Ed's Blog

"Some people know everything, but that's all they know."

GLENN BECK: Preacher, Professor, Pundit, Patriot, Performer

What are we to make of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28? Was it a religious revival meeting? Was it a Tea Party rally? Was it a patriotic demonstration? Or was it simply a massive outdoor Glenn-Beck-Program field trip? The event that drew upwards of 300,000 people to the National Mall and sent shock waves through Washington, DC, and across the country was all the above and more. (More)



Filed under: Politics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE MOSQUE, MUSLIMS, AND BUILDING BRIDGES: Time for a Better Approach

Looking south from Top of the Rock, New York City

The ongoing controversy over whether or not Muslims should build a Mosque near “Ground Zero” in Lower Manhattan fits conveniently into a false narrative perpetuated by biased reporting and misinformation that confrontation, not dialogue and cooperation, is the hallmark of America’s relationship with Muslim Americans and the Islamic world. It also exposes the fallacy that political correctness and pandering to Muslims is the best way to build bridges to them.  (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, The Presidency, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VINCE FLYNN, DANIEL SYLVA, AND IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES

Cover of "The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel A...

I’m a big fan of Vince Flynn‘s Mitch Rapp series of novels.  Having read them all, I looked around for an author to read while I wait for Flynn’s latest, and perhaps last, book about the assassin. I just finished reading Daniel Silva‘s “The Rembrandt Affair.” I highly recommend both Flynn and Silva, although they are two very different writers. Interestingly, both Flynn’s “Extreme Measures” and the “Rembrandt Affair” (spoiler alert) involve destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities. I was struck by how plausible both of their schemes are. I know people in the CIA and other friendly foreign intelligence agencies read these books. More than one great idea for an intelligence operation began on the pages of a novel. If for some reason we should learn that Iran’s nuclear program experienced an unexplained catastrophic disaster I would immediately re-read Flynn and Sylva to see which one the event most resembled.

Filed under: Books, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REDUCING THE DOD BUREAUCRACY: Less is More

Secretary Robert Gates wants to make sweeping budget cuts in overhead at the Department of Defense (DoD). For starters, he has proposed eliminating Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia, a 10 percent cut in contractors, the reduction of at least 50 generals and admirals, and the elimination of 150 Senior Executive Service (SES) civilians. I applaud Gates for his initiative. Not only will it save money for the needed modernization of weapons and equipment necessary to maintain our military capabilities, but it will make DoD more efficient and effective. (More)

Filed under: Healthcare, Military, National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE UNITED STATES AND VIETNAM: China’s Migraine Headache

The visit Sunday to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, cruising off coast of Vietnam, by high-ranking Vietnamese military and government officials was not a big story in the United States. Teams of U.S. military personnel have been conducting MIA-remains-recovery operations in Vietnam for 20 years. U.S.-Vietnam relations have been steadily improving since 1995 when the two countries normalized diplomatic relations. The first U.S. warship visited Ho Chi Minh City in 2003. It was, however, big news in China, especially in the specialized news reports circulated among China’s ruling elite. (More)

Filed under: National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AFGHAN WAR DIARY – Anti-War Activism at its Worst

As soon as Wikileaks posted the 91,000 reports they call the “Afghan War Diary” online, some people immediately compared them to the “Pentagon Papers.” Daniel Elsberg’s 1971 leak of a top-secret Defense Department Vietnam War study revealed 20 years of presidential-administration deception about American involvement in Southeast Asia. The Afghan War Diary is a reprehensible and damaging revelation of secret intelligence sources and methods that places the lives of U.S. warriors and Afghani informants at greater risk, but the Afghanistan war’s “Pentagon Papers” it’s not. (more)

Filed under: Military, National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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  • CHINA'S MILLITARY POWER: A GROWING MILITARY THREAT May 20, 2012
    China's growing military power poses a serious long-term threat to U.S. national security interests and makes a future military confrontation with China increasingly likely, if not inevitable.
  • PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAILING REELECTION STRATEGY May 13, 2012
    Election Day is still more than six months away, but already the negative approach President Obama and his cohorts in the mainstream media are pursuing is faltering.
  • MILITARY VICTORY IS NOT AN OUTDATED CONCEPT May 6, 2012
    Deep cuts in the U.S. defense budget will have a negative impact on U.S. national security. Equally, if not more worrisome, are the effects of the strain we are putting on our warriors by endlessly placing them in harm's way with no clear victory they can tell themselves was worth their sacrifice.
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    "There are two types of companies left in America; those that have been hacked and know it, and those that have been hacked and don't know it."
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    Government scandals are nothing new; they have plagued every presidential administration in American history, and they will continue to do so. What's disturbing about the current General Services Administration (GSA) and Secret Service scandals is what they tell us about the changing character of U.S. government employees involved in them.
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    The Treyvon Martin case has become a media sensation. It has all the necessary elements--tragedy, race, anticipated court-room drama, politics, exploitation, and a gun. We won't know how it will turn out until the authorities in Florida complete their investigation; however it turns out, it's become a rallying cry against stand-your-ground laws--a […]
  • DON'T CONFLATE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD WITH THE EGYPTIAN ARMED FORCES March 25, 2012
    Critics of President Obama are condemning his administration's decision to waive legislative restrictions related to Egypt's democratic transition and allow Egypt's annual Congressional appropriation of $1.3 billion in military assistance to go forward. There is much about the Obama administration's Middle East policy to criticize; but in […]
  • AFGHANISTAN: THE BUCK STOPS WITH THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF March 18, 2012
    The American generals that now command and have commanded U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan are among the best warfighters in U.S. history. The U.S. troops under their command are the most skilled, battle-hardened warriors America has ever put in the field. So what went wrong in Afghanistan that's making victory so elusive if not impossible?
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