Two Idiomatic Meanings: 1) “To attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; to proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome;” or 2) ”To enter a situation with little or no understanding of the possible consequences.” . . . Take your pick. Read Full Story
Last weekend’s TV shows were full of photographic remembrances of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America that left nearly 3000 dead, another 6000 casualties and many, many more with heartaches and bitter memories. We are less safe today after 15 years in an undeclared war with an enemy we do not name that has cost trillions, many thousands more lives and casualties, and many, many more heartaches. We need a change. Read Full Story
“Wouldn’t it be better to save lives than to avenge them? Are we not capable of demonstrating our peaceful intentions by applying all our abilities and our ingenuity to achieving a truly lasting stability? I think we are. Indeed, we must. After careful consultation with my advisers, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I believe there is a way.” Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983 Read Full Story
“Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it.” Variously attributed to George Santayana, Edmund Burke, Winston Churchill, . . . Whoever, inevitably true! Read Full Story
Not quite seventeen, this “soldier’s soldier” volunteered to become a Minnesota National Guardsman and received an Anzio battlefield commission in World War II and the Army’s second highest medal for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, in Viet Nam. He led the U.S. and U.N. Forces in Korea and opposed withdrawing U.S. Forces which cost him the Army Chief of Staff post under President Jimmie Carter—an implicit rebuke cast aside when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and after his retirement and return to Minnesota into other important posts. President George H.W. Bush awarded Gen. Vessey the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. A life of service with unquestionable integrity. Read Full Story
“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink . . . ” From the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by the 19th Century English Poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s in his lengthy 1798 poem, studied in my youth by all who took courses in English Literature. Read Full Story
“Like the leaders of other fascist states, the [Iranian] mullahs who have ruled the Islamic Republic have claimed universal authority in the name of their doctrine, not of their country. And they are prepared to die — along with their followers — to accomplish their mission. As Khomeini put it shortly after the occupation of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979: ‘We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah . . . For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say, let this land burn. I say, let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.’” ~ Retired Army Lt. General Michael Flynn and Dr. Michael Ledeen, The Field of Fight, St. Martin’s Press, 2016, p. 79-80. Read Full Story
“There is no upper bound to the cost of a program the sponsor doesn’t want to do and doesn’t know how to do.” ~ Dr. William R Graham, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Ronald Reagan Read Full Story
“The President, the Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the States, the utilities and the private sector should work together on an urgent basis to enact Republican legislation, pending in both chambers, to protect the national grid and encourage states to take the initiative to protect their own grids expeditiously.” ~ Republican Party Platform—July 18, 2016 Read Full Story
“A single nuclear weapon detonated at high altitude over this country would collapse our electrical grid and other critical infrastructure and endanger the lives of millions. With North Korea in possession of nuclear missiles and Iran close to having them, an EMP is no longer a theoretical concern — it is a real threat. Moreover, China and Russia include sabotage as part of their warfare planning. Nonetheless, hundreds of electrical utility in the U.S. have not acted to protect themselves from EMP and they cannot be expected to do so voluntarily since homeland security is a government responsibility. The President, the Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the States, the utilities and the private sector should work together on an urgent basis to enact Republican legislation, pending in both chambers, to protect the national grid and encourage states to take the initiative to protect their own grids expeditiously.” ~ Republican Party Platform—July 18, 2016 Read Full Story
We will be adding key policy briefs as we progress.