April 21, 2024

‘Star Wars’ vindicated!

I was in the United States Navy, embarked on a guided missile frigate, when President Ronald Reagan gave his landmark speech in 1983 introducing the concept of an advanced integrated weapons system to defend the United States and our allies from atta...

April 15, 2024

Time to move beyond ‘don’t’

Soon after President Biden uttered the lukewarm warning “Don’t,” Iran’s recent first-ever strike on the homeland of Israel now has the potential to engulf the entire Middle East in a major regional conflict.  It also demo...

April 10, 2024

Election integrity returns to the national conversation

As we approach another presidential election cycle — one of the most pivotal in our nation’s history — the issue of “election integrity” will rear its ugly head once again, no matter on which side of the aisle you stand....

April 8, 2024

The road not taken

Despite the constant harangues from the Democrat Party that the standard bearer of the Republican Party is a “threat to democracy,” the election this November is really a choice between two radically divergent visions of America -- when a...

March 31, 2024

What defines a leader

On March 10, 1778, the then–future president of the United States, John Adams, showed the fledgling United States of America and its citizens qualities that define a true leader.  Early in 1778 — during the same bitter winter th...

March 16, 2024

So what does Gen. MacArthur have to say about those who would scrap 'duty. honor, country'?

By now I suspect many of you have heard that Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s call to the Corps of cadets in 1962 has been banished from the United States Military Academies (USMA) mission statement and exchanged for the more amorphous phase ...

March 11, 2024

We've seen this movie before

As a thirty-four-year veteran of the United States Navy, I unfortunately have seen first-hand the good, the bad, and the ugly of the execution of America’s foreign policy, in many cases altruistic by design but either poorly executed or im...

February 18, 2024

The real threat to democracy is open borders

The Republican Party and its members are constantly accused by Democrats and their sycophants of being a “threat to democracy.” To the contrary, I would argue Democrats should take a long and introspective look in the mirror and see where...

February 14, 2024

The power of role models

As I prepare for what lies ahead, like many in my “twilight” years, I frequently find myself looking back and reflecting on how I got to where I am in my life.  Being influenced by some exceptional primary and secondar...

January 31, 2024

The ghosts of 9/11 still haunt us

As a 9/11 Pentagon “survivor” who lost twenty-seven “shipmates” on that fateful day, I view the current situation in Iran and our yet to be determined response with deep skepticism. Prior to 9/11 and the highest loss of Ame...

January 20, 2024

Out of many, one—the moving spectacle of a naturalization ceremony

I recently had both the pleasure and honor of participating in a naturalization ceremony where 43 former immigrants from 26 separate countries became citizens of the United States of America. It was the first such ceremony I ever attended, and I assu...

January 11, 2024

The ‘white rage’ that wasn’t

I suspect many of us can remember former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley testifying alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on June 23, 2021 at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. In this setting, Milley was asked abo...

January 7, 2024

America needs a new Joshua Chamberlain

Growing up, I frequently found myself reading Landmark Books.  Landmark was a children’s book series, published by Random House from 1950 to 1970, featuring stories of significant people and events in American history, writt...

January 3, 2024

‘Danger Will Robinson!’

We are a nation deeply divided, heavily in debt, faced with serious national security issues, and viewed by many partners in the international community as untrustworthy. In addition, under the guise of the nanny state, our governments (both federal ...

December 19, 2023

Yes, America we can still count our blessings

Looking back over the past few years, we realize Americans have been through a lot, and processing the convoluted events is quite a task. A pandemic that brought a virus and medical tyranny, both components responsible for the deaths of over a millio...

December 18, 2023

A hope for the new year

The coming new year  not only provides us with the time to reflect upon what has transpired  but also allows us the opportunity to set goals and aspirations for the new year. Unfortunately, this past year has been marked by continued domest...

December 16, 2023

A party that gave birth to a Nation

December 16th marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. This seminal event in American history occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists who were frustrated and angry with Britain ...

December 14, 2023

Colin Powell was right after all!

With the conflict in Ukraine at a stalemate and the prospects of a Ukrainian “victory” dim, perhaps it would have been wise for our current administration to have followed the doctrine elaborated by Gen. Colin H. Powell before engaging in...

December 4, 2023

Yes, Virginia, that state 'assault weapons ban' is all about 'coming for your guns'

As the Commonwealth of Virginia gears up for the 2023 legislative session, one bill to watch is VA SB 1382, called the “Assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices; purchase, possession, etc., prohibited” bill. The bil...

November 11, 2023

A veteran’s footlocker—vestiges of valor

Among my family members, I am known as an incurable “dumpster diver,” especially if I spot a discarded item that may be of historical significance. Many a time to the chagrin of my wife I have brought home items “liberated” al...

October 9, 2023

Once again, Bob Gates was right about Joe Biden

It is no secret that our former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency was not a fan of Joe Biden when he saw him up close and personal as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as our V...

September 21, 2023

The emperor had no clothes like Joe Biden has no sense

Undoubtedly many can remember The Emperor’s New Clothes written by Hans Christian Andersen. The plot is as follows: Two swindlers arrive at the capital city of an emperor who spends lavishly on clothing at the expense of his subjects. Posing as...

September 11, 2023

About that 'Don't Tread on Me' flag and all its phony controversies

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood symbols of our current era is the "Don't Tread on Me" flag that one can find emblazed on bumper stickers, on license plates, and waving from homes and businesses.  I have been told by...

August 31, 2023

One nation under God

Hardly a day goes by when there is an attempt by a segment of our society to remove organized religion or at least its trappings from our everyday lives.  As a child I can remember reciting the Lord's Prayer in public school as wel...

August 27, 2023

John F. Kennedy wouldn't recognize our USA

John F. Kennedy's exhortation — "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country" — delivered at the height of the Cold War, became the rallying cry of many youths in the early 1960s. ...

August 5, 2023

A return to “normalcy' -- really?

I suspect many Democrats, Independents, and perhaps a few Republicans voted for Joe Biden in the last presidential election because they were tired of the “mean tweets” and the erratic behavior (at least as portrayed in the mainstream med...

July 17, 2023

A Republic, if you can keep it...

Philadelphia, 1787.  The delegates to the Constitutional Convention are just leaving Independence Hall, having decided on the general structure for the new United States.  A crowd had gathered on the steps of Independence Hall, ea...

July 8, 2023

Another cluster from the Biden administration

The Biden administration's recent decision to provide cluster munition projectiles for use in Ukraine represents yet another diplomatic and military failure for an administration that cannot seem to shoot straight in the arena of foreign policy. ...

May 29, 2023

Honor those who died to make us free

Memorial Day, which became a federal holiday in 1971, honors the men and women who died in combat while serving in the U.S. military.  However, as a young man, I can distinctly remember my grandparents referring to it as "Decoration Da...

March 26, 2023

The problem with trying to understand Democrats

As a former member of the Democrat party, I still stay in touch with many of its members who are my close friends.  However, one thing that strikes me is that my friends are almost universally in denial of what the current administration ha...

February 25, 2023

The Founders' triple test

In 1973, Historian Richard B. Morris wrote the seminal work Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries.  The book details  a series of biographical sketches of the seven most influential leader...

February 7, 2023

99 Luftballons, not just one

I suspect many remember the 1983 hit single "99 Luftballons" or 99 Red Balloons by the German band Nena. The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs causing  pilots to investigate. Fin...

January 20, 2023

Civics, civility, and the death of a nation

Like many "Boomers," civics, "the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society," was not only part of my formal education at an early age, but became engrained in my home life.  My ...

December 24, 2022

Yes, Americans can still count our blessings

Looking back the political and economic turmoil of the past four years, it has been quite a ride, and at times, it has been hard to comprehend what has happened to our great nation.  For starters, there is the COVID-19 epidemic that came ou...

November 19, 2022

Once again democracy prevails

Despite the constant exhortations of numerous Democrat operatives, pundits, and even President Biden, that "the fate of democracy" was in peril on Election Day, our democracy has survived intact.  We also witnessed Speaker Nancy P...

November 6, 2022

‘Elections have consequences’

Shortly after his 2009 inauguration, newly-elected President Obama met with congressional Republicans about his economic proposals. Infamously, he told them that “elections have consequences,” and, in case there was any doubt, he added, ...

November 1, 2022

Honoring the veterans of Vietnam

Unlike their Greatest Generation predecessors, many Vietnam veterans returned home from war to both an unappreciative and hostile country. In previous wars, victory parades and jubilant celebrations marked the end of the conflict and celebrated our v...

September 26, 2022

Are you better off than you were two years ago?

Elections are won or lost not by the party's base, but rather by those independent voters in the middle.  As an informed electorate, they have taken the time to carefully review that issues and cast their vote based on their analysis of...

September 11, 2022

Recalling the haunting images of the attacks on September 11, 2001

After twenty-one years, one would think that the haunting images of 9/11 would fade away in the fog of time. If anything, for me and I suspect others, on the anniversary of 9/11 they have grown stronger as our mind continues to process the trauma of ...

August 7, 2022

The inconvenient truth of electric vehicles

As someone who is retired and on a fixed income, I am often chided by my progressive friends for driving a truck that is twenty-five years old with close to 300,000 miles on the odometer.  The typical refrain is, why are you not driving an elect...

June 27, 2022

It's more than just pain at the pump

Despite the United States being energy independent when President Biden assumed office, we are now paying record prices for petroleum products that are contributing to near-record inflation once termed by his administration as only "transit...

June 6, 2022

June 6, 1944: A testament to American greatness

5 June 1944 – "Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.  "The eyes of the world are upon you. Th...

June 3, 2022

'No' to assault rifle bans

The recent mass shooting in Texas serves as another false opportunity for progressives to call for the seizure of assault-style weapons from law-abiding Americans.  In addition, President Biden declared that 9mm handguns should be outlawed,...

May 30, 2022

Memorial Day 2022

Memorial Day is more — far more — than a day for merchandise sales or the unofficial start of summer.  It is a day we set aside as a nation to honor and remember the brave men and women who have died performing their duties whil...

May 14, 2022

Ukraine: Down the slippery slope we go

What began as a fairly straightforward U.S. policy of arming the Ukrainians with defensive weapons against Russian aggression has now expanded into a dangerous and rapid escalation. We now have embarked on the inevitable slippery slope of mis...

April 29, 2022

For too many Americans, Ukrainian patriotism is easier than American patriotism

With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, one need not look very far to see signs of the Ukrainian national flag prominently displayed as a show of support for the plight of the Ukrainian people.  I do find it odd that many who now proudly disp...

April 27, 2022

The difference between 'equity' and 'equality'

As the proud parent of five adult children in a "blended family," I shake my head as I have recently seen equity being pushed by progressives as a the "new normal."  Yes, no pun intended, but I do have skin in this game,...

April 19, 2022

Farewell to America's military meritocracy

As a fleet sailor for over thirty years, I saw our Navy and other branches military up close and personal.  Yes, when I raised my right hand in 1970 to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America," there w...

April 9, 2022

Clausewitz and the dual nature of war in Ukraine

Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed both the moral and political aspects of war.  His most notable work was About War and is required reading for all senior military...

April 5, 2022

The ship of state is adrift under Biden

Recently, the White House said it plans to release up to 180 million barrels of oil from America's strategic reserves, a million barrels a day for 180 days, to help bring down near-record gas prices that were climbing well before Russia...

April 3, 2022

What war in Ukraine means for us here, and everywhere

The recent senseless killing in Ukraine of men, women, and children in the name of political ideology is a stark reminder that though man may be the smartest species, he can indeed be the most vicious and cruel.  Nazi Germany tested out the...

March 28, 2022

Robert Gates on Joe Biden

As most of us are aware,  former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was not a big fan of Joe Biden.  His statement in Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy an...

February 20, 2022

Maybe Russia's interests regarding Ukraine are simpler than you think

See also: Putin’s cat and mouse game with Ukraine The famous Prussian general and military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz stated in his seminal work "On War" that "[w]ar is the continuation of politics by other means." A...

February 18, 2022

A pandemic driven by politics, not science

As we have been dealing with the COVID-19 virus for more than two years, we are now seeing the beginning of its worldwide decline. One fact remains clear: that in spite of the continued exhortation to "follow the science," many in p...

February 6, 2022

Losing Taiwan is not an option

One of the mementos from my former life as a naval officer is a paperweight that I display proudly on my desk marked “Naval Support Activity Republic of China” with an outline of Taiwan in the background. It’s a subtle reminder that...

January 19, 2022

Biden's anniversary: truth or consequences?

I suspect several of you can remember the radio and later television show Truth or Consequences, which ran from 1940-1988, making it one of America’s longest-running game shows.  Contestants received roughly two seconds to answer a trivia ...

January 4, 2022

A lesson from Ronald Reagan on appeasing dictators

Thirty years ago, while a student at the Senior U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, my classmates and I witnessed an incredible phenomenon.  The once feared "Bear" of the  Soviet Union, which we had trained all of our...

October 20, 2021

America's Intelligence Community: A study in consistent failure

The recent successful launch of a hypersonic nuclear-capable missile by China once again provides unwelcomed justification that our Intelligence Community continues to miss the mark.  Unfortunately, we currently have no defensive system cap...

October 4, 2021

Déjà vu -- Black Hawk Down part two

The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent and was fought from 3-4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between the forces of the United States and Somali militiamen loyal to Mohamed Farr...

October 1, 2021

Obama was right after all

As a conservative bordering on a libertarian, I hate to admit it President Obama was right about anything, but the fact is that he was right when, in 2020, he voiced his concerns about Joe Biden's presidential candidacy and warned allies not to u...

September 24, 2021

Reaping the Democrat harvest

As a gentleman farmer in the Shenandoah  Valley of Virginia, I am well attuned to the time-proven adage of "you reap what you sow."  I realize that seeds take time to germinate and flourish before they are harvested in t...

September 21, 2021

Honoring sacrifice

My wife and I recently canceled a "bucket list" trip that had been planned for several years due to the ongoing pandemic and heightened terrorism alert in France.  Paris was the destination of choice for her, the beaches at Norman...

August 28, 2021

The text that will haunt me for the rest of my life

Two days ago, I received the following text from a business associate in Afghanistan: Hello James, As you know, Afghanistan is on the brink of a drastic devastating change to its system and the fabric of its society. Taliban has taken control...

August 24, 2021

When will they ever learn?

Growing up in the 1960s, no one could miss the plaintive refrain of "Where have all the young men gone?"  Now, some sixty years later, I too wonder where many of my friends and comrades in arms have gone.  I've reali...

July 3, 2021

On America's birthday, remembering what we are

On July 4, we will celebrate our 245th anniversary, founded by these immortal words — "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that am...

May 31, 2021

Memorial Day 2021: A time to revisit the American's Creed

Often, we forget that Memorial Day is a day not for merchandise sales or the unofficial start of summer.  Rather, it is a day set aside to honor those brave men and women who fell in the performance of their military duties while serving in...

April 9, 2021

America: The great experiment in human governance

On July 4, 2026, we will mark the  250th anniversary of the founding of this great Republic — America's semi quincentennial.  We are  nation that has endured numerous trials, external wars, and a horrific Civil...