America / Communications / Dpt. of State / Economy / Gov. Officials / Healthcare / National Security

Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response System in the US

Summary   Though the US dealt with major outbreaks in the past 20 years, the American Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response system was unable to generate a sufficient coordinated response for COVID-19.  The American Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response system needs an analysis in the present time to evaluate the effects of public health policies and their … Continue reading

Clinton’s Secretary of State Shortlist Reveals Her Foreign Policy
Central Asia / China / Dpt. of State / Europe / Europe / Foreign Policy / Iran / Middle East / National Security / Presidential Race 2016 / Russia / Sanctions

Clinton’s Secretary of State Shortlist Reveals Her Foreign Policy

  The Clinton transition team recently leaked its shortlist for Secretary of State. While media attention has solely focused on Vice President Joe Biden’s appearance on the list, the rest of the list reveals what a potential Clinton administration’s foreign policy might entail. Based on her shortlist, Clinton has Russian aggression and European stability on … Continue reading

Politicking National Security: A Hack Job
Dpt. of State / Foreign Policy / National Security / Politics / Presidential Race 2016 / Russia

Politicking National Security: A Hack Job

In case you missed it, a presidential candidate invited a foreign government to break into either a private citizen’s email account and steal information or break into the servers at the United States Department of State. I am in a state of disbelief. These were his words (with my editorial comments in parentheses): Russia, if … Continue reading

Ukraine: The New Cold War Battleground
Dpt. of State / Europe / Events / Foreign Policy / National Security / Politics / Russia / Sanctions / UN

Ukraine: The New Cold War Battleground

Tensions in Ukraine have been running high since ousted president Viktor Yanukovych brokered an economic deal with Russia in November, spurring month-long protests that eventually led to the overthrow of the government. A new, pro-West Ukrainian government was installed last week, naming Oleksandr Turchinov as president and opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk as prime minister until … Continue reading

Redefining Preventative Defense in Benghazi
Dpt. of State / Foreign Policy / Middle East / U.S. Senate

Redefining Preventative Defense in Benghazi

On January 15th, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) released a review entailing the official series of events that unfolded in Benghazi, Libya on September 11-12th of 2012 as well as findings and recommendations that could have prevented this attack and future attacks on U.S. embassies and facilities abroad from happening. SSCI was … Continue reading

Now Batting for Dodd-Frank: The State Department steps in to help save the Resource Extraction Rule
America / Dpt. of State / Fiscal policy / Regulation

Now Batting for Dodd-Frank: The State Department steps in to help save the Resource Extraction Rule

Late last week a seldom heard voice echoed throughout the regulatory reform debate forum when the U.S. Department of State openly stood behind the controversial Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ‘Resource Extraction Rule.’ This rule, developed as part of the continuing cavalcade of Dodd-Frank initiatives, went into effect last August with the goal of requiring … Continue reading

Dpt. of State / Foreign Policy / National Security / Politics / Presidency

The Failures in Libya

When asked this past Sunday if the recent terrorist attack on American diplomats in Libya was an “intelligence failure,” senior White House Advisor David Plouffe said, “No, this was an event obviously … a complex event.” Let us ignore the obvious tautology of Plouffe’s remarks and his clear desire to obfuscate the issue instead of … Continue reading

America / Dpt. of State / Foreign Policy / Gov. Officials / National Security / Politics / Presidency

Death of a Diplomat: The Fiscal Cliff and Diplomatic Security

In the wake of Ambassador Christopher Stevens’ death, the resultant media deluge on Libyan consulate attacks spouted a cornucopia of opinions, including discussion on the anti-Muhammad film that sparked the initial protests, the effectiveness of President Obama’s foreign policy efforts towards the Middle East;, the thought process, or lack thereof, of Mitt Romney’s ill-time statement … Continue reading

America / Dpt. of State / Energy / Gov. Officials / Politics / Presidency / Regulation

Keystone Rejection: Goodbye Jobs, Energy, and Revenue

Last Wednesday, President Obama announced that he had rejected TransCanada Corp.’s request for a permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada was prepared to fund the highly publicized project that would consist of a crude oil pipeline extending from an oil supply hub, at the tar sands oil fields of Alberta, Canada, all the … Continue reading

Dpt. of State / Energy / Events / Regulation

The Future of Energy and Water Availability in the United States: Has the Marketplace Failed Us?

Earlier today the Hudson Institute hosted a four hour panel discussion titled, “Energy, Water, and Debt: Linked Problems, Common Solutions?” Among the ten panelists was Jim Nussle, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years and now Growth Energy’s COO; Craig Zamuda, a senior policy advisor with the Office of Policy … Continue reading