LexNextThe Lexington
Policy Blog
- House Judiciary Committee Calls Out FTC Leadership’s Bad Practices
Need some encouragement that official Washington is not broken when it comes to checks and balances? Exhibit A is a February 22 report by the House Judiciary Committee shining a bright spotlight on broad and deep concerns that career civil servants at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have with its audacious, progressive Chair, Lina Khan. Civil servants, overwhelming Democrats, and [ Read More…]
- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D.
- Why The Pentagon Needs A Quantum Czar (From Breaking Defense)
Just when you thought drones, artificial intelligence and hypersonic missiles were the must-haves for future warfare, here comes yet another priority: quantum computing. Quantum computing literally changes the basis of information sciences. The Pentagon knows that, and has been fueling quantum information science research for years. In fact, across the government, there are no less than 14 quantum-focused centers at [ Read More…]
- Rob Newell
- Patriots Among Us
While we all enjoyed our President’s Day off on Monday, today is actually George Washington’s birthday. All hail to our first commander-in-chief. President’s Day was first consolidated to combine Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, which was a good cause. But it has become watered down in the public mind, and now for many people it is a celebration of all [ Read More…]
- Putin’s Nuke Threat Endangers Some Of America’s Coolest Technology (From Fox News)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is working on a nasty, new nuclear anti-satellite weapon. Leaders in Congress were briefed last week in a highly secret session, but exactly what is Putin targeting? It is likely that he wants to threaten specific American systems. Here are three top possibilities, and they’re all pretty scary. First is the missile warning Space-Based Infrared System or SBIRS. Then, of course, there is the Global Positioning System that keeps your daily life and America’s economy humming. There’s also a chance Putin wants [ Read More…]
- Congress To The FTC: Stop Attacking The U.S.’s Entrepreneurial Spirit (From RealClearMarkets)
On February 12, Representative James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, threw down the gauntlet to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), demanding the Committee interview five of its leaders about the FTC’s audacious policies. FTC leadership has a lot to answer for. It has consistently attacked the American entrepreneurial spirit by imposing costs, uncertainties, and legal intimidations that have stalled and constrained the ingenuity that America needs to remain the world’s economic leader. For starters, the FTC [ Read More…]
- Threats To U.S. Elections Are Creating A New Kind Of National Security Challenge (From Forbes)
In the old days, national security was all about military challenges. Not anymore. Pandemics and climate changes are now viewed as part of the panoply of threats to the nation. But Washington has been slow to recognize what may be the biggest non-military threat of all: the growing efforts of bad actors at home and abroad to subvert the election process. Without secure, credible elections, the entire edifice of democracy is at risk. Congress needs to pay attention. I have [ Read More…]
- Army Rethink Of Aviation Priorities Is A Big Boost For Boeing (From Forbes)
On February 8, the Army disclosed that it will end development of a manned recon helicopter and place greater emphasis on unmanned systems. Funding intended for the canceled program is being reallocated in a fashion designed to support other missions and bolster the rotorcraft industrial base. Boeing is a big beneficiary of this realignment, because its Block II upgrades of the Chinook helicopter can now proceed to full-rate production, and its Apache attack helicopter will continue to execute what is [ Read More…]
- America’s B-1 Bomber Teaches Iran A Firepower Lesson (From Fox News)
On Friday, strikes by U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers demolished 85 aimpoints at four Iran proxy militia target areas in Syria and three in Iraq. And they did it launching from Texas. The White House has promised a multi-layered campaign against the militias backed by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. So far, President Biden and his team are relying on airpower to contain and punish Iran’s proxies. But let me assure you, Friday’s strikes were just a taste of what the B-1s can unleash. For the B-1 crews [ Read More…]
- The U.S. Commercial Ship Industry Has Collapsed. Fallout For National Security Could Follow. (From Forbes)
Last month, legislators from both chambers of Congress sent President Biden a letter expressing alarm at the decline of the commercial shipbuilding and shipping industry. They have a point: the industry barely exists beyond domestic routes reserved from U.S.-flag vessels. U.S. production of commercial, oceangoing vessels is less than 1% of global output, compared with 40% for China. The U.S.-flag fleet has shrunk to a mere 177 vessels, whereas over 5,000 large commercial vessels fly the Chinese flag. It is [ Read More…]
- Microsoft Russian Hack: A Dire Warning For Electric Grid Security (From RealClearEnergy)
The United States is once again being brazenly hit with successful cyberattacks from Russia and China, a wake-up call for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and other federal agencies to make sure that technology providers adhere to the highest standards to minimize the impact of such attacks. Especially disturbing is Microsoft’s disclosure on January 19 that senior executives’ e-mail accounts had been hacked by Nobelium, a cybercriminal group affiliated with Russia’s government. Nobelium engineered the 2015 attack on the [ Read More…]
- Amazon’s Kuiper Orbital Internet System Will Include Important National Security Features (From Forbes)
Amazon has begun launching a 3,200-satellite system into low earth orbit that will provide high-speed, low-latency internet service around the globe. The system is called Kuiper, and even though it is a commercial venture, it offers big benefits for military users. In particular, the satellites are connected by laser crosslinks that enable them to work around disruptions in wartime such as electronic jamming. The links collectively form a mesh network in space that has high resiliency–a key goal of all [ Read More…]
- Boeing Products Bulk Large In Latest Foreign Military Sales Report (From Forbes)
Boeing’s defense and space business is in recovery mode after suffering a series of setbacks due to fixed-price development contracts. It is not alone. The business has embarked on a path to sustained profitability that includes increased sales to foreign customers, and 2023 was a bit of a banner year. Boeing accounted for over a third of all U.S. Foreign Military Sales revenues last year. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
- How Submarine-Launched Systems Can Overwhelm Chinese Warships In The Taiwan Strait (From Forbes)
The danger of a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan is the central driver of U.S. defense strategy. China’s military advantages in the region are growing, and it is not clear that most U.S. warfighting systems will be able to operate near Taiwan in the future. But submarines are an exception–an exception that can prove decisive if the Navy uses them in imaginative ways. One possibility is to use subs as launch platforms that can loft hundreds of low-cost drones to [ Read More…]