In the beginning, the Obama administration directed a spotlight toward its careful, thoughtful decision-making process on Afghanistan. National security meetings were announced, photographed and highlighted in background briefings to the media. President Obama would apply the methods of the academy to the art of war - the University of Chicago meets West Point - thus assuring a skittish public that deliberation had preceded decision. ...more

November 20, 2009

Joan Atkins of Palm Harbor says President Barack Obama is not a good steward of the nation's defense and foreign policies. ...more

April 29, 2009

One of the first things Barack Obama did when he became president was order that no person who had worked as a lobbyist in the past two years could then work for a federal government agency he or she had previously lobbied. The executive order, issued Jan. 21, was a clear and decisive stand against "business as usual" in Washington. ...more

January 31, 2009

Local drivers don't need statistics to tell them that the intersection of U.S. 19 and Ridge Road is a daily focal point of rush-hour bedlam. ...more

January 2, 2009

For one hour of peak driving time each and every Friday morning, car horns are blaring every few seconds as they pass through the intersection. But it isn't because of some inexplicable convergence of bad drivers at the same time every week. Rather, passing motorists are responding to a now-familiar sight: a large hand-written sign inviting them to "Honk for Peace," flanked by a group waving their hands, flags and other signs. ...more

December 27, 2008

I wonder how many readers remember how and why the United States became involved in the costly Iraq disaster? We entered that war because of what some have called the "big lie," fabricated by Colin Powell, the retired army general turned secretary of state. ...more

October 27, 2008

Why do Republicans constantly talk about compromise and bipartisanship when Democrats almost never do and when they do, don't mean it? Democrats rarely compromise when they are in the majority. ...more

September 9, 2008

The U.S. Army has released a study that states that leaders in the United States were more concerned with winning the military battle in Iraq than what to do once it was concluded. That's not exactly earth-shattering news, since most of us already know that, but the historical report is interesting because it's the first major report issued by U.S. military criticizing civilian leaders. The study, "On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign" was written by Donald Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese, along with the Army's Contemporary Operations Study Team, according to a Washington Post article. They say U.S. commanders lacked a realistic vision of what Iraq would look like after that triumph, according to the story. "The transition to a new campaign was not well thought out, planned for, and prepared for before it began," wrote Wright and Reese. "Additionally, the assumptions about the nature of post Saddam Iraq on which the transition was planned proved to be largely incorrect." ...more

June 30, 2008

In the Monday, June 9, edition of Highlands Today, a story was written by Gary Pinnell, giving an excellent historical account of Barry Smith, a Women Air force Service Pilot (WASP) during World War II. ...more

June 11, 2008

Never underestimate the power of Bill. That's my take-away from New Hampshire. The man who isn't on the ballot looms large over the presidential race. ...more

January 13, 2008