Syria

Speaking Syria with Fox News's Liz Prann. My last 90 seconds is key. HAPPY NY!

Special Report - the final show of 2016!!

Last night I joined the Special Report panel. My time linked comments:

1 minute 29 seconds - Russia's message to President Obama and manipulation of Trump

6m19s - The challenge Trump faces vs. U.S. officials on Russia

36m39s - Why Trump cannot abandon Syria to Putin

38m05s - Trump is good on regulation, but he faces major structural challenges on economy. Namely, productivity, labor participation, skills gap

40m44s - WINNER of 2016 - John McLaughlin Following immediately LOSER of 2016 - Millennials for failure to reform entitlements

42m0s - NEW YEAR RESOLUTION - New McLaughlin Group

Resolutions

 

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: Three Opportunity-Centric Resolutions for Congress

Snake Oil

My latest guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: Democrats 'Day of Action' is Snake Oil

Erdogan

My latest @ National Review: Why and How Trump Must Get Tough on Erdogan

Harry Walker Agency

Via the Harry Walker Agency (HWA), I now have speaking representation! While I can always be approached independently via email - Trogan@McLaughlin.com or Thomas.RoganE@Gmail.com - prospective parties are now also able to book me via HWA. That page also offers links to previous speeches/possible speeches. 

As usual, all my TV/Radio links can be found here!

The Earth is Weeping

My latest book review @ The Washington Free Beacon: The Earth is Weeping

Video Post - ISIS Threats to the West

Following my recent National Review column on the Berlin attack, I Discussed Daesh's threat to the west

For the first 4 minutes - I discuss the challenge of monitoring extremists in Germany

At 2m40s -  I discuss Salafi extremism in Germany

At 4m20s - I discuss Daesh's focus on operational security

At 4m45s - I discuss the CT protective security measures being undertaken re: Christmas

At 6m10s - I discuss Daesh's special hatred for Christianity

At 7m20s - I discuss the ideological interlink in Daesh's hatred

At 8m50s - I discuss Daesh cell development in Europe - and CT detection

At 11m40s - I discuss the interlink between attacks and inspiration

At 12m20s - I take questions. First one on symoblic targets

At 13m30s - I discuss Daesh's desire to spark sectarian feuding around the world

At 15m30s - I explain why U.S. needs more boots on the ground

At 15m50s - I discuss why the U.S. should target terrorist recruiters

At the conclusion of my comments I argue that criticizing Islam per se is stupid. Here's why.

Some of the articles I reference

On the situation in Lebanon

On the murder of Father Hamel

On the Dusseldorf Terror Attack

Collected counter-terrorism writings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Nukes

My latest guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: 

Dear Millennials and Media, Don't Freak Out Over Trump's Nuke Comments

Small Businesses!

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: Democratic Policies Continue to Hurt Small Businesses

Why Unions are Waging War on the British Government

My latest guest @ Weekly Standard: Why Unions are Waging War on the UK Government

My latest @ National Review: 3 Reasons Germany is Centered in Daesh's Reticle 

Economic Policy

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: How GOP Governors can guide Trump on Policy

How Technology is Fighting Human Suffering

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: How Technology is Fighting Human Suffering

Vox

My latest @ Red Alert Politics: Vox vs. Free Speech

Cures

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: In Congress, A Victory for American Health

Saudi

My latest @ National Review: President Obama's Delusional Saudi Policy

See also: my comment on The McLaughlin Group re: Saudi moderates

Unions Hurting Britons

My latest guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: Unions Hurting Britons

F35

My latest guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: 

Trump is right to criticize the F-35. But he shouldn't cancel it

Aleppo

My latest @ National Review: 5 Things to Expect After Aleppo Falls

Some other related links: 
4m24s - Why the Sunni rebellion will not accept Assad
On Turkey kneeling to Putin
12m - On Putin displacing U.S. influence in the Middle East

JTrudeau

My latest guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: Trudeau the Great?

EITs

My latest @ Washington Free Beacon: 

An interview with the man who developed the CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Program

CNN articles

Please note, this page is updated as I write new CNN articles. Ignore the time stamp.

My latest guest piece @ CNN: 
Why Supporting Israel Need Not Mean Supporting Israeli Espionage Against the U.S.

My previous pieces for CNN follow...
 Why Mitt Romney Would be a Coup for Trump and U.S. Allies
Trumponomics could split the GOP in Two
Why Trump won't blow up the World
Why so many Americans hate Hillary Clinton
Why Thatcher was the 'Iron Lady'
How the Royal Baby Helps the Royal Family

Daesh in Europe

My guest piece @ The Weekly Standard: Britain and the Ongoing Daesh Threat to Europe

Some of my related links can be read here.

Time's New Poverty Report

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: The Good and the Bad in Time's New Poverty Report

Red Alert

My latest @ Red Alert Politics: Trump is Right on Air Force One

Internal Tariff

My latest @ Opportunity Lives: Trump's 35% Internal Tariff is Economic Fool's Gold

College

My guest piece @ Red Alert Politics: How College Administrators are Inflating Student Costs

A Flag-Burning Ban? Unconstitutional and Anti-Conservative

Last week, Donald Trump sent out a tweet: “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!”

Like so many of the President-Elect’s tweets, this one was simple but clever. Trump says there must be “consequences”, but then hedges by suggesting that “perhaps” flag-burners should lose their citizenship or face imprisonment. Doing so, Trump cultivates righteous anger under the pretense of his subliminal flexibility. By saying “perhaps”, Trump induces the support of those who might support lesser consequences than prison.

Yet Republicans should not sit idle in face of this tweet. Trump is not just a man, he is the soon-to-be leader of the free world. As Charles Cooke notes, Trump’s tweet is not a peripheral concern: it has the potential to become law. And if that were to happen, it would cut at the most sacred of conservative values.

The first value under threat is individual freedom. At its most basic level, conservative ideology is concerned with allowing individuals setting their own destiny. While conservatives must be more attentive to the diversity of human freedom, freedom from intrusive government is our supreme value. But by restricting flag burning, we would restrict the most crucial of freedoms: the freedom to speak on matters of political or public concern. That freedom matters not solely for the natural right it embodies, but in its verification of America. Where others, such as Daesh (or ISIL/ISIS/the Islamic State) wave their flags in service of bloody tyranny, we wave Old Glory in service of peaceful unity. That unity is why hundreds of millions of oppressed citizens have welcomed our arrival as liberators.

Nevertheless, our unity in freedom is not simply maintained.

Sourced in the 13^th century Magna Carta, the 18^th century enlightenment, and the moral courage of our founders, the American experiment remains a work in progress. Rightly, it will always be so. But just as our united freedom requires defense by our military, it requires sustainment by our united discourse. Namely, our ability to disagree with one another in service of both consensus and obstruction. That ability makes America exceptional. Even in the liberal democracies of Europe, governments do not trust their citizens with truly free debate. Instead, they impose restrictions on the content of political speech. In consequence, they chill the open articulation of controversial ideas.

These restrictions lead to a very dark place. Protecting hate from the cooling influence of the public square, anti-free speech laws foster resentment in the shadows. That resentment fuels the recruitment of extremist groups that make the Alt-Right look like Bernie Sanders supporters.

Yet there’s another threat here. Because Trump’s tweet also represents a problematic appropriation of Old Glory by the executive. While Trump might bear the pretense of acting in good faith, his tweet carries the power of his looming office. While the vast majority of us find the idea of flag burning repellant (personally, I regard the act as a despicable insult to those who have risked everything for America), Trump’s beliefs now carry great power. That matters because when it comes to free speech, the Constitution, not the President, must be America’s arbiter.

The founders established the Judicial branch for a reason: to ensure that the personal interests of one President or one Congress cannot easily dissolve the legal rights of the people. Free speech is the most important of all our rights. And writing the majority opinion in the 2011 case of Snyder vs. Phelps, Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts explained why the Constitution protects hurtful – and even hateful - speech.

“Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a nation we have chosen a different course—to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.”

Ultimately, that’s the key. Controversial, uncomfortable speech matters as much if not more than comfortable speech. Freedom is too important to be left to the whims of one leader. Its defense is incumbent upon all of us because all of us suffer in its absence. That is the lesson of history and of culture (read Orwell’s 1984…). And just as conservatives must challenge Trump, liberals must also look in the mirror. As I argued recently, when elite colleges like UVA face unions of anti-free speech students and faculty, we should all be concerned.