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.

Federal Government and Snow Days

Snow days are no longer automatic vacation days for federal workers.

Obama Ambassador Follies

President Obama is rewarding unqualified hacks who raised huge sums for his campaign with ambassadorships.

Soldiers and Priests: A Contrast in Professional Ethics

My latest for The National Interest, “The U.S. Military’s Ethics Crisis,” has posted.

Obama’s Kill Rules Keeping Obama From Killing

President Obama’s new rules for killing Americans with drones are proving inconvenient.

Foreign Journalists Harassing Russian Gays More Than Putin?

Some perspective from Sochi.

“Fuck The EU,” Says America’s Top Europe Diplomat

Victoria Nuland, Asistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, pithily expressed her frustrations about the European Union.

Leroy Petry, Medal of Honor Recipient, Retiring from the Army

Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry, recipient of the Medal of Honor for gallantry in Afghanistan, is medically retiring from the Army.

TSA Touts Toothpaste Tube Terror Threat

Just when it became safe to keep your shoes and tablets on, a new threat to the friendly skies has emerged: toothpaste.

ObamaCare Will Push 2 Million Out of Work! And That’s a Good Thing!

A CBO report on the Affordable Care Act is getting a polarized reading.

Middle Class Shopping Less at Lousy Stores, Eating Less at Lousy Restaurants

Demand for mid-range goods and services seems to be on the decline.

Army Recruiting Fraud Scandal

Hundreds of soldiers allegedly scammed a system that awarded bonuses for referring recruits.

Medal Fatigue

The US military needs to cull and standardize its bloated award system.

Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead at 46

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is reportedly dead of a drug overdose at the age of 46.

Mitt Romney 2016

A certain wealthy man with good hair is doing very well in a meaningless poll.

US Capitol Rotunda US Capitol Rotunda

Henry Waxman and What’s Wrong with Congress

Ordinarily, when a man retires from a job after four decades at the age of 75, the reason is self-evident.

Amazon as Non-Profit

Does it matter if companies make a profit?

Twice as Good with Half as Much

Ta-Nehisi Coates explores his complicated reaction to the first African-American president.

Amanda Knox and Double Jeopardy

The American justice system is unique.

Snow and the South

Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett explains “Why the South Fell Apart in the Snow.”

Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias to Launch New Venture Doing News That Isn’t New

Ezra Klein has put out a teaser of the project that he left WaPo to pursue.

Does International Aid Work? Who Knows?

Two experts debate the topic, demonstrating how little we really know.

Republicans Haven’t Reformed But May Win Anyway

Republican leaders continue to say stupid things. They may still retake the Senate in November.

Dinesh D’Souza Indicted for Campaign Finance Fraud

Dinesh D’Souza has been indicted by a federal grand jury for being incredibly stupid.

Should Obama Schmooze Republicans More?

Conor Friedersdorf turns the oft-asked question on its head.

Who Should Pay Child Porn Victims? And How Much?

A man who viewed two photographs of a child abuse victim has been ordered to pay $3.4 million in damages.

The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

Apple Fixing iOS 7 ‘White Screen of Death’

Apple is pledging to fix a bug in iOs 7 that I have never experienced and never heard of.

Why Owning Beats Renting, Digital Music Edition

One of the perils of the Internet age is that companies constantly go belly up, leaving their customers in a lurch

Volokh Takes The Boeing

On the day that news broke that Ezra Klein and Wonkblog are leaving the Washington Post, the Volokh Conspiracy made its debut there.

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Wife Charged in Federal Corruption Case

Less than a month out of office, the Old Dominion’s former chief executive is facing 14 counts.

Ezra Klein Going Solo

Wonkblog’s founder is leaving the Washington Post to start a new media outlet of his own.

Jawa Report Turns 10

Blogging has changed much over the last decade, and not all for the good.

Do What You Hate?

The advice “Do what you love. Love what you do” is not without pitfalls.

Alexandros Petersen Killed in Taliban Attack

Dr. Alexandros Petersen, a scholar of Eurasian energy and a former colleague at the Atlantic Council, was killed in a bomb blast in Kabul.

Scientific Research Is Unreliable, Unreliable Scientists Report

Most peer-reviewed research is crap.

Jon Huntsman New Atlantic Council Chairman

Former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman succeeds Chuck Hagel.

Ronald Mataconis, 1937-2014

Our profound condolences to Doug Mataconis on the loss of his father.

Iran Says It Will Begin Dismantling Some Nuclear Materials

Iran has promised to roll back parts of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Political Polarization vs Political Warfare

Polarization is not the cause of our problems.

The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of street, bicycle, asphalt, vehicle, hat, park bench, homeless, stockholm, packing, baby carriage, drifter, norrm larstrand , taken with an DMC-FS10 01/29 2017 The picture taken with 10.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/640s, ISO 80 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

Gates Insulted Obama Predicted Gates’ Actions

Dave Weigel has identified “The funniest part of Robert Gates’ very serious new memoir.”

Writing and Drinking

Many of America’s great writers were alcoholics.

Israel Appoints First Female Battalion Commander [UPDATED]

The IDF has finally put a woman in command of a battalion. They’re decades behind American forces.

Al Qaeda Runs Falluja Now

If you’re still not convinced that we lost the war in Iraq, this should settle the argument.

Sequestration and the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel

Chief Justice Roberts is sounding the alarm over deep cuts to the public defender program.

Marines Delay Female Fitness Standards

The Marine Corps’ plan to make women take the same fitness test as men has hit a wee snag.

F-35 Costs $182 Million to $299 Million Per Plane

Nobody gets the airplane they wanted but at least they’re paying more for the one they’re getting.

UPS and FedEx Ruin Christmas for Late Shoppers

UPS and FedEx underestimated their capacity needs and failed to deliver packages in time for Christmas.

Santa Shot in DC

A man dressed as Santa was shot in the back with a pellet gun while handing out presents to underprivileged children in Southeast DC. Naturally.

Judge Orders Criminal to Write ‘Boys Do Not Hit Girls’ 5000 Times

A Montana man has been ordered to write “Boys do not hit girls” 5000 times after a brutal assault against his girlfriend.