Twenty years after the nation was attacked by al Qaeda terrorists, it is time to remember those who fell that day, those who have since passed from health complications that were caused by conditions at the site of the attacks, and those who have fought since September 11th to disrupt terrorist organizations around the world.  With the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is also time to demand more from our elected and unelected officials to ensure our homeland remains secure and to account for why - after these past two decades - we have now turned Afghanistan back over to the very same individuals who harbored and actually participated in terrorist organizations set on doing us harm.

In the two weeks since the original episode on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the news on how this decision was handled just gets worse.  From leaving Americans behind to abandoning U.S. military equipment to the failure properly to coordinate with our allies, whether one supported a full withdrawal, the way this matter was carried out exposes a clear failure of leadership from the President to our  military brass.  The damage done to the nation and to those who served so honorably to keep our homeland safe is an affront to all American people.

Now that we are further into the pandemic and are confronting mutations of the Covid-19 coronavirus, it is time to look at what worked, what didn't, what we still don't know, and what we should consider when allowing the government to dictate our behavior.  Cries to follow the science have been shown not to be based on any settled science and life has been dramatically altered in ways that may cause more harm than the virus itself.

Debates can continue whether the war in Afghanistan was a success, a failure, a combination of successes and failures, and what the role of the United States should be in that nation going forward.  It cannot be disputed or debated that our service men and women did a remarkable job dismantling al Qaeda and supporting the Afghan people.  What cannot be debated is that the Biden Administration's failure properly to plan for the withdrawal of United States troops has created the greatest national security threat our nation has likely faced in 20 years and has done a disservice to our own military members and our allies.

Where private property rights were a critical aspect of freedom and security, as recognized by our Founders, more recent movements attempt to devalue these rights in favor of more collective rights that do nothing to encourage hard work and independence and instead seek to make use more reliant on government and to allow government access to the fruits of our own labor for their own projects for public good.  Where private property rights are lost, so too is freedom.

The sudden rise of Big Tech companies - Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and a handful of others - raises questions about how much freedom we have voluntarily given to these monopolistic companies.  With more recent actions to censor user content, the question what place these companies truly should have in our society is more important than ever.  A consideration of the market share now held by Big Tech and the role these sites and apps play in our daily lives, demonstrates how much data is being collected about us to influence our very thoughts and opinions.

The recent protests of Cuban citizens chanting, “Abajo de la dictadura” (down with the dictatorship), and Libertad (Freedom) have shone a light back on this oppressive country, reminding us of the evils of Communism as they have been imposed there.  Where memories of the Cold War have faded - for those who have any such memories at all - it is time to remember just what we are fighting when we oppose Communism, at home or abroad.

Given the recent calls to end the filibuster, moves by state legislators to abandon their elected positions to deny a quorum for consideration of legislation, and the imbalance created by imposing term limits on only one of the two political branches of our federal government, it seemed a good time to take at least an introductory look into the legislative process.  The genius of our founders lies not only in the structure of the government but in the manner of selection; no more has that genius been altered than in the selection of our Senators.

As the 20th century moved forward, it became accepted dogma that every student should complete high school and complete college.  Unfortunately, the decrease in the value of much of what is being taught - or not taught - on our campuses of higher education and the increase in the cost has done a disservice to many.  While neglecting to allow students to pursue vocational studies that would have provided them much needed skills for them and our society, this situation has also instilled in many college-educated students an entitlement to some lifestyle regardless of whether they received and succeeded in obtaining a valuable education.

Athletes competing in the Olympics - though no longer amateurs - should understand that the Olympics allows them to shine individually but while serving as representatives of their country.  They are not there for their own achievements alone, but as part of an international competition.  What happens as a part of this series of athletic events affects international policy and relations such that only those proud and supportive of America should be permitted to don the red, white, and blue to represent her.