Month: February 2013

Rand Don’t Need No Education

A lot of otherwise smart people are twisting themselves into pretzels explaining why Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is taking the foreign and defense policy positions that he has. Paul’s latest gambit was to join in the looney tunes voices on the Likud fringe of the GOP in demanding more debate on the Chuck Hagel … Continue reading “Rand Don’t Need No Education”

Congress: End Endless War and Stop Becoming “the Evil That We Deplore”

Congress waited six years to repeal the Tonkin Gulf Resolution after it opened the bloody floodgates for the Vietnam War in August 1964. If that seems slow, consider the continuing failure of Congress to repeal the "war on terror" resolution – the Authorization for Use of Military Force – that sailed through, with just one … Continue reading “Congress: End Endless War and Stop Becoming “the Evil That We Deplore””

‘Widespread Pain’ of the Sequester Not So Draconian

Recently, The New York Times ran an alarmist editorial about the "widespread pain" that would be inflicted on the American government and people by the budget "sequester." If no legislative action is taken, the sequester will make across the board budget cuts (some exceptions exist, such as Social Security and pay for enlisted military personnel) … Continue reading “‘Widespread Pain’ of the Sequester Not So Draconian”

Did John Brennan’s End Run Lead to the Death of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi?

Benghazi: The Definitive Report is the title of an e-book published on February 12 by William Morrow. It’s written by two editors at SOFREP.com, the unofficial special operations site: Brandon Webb — a former Navy SEAL — and Jack Murphy — a former Army Ranger and Green Beret. What’s unique about the report is its bipartisan … Continue reading “Did John Brennan’s End Run Lead to the Death of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi?”

The Great Cyber-Warfare Scam

The War Party never sleeps: there are always new variations of war propaganda coming ’round the bend. With the coming of the internet, the latest manufactured "threat" to rear its head is "cyber-warfare," which is now being touted by the Obama administration and its media fan club as the Next Big Scary Thing – but … Continue reading “The Great Cyber-Warfare Scam”

Why Latin America Didn’t Join Washington’s Torture Posse

There was a scarcely noted but classic moment in the Senate hearings on the nomination of John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism “tsar,” to become the next CIA director.  When Senator Carl Levin pressed him repeatedly on whether waterboarding was torture, he ended his reply this way: “I have a personal opinion that waterboarding is reprehensible … Continue reading “Why Latin America Didn’t Join Washington’s Torture Posse”

Your Own Smart Phone, Turned Against You

My day starts out normally enough: I drop the kids at school and head to the Starbucks, where I use my Smart Phone to pay for my tall Caffé Mocha soy because that’s how I roll: I save one minute not having to reach into my wallet to physically pull out my credit card, it’s … Continue reading “Your Own Smart Phone, Turned Against You”