Posts by James Joyner

James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

The Death of Cursive Writing?

Johnny can’t write, either.

Congress Orders Pentagon to Adopt Common Camouflage Pattern (Again)

The defense authorization law requires the Defense Department to go back to a single camouflage pattern.

Nick Saban Signs New $7 Million Contract at Alabama

Weeks of speculation that Texas would fire Mack Brown and hire Nack Saban were put to an end yesterday evening.

Keith Richards on the Making of “Street Fighting Man”

WSJ’s Marc Myers has a fascinating chat with Keith Richards on the making of one of the Stones’ iconic tracks.

WWII Vets Lobotomy Story: Tragic But Not Scandalous

Some 2000 veterans of World War II were lobotomized by the VA. That’s awful but not outrageous.

Defense Bill To Be Rammed Through Without Debate or Amendment

Democracy was nice while it lasted.

Feds Sell GM Shares for $10.5 Billion Loss

The federal government lost $10.5 billion on the GM bailout. Was this a good investment?

Innumeracy is Perfect for Entertaining

Wall Street Journal was looking hard for a story.

Lesbian Marine Waitress Lied About Tip Story

Recently, a waitress and former Marine drew an outpouring of sympathy after claiming a religious couple left a message insulting her lifestyle instead of a tip.

Peter Higgs Not Productive Enough for Today’s Academy?

Nobel physicist Peter Higgs says he could not make it in academia today.

Obama’s America Iron Bowl Cartoon Controversy

Irony is officially dead.

Bugatti Veyron Close-out Sale

Legendary Italian auto maker Bugatti is discontinuing the Veyron and needs to remove the remaining inventory at the ridiculously low price of $1.3 million.

No Fighter Escorts For Santa

You know the Defense budget is getting tight when we can’t spare a few measly fighter planes to escort an imaginary character.

Bashir-Palin vs. Limbaugh-Fluke

Marin Bashir’s ugly comments about Sarah Palin are being compared to Rush Limbaugh’s ugly comments about Sandra Fluke.

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The Dumbest Argument for Restoring the Draft Yet

Dana Milbank offers a nonsensical reason for denying our youth the freedom to choose their own path.

US Orders Airliners to Comply with Chinese Notification Demands

Even as it defies China’s illegal territorial claims with military flights, the Obama administration is urging US airlines to comply.

Army to Discharge Sex Offenders Regardless of When Convicted

The Secretary of the Army has ordered discharge proceedings to begin on all convicted sex offenders.

Army Looking for a Few Average-Looking Women

A leaked internal email has the Army in hot water with feminists.

Four Women Complete Marine Infantry Training; Marines Deem Pullups Too Dangerous for Women

The juxtaposition of two stories in the Marine Times strikes me as odd.

Military Benefits vs Military Readiness

Without hard choices on pay and benefits, the Pentagon will have to make big cuts in readiness.

World Safer But More Dangerous Than Ever

Robert Kagan warns of “a changing world order.” But he’s grasping at rather thin straws.

Jimmie Johnson Wins 6th NASCAR Championship

Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt have company.

Justice Department and Prosecution of Glenn Greenwald

Does the Attorney General really think advocacy is a crime?

Veterans Who Aren’t Veterans

Phil Carter draws attention to “The Vets We Reject and Ignore.”

Obama Apologizes to People Who Lost Lousy Insurance Because of ObamaCare

President Obama has apologized for breaking his “If you like your plan, you can keep it” pledge. Does he have anything to be sorry about?

Sick Man Too Fat to Fly on British Airways

A 500 pound French man was denied a return flight by British Airways.

Solar Eclipse of the Moon, Time-Lapse Video

Time-lapse video of Sunday’s solar eclipse of the moon as seen from Key West

No, America’s Generals Aren’t Planning a Coup

A bizarre hit piece in National Journal gives the false impression that our military leaders are considering removing the president.

TSA Agent Killed in LAX Shooting, First in Agency’s History

I’m happy that these incidents are so rare. But I can’t explain why it’s so.

Pentagon to Fight 9 States Denying Same-Sex Guard ID Cards

Fifty years after the Stand in the Schoolhouse door, there’s another standoff with recalcitrant states on civil rights.

White Male Privilege Exists, Defense Department Points Out

A Pentagon Equal Opportunity training manual points out the obvious.

Obama Hits Majority Disapproval

A majority of Americans now disapprove of President Obama’s performance and a whopping 70 percent think the country is moving in the wrong direction.

Syrian Chemical Weapons Equipment Destroyed Says Syria

The Syrian regime has declared its ability to make chemical weapons destroyed.

Marines Deem Dan Daly Hat Too Girly

Few subjects rile members and veterans of military service more than changes to the uniform.

Michelle Obama Went to School With Woman That Works at Company That Built ObamaCare Website

The faux scandal of today comes to us courtesy of The Daily Caller: “Michelle Obama’s Princeton classmate is executive at company that built Obamacare website.”

Voter ID Laws Cause Problem For Married Women

Women in Texas who changed their name when they got married may have trouble voting.

No Sex Please, We’re Japanese

The good folks at The Guardian wonder, “Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?”

NSC Nonproliferation Director Fired for Tweeting

Jofi Joseph was unmasked as the obnoxious @NatSecWonk and fired by the White House.

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AP Fires Reporters Who Falsely Reported McAuliffe Lied to Feds

Two veteran reporters, including the dean of the Virginia press corps, have been fired by the AP after falsely reporting that Terry McAuliffe lied to federal authorities.

Review: Bacevich’s Breach of Trust

My review of Andrew Bacevich’s latest book, Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country.

The Shutdown and the Damage Done

My latest for The National Interest, “The Military and the Shutdown: Assessing the Damage,” is out.

Nobody For Virginia Governor

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has endorsed “none of the above” for governor of Virginia.

Women Were Nazis, Too

Wendy Lower documents the half-million women who helped Hitler carry out the Holocaust.

First-Semester Grad Student Upends Entire Field

Nick Brown spelled bullshit and managed to debunk an entire academic subfield.

Political Science and the Syrian Civil War

If the Syrian civil war is like other civil wars, it’s not ending any time soon.

Sorry State of Affairs at Grambling State

The iconic football program built by the legendary Eddie Robinson, is now a sad disgrace.