Getting Away From Politics for a Minute…

For those of you out there who enjoy the pleasures of a fine cigar, I thought I'd let you know that I've become a reviewer over at the cigar review site CigarJack.net. My first review, of the La Gloria Cubana Wavell Natural, can be found here.La Gloria Cubana is in General Cigar’s large brand of products, and this particular ...

OTB Radio - Tonight at 7 Eastern

The next episode of OTB Radio, our BlogTalkRadio program, will record and air live tonight from 7-8 Eastern. Dave Schuler and Alex Knapp will be joining me tonight to talk about the Pennyslvania primary results and other topics. Please join us. We'll also be taking your calls at (646) 716-7030. You can play the show, subscribe to its ...

Bloggers Create Ruckus at Newsweek

OTB's Campaign 2008 coverage will be featured on Newsweek.com's new Ruckus group blog. Media Bloggers Association president Robert Cox has the details: Media Bloggers Association (MBA) and Newsweek have launched "The Ruckus," a new group blog about politics for Newsweek.com. The blog will feature posts from nine MBA-member bloggers about the presidential campaign on a single page, giving Newsweek.com readers ...

What the Experts Really Said About Iraq

My latest for TCS Daily, "What the Experts Really Said About Iraq: As it Turns Out, Not Much," is up. It looks at the recent blogospheric debate about the foreign policy Establishment's role in the Iraq War debate. After an extensive review of the archives at Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and International Security from 2002 and 2003, I found that ...

New War and the Threat to Globalization

TCS Daily has published my full interview with Brave New War author John Robb as "New War and the Threat to Globalization." One excerpt: Joyner: You say that the Global War on Terror could take down the United States as a Superpower in much the same way that the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s, "driven to bankruptcy by a ...

Brave New War - Review and Interview

My review of John Robb's important new book, Brave New War, is up at The Examiner. John Robb has spent his career studying terrorism, computer systems and risk management. He has brought these experiences to bear in this vital study of global terrorism. The view is bleak. The terrorists are not only winning, they are unstoppable. We’re wasting trillions on defense and ...

Armed Diplomats - State and Stability Operations Collide

John Burgess and I have written a piece for TCS Daily that has just been published under the title, "Armed Diplomats? When State and Stability Operations Collide." It looks at the difficulties of integrating the enormous skills available within the State Department into hazardous national reconstruction missions such as that underway in Iraq.

Netiquette: How to Befriend a Blogger

My first piece for The Politico, co-authored with Adfero's Jeff Mascott, is out. They've titled it, "Netiquette: How to befriend a blogger." A better title would probably be, "7 Tips for Staying off Bloggers' Spam Lists."

Preparing for the Next War

My first article for The New Individualist, "Preparing for the Next War," has finally gone online. It was written in February and published in the April issue, which hit the streets in late March. Here's the intro: “Perhaps there is no great point in recalling all the tragic and idiotic blunders, all the false optimism, all the unrealism of the first ...

Depoliticizing Crime and Decriminalizing Politics

My latest for TCS Daily, "Depoliticizing Crime and Decriminalizing Politics," is up. The intro: "The recent flap over the Bush Administration's firing of eight U.S. attorneys has demonstrated the escalation of two related and unfortunate trends in American politics: the politicization of crime and the criminalization of politics." Much more at the link.

Army as Border Patrol

AP's John Milburn examines the use of active duty U.S. Army forces to help patrol our border with Mexico. I was interviewed for the piece to provide reaction to the argument that such use would help "train" the military. By providing extra eyes and ears for agents, helicopter crews from Fort Riley and Fort Carson, Colo., were learning to operate ...

Following Al Gore’s Example for Energy Use

My latest for TCS Daily, "Following Al Gore's Example for Energy Use," is now up. It's my reaction to the Al Gore's Big Giant House meme that swept the blogosphere overnight. An excerpt: Regardless of what Al Gore preaches about these matters, the way he lives strikes me as reasonable. He was of the manor born, to be ...

Saban’s Pay is Inconsequential

The Tuscaloosa News picked up my TCS Daily piece on the economics of college coaching pay, publishing a slightly longer version under the headline, "Saban’s pay is inconsequential" in today's edition.

Kennedy, Congress, and the Surge

Senator Edward Kennedy yesterday outlined in a speech to the National Press Club and a column at the Huffington Post his arguments for a bill to “prohibit the use of funds for an escalation of United States Forces in Iraq above the numbers existing as of January 9, 2007″ absent specific congressional authority to do otherwise. His stated goal is ...

Nick Saban’s Salary

My latest for TCS Daily, "Crimson with Envy: Why Nick Saban Makes More Than Your Kid's Teacher," is posted. It was sparked by the USA Today headline "Alabama: 45th in helping kids, No. 1 in paying coach" and other criticisms of the eight year, $32 million salary my alma mater paid to lure Saban away from the NFL's Miami ...