…isn’t a crime, let alone an impeachable offense. It is time to rethink NATO, perhaps past time.
NATO and the EU have been free riding for a long time. It was an organization for a different era and power structure. Putin’s Russia doesn’t have the resources to conquer Europe, especially if they start getting serious about their own defense.
[Sunday-afternoon update]
Yes. Europe was never a true partner in its own defense. They had a (brief) excuse in the midst of the Marshall Plan, but we’ve been indulging them in their own socialism and unwillingness to spend on their own defense for the decades since recovery. Time to rethink it.
And for those who think that Trump is Putin’s “stooge,” did Putin order him to insist that Europeans spend more on their own defense and live up to their NATO obligations?
Good. Just send a letter. I’ll be happy if there’s never another speech; there is nothing requiring it in the Constitution. If he wants to address the nation, he can do it from the Oval Office again.
One way you can tell that SOTUs as they’ve been done for the last century are a terrible idea is that Woodrow Wilson started this execrable circus. Unfortunately, Trump will almost certainly not take the advice. It would be behavior (and an expression of beliefs) far too Reaganesque.
Yes, it’s what’s driving all these populist rebellions. And want to know how to make things worse? Continue to insult peoples’ character and intelligence by calling them stupid, Xist, Yist and Zist, instead of addressing their actual concerns.
Most people, except a few paid trolls and Democrats with political axes to grind, have figured out there is no “there” there. Mueller is reportedly preparing to show his hand, and it’s almost certain to be “anti-climatic,” sources close to the investigation say.
It’s all over but the crying.
And liberal tears will indeed flow if Mueller’s final report comes out and it contains no bombshells and is unable to prove that President Trump colluded, conspired, schemed, or plotted with the Russians to win the 2016 election. It’s also unlikely that he’ll be accused of obstruction for firing Comey, an absurdly weak pretext for an investigation if ever there was one…
…Meanwhile, the inspector general’s investigation looking into the deep state’s surveillance abuse before the election continues apace, and a secret grand jury has been investigating former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for months. The OIG revealed last month that it was unable to recover a number of vital Strzok/Page text messages from the special counsel’s office because Mueller’s records officer had scrubbed them. That almost looked like a warning shot from the OIG to the special counsel.
Steve Wolfe just sent me a call for papers that’s right up my (and perhaps some of my readers’) alley:
I am chairing an interesting program at the ISDC this year titled the Space Settlement Policy Forum. It will be held June 5th in Washington, DC. Forum details and agenda are attached.
Though most consider discussion of space settlement related policies to be academic, for Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other leaders the reality of space settlement is an imminent and highly desirable probability. In this forum we will take a sober look at the laws and policies that would or should be implemented in order to facilitate and encourage space settlement development. The Forum will address this broad challenge without presuming a single ‘silver bullet’ solution.
Topic Categories Include:
How Current Space Law Encourages and Inhibits Space Settlement Development
Potential Government Incentives for Private Funding of Space Settlements
Changes to International Law to Enable Space Settlement Development
Licensing Regime for Space Settlement Development and Construction—What would it look like?
Proper Role of Government in Space Settlement Development: Leading the Way or Being a Cheer Leader?
What Are the Space Settlement Enabling Technologies That Government Agencies Should Be Investing In Now?
Presentation Submission Guidelines:
Prepare a 15-minute to present with slides
Prepare a paper of not less than 3-pages that will be publish in the proceedings of the conference.
The presentation must recommend, and argue for, a particular legal or regulatory change directly related to space settlement
The paper must provide a summary that includes specific recommendations for policy change
Interest must be expressed to Steve Wolfe immediately
Abstract submission due by January 25, 2019
Kind of short notice, but I’ll probably be submitting multiple abstracts.