"The United States spends as much on defense as the next 10 nations combined. A rational assessment of defense spending would start with a simple question: What are we buying for all that cash?" writes mike mckenna. trib.al/2SPFzjT

"So, despite the world’s largest defense and national security budget, we can’t keep the peace, can’t resist the steady march of China, can’t resupply our own stocks of ammunition," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/SyX9DSz

"The simple reality is that the former president is not a particularly good debater," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/0Ue1UH9

"Despite the fact that each election is sold as the most important election in the history of the republic, none of them are. Political defeats and victories are ephemeral and fleeting. So it will be in 2024," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/omHIn2I

"In a democratic society marked by limited government and the preservation of fundamental, God-given rights, the things in one’s private life are more important than the things in the public sphere," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/wznDW5S

"When was the last time you had more than one conversation about a movie you had just seen in a theater?" asks mike mckenna. trib.al/2GfgYkc

"If we don’t get a firm grip on what went right and what went wrong and why, we are likely to repeat the lethal mistakes that were made in our efforts to address the coronavirus," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/WzOc8ZV

.mike mckenna: "There is not even coherence on fundamental facts such as how the disease originated. . . how many Americans died as a result of COVID, or whether the U.S. government supported the research that led to the creation of the virus." trib.al/PkbCWbX

"It is important to realize that the schools in these conferences are subordinating the interests of their student-athletes, chasing relatively small amounts of cash," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/oPQyqp3

.mike mckenna: "It is no accident that these same school 'leaders' have been fighting vigorously for years to prevent football players from sharing in the money they earn for the schools." trib.al/gNat3Wp

"Either China is an adversary or it is not. The administration has made clear what it thinks. It’s time for the Republicans to provide the same sort of clarity to the American people," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/6qFzsCH

"The difference between a successful administration and a failed one usually rides on the people with whom the president surrounds himself. He should be especially careful about those who will work in close proximity to him," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/yNuclL7

"Ballot disqualifications would be the ultimate attack on democracy. The decisions to include or disqualify Mr. Trump would be made. . . by secretaries of state in the various states, most of whom are partisan elected officials," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/kosOXlB

.mike mckenna: Agitators and provocateurs: Comparing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Donald Trump trib.al/BAKOcIr

"Negotiating with Mr. Tuberville would risk exposing that fact and the Democrats for the extremists they are with respect to abortion," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/v3GqVYa

"The reality is that Republicans in Virginia performed better in the 2023 legislative elections than in the 2021 legislative elections. They won in all the districts that Mr. Biden won by less than 9 percentage points in 2020," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/C9yObGG

"The Pilgrims knew all this and were grateful not for the harvest or the friendly Indians or whatever. They were grateful for God’s providential, watchful and caring love that was manifested in their lives," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/7n33Zso

"People are unlikely to take you seriously about defending democracy when you pick and choose when democracy is defended and when it isn’t," writes mike mckenna. trib.al/JkbiisQ

I need better make-up.

Stealing a section from the monthly note by mike mckenna. The rule of law is too precious to play games with Christmas seems like the right time to talk about healing. We can’t let our political fights chip away at our foundation. Let’s get this right