By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts.
Michigan voters handed organized labor a setback in Tuesday's voting, rejecting a closely-watched measure that would have enshrined union collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.
Republicans' chances of gaining control of the Senate are improving, notwithstanding Missouri Senate candidate W. Todd Akin's self-inflicted calamity.
Rep. W. Todd Akin in Missouri and former Rep. Pete Hoekstra in Michigan emerged from crowded primary fields Tuesday night to capture the Republican nominations to take on two embattled Democratic senators in November.
A handful of Democratic Senate candidates are posting strong poll numbers in battleground states dominated by the GOP two years ago — giving that party hope that it can hang on to its slim advantage in the chamber.
Republican Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra of Michigan has pulled a Super Bowl ad that had some Asian-Americans and political analysts crying foul, but one rival, seeking traction ahead of an August primary, is seizing upon the China ad campaign as "demeaning."
Once upon a time, political ads were simple, falling into two cliched categories: warm 'n' fuzzy soft-focus personal appeals and scathing critiques of rival candidates, rife with unflattering photographs and exploding hydrogen bombs. No longer.
The portrayal of a young Asian woman speaking broken English in a Super Bowl ad being run by U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra against Michigan incumbent Debbie Stabenow is bringing charges of racial insensitivity.
Tracking terrorist messaging systems and clandestine couriers became a critical U.S. intelligence mission years before an al Qaeda courier led U.S. special operations forces to Osama bin Laden's hide-out in Pakistan.
When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he inherited a broken all-volunteer military force, still reeling from the traumas of the post-Vietnam era. When he left the White House eight years later, he left the nation a well-equipped, highly professional military on which the country has depended for three decades.
U.S. military and intelligence agencies would lose vital air, land and sea assets if Egypt falls into the hands of radical Islamists, as Iran did in 1979, foreign policy analysts say.
"Homegrown" promises something fresh and tasty when applied to tomatoes, cabbage and beans straight from the farmer's field. But about terrorism, not so much. Homegrown terrorists, recruited from newly arrived people from the Muslim countries of the Middle East and Africa, are the latest menace to America. They're new transplants to these shores and sometimes even the native born.
The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee said Monday that the disclosure of thousands of classified State Department documents undermines U.S. credibility with the rest of the world.
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, after nearly two years in office, has emerged as a fierce protector of the agency's people and its role in capturing or killing terrorists under an administration that shuns the words "war" and "Islamic terrorist."
Regardless of Tuesday's midterm election results, the 112th Congress will face stark choices on national security issues ranging from arms control to the size of the defense budget.
"Tracking couriers has been an important part of the intelligence gathering for quite some time," Mr. Hoekstra said.
"The deadliest job in the world for a while was becoming the No. 3 guy for al Qaeda," said Mr. Hoekstra, referring to the killing of the group's operations chief, Mohammed Atef, and then the demise of others who succeeded him.
