Harlan Ullman.

The visit of Donald Trump to Mexico and his extraordinarily clumsy speech on immigration that followed Wednesday evening have pre-empted a column on Russia.  While Mr. Trump may have reinforced his base, if elected, he has set in place a non-declared war with Mexico. This is not 1846 and the Mexican-American War we won.  Nor is there a single chance in the world that Mexico would pay for this great wall Mr. Trump would build to seal the border with south. America does have thousands of miles of sea coasts as well as a longer border with Canada.  What would Mr. Trump do with those? But the larger issue is [...]

Thirty years ago, two landmark efforts sought to impose “reform” on the Department of Defense.  The first was the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 that attempted to impose “jointness” on the Pentagon by fundamentally altering the personnel management system; making the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs the principal military advisor to the President; and creating a Vice Chairman.  The second was the Packard Commission that attempted reforming the acquisition process the same year.   Both endeavors were forced on a very unwilling Department of Defense by perceptions of colossal operational and procurement fiascoes.  The Desert One raid of April 1980 that failed to rescue U.S. personnel held hostage by Iranian “students” [...]

Most Americans believe that government is broken.  But what can be done, if anything, to repair a broken government?  One potentially immovable obstacle is a Constitution that may have outlived its usefulness.   The Constitution is based on the checks and balances of a divided government that maximize individual freedom and liberty by limiting the power of government while assuring citizens specific safeguards through the “Bill of Rights.”  However, divided government requires compromise and civility to function effectively.   Article I defines the Legislature.  As the first branch of government, the Founding Fathers believed that the two houses of Congress would govern the nation passing laws and regulations in line [...]