Americans who support gun control continue to express shock, disappointment, and disgust at the recent defeat of federal legislation expanding background checks for gun buyers. And at the center of their outrage is President Barack Obama. The WSJ reports: Democratic strategists, lobbyists and some Capitol Hill aides see last week’s defeat of the gun-bill amendments […]

North Korea doesn’t just want the big fancy corner office. It wants to be called “Sir.” The Norks insisted today that the DPRK be recognized as a “nuclear weapons state” by the United States, a demand that was swiftly rejected: “North Korea’s demand to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state is neither realistic nor […]

“Confusion, total confusion.” That’s how a Michigan consumer advocate describes her state’s campaign to enroll citizens in the new Obamacare insurance plans. Mass uncertainty about the details of the ACA and a flurry of negative stories in the press have sent the law’s supporters scurrying across the country to educate the public before October 1, when open enrollment […]

Beijing apparently told Delhi today that Chinese soldiers had, in fact, not crossed the border between the two countries, contrary to widespread reports by Indian government sources and the international media that a contingent of Chinese soldiers and helicopters had ventured six miles into India and set up camp.“I want to reiterate here that the […]

There are events that are so surreal that they almost inevitably evoke religious language. This was certainly the case with the attack on the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, so it is not surprising that such language erupted in its wake. But this particular event makes religious reactions especially appropriate, more so than would […]

Welcoming young scientists at the third White House Science Fair, President Obama announced his plan (initially proposed in his 2014 budget request) to drastically increase funding and support for STEM education initiatives. The New York Times reports:  According to a summary in his 2014 budget request, Mr. Obama has designated $180 million for programs to […]

Kurt Campbell, who served as the very able Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs during President Obama’s first term, is one of the strongest advocates in the US for the “pivot to Asia” and unapologetically asserts that with the failures of the EU and post-Soviet Russia to organize for the challenges of the […]

In 2011, traffic congestion cost the US $121 billion in lost time and wasted fuel. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of that congestion occurs during rush hour. Some back-of-the-envelope math tells us that bad traffic in our daily commutes costed the US economy approximately $76 billion in 2011. This is all according to the Texas A&M […]

Now that media excitement is beginning to die down concerning the recent horrific events in Boston, it is time for more reflective analyses to take pride of place. It used to be that we could rely on the mainstream print media for at least some of this reflection. That cannot be ruled out, but it […]

Is there an Asian country with which China doesn’t have a territorial dispute? Or a neighbor that China doesn’t repeatedly poke in the eye?Today it’s India’s eye getting poked: Chinese troops reportedly ventured into Indian territory in Ladakh and set up camp six miles inside the border. Territorial violations like this one are common; neither country […]