Monthly Archives: August 2014

United States Strategy in Short Supply

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

“At every step, Russia has come before this council to say everything but the truth. It has manipulated, obfuscated, and outright lied.”

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Powers speaking in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council August 28, 2014

Ambassador Powers seems to represent the United States with great competence and a forceful presence, but her statement last week and those of President Barack Obama on the Russian invasion (why not call it what it is?) of Ukraine raise another question: What is the United States going to do about it? Continue reading

Does America Have a Bomb Play?

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

Things were getting desperate. Notre Dame was down 6 and the clock was ticking. Gerry Faust, the former High School football coach, was prowling the sidelines, increasingly panicked.

“Do we have a bomb play?,” he shouted.

I’m not sure if that story is true or not, but my brother and I would always laugh about it as an example of Faust’s incompetence. Continue reading

Portman’s Possible Run Fills Gap

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank

Jeb Bush is probably not running. Neither is Mitt Romney. Chris Christie is trying to hard to recover from Bridge-gate but that doesn’t seem likely.

That means there is a huge gap in the Republican field: The responsible one.

Rob Portman, the senator from Ohio, fills that gap quite nicely. And according to news reports, he is thinking about it very seriously. Continue reading

The Whopper, eh?

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

Corporate inversions. The mere mention sends a shudder down the spines of most Americans.

I kid. The American people don’t give a rat’s ass about corporate inversions.

They care about their jobs, their families, their local schools. They worry that a dysfunctional Washington is making it harder for them to get ahead. And increasingly, they wonder about the President’s competence and engagement in the issues. Continue reading

Murder

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

I never crossed paths with James Foley. I regret not having met him.

A free lance reporter of great skill and courage, Foley was murdered, on camera, by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq by cutting off his head.

I know “beheading” is a mellower term, but I don’t think this kind of barbarism should be softened. Continue reading

No Justice, No Peace in the Middle East

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

I didn’t know James Foley, but I know well the University that shaped him. He studied History and played Rugby and thought about being a teacher in the inner city when he attended Marquette University.

Marquette inspires its students to make a difference in the world in whatever capacity they serve. Continue reading

De-Mil…Militar…

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

Let us stipulate that none of us know what happened between Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. We can also stipulate that the members of the Ferguson Police Department might need some additional training.

The Ferguson PD has 53 officers to serve and protect about 20,000 residents. That seemed high to me, but a quick glance at other places shows that might be about right. Continue reading

Reading Recommendations

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

I asked my Facebook friends for some reading recommendations. They had plenty.

The most popular was “Unbroken”, the tale of survival and forgiveness by Lauren Hillebrand.

Presidents were popular. “The Bully Pulpit,” a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, got several endorsements. Richard Nixon continues to fascinate. His relationship with Ike and with Mao were recommended in two different books. Continue reading

The Peace President

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

I know most of you are not terribly interested in foreign affairs. In fact, my experience has been that when I write a column based on something going on somewhere outside the borders of the U.S. of A. my normally quick-to-hit-the-SEND-key readership is just about silent.

Crickets.

Nevertheless, President Barack Obama was elected largely based upon his opposition to the Iraq war. He was against it before he was against it. Continue reading

FBI Leaving Town: DC Mayor Says Good Riddance

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

“Had the FBI decided to stay in its headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue we would have been happy for them to be here but (that) the federal site did not produce property taxes and most FBI employees were not taxpaying city residents…overall this is hugely positive.”

Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray, expressing his satisfaction that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is being moved out of the nation’s capital.

The FBI is currently located in a 40-year-old colorless monstrosity right in the heart of Washington, on Pennsylvania Avenue, midway between the White House and the Capitol. The Continue reading

Protect the World’s Christians

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

Joseph Stalin famously asked how many divisions did the Pope have? That question is becoming more and more important these days. How many divisions does Christianity have?

The gloves are off in the Middle East. The largest Christian town in Iraq has been over-run by Jihadist Islamic extremists. Continue reading

Obama; Cruzin’

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

I bet, that if you wanted to start a real shouting match with the Obamanistas, it wouldn’t do to compare President Obama to George W. Bush, or even Richard Nixon.

The “Fightin’ Words” would be: Ted Cruz.

On the comparison to President George W., the latest NY Times/Wall Street Journal poll has President Obama’s job approval rating at only 40 percent approve; a staggering 54 percent disapproving. Continue reading