Government projections say America’s next fighter could cost $300 million per plane — here’s why that’s misleading

Government projections say America’s next fighter could cost $300 million per plane — here’s why that’s misleading

The Congressional Budget Office released a new report recently that indicated that America’s forthcoming air-superiority fighter, currently known only as the Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) program, could cost as much as $300 million per air frame. As a result, headlines painting the program as yet another example of rampant and unchecked government spending have flooded […]

Of beans and bombs: US Senate is ceding its authority in dealing with Yemen

Of beans and bombs: US Senate is ceding its authority in dealing with Yemen

In lieu of a successful vote on a bipartisan proposal by Senators Lee and Sanders to end Congressional support for US military involvement in the Yemeni civil war, Republican leadership attached language supporting US involvement in the conflict to the 2018 farm bill. The relevant language of the attached resolution actually goes so far as […]

Congress takes steps to expand burn pit research efforts

Congress takes steps to expand burn pit research efforts

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming increasingly concerned that exposure to toxins produced by burn pits during deployments will mirror the experiences of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. In an effort to help address these concerns, earlier this year Congress passed the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn […]

Deficit shrinks when government is divided — will it happen this time?

Deficit shrinks when government is divided — will it happen this time?

The midterm elections are over. Finally. What does that mean? Well, no more commercials, for one thing, but it also might (and the contingency of this prediction cannot be emphasized enough) mean a slow return to fiscal sanity. Historically, budgets tend to stabilize, and deficits tend to shrink, when government is divided. It has been […]

Op-Ed: Vets elected to office have historic opportunities

Op-Ed: Vets elected to office have historic opportunities

With the end of the midterm elections, the 116th Congress will have 92 veterans serving in the House and Senate. About half of these served in the military after the 9/11 attacks. While the total percentage of vets in office is nowhere as high as it was in the 1970s — when it was 75% […]

Op-Ed: Some jokes aren’t jokes at all

Op-Ed: Some jokes aren’t jokes at all

On a recent skit on Saturday Night Live, comedian Pete Davidson mocked the physical appearance of former Navy SEAL, Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw, saying he looked like a hit man in a porno movie. Dan himself was all class about it. In a self-shot video that appeared on TMZ, he said he was against demands for […]

Migrant caravan approaches US border, Trump threatens action

Migrant caravan approaches US border, Trump threatens action

Mexico—A migrant caravan comprised of more than seven thousand Central Americans is headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border. Like a cascading snowball, the caravan has increased in size and visibility with every mile northward. It all began when around 150 Honduran migrants grouped to have better security for their trek north. As they hitched rides, their […]

Pentagon wants to pull funds from ‘low priority’ projects for hypersonic missiles, long range artillery

Pentagon wants to pull funds from ‘low priority’ projects for hypersonic missiles, long range artillery

The Pentagon has submitted a request to Congress to reallocate some $4.7 billion toward higher priority programs aimed at making the American defense apparatus more capable and lethal in the shortest timeline possible. The funds would be drawn from programs deemed “lower priority” by Defense Department officials, and redistributed into programs that could offset growing […]