Veteran’s Day gives all of us an opportunity to reflect with gratitude on the service of our country’s military service members and the freedom their service affords us. In public administration it’s also important that we give back by looking for ways to help the military and veteran’s communities. This fall the Rickett’s administration took …
A good friend asked me to share my thoughts on Professor Ledewitz’s Hallowed Secularism: Is it possible to be a moral person without belief in God? I believe it is; because the rules of Creation will be operative regardless one’s belief in the Creator. My feet remain firmly planted on the ground whether I believe …
What is truly crazy is that the modern law student can go through all of law school without being taught the Constitution as it was originally understood. “Con-Law” courses in law school these days are mostly inch deep surveys of current Supreme Court jurisprudence on the Bill of Rights, the Civil War amendments, and congressional …
Nebraska State Senator Laura Ebke recently posed an interesting question to her followers on Facebook about how they each define their ideological approaches to political questions. The post was sufficiently thought provoking that it merits a more substantive response than the medium of Facebook permits. https://www.facebook.com/laura.ebke/posts/10155613183470329 A true conservative is someone fights to preserve the …
Donald Trump hasn’t been sworn into office yet and already his foreign policy moves are causing consternation among the Washington foreign policy and defense establishment. In fact, his most fervent critics don’t give him credit for having a set “policy” at all, but rather accuse him of aimless incompetence. The more conspiratorially inclined might even …
Throughout the 2016 campaign a vocal minority of the Republican Party refused to support the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. So called #NeverTrump Republicans had many concerns about his candidacy which are nicely summarized by my friend Ryan Darby here. I shared some of these concerns and had several others. I always acknowledged Trump could …
This past week Nebraska’s Libertarian State Senator, Laura Ebke, posted some thoughts on her personal Facebook page about the party system in America that called to mind several of my own reflections. In a spirit of good natured debate I’ll pull them together here in response to Senator Ebke. First, the Senator’s quote in full: …
A lot of posts in social media about gun control this morning, many demanding that guns be confiscated and that our political leadership stand up to the NRA. A few questions for the gun control advocates: If my neighbor who wears a uniform can defend herself from radical Islamic terrorism with a rifle, why can’t …
There has been a fascinating foreign policy debate in recent days between leaders in San Diego County’s conservative movement. The flashpoint was congressional candidate Jacqui Atkinson’s recent critique diplomacy with Iran, which sparked an acrimonious though substantive exchange on competing visions for a just foreign policy between Frank Dowse and Eric Andersen. In the discussion, …
As Vice President Joe Biden considers entering the race for the Democratic nomination for president, it is appropriate to look back upon his foreign policy record. While his overall record over four decades of public service, including two stints as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been much maligned, I believe Biden deserves …