In watching part of the GOP debate last night on Fox News, I got the opportunity to watch the response of Rep. Paul to questions about Iraq. He is standing by his assertions that the War should have been declared (with which I agree…though to be honest the Authorization of the Use of Military Force…
Category: National Security
Bridge Too Far
The I-35 bridge hadn’t been down for long before the blame game got started. The first such article to catch my eye was posted by Sean Mullen who said: I would like to ask a small favor of the bloggers who are all over this story: Is there even the slightest chance that the maintenance…
The Ethanol Problem
David Broussard recently penned a piece describing the problem with the push to use ethanol as a “renewable energy source”, one that is supposed to ease our dependence on foreign – read “Islamic” – oil. As David says, the dream of replacing gasoline with corn alcohol simply is not going to happen: The US uses about 130…
To Torture or Not
Mark Kleiman says that General Petraeus’ recent denouncement of the use of torture demands that those “who accuse those who oppose torture of being foolishlly ‘soft,’ ignorant of the realities of asymmetric warfare, and indifferent to the risk of more terrorist attacks here, now need to say whether they want to apply their slander to…
Airport Security Woes
Airport security failed CBS News’ testing recently. Read the AP story on Yahoo News. I cannot say I am surprised. Flying around the 4th of July holiday, both my wife and I were stopped for searches at airports in Houston and St. Louis, with the result that my mustache trimming scissors were confiscated. At this…
Dealing With Terrorists
Robert Wright’s series for Slate is a must-read. Sure, the opening salvo is weak, but stay with it. Read it.
No Vote on War?
White House lawyers have concluded that President Bush doesn’t need congressional approval to launch an attack against Iraq. Read the CNN.com story. My high school government class was taught differently. Certainly a congressional, and thus a people’s, mandate is appropriate. The White House’s stance implies either a bluff at Iraq or the possession of intelligence…
Ashcroft’s Constitution
The Houston Chronicle published a great editorial Sunday regarding the overzealous John Ashcroft’s plans to run roughshod over the constitution to pursue “enemy combatants”. The Chronicle doesn’t provide editorial content on-line, unfortunately. Even to a lay person, Ashcroft’s proposals are extreme and clearly infringe on the constitutional rights of American citizens. Nonetheless, it has fallen…
Air Marshals, like Teachers?
Federal air marshalls are supposed to be a key part of defending airways against terrorists. But is the program being administered reasonably? Read the story on MSNBC.com One cannot help but ponder the parallels to another important profession: teaching. A critical shortage of teachers was caused by poor pay and bad working conditions. At the…
Securing Chemical Plants
The rest of the nation is catching on to something Houstonians have known all along: gulf coast chemical plants make tempting target to terrorists. Read the NPR story. Having worked at one of these plants recently, I concur with the opinion that plant managers are proactive about security and safety. This does not remove the…