Even though I live in Texas, the first I heard or read about a case that is now getting nation-wide attention was at The Moderate Voice (TMV). Two weeks ago, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, TMV’s Deputy Managing Editor, published a guest voice by Elijah Sweet bringing to our attention the disturbing news that Texas Governor Rick Perry had, on Wednesday, September 30, “without prior notice” replaced three of the members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission that was reviewing the...

As freethinking Americans, we all have our own thoughts and opinions about homosexuals and homosexuality; about same-sex marriages and same-sex unions; about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and about so many other related issues. As Americans, we are fortunate that we can express our opinions freely on these issues in healthy, sometimes argumentative and emotional debates, as we often see on TMV. Sometimes we catch a lot of flak for expressing our opinions, but that comes with the territory....

Although I have written a couple of commentaries on the Afghanistan war, mainly illustrating the complexity of that conflict, I will be the first one to admit that I am by no means an expert on that issue and that I have no relevant suggestions on how to proceed. The real experts are hard at work, hopefully to come up with a successful strategy, corresponding troop levels, etc. However, when I say “real experts,” I would not include those who have taken our country and our troops into disastrous...

We have seen reactions from just about everywhere in the world on the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to president Obama. How about from Norway where its Parliament appoints the Nobel Committee that selects the Laureate for the Peace Prize? Yesterday, the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen presented a Norwegian view. In “A Bold Peace Prize,” translated at Watching America (watchingamewrica.com), the author, Ivar A. Iversen, says that “Obama’s peace prize could be difficult to...

While I strongly disagree with most of Charles Krauthammer’s ideology and politics, I must admit that the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist is a brilliant journalist and probably the most influential commentator in our country. That’s perhaps why I am disappointed at his latest column that appeared this morning in the Washington Post. As I have pointed out in a previous post, president Obama is faced with an overabundance of advisers and advice when it comes to making what will certainly...

Just yesterday, I wrote about how the opinions and suggestions —expert and non-expert— about what to do in Afghanistan are all over the map, ranging pretty much from “How to Win in Afghanistan” to “How to Lose in Afghanistan,” and making one of our nation’s most critical and perilous endeavors look like a do-it-yourself project. This morning’s New York Times has a similar compendium of ideas on how to achieve victory in Afghanistan, this time reading like one of those “Happiness...

Some readers occasionally comment that some of our contributors write or comment more frequently and extensively on events or news items that support their own political views or their own opinions on issues. Without admitting that my colleagues do such, and speaking strictly for myself, I find that this is a natural tendency, but one that I try to “control,” periodically. For example, I believe that way too few Medals of Honor have been awarded to our heroes from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—a...

While doing some research on the Afghanistan war for another publication, I soon discovered that there is no shortage of opinions—many of them “expert” opinions—on how to conduct and conclude that war. It made me realize how excruciatingly difficult it must be for the president—faced with an overabundance of advisers and advice—to divine the right policy and strategy to bring that war to a satisfactory conclusion and, inextricably tied to that, to make what will probably...

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, on a visit to Northrop Grumman’s Newport News shipyard yesterday, effectively said “Don’t worry over the quality of our submarines.” After visiting the submarine building facility at Newport News—one of only two shipyards in the nation to build nuclear-powered submarines— Mabus said during a brief news conference: “I’m absolutely comfortable with the quality of the submarines that are being produced here…I’m comfortable with what Northrop...

One of the stories behind the story of the demise of the F-22 Raptor fighter is the “developing story” of the increasingly important role unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing in today’s and certainly in tomorrow’s Air Force. In my story behind the story of the F-22 demise, I quoted Fred Kaplan’s comments that, during the most intense period of the Cold War, “much higher status was given to pilots of nuclear bombers.” Then, the Vietnam War “paved the way...

Some of our readers, I am sure, read the New York Times. Some—perhaps many—do not. They don’t know what they are missing. Some love the New York Times. Some don’t. They have quite different feelings towards the venerable publication—too graphic to describe here. But we’ll forgive them for that. I, for one, read, like and—most of the time—agree with the New York Times. So, sue me! Many of the New York Times’ editorials and opinion pieces often...

By now, most of the stories behind the dazzling rise and ignominious demise of a proud, magnificent bird, the F-22 Raptor, have been told. Stories about the brilliant design and cutting edge manufacturing and assembly technology. A technology that has been described as “the only thing more complex than the human body.” (I was fortunate to visit the “mile-long” Lockheed Martin F-16 assembly line; the F-22 line must be even more spectacular.) Stories about the awesome performance of...

Women in the military have been—by tradition, by law, policy or regulation—excluded from various duties. One of the last remaining exclusions is women serving in “front-line combat jobs.” But, even here, according to the Navy Times, “combat roles have become blurred during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which irregular warfare marked by insurgent roadside bombs and a lack of the frontlines evident in traditional warfare have brought women assigned to jobs as corpsmen,...

First, a personal story intended as full disclosure for the second part of this post. I immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 from the Netherlands. Immediately upon reaching my 18th birthday, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. In those days, the 50s, a legal immigrant could join the U.S. armed forces upon signing a “declaration of intent” to become a U.S. citizen. Serving in the U.S. armed forces also expedited one’s path to citizenship to three years of military service...

Full Disclosure: I didn’t like Tom DeLay when he was in politics, I don’t like him now, and I probably will never like the man. Sorry! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I do have a disclaimer: I am not an expert when it comes to dancing. And a caveat: This post contains some satire. If I think of some other proviso, disclaimer, etc., I’ll let you know. Although I am not much into watching studio dancing or dancing contests, there is one dance that I love to watch when...

After becoming an expert on U.S-Russia relations during her campaign for the vice-presidency by claiming that Russia could be seen from Alaska, Sarah Palin can now add a second major power to her foreign policy credentials: China. By reading a prepared, major foreign policy speech before a packed ballroom in Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt hotel, Sarah Palin has now clearly and firmly cemented her foreign policy credentials and boosted her credibility for her 2012 presidential run. While organizers banned...

I just received an e-mail in Spanish from a friend. It was titled ” La Culpa es de la Vaca,” (It’s the cow’s fault), and started as follows: COMUNISMO: Tienes 2 vacas. El estado te quita las dos y te regala un poco de la leche. (COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and gives you a little bit of milk) And so it went on with Socialism, Fascism, Capitalism, etc., etc. Some of them were quite original—I thought—and funny and I immediately...

Those who long for less government, less government “interference,” and more privatization may want to take a look at The Netherlands. In an article in the Dutch NRC Handelsblad that starts with the assertion that “Nobody is in charge in the Netherlands – even democracy has been privatized,” Marc Chavannes, a Dutch journalist and political columnist, tells us: The Netherlands was late in professing its devotion to Reaganism and Thatcherism. But when it finally did embrace the free market...

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 STATE OF HAWAII H.C.R. NO. 19 H.D.1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STRONGLY URGING THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO AWARD SGT. RAFAEL PERALTA THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 15 WHEREAS, his battalion redeployed to Iraq’s Anbar Province 16 in 2004 as part of Operation Phantom Fury to battle insurgents 17 in their stronghold of Fallujah; and 18 19 WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004, while assisting one of his 20 rifle platoon’s...

This morning’s Op-Ed piece in the New York Times by Ross Douthat will certainly raise a lot of eyebrows, produce a lot of frowns, bring out a lot of smiles and everything in between—and beyond. For the article is a little bit about the good and a lot about the bad and the ugly of a person whom Americans either love, or love to hate. You guessed it; it is about George W. Bush. What makes the article different and interesting, in my opinion, is how the author, while “qualifyingly”...

I will never forget then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s answer to a question by Army specialist Thomas Wilson of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, back in December of 2004, nearly two years after the start of the Iraq war. The setting was a town-hall style meeting Rumsfeld was holding with over 2,000 Iraq-bound troops in a cavernous hangar at a remote desert camp in Kuwait. Set out on display for Rumsfeld, were a bunch of fully up-armored Humvees and heavy trucks. The question posed...

I lived in the Netherlands for many years and I fondly remember its windmills, its gorgeous fields of tulips, and of course its delicious cheese—made from that great Dutch koe melk (cow milk). I don’t remember, however, seeing any camels grazing in the luscious Dutch pastures. That’s why the headline in this morning’s news.scotsman.com got my attention. Under the banner, “Dutchman battles bureaucracy to spread the milk of camel kindness,” one reads about an enterprising,...

I have always been in awe of the incredible acts of valor and selfless sacrifice our military are capable of. More recently, I have been puzzled—and have questioned—why there have been so few Medals of Honor awarded to our heroes who have continued to “distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty” in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, all six Medals of Honor awarded for heroism in the Iraq...

A couple of months ago, President Obama announced that he would be awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, who was killed by enemy fire on June 21, 2006, while trying to rescue wounded comrades in the mountains of Afghanistan. This afternoon, the President performing what probably is one of his most solemn duties as president and commander-in-chief, presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to the Massachusetts hero. Sgt. 1st Class Monti thus becomes the first hero awarded...

As I wrote yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates planned to address the Air Force Association (AFA) today. U.S. News & World Report compared Gates’ appearance at the AFA, an association “made up in part of retired pilots and Air Force brass who were shocked when Gates last year fired the Air Force secretary and chief of staff over reports of a nuclear mishap,” and who were further shocked when Gates cancelled the F-22 program, as going into the lion’s den. It remains to be seen...