National Security News

The Daily Signal provides reports on national and homeland security issues, including military readiness, intelligence operations, border protection, and global conflicts. Featuring news, analysis, and commentary, this section explores how security policy decisions affect America’s national defense and freedom.
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    • Opinion

    How the Judicial Confirmation Process Got So Bad

    The 50-48 Senate vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was the closest confirmation since 1881, when Justice Stanley Matthews was approved by a vote of 24-23. President Donald Trump may well get another Supreme Court pick before he leaves office and, in the meantime, he can certainly expect aggressive opposition to…
    Thomas Jipping
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    • Opinion

    Why Do Millennials Like Socialism? Betsy DeVos Cites Lack of Civics Education

    Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke to The Daily Signal this week about her efforts to restore local control of education, the Trump administration’s priorities for higher education, and the rising support of socialism among young people. An edited transcript of the interview is below. Full audio of the interview is available on The Daily Signal…
    Rob Bluey
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    • News

    Under Shadow of Russia’s War, Ukrainian Veterans and Families of Fallen Try to Move On

    KYIV, Ukraine—The trench lines of Europe’s only ongoing land war are six hours away by train from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. But you can hardly tell. Businesses and bars and universities and protests and politics—in other words, life—all go on and on despite the war. Yet, the war is always there. Distant and unseen…
    Nolan Peterson
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    • Opinion

    A Question for Harvard: Who Actually Wins From Racial Preferences?

    Sarah, a young African-American woman I’ve known for more than a decade, will apply soon to college. She’s gifted, motivated, and wise beyond her years. Sarah (not her real name) thrived in a neighborhood beset by sexual predators, addiction, and crime. I hope admissions officers will take into account the social and economic hardships she…
    Emilie Kao
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    • News

    Employer of Veterans Wins Fight With Union Over Worker Rights

    MADISON, Wisconsin—A small businessman who employs fellow veterans fought back against big labor and won. Scott Flaugher’s win in court eventually could be a victory for the freedom of workers and the right to work movement nationwide. Flaugher, owner of Colgate-based Veterans Electric, in large part prevailed in a lawsuit against the electrical contractor brought by administrators of…
    M.D. Kittle
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    • News

    Family Physicians Association Breaks Ranks, No Longer Opposes Assisted Suicide

    The American Academy of Family Physicians announced Tuesday that it no longer opposes physician-assisted suicide, instead taking a neutral perspective on the matter. AAFP’s adoption of “engaged neutrality” regarding physician-assisted suicide signals a marked splinter from the American Medical Association. AAFP President Michael Munger announced the change. The committee also recommended the procedure be referred to as "medical aid in…
    Grace Carr
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    • Opinion

    E15’s Not the Problem. Special Treatment for Ethanol Is.

    The Trump administration’s intention to authorize year-round sale of gasoline blended with a 15 percent ethanol mixture, announced Monday, perpetuates bad energy policy, both economically and environmentally. Having more options in what you buy is usually a good thing. However, E15, as it’s called, wouldn’t exist without mandates, subsidies, and preferential treatment from the federal…
    Nicolas Loris
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    • Opinion

    On a Slippery Slope, Canadian Hospital Unveils Physician-Assisted Suicide Plan for ‘Sick Kids’

    Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children recently unveiled a plan for how to terminate the lives of terminally ill kids—with or without parental consent. This next step for physician-assisted suicide in Canada is shocking, yet unsurprising, given international trends. European countries that have legalized physician-assisted suicide frequently expand the practice from the elderly or terminally ill…
    Monica Burke
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    • Opinion

    Filipino Leader Is Pushing a Socialist Constitution. It Makes a Mockery of Liberty.

    As U.S. politics heats up this fall, across the Pacific Ocean a political battle is unfolding in the Philippines that should interest citizens here in the United States. In 2016, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte began speaking of federalism as a means to calm unrest in the island nation. In January of this year, he appointed…
    Taylor Fischer
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    • News

    Poll: Almost a Third of Millennials Identify as Socialists

    Thirty-one percent of millennials identify as a democratic socialist or socialist, according to a study by Maru/Blue and BuzzFeed News released Thursday. Participants were first asked what description “best reflects your current political leanings,” before being given options ranging from “Strong Democrat,” to “Strong Republican” or “Independent.” A total of 22 percent identified as “Strong Democrat,” versus 10…
    Joe Simonson
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    • News

    Rating of US Military Strength as ‘Marginal’ Is Worrisome, Sen. Joni Ernst Says

    The military strength of the United States is rated as only marginal in a new report from The Heritage Foundation, and the first female combat veteran elected to the U.S. Senate finds that disturbing. “As the index indicates, the United States is facing increasing global threats in all domains of warfare,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa,…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    As Congress Rebuilds the Military, Tracking Progress Is Vital

    In recent years, perhaps no one has felt the pinch of budget cuts more than the U.S. military. Though Congress must remain responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, injudicious cuts to defense did unnecessary damage to our armed forces. Thanks to recent action from Congress, however, the military has cause for optimism. Congress took the first…
    Anna Macdonald
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    • Opinion

    Why Leftists Feel Entitled to Block Highways, Shut Down Speakers, and Harass Public Officials

    When I was in graduate school, I learned a lot about the left. One lesson was that while most liberals and conservatives abide by society’s rules of order and decency, most leftists do not feel bound to live by these same rules. I watched the way leftist Vietnam War protesters treated fellow students and professors….
    Dennis Prager
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    • Opinion

    Brexit Is Around the Corner. Here’s a Key Step to Renew the US-UK Special Relationship.

    It is undeniable that the United States and the United Kingdom have a “special relationship.” Throughout periods of global change, and in times of tumult and war, the Anglo-American relationship has been constant. We have stood beside each other through two world wars, the Cold War, and now in our confrontation with global terrorism in…
    Sen. Mike Lee
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    • Opinion

    Ideal US-UK Free Trade Agreement Supports the Special Relationship

    A group of 11 conservative and libertarian think tanks on Sept. 18 launched “The Ideal U.S.-U.K. Free Trade Agreement: A Free Trader’s Perspective.” Published by the Cato Institute, and its primary authors, Dan Ikenson and Simon Lester of Cato, it is not a plan for a free trade area, or a plea for one. It…
    Ted Bromund
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    • News

    Congress Joins President, First Lady in Focusing on Opioid Epidemic

    After the Senate passed the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 on a near-unanimous vote of 99-1 on Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., described the measure as “a big additional step to help combat this nationwide epidemic.” The Senate has just passed the landmark Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018. This legislation…
    Ginny Montalbano
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    • Opinion

    New York City Just Sent Its Transportation Industry Back to the 1930s

    At 5 o’clock on Aug. 14, New York City turned its clocks back to the 1930s. The Taxi and Limousine Commission officially stopped issuing licenses to most for-hire vehicles, effectively declaring war on Uber and Lyft in an effort to protect taxis from competition. This is the first of many steps that aim to constrain…
    Jason Snead
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    • Opinion

    Some Are More Equal Than Others in Socialist Venezuela

    It’s amazing how similarly “real” socialism turns out, every time it’s tried. In George Orwell’s book, “Animal Farm”—essentially the story of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, told through farm animals—there is an incredible moment where the animals, who suffer under the system of communism that they’ve created, come to a horrible realization that everything has…
    Jarrett Stepman
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    • Opinion

    I’m a Pediatrician. Here’s What You Should Know About a New Study on Transgender Suicide.

    A new study is out that examines the risk of suicide among transgender teens. The results confirm a long pattern of data: Transgender teens attempt suicide more frequently than adolescents generally. Unfortunately, this data may be used to pressure parents to put their children through radical transition-affirming therapies. This would be a serious mistake. The…
    Michelle Cretella
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    • Opinion

    We Hear You: Bad Apples at the IRS, State’s Security Breach Under Hillary, and Other Runaway Agencies

    Editor's note: Poorly run government programs prompt many a comment from the audience of The Daily Signal. We've got some of those in this roundup. Be sure to write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: The federal civil service system needs to be changed to make it less difficult to terminate employees for cause,…
    Ken McIntyre
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