Americans’ priorities are in the right place. The biggest challenge facing our nation is China, but the larger problem is our ability to deter China as well as other threats simultaneously.
Pulp and paper mills, being continuous operations, sometimes have a shutdown at Christmas to give the operating staff a break. At that point, they tell us engineers, “You can work on the mill while we are gone.”
Just a few weeks ago, I traveled to North Carolina to survey some of the damage. My takeaway leaving this trip was very clear: Congress must act. We need to provide the necessary aid for states in desperate need, as, while it was obvious that there is still a long road ahead for recovery efforts and rebuilding, this aid will mark a vital step forward.
Canada’s Prime Minister and regular U.S. critic Justin Trudeau recently traveled to Mar-a-Lago to plead his case against Trump’s tariff threat. French President Emmanuel Macron invited Trump, not Biden, to the ceremonial reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
As we approach Christmas 2024, let us pause and remember a rather eventful Christmas 20 years ago this month. The Ohio Valley was hit with a massive snowstorm – and an ice storm for a few "lucky" counties – that occurred Dec. 23-24, 2004.
The return of Tulsi Gabbard to Capitol Hill began with breakfast in the Senate dining room courtesy of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, followed by back-to-back meetings with other Republicans, all of whom were happy to welcome the former Hawaii Democrat and discuss her nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community. But members of her old political party, including one-time House colleagues, largely ignored her.
NASA, which used to do cool things with rockets and space travel, seems to have a tough time getting things done on its own these days. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has to send a ship to bring the agency’s astronauts home from the International Space Station. Closer to home, there’s evidence that NASA is letting environmental activists do some of its air pollution research for it.
"Elon Musk is right," Sen. Sanders wrote on X. "The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It's lost track of billions. Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change."
Hypersonic weapons, all-seeing drones, and anti-tank systems have created new challenges on the modern battlefield but have not been decisive. As a maritime power, the United States needs to project power from the sea in a decisive manner rather than remain in a boxer's crouch and hope the enemy gets tired.
During this period of transition between presidential administrations – when pardons are typically issued in large numbers – it is useful to see how another president used the pardon power afforded to him by the Constitution.
The LORD your God is with you. He is a hero who saves you. He happily rejoices over you, renews you with his love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17.)
The ground beneath my boots is as hard as rock. Halfway through our morning chores, the cold begins to seep through the soles of my boots and nip at my toes. Blades of grass crunch with each step, and I wonder how any life could survive beneath the frozen ground.
I still look forward to getting my local news through a trusted news source, including my local newspaper, whether it’s a real piece of paper or electronically delivered.
In the late 1990s, I was invited to Warsaw, Poland to give a speech on my favorite topic, pulp and paper. Now, this was just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, so matters in countries behind the former Iron Curtain were still a bit wild.
Pam knows when the federal government crosses the line and wields its power unlawfully – under her tenure, the Justice Department will act consistent with the law and treat every citizen the same, regardless of their politics.
