The Economist’s latest cover story warns readers of “The New Age of Crony Capitalism.” The magazine’s editors are to be commended for shining a journalistic light on cronyism’s rise and the corrosive effects of rent-seeking behavior. The Economist does a
The Obama Administration strategy for containing Iran’s nuclear program rests on cooperation from Russia, but that cooperation will be sorely tested as the crisis in Ukraine escalates. While State Department spokesman Jennifer Psaki says that she expects Russia to “remain an active
A new consulting firm in Moscow is promising to provide “special protection” to foreign clients operating in Russia. The firm name says it all: Putin Consulting. The firm is run by President Vladimir Putin’s first cousin once removed. Roman Putin,
With both the United States and the European Union committing tens of billions of dollars in aid to the Ukraine, it appears that much of that money will actually end up in Russia, according to analysts. The reason? A large
Secretary of State John Kerry has cited the declining Russian stock market and the sliding ruble as examples of the costs the Kremlin is paying for moving Russian forces into Ukraine. But some in Moscow are asserting that the crisis
Think all there is to say about the War on Christmas has already been said? Think again. With her trademark fearlessness and verve, Governor Sarah Palin’s new book, Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas, offers readers an impassioned,
Take a quick glance at ObamaCare’s busted multimillion-dollar website and the 3.5 million health insurance cancelation notices hitting American mailboxes and you might be tempted to dub the whole thing a disaster. But it’s not — at least not for the politically-connected
Editor’s Note: Mr. Schweizer’s book Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes and Line Their Own Pockets is available in bookstores and at online retailers today from Houghton Mifflin. We have long assumed that the infestation of special interest money
After serving eleven terms in Congress, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) announced on Monday he will not seek reelection. “It is time for someone else,” said Bachus. After chairing the powerful House Financial Services Committee for six years, Bachus gave up his chairmanship
The Pentagon says it is considering sequester-induced overhauls that could mean shuttering two combatant commands, eight service-supporting commands, and the elimination of some 5,000 uniformed and civilian personnel. With defense spending facing roughly $500 billion in cuts over the next
One of the Reagan Revolution’s most loyal stalwarts, Judge Bill Clark, died Saturday at age 81 from Parkinson’s disease. Clark’s political odyssey with President Ronald Reagan went back to the California days when Reagan appointed Clark as his gubernatorial chief
After ten months of investigating Obama campaign bundler and former MF Global chief Jon Corzine’s role in the loss of $1.6 billion of customer funds, the New York Times is reporting that Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is unlikely to
Breitbart News has learned that a central figure in the Jon Corzine/MF Global case seeking immunity from federal prosecutors, former MF Global treasurer Edith O’Brien, is represented by lawyer Reid Weingarten. What is the significance of this revelation? According to this 2008 New York Times article, Reid
If union members are upset that the millions union bosses have dumped into defeating Gov. Walker in tomorrow’s recall election appear not to be working, they may be furious when they learn the details of a new investigation by the
When you set the ethics bar as low as they do in Washington, DC, it’s easy for just about anyone to clear it. In our nation’s capital, the permanent political class gets to play by a different set of rules
Retired Army Major General James B. Vaught is a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. And he’s angry at the current U.S. Special Operations Command, who he believes is way too cozy with the media. “Get the
Yesterday Randal Mathis of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation sent a letter to Sec Def Leon Panetta. Mathis is outraged because a combat outpost in Afghanistan was named “Combat Post Aryan,” he wrote. Mathis is sure that he has discovered
They’ve been lobbing firebombs in Greece and its getting plenty of media attention. This is the clearly visible side of a collapse welfare state. But there is plenty of other signs of decay that don’t quite get that attention. The
If the U.S. economy seems to be inching slowly toward recovery, the real credit should go to the energy sector. That’s where the new jobs and wealth seem to be coming from. As the Wall Street Journal points out today
The Cold War was about freedom vs. tyranny: the belief that individuals had certain inalienable rights vs. the belief that the state was omnipotent. We won, right?! You wouldn’t know it by looking at trends in Europe, where tyranny is
The Army, Marines, and Air Force might be getting hammered with the new proposed Pentagon budget, but the Navy avoids the hammer. The Army will cut 80,000 men and the Marines 20,000; the Air Forces is proposing to cut seven
An infamous icon from the American military are going into the dustbin of history. S-9 glasses, called “Birth Control Glasses” because they are so ugly, will be replaced by a new more attractive design. Although are they that much of
The rise of Chinese military power in Asia has been a concern for the United States and our allies in the region. But in an era of defense cuts and a shrinking US Navy, how to best counter them? Is
Syria may be ravaged by civil war, but the Assad government has inked a new deal with Russia to purchase $550 million worth of military jets. It’s doubtful that the 36 YAK -130 will be of particular use against anti-Assad
On the chopping block for Pentagon reductions are major defense systems and the size of our armed forces. But overlooked in the debate over whether and how much to cut in defense is the potentially devastating effect that President Obama’s
This video came out a month ago, and the U.S. Army is investigating. Apparently they have been pushed hard by PETA. The man with the bat appears to be a local Afghan, not a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.
For U.S. Marines to urinate on the dead is a dishonorable thing to do. And to tape it? Dishonorable and stupid. But to now go on a witch hunt over the matter is ridiculous. The Marines should be disciplined for
If you think back to the last half century, the assumption has always been that the United States is much more of a free market economy than many other advanced industrialized countries. The Canadians? Well, they have that state-run health
The US Navy’s Office of Naval Research in December announced that it was awarding several research contracts (unnamed) to develop a “Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle” (LDUUV). These are large underwater drones, which could be used for monitoring, intelligence, or
Remember half a decade ago, when the media was pushing story after story about “atrocities” and “torture” in Iraq? There were real acts of cowardly and dishonorable behavior by soldiers in some instances, and they were prosecuted for it. But
“If you are shooting, don’t complain about being shot.”–Arabic proverb The New York Times front page lays out what appears to be a fairly aggressive covert war going on in Iran. It was demonstrated most clearly with the assassination just
Germany’s Der Spiegel offers up a dose of economic reality: while France, Italy, Greece, Spain and other European countries are suffering amidst the debt crisis, Germany is doing great. Indeed, they are actually benefiting from the crisis. Recently, Germany actually
President Obama’s recent strategic guidance, which outlines cuts to the defense budget of $487 billion over the next decade, is predicated on an important assumption: the cuts that be reversed quickly if we are in a crisis. “[Reversibility] is inherent
An outrage! This will only encourage more acts of jihad. From Germany’s Thelocal.de: Arid Uka, 21, who was born in Kosovo but grew up in Frankfurt, “wanted to make his personal contribution to the holy war” but not knowing how
The Obama Administration’s plans to “refocus” attention on the Asia Pacific region has the Chinese military responding with a warning. The Ministry of Defense said that the United States needs to be “careful in its words and actions” as it
The forthcoming defense cuts, as laid out in the new DoD strategic document Sustaining Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, calls for severe cuts in particular areas. The nuclear stockpile will be reduced and there will be a reduction
The U.S. Army expects to be putting battle-ready smartphones into the hands of soldiers by the middle of 2012. It’s a secure version of the Android operating system. The National Security Agency (NSA) needs to first certify that the communication
From the Tehran Times: TEHRAN – The commander of Iran’s Armed Forces has advised a U.S. aircraft carrier, which left the Persian Gulf because of Iran’s naval war games, not to return to the sea, saying otherwise Iran will take