As Bad As We Wanna Be

We Are Only As Powerless As We Want To Be, Newsday, March 20, 2018. "Isn’t it time to give this nonsense about not wanting a new Cold War a rest? This is a new Cold War. And isn’t it time for us to stop confessing our own powerlessness? The West isn’t powerless."

It's the European Commission

The Problem with Brexit Isn’t Britain, National Review Online, March 6, 2018. "Several decades of studying Britain’s relations with the European Union and its predecessor organizations have left me pessimistic about the U.K.’s ability to secure exit from the E.U. on the terms that appear clearly to be in everyone’s best interests. And a few days in Brussels have led me to conclude that the prospect of a negotiated exit is growing more remote."

How Brexit Opens the Way for a US-UK FTA

How Brexit Opens Up a Path for a US-UK Free Trade Area, Daily Signal, March 5, 2018. "Last week, I was in Brussels to help launch a new report on financial services in Britain and the European Union after Brexit. During that time, we inched a bit closer to the creation of a free trade area between the U.S. and Britain—and I learned a bit about why the EU is standing in the way."

New Democrats, New Dangers

Obama’s Ugly Legacy in the Mideast, Newsday, March 4, 2018. "The war in Syria was like a stone thrown into a lake. The initial splash has subsided, but the waves are spreading throughout the region. Where the waves meet the shores of the lake, they splash again into new wars. The wars of the Persian Gulf, the Kurds, and Israel are beginning."

A Summary of the Case for Unsigning the ATT

Why the U.S. Must Unsign the Arms Trade Treaty in 2018, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3287, February 22, 2018. "The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is one of a number of treaties that work not through verifiable commitments but by promoting restrictive norms. Over time, as similar treaties have done, the ATT will shape U.S. policymaking, as the undefined standards at its heart evolve and are applied through political pressure, moral suasion, or the actions of the courts. Even by the standards of the Obama Administration, the ATT is a substantive failure, and it lacks congressional support. But for the progressive activists behind the ATT, its inevitable inability to improve the world’s incompetent and malevolent nations is irrelevant. No U.S. action can eliminate the long-term risks posed by the ATT, but the U.S. can and should mitigate them by “unsigning” the treaty."

Another Abusive Authoritarian Joins Interpol

How U.S. Can Stop Palestinian Authority from Abusing Interpol, Washington Times, February 19, 2018. "Interpol is supposed to help the world’s police agencies communicate with each other, not to play politics. But when Interpol’s member nations voted to admit the Palestinian Authority, they brought a supporter of terrorism into the organization, and Interpol itself into new disrepute."

Kick the Russians Out

The Indecency of the Olympic Games, Newsday, February 18, 2018. "Anyone who thinks that politics are new to the Olympics doesn’t know the Games. But there are politics, and then there are politics. The politics of the 2018 Winter Games are blatant. And they’re working."

The 2019 NDAA

The 2019 NDAA Must Continue to Rebuild the Military and Make it More Efficient, contributor to to Heritage Foundation Special Report #198, February 9, 2018. "The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) needs to be a step forward in rebuilding the Armed Forces’ capacity, capability, and readiness. Every single service is facing important questions about its future, both in terms of end strength and the infrastructure that will support its mission. Congress plays a vital role in shaping the military forces for next year and for the years to come. The NDAA is the best vehicle for Congress to shape the military’s present and future. The military did not get to the current level of deteriorated readiness in one year, and it will take consistent and sustained effort to rebuild that readiness. The 2019 NDAA needs to build on last year’s efforts and establish a reliable trend of investment."

They Don't Like Him As Much As You Think They Do

The Gun Industry’s Surprising Take on the Trump Administration, Daily Signal, February 2, 2018. "Certainly, it was great to hear the president speak up for the Second Amendment in his State of the Union address. But as I learned at this year’s SHOT—Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trades—Show, which wrapped up last week in Las Vegas, it’s more complicated than that."

New Hope for A US-UK FTA

New Trade Deals, Daily Signal, January 30, 2018. "The president’s call for new trade deals that are fair and reciprocal, and that protect American workers and American intellectual property, bode well for a ground-breaking free trade area agreement between the U.S. and Britain."

Another Impending UN Misfire

Beware: The United Nations Is Taking Aim at Ammo, Fox News, January 30, 2018. "The United Nations will have a busy year in 2018 on the firearms front. That’s not good news for anyone in the U.S. who buys firearms. When it comes to the U.N. and guns, the best form of action is always inaction."

What Trump Got Right and Wrong

Trump’s Hits and Misses, Newsday, January 30, 2018. "Despite the incessant media uproar — some of it caused by the man himself — President Donald Trump hasn’t been the disaster his opponents expected. In both policy and process, his successes mirror his failures."

A US-UK FTA, Closer Than Ever

New Trade Deals, Daily Signal, January 30, 2018. "The president’s call for new trade deals that are fair and reciprocal, and that protect American workers and American intellectual property, bode well for a ground-breaking free trade area agreement between the U.S. and Britain."

What's Up For Guns in 2018

It Could Be A Great Year for America’s Gun Owners. And for Gun-Makers, Too, Daily Signal, January 30, 2018. "One of the nation’s largest gatherings of gun owners, hunters, and sports shooters was bigger and better than ever, and again set the tone for the year in firearms—and for the people who love and work in the industry. In previous years, the tone at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show, known as the SHOT Show, had been buoyant but concerned. Buoyant because in the years after 2009, fears about what President Barack Obama would do drove gun sales to unprecedented heights. Concerned because—well, it’s never pleasant to know that the man in the White House doesn’t like you."

Spot the Radical

Who’s the Radical, Trump or Obama?, Newsday, January 14, 2018. "In assessments of President Donald Trump’s first year in office, a common theme among commentators has been that he falls outside the American political mainstream. In some ways, that’s true. But in most ways, he’s been traditional. It was his predecessor, Barack Obama, who was the radical."

NYT, Wrong Again

New York Times Gets the Facts Wrong on Land Mines, Daily Signal, January 11, 2018. "Every year, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines publishes a report on the number of casualties caused by land mines—or so it says. And every year, gullible journalists take the report’s headline figure at face value. But this year, the worst offender is a particularly prestigious outlet: The New York Times, whose editorial board authored a column titled “Why Do Land Mines Still Kill So Many?”"

The EU's Data Protection Regulations

The U.S. Must Draw a Line on the EU’s Data-Protection Imperialism, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3276, January 9, 2018. "On May 25, 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. Described by the European Commission as a measure to strengthen individual rights in the digital age and facilitate business, the GDPR embodies and expands the EU’s effort to apply its data-protection standards to governments and private enterprise inside and outside the EU. Together with an EU directive governing the processing of personal information by government authorities, the GDRP will mark the beginning of another phase in a long-running struggle between the U.S. and the EU over the handling of individual data by U.S. corporations and the U.S. government."

Santa Claus versus The Protectionists

'Twas No Trade Before Christmas, Newsday, December 17, 2017. "Now, BARRY! now, DONALD! now, SHERROD and BANNON!/On BERNIE! on TRUMKA! on WARREN and CLINTON!"

A Tale of Three Purges

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Is Consolidating His Power, Newsday, December 3, 2017. "Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has launched a crackdown on corruption. This is the world’s third great anti-corruption drive in the past 15 years. The last two, in Russia and China, presaged war and aggression. The same things will happen in the Middle East."

I Want You to Not Want Me

Putin Clever At Sowing Fear, Confusion, Newsday, November 20, 2017. "There is no mystery about what Vladimir Putin’s Russia seeks to achieve through its propaganda. It doesn’t want to make you love Russia. It wants to make you distrust America. And thanks to the panic about Russia’s influence in the 2016 election, it’s enjoying brilliant success."

One More Time . . .

A Mistake to Conflate Trump, Brexit, Newsday, November 6, 2017. "Americans have never fully grasped why Brexit — Britain’s exit from the European Union — matters to them. That’s made it easy for the EU’s friends to lump Brexit together with President Donald Trump as symbols of all that’s wrong with the West today. The truth is that Brexit shows what’s right with it."

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Iran Deal Was Not About Iran, Newsday, October 22, 2017. "President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new strategy for confronting Iran offers a modicum of hope that the United States will stop kicking the can down the road in the Persian Gulf. But to do that, we have to recognize the point of the Iran nuclear deal wasn’t to restrain Iran. It was to restrain the United States."

Down to Davy Jones' Locker

Deep-Six the Jones Act, Newsday, October 12, 2017. "In response to Hurricane Maria, the Trump administration waived the restrictions the Jones Act imposes on shipping to Puerto Rico. The Sept. 28 decision was the right move, though a belated one. The act is a costly failure, and the administration’s short-term waiver was of a piece with its broader protectionism."

The Conservative Dilemma in Britain

Are Britain’s Conservatives Dead?, Daily Signal, October 4, 2017. "A year ago—even six months ago—Britain’s Conservative Party was riding high. It had won an unexpected victory in the 2015 election. Then, in June 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union—a result that delighted most voters on the right, and quite a few on the left too. And at the start of the summer, the Conservatives looked set for a smashing, historic victory in the elections of June 2017. Well, that didn’t happen. The Conservatives won a narrow victory, but the margin was so close, and the collapse against expectations so catastrophic, that the victory felt—feels—like a loss."

A Brutal Conference

Conservative Gloom in Manchester, Weekly Standard Online, October 6, 2017. "The nicest thing you can say about this year’s conference of Britain’s Conservative party in Manchester is that at least it’s not Birmingham’s turn. Manchester may draw more lefty protesters — the 2015 conference in Britain’s second city made me feel like Aragon at Helm’s Deep, surrounded by unwashed orcs — but at least it retains some of its brickwork grandeur. Birmingham, by contrast, was heavily bombed during the war — I mean modernism’s war on humanity, not the Second World War — and no city has made the deadly results of fascination with reinforced concrete more brutally obvious."