WSJ EDITORIAL: Ukraine's drone attack is a 'wake-up call' to U.S. about potential vulnerability

Will an increase in defense spending enable the U.S. to close 
the gap in the drone market? (WSJ video snapshot)

Ukraine's recent drone strike battering of some 40 Russian aircraft, sitting unprotected deep inside that country's borders, serves as a warning to the U.S. about the vulnerability of American military bases and the homeland, writes The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

At least 77 U.S. military installations are strategically placed in rural towns and more are in cities with less than 40,000 residents. The editorial suggests that rural communities may want to pay particular attention to military discussions about international drone warfare, domestic missile protections and U.S. drone production problems.

"The details about Ukraine’s daring operation are few, but Kyiv managed to sneak cheap drones across the border and use them to destroy costly Russian military assets," the editorial states. "The bang for Ukraine’s buck was considerable. You don’t have to be a fan of thrillers to imagine a similar scenario in the United States."

In light Ukraine's drone attack success, President Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense shield idea doesn't sound so outlandish, the WSJ board concluded. "The headlines are preoccupied with space-based interceptors. But the U.S. is exposed to many threats besides ballistic missiles — from drones and spy blimps to cruise missiles launched off submarines."

In 2023, the bipartisan Strategic Posture Commission "warned that the U.S. needs better integrated air and missile defenses against 'coercive attacks' from Russia and China, and such an attack could come from conventional weapons," writes the board. "In a crisis over the Taiwan Strait, Xi Jinping might threaten the Commander in Chief: Stay out of the Western Pacific or you never know what might happen to your pricey F-22s in Alaska."

The editorial cites a January report from Thomas Shugart and Timothy Walton at the Hudson Institute that criticized Air Force plans to protect new B-21 bombers with what they referred to as "sunshades." The report points out that a lack of structural protection "could leave aircraft 'exposed to threats, including lethal' unmanned aerial vehicles," the board adds.

Beyond the tragedy of Sept. 11, Americans are used to wars "fought far from home. . . but everyone in the U.S. will be on the front lines of the next conflict," the editorial states. "Political leaders could be doing much more to educate the country about this vulnerability, rather than boasting that the U.S. military is the best it has ever been. It isn’t."

Watch the entire WSJ video on China's drone dominance, here.

Opinion: Why America is still 'an experiment worth pursuing'

Abraham Lincoln wrote that while America's prosperity was dependent upon the union of the states,
'the primary cause' was the principle of 'Liberty to all.' (Adobe Stock photo)

Two hundred years ago, 19th-century French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville described the United States as "exceptional." Not even 10 years ago, Pew Research Center polls found Americans more upbeat than people in other wealthy nations. While not scientific, should you search "what's great about living in America?" or "what's great about being an American?" you'll discover pages upon pages richly filled with why America -- despite its failings and current political turmoil -- is still one of the best places to live in the world. In 2023, The Washington Post's Editorial Board offered an opinion on why Independence Day is still worth celebrating. Some lightly edited highlights are below.

There is a tide of worry about a lack of civic cohesion, intense partisanship, and, to some, a sense of hopelessness. July Fourth, however, is a day to celebrate, among other national virtues, the United States’ proven capacity for renewal and self-improvement. The staying power of our system comes from its ability to correct and recalibrate. Free elections and open markets create a dynamism that increases political and economic freedom.

The genius of America is that it’s built for give and take, accommodation and compromise, checks and balances, reform and reaction. People in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba aspire to freedom. But their systems don’t tolerate constructive dissent.

Yes, we hear people who should know better say things have never been this bad. Measured by almost every metric, the United States is better off than 200 — or even 20 — years ago. Start with economic well-being: The U.S.-led global order has brought millions out of poverty. America remains the capital of medical, technological and artistic invention.

The framers designed a self-healing system that also allows for moral growth. We carry the scars of the Civil War, the Jim Crow era, the Great Depression, McCarthyism, Watergate and Vietnam but came out of them a better people. The country that initially counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person twice elected a Black president.

So why are many Americans no longer as proud of their country? Corrosive partisanship is no small part of the answer. . . . Alarmingly, across party lines, just 18% of 18-to-34-year-olds say they’re extremely proud of this country. This generation grew up amid the dislocation of the Great Recession, seemingly endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, school shootings and active-shooter drills. . . . .With these frames of reference, fear and hopelessness are unsurprising. A decline in national pride ought not be viewed in isolation from daily events, but these events also provide evidence of this nation’s resiliency. . .

Fourth of July weekend events are good places for Americans
to hang out together and celebrate. (Adobe Stock photo)

Even the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border. . . is a reminder that this country remains a beacon of opportunity so powerful that people around the world are willing to take enormous risks to move into what they understand to be a promised land.

Between baseball and barbecue, let’s all take a deep breath. . . . Despite the corrosiveness of self-doubt and political tribalism, there is much to celebrate. American values have matured and endured, and while our union is still far from perfect, we continue to believe it’s an experiment worth pursuing."

Opinion: Americans must weigh in on how poorly the U.S. Postal Service is run before it's too late

The Postal Service boasts a 'jaw-dropping' 77% approval
rating. (Photo by Victória Kubiaki, Unsplash)

While Americans may not use the U.S. Postal Service as often as they did 20 years ago, it remains "a universally beloved federal agency. . . . second only to the Parks Service in public favorability (a jaw-dropping 77% approval rating, per Gallup ), writes Vishal Shankar in his opinion essay for Common Dreams, "The Public Has a Right to Know Every Detail of Louis DeJoy's Destructive Agenda." The Postal Service is arguably also the most frequently-interacted-with component of the federal government: packages and letters are delivered to Americans' mailboxes six days per week. But many of the Postal Service operations are changing under DeJoy, and critics say his leadership has led to slower delivery, significant price increases and less accountability. With a Postal Board of Governors as the only body that can censor or fire DeJoy, the public must stand up for what they hold dear, according to Shankar. "The future of the people's most treasured public institution depends on public participation and feedback." 

At a time when public trust in government is at near historic lows, the Board and Dejoy have worked to restrict public access to comment or meeting participation. "At least four times per year, the Board "holds an open session meeting, its sole formal contact with the public. In recent years, these meetings have concluded with a well-attended public comment period, where in-person and virtual attendees have excoriated DeJoy for embracing a privatization-friendly agenda," Shankar explains. "Just this year alone, public commenters at Board meetings have decried the mail slowdowns and price hikes, demanded changes to DeJoy's gas-guzzling and union-busting fleet plan, raised serious concerns about transparency of DeJoy's facility consolidation plans, and pushed DeJoy to expand community services offered at the post office."

But in its last open session meeting in November, the Board banned public attendance and comments without explaining why. "This abrupt new barrier to public accessibility led the number of public commenters – which in recent meetings has been a double-digit tally – to drop to 4," Shankar adds. "The decline in attendance was also likely compounded by an unexplained shift in the meeting time: whereas past meetings have been held at 4:00 pm ET, Tuesday's session was held at noon – the middle of the workday."

The Board began suppressing public input before this November's meeting. "At the August 2023 meeting, each public commenter was allotted only 25 seconds to speak, in sharp contrast to the typical 3-minute time limit," Sharkar notes." But next year, the Postal Board's accountability problem will worsen. Postal Board Deputy Secretary Lucy Trout explained that starting next year, the Postal Board will only hear public comments once per year in November. In other words, though the next three Postal Board meetings (February, May, and August 2024) are ostensibly 'public sessions," members of the public will have no opportunity to inform the Postal Board about their concerns until a year from now."

The Postal Board needs to drop its suppressive tactics and "reverse course by allowing both in-person and virtual public comments at all open sessions next year, and take further steps to improve accountability by responding to public comments and posting recorded comment sessions to the USPS website," Sharkar writes. "Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration must publicly call out this shameful barrier to transparent government and fast-track filling Postal Board seats with anti-DeJoy, pro-accountability reformers. . . .The future of the people's most treasured public institution depends on public participation and feedback – that's how public service works."

To read a detailed account of USPS history under DeJoy's leadership and ideas on how to engage with the Postal Service, click here.

Military veterans identify the best employers who support and value them; Forbes magazine has the latest rankings

In celebration of Veterans Day, Forbes magazine has released its fourth annual listing of "America's Best Employers For Veterans 2023." The magazine partnered with market research firm Statista and "surveyed 8,500 veterans (those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Reserves or the National Guard) working for companies with more than 1,000 employees," reports Rachel Rabkin Peachman of Forbes. 

Healthcare and tech companies and government agencies received some of the highest rankings, with the U.S. Department of Energy finishing first on the list, followed by Ricoh USA. "What these employers have in common is a deep commitment to hiring and valuing members of the military," Peachman writes. "Ricoh USA, for one, seeks out military talent through career fairs. . . .The company also supports military-related leaves of absence and donates to such organizations as Wounded Warriors. . . What's more, Ricoh prioritizes partnerships with veteran-owned businesses, and, according to Venable, the company grew its spending with veteran suppliers by 30% in 2022."

The highlighted companies are not the norm, and ex-military job hunters cite stereotypes such as "all military members have PTSD" or all are "drill sergeants who don't know how to assimilate into a civilian environment" as reasons employers avoid hiring veterans, Peachman explains. "The key for employers is to learn about what military experience can entail. . . . In turn, veterans can increase their chances of landing the right job by learning how to translate their military skills into terms a civilian employer may understand. That way, recruiters don't have to wonder what it means to lead a battalion or guess about what airmen technicians do."

NASA ranks #38 as a veterans employer. (Forbes ranking)

In a nation where around 200,000 service members leave the military each year, "companies seeking top talent have a pool of motivated, skilled and highly trained" candidates, Peachman reports. "Hiring veterans, with their diverse experiences and expertise, not only adds value to an organization's workforce but also qualifies employers for tax credits."

It's worth noting that rural Americans are more likely to serve in the military. The U.S. 2010 census found that only 16% of Americans live in rural areas, and yet 24% of all veterans do, says a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. An even greater percentage of military members come from rural areas. Find Forbes' full list here.