By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The United States Navy (USN) is the sea branch of the United States armed forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service and one under construction. - Source: Wikipedia
As Washington surveys the landscape of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, it becomes clear that the ensuing chaos resembles something closer to a long, harsh winter than a hopeful beginning.
Lawmakers in the tiny but strategic nation of Bahrain are outraged with the United States and accuse the U.S. ambassador — apparently a mild-manner professional diplomat — of waging "war" against the Persian Gulf kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
Americans looked back on the George W. Bush era as his presidential library opened, and they liked what they saw. On the international stage, the Assad regime appears to have used sarin gas on its own people, and a female U.S. soldier beat down a would-be rapist in the United Arab Emirates. Here's a recap, or wrap, on the week that was from The Washington Times.
An off-duty U.S. navy sailor wrestled a Dubai bus driver to the ground and beat him into submission after he tried to rape her at knifepoint on Jan. 19, a courtroom heard Wednesday.
North Korea's outrageous and provocative threats to the United States and our allies Japan and South Korea have certainly had the intended effect of causing world attention to focus on the hermit kingdom and its new "dear leader," Kim Jong-un.
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a special visit April 9 to a submarine and destroyer base at Sanya in the southern maritime province of Hainan in what is viewed as a major boost to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy's morale and ambition.
On Saturday morning, the National Cherry Blossom Festival will culminate with the annual parade along Constitution Avenue, featuring blossom-inspired floats and costumes, marching bands and performers, including Grammy-winning pop singer Mya and "American Idol" runner-up Elliott Yamin. After the parade, head to the U.S. Navy Memorial for the 22nd annual Blessing of the Fleets, a traditional ceremony to guard the crews and ships from the dangers of the high seas.
"Mayday," the universal distress call, is herein sounded for a U.S. Navy in serious trouble. Even as the Navy continues to fulfill commitments around the world, the number of ships and aircraft is decreasing, and those that remain are aging at an unacceptable rate.
On Sunday, June 25, 1950, the Korean People's Army attacked across the 38th parallel, captured Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, and began driving south. The battered South Korean army and their U.S. military advisers quickly were pushed into the "Pusan Perimeter" on the southern tip of the peninsula - and U.S. President Harry Truman took the case to the United Nations Security Council.
The U.S. Navy has sent its most technologically advanced ship, the highly navigable 388-foot USS Freedom, to Singapore — even as the military is facing sequester cuts.
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, was the crime of the 20th century. Like many of the military and intelligence people I met while serving in the U.S. Navy and later as a Defense Department civilian employee, I believed Fidel Castro killed Kennedy. Kennedy attempted to kill the communist Cuban leader and the dictator announced publicly that he intended to return the favor.
Most Americans agree that we should put a stop to runaway spending in our country. How we accomplish this is the big question. Will the arbitrary, nonprioritized cuts of sequestration solve the problem? Probably not. Members of Congress are collectively stuck on partisan issues.
I joined the U.S. Navy two months after my high school graduation. I had been accepted into every college to which I applied. I chose to enter military service because I felt like I owed something to my country.
Chuck Hagel survived a rocky process and won Senate confirmation to become the next secretary of defense, surmounting a fizzled Republican filibuster on Tuesday — though he takes office chastened and potentially damaged.
Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta reaffirmed the value of aircraft carriers last summer, telling the crew of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) as it redeployed to the Middle East that carriers are key to American defense because they're "agile, deployable, on the cutting edge of technology and can defend the United States of America any time, any place, anywhere."
