving his or her country,” she wrote on her Facebook page that day. “This is what our men and women in uniform sign up for, and although Michael, like his brothers and sisters, is looking forward to his mission, we will miss him while he’s away.”

Haley and her husband have two young children: son Nalin and daughter Rena, ages 10 and 14, respectively. One can only imagine how difficult it must be both running a state government and raising two kids alone while a spouse is serving overseas. In doing so, Haley embodies that longstanding American tradition that public service and motherhood need not be mutually exclusive, and that tremendous accomplishments are still possible through hard work and sacrifice.

....

Rachel Campos-Duffy— “Moms as Culture Warriors”

Rachel Campos-Duffy—mother, wife of a sitting congressman, author and former reality-TV star—has made the transition from entertainment to family life look desirable. She and husband Sean have six children, one of whom was born during the middle of Sean’s congressional campaign.

At-home motherhood was something Rachel says she fell into, thinking she was merely between gigs. When she lost out to Elisabeth Hasselbeck in the finals of “The View” co-host auditions, however, she found herself oddly elated. She still finds time to take on various projects, including occasional appearances on “The Today Show” and her current role with the Libre Initiative, an organization that promotes economic empowerment and opportunity for Hispanics. And while there aren’t many women who would choose to stand up to Beyonce and Michelle Obama in the same breath, Rachel wasn’t scared to write an article recently criticizing the first lady’s praise of Beyonce for her Super Bowl halftime performance, which was the opposite of family-friendly.

Despite what outsiders may say looking at her resume, Rachel adheres to the belief that women can’t have it all.

“It just doesn’t do women a service to pretend like you can,” she said. “I think that there are choices that we make, and that we’re really fortunate to live in a time when we’re able to make those choices, whatever they are.”

While she encourages young women to “passionately pursue” education, dreams, and all opportunities, she also tells them not to be afraid of keeping their focus on things that last.

“When your heart calls you to tend to those things that make life worth living— love, a good marriage, happy children— don’t be afraid to slow down or jump off the train,” Rachel said. “Ignore the scolds who say you can’t jump back on. You can. And you’ll be better for it.”

...

Leigh Anne Tuohy--"Adoption Advocates"

In “The Blind Side,” Sandra Bullock portrayed her in an Oscarwinning role on the big screen. Four years later, she watched her son become a real-life Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens. And her story all started with a simple act of generosity that brought a stranger into her home.

Leigh Anne Tuohy is a confident and successful woman whose choice to adopt and support a shy homeless teenager eventually made her an unexpected celebrity and a fierce public advocate for adoption.

Leigh Anne overcame negative feedback from observers to help raise Michael Oher, a homeless African-American student. When the mother of two met Oher, he didn’t have a place to call home. He didn’t really have much of anything, actually. He was, according to the Telegraph website, “one of 13 children of a crack-addict mother” who “never had a book read to him” and “had never celebrated his birthday.” But Leigh Anne and her husband Sean invited Oher into their home and changed his life.

Now that Oher has become a professional football star, Leigh Anne and Sean have used their time in the spotlight to promote adoption and caring for the less fortunate. In 2010, according to Tuohy’s website, the couple released a book called “In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving.” They also founded The Making it Happen Foundation, “which promotes awareness, provides hope and improves standards of living for all the children fighting to survive in the invisible cracks in society.”

Although Leigh Anne didn’t plan this life, she knew that God had pointed her in the right direction. In an interview with HLN, she noted, “[W]e didn’t have an agenda to drive down the street and fi nd a young man to adopt. It was God-given, but we don’t think it was by accident.” She added that she was “working on a new TV show that looks at the foster care and adoption world.”

....

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Yankee, Nationals, Brewers fan--those differences didn't matter this week, as stadiums around the country expressed support for Boston by playing either "Sweet Caroline" or the "Cheers" theme.

The MLB released a video of teams playing these anthems and the fans' participation. It's a heartwarming sight, and much needed, as people still process what happened at the Boston Marathon this week.

It was far from the only show of support expressed by the sports world since the tragedy occured, and a powerful contrast to the terrorism shown Monday. The fact that these sporting events could still occur is a great "in your face" to the terrorist or terrorists who wish us to live our lives in fear, but even more important was the consciousness that those attending recognized there was something greater than rivalries or the outcome of the game.

Enjoy. We could all use the reason to smile.

Editor's Note: The below piece is excerpted from Townhall Magazine's January feature, "The Calm in the Storm," by Leah Barkoukis. In light of the tragic events in Boston yesterday, we wanted to share relevant excerpts from this in-depth look at the workings of an EOD unit to help people better understand, or have some context, for what they might hear coming out of Boston the next several days. Our piece focused specifically on military task forces and their work overseas, but it will hopefully leave readers better informed on EOD procedures, EODs themselves, and the evidence that can be gleaned from them.

Inside the U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal truck at Andrews Air Force Base, all eyes are fixated on a screen that’s running a live feed from the robot’s camera outside. The spectacle is a mock improvised explosive device that’s about to be “disrupted”—an intentionally vague term meant to encapsulate classified information. Basically, through a controlled blast, the team is mitigating the hazard of the unexploded ordnance—while attempting to retain as much evidence as possible.

Tech. Sgt. Wayne Winder adjusts the controls for the robot’s camera to get a better view. On screen, everything appears to be ready; the “IED” is sandwiched between sandbags—which are piled high in a triangular shape behind the device—and four bottles of water bound together with electrical tape. With the help of a blasting cap, explosives and electrical wires, the water turns into a powerful tool to disrupt the IED.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE!” an airman yells from outside the truck, warning that a detonation is imminent.

A loud blast rings out through the air and, in an instant, all that remains on the screen is a cloud of smoke and dust, and a few measly sandbags that managed to remain intact.

Mission accomplished.

IEDs in Afghanistan are like a modernday incarnation of Hydra; for each device found and defeated, two more crop up. Since they’re cheap and easy to make, IEDs are a weapon of choice against U.S. troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan. AOL Defense reports IEDs have replaced artillery as the leading cause of death on the battlefield. The rudimentary device littered throughout Afghanistan’s landscape is hidden in places bound only by the imagination and accounts for 60 percent of the casualties U.S. and coalition forces sustained in the country, according to figures AOL Defense obtained from an Atlantic Council briefing with Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, head of the Joint IED Defeat Organization.

While the U.S. military has a host of interconnected methods to accomplish the Herculean task of defeating the IED and its network, one group in particular is charged with tackling the threat head-on: Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians, the exclusive community in branches across the U.S. military trained to handle leftover Civil War-era ordnance, weapons of mass destruction and everything in between.

Evolving from the necessities of World War II, the field dates back to the early 1940s when the use of delayedexplosion bombs burgeoned in Europe. Although the U.S. had not yet entered the war, the country was preparing for that inevitability, according to the EOD Memorial Foundation. Its website reads, “It was expected that if the United States entered the war, we would experience bombing of our cities and industries,” which spawned the creation of a bomb disposal program. The field, now known as EOD, has continually adapted to the vicissitudes of war and, along the way, drawn some of the most courageous men and women known to the U.S. military. ...

EOD technicians don’t just go out when an IED is found; they’re also the called upon to conduct an investigation of the scene when one has been detonated. They’re looking to determine the type of explosive, materials the insurgents used to build it, how they employed the IED and what their tactics were. All this is key in trying to determine the identity of the IED makers, which is part of the U.S.’s overall counter-IED strategy. ....
 

With the Conservative Political Action Conference come and gone, the throngs of young, hopeful conservatives in and out of the doors, it’s a good reminder for us all to get in touch with our younger selves.

We’ve long suffered from the caricature of being the party of the old and out-oftouch, dismissive of pop culture, foreigners to cool. And though we always enjoy a healthy turnout of young libertarians and conservatives at CPAC, we might want to consider ways in which the party can best appeal to a voting base that is only growing in size and influence.

It surprised and dismayed me to learn that at the ripe old age of 34 (in my defense, my birthday was just last month), I am no longer considered a “millennial,” and haven’t been for about four years. But perhaps putting me at a slight advantage over some party elders is the fact that I know what Twitter is (as well as how to “tweet”), I have seen an episode (or all the episodes) of “Girls,” and I know who Jay-Z is. Vaguely.

But more convincing, I just read David Burstein’s new book, “Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World,” and if conservatives are interested in shaping policy with a whopping 80 million people in mind, it should be required reading.

Millennials are the most diverse, and largest generation in United States history, and by 2020, they will account for one out of every three adults. I talked to Burstein for an hour-long interview that will air this month on CSPAN, and what he said about millennials was instructive, even if—as a 24-year-old filmmaker out of NYU—he probably isn’t as concerned about increasing Republican membership as I am.

Nonetheless, this is a generation that came of age in the midst of permanent war, a housing boom and bust, a recession and staggering unemployment, skyrocketing costs of education, and most recently, a government that seems paralyzed and ill-equipped to see to even the simplest of tasks, like balancing a budget and keeping itself operational.

Whether they process it as such or not, they have served as witnesses to President Obama’s failed economic policies and an administration that has made being young in America a very expensive proposition.

In many ways, they’ve been chastened by our mistakes and the mistakes of our parents. They’re taking on less debt, they’re renting instead of buying homes they can’t afford, they’re not buying cars or other big-ticket items. They’re starting their own businesses, making use of technologies that render brick-and- mortar overhead costs and risks less daunting. And they’re attempting to solve problems in their communities that the government has been slow to act on.

Now, this risk-averse behavior is not without its perils. When suddenly no one is buying homes or cars, the long-term impact on the economy will be disastrous.,

But at least in the short term, millennials should be rewarded, not punished, for making good, responsible financial decisions. Instead, burdensome regulations make it harder for them to start a business, and the current tax code essentially charges them extra for being unmarried, small-business owners and renters. How’s a young go-getter supposed to build a life that way?

These are behaviors that society should reward, and for Republicans in Congress, millennials are fertile ground to advocate for lower taxes, fewer regulations and smaller, smarter government.

For decades, young people have been told Democratic policies are good for them. Instead of maligning millennials as lazy and apathetic, or condescending to them as naïve liberals who will one day learn to be conservatives, we should capitalize on this moment, when we know that liberal policies are strangling them and conservative policies can empower their innovation and reward their responsibility.

It’s been a hard narrative to shift, but if ever there were a time for conservatives to try, it’s now. If we do this right, we could tap into an 80-million voter base that is desperate for our vision. Even if they don’t know it yet.

From Townhall Magazine's April installment of "Closing Argument." To read Cupp's exclusive column each month, subscribe to Townhall Magazine today.