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Who is to blame in the latest shooting?

It would be amusing if it wasn’t so serious. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and several other Democrats were on weekend programs calling for a toning down of the political conversation following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington. Jeffries went so far as to say we are all Americans. This after regularly denouncing the president in harsh tones. Another of the bad rhetorical offenders has been Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). He has called the president an authoritarian who threatens the Constitution, rule of law and democracy. There are ...

Thinking About the U.S. Navy

Many years ago I was in the United States Navy, a junior officer on the deck of a small ship homeported in Japan. These memories never leave you and have been in my mind now with the recent naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. I can almost guarantee you that enforcing blockades was not a skill taught at Navy Officers Candidate School. Attacking, shelling, ship-to-ship warfare, amphibious landings—yes. Blockade enforcement?—I cannot recall that having ever been taught. Yet, I am not greatly concerned. I found during my 3 ½ years on active duty, including Vietnam, that Navy ...

Same crisis wearing different clothes

America has a spending problem. It also has a health care problem. These are not two separate crises but rather the same crisis wearing different clothes. The Cato Institute’s new “Handbook on Affordability” is a great resource to understand the root problem and how to fix it. Start with a recap of the fiscal picture. The federal government runs large deficits so persistently that they’ve become a structural threat to price stability. As Romina Boccia and Dominik Lett argue in the handbook’s second chapter, when debt expands faster than the economy, investors begin pricing in ...

Pen Pals can make great friends

I have a pen pal. Her name is Alice Congdon. Alice is the youngest member of the wonderful Congdon clan. This amazing family is made up of Kevin, Megan, Jake, Henry and Miss Alice. I met this wonderful and caring family when Jake and Henry were outstanding student athletes at Northern Chautauqua Catholic School. Miss Alice was often a visitor at NCCS. More times than not, when Alice visited NCCS, we would end up reading a book together in my office. When my cancer diagnosis forced me to leave NCCS , the Congdons stayed in close contact. They sent me cards, letters and treats. They ...

A forgotten war as we aim for Iran

Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Presidential candidate Donald Trump said at least 53 rimes in 2023 and 2024 that, as President, he would end the war in Ukraine “in one day.” Now well over 400 days since his inauguration as President, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. Russia’s brutal, illegal war against Ukraine, illegal under international law as partly developed by Jamestown’s own Robert H. Jackson, Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals, has lasted longer than World War II for the United States (December 7, 1941-Auugust ...

Perspective keeps skewing global reality

President Donald Trump is loudly proclaiming, “We won! We won!” The Iranians are saying not so fast, the strait is closed. Trump is complaining forcefully that “Fake News” is not reporting the administration’s great success. If there was success, gas would not be $4 a gallon, soon to be $5. With the internet people can seek out news. We can talk to people from around the world. We can watch Independent media like “Democracy Now!” www.Democracynow.org NPR and PBS How do we know Democracy Now, NPR and PBS are telling the truth? They interview people who have written ...