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No other U.S. Air Force aircraft could fly faster or higher than the Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird,” and on its final flight, it set a truly impressive record. The reconnaissance aircraft flew from the west coast of the United States to the east coast – some 2,404 miles – in just 68:17 minutes. During that flight, it traveled from St. Louis, Missouri, and Cincinnati, Ohio, a distance of 311 miles in about eight and a half minutes.

It certainly was not one of those "Tell your grandchildren" moments. For the second time in a year, Donald Trump was impeached on Wednesday afternoon in the House of Representatives by a vote of 232-197, which included 10 members of his own party, after a few hours of unmemorable speechifying. The most shocking thing about it was not not being able to read Trump's own reaction. If I were one of those commentators inclined to deal in facile superlatives, I would say that this is among the lowest points in the history of our much-vaunted lower chamber. Not because the...

The best defense is a good offense: a role the Heckler & Koch MK23 filled with ease. The story of the MK23 begins in 1991, with the Offensive Handgun Weapons Program. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) wanted to find an accurate, reliable sidearm that could provide more stopping power than the newly-adopted Beretta M9 pistol. Though the M9 was not an ineffective sidearm, its 9mm pistol ammunition afforded considerably less stopping power than the M1911A1 it replaced.

Biden’s proposal, which is expected to cost up to $2 trillion, could extend more help to households and businesses in addition to easing the burden on state and local governments. Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, was seeking a $1.3 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

With seven days left in President Donald Trump’s term, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted for a second time to impeach him—this time gaining some Republican support. The vote was 232-197, with 10 House Republicans joining all House Democrats. The House impeached Trump on a charge of “incitement to insurrection” based on his speech to a large crowd in Washington that assembled to protest Congress’ certifying the Electoral College vote for President-elect Joe Biden. Shortly after the president’s speech, a riot broke out about a mile away at the Capitol and hundreds broke into the building, resulting in the deaths...

Over at Fox News last night on Special Report with Bret Baier, pollster Frank Lutz revealed a very interesting finding: 91% of 2020 Donald Trump voters would vote for him again in the 2024 election.

Long the provenance of science fiction, laser weapons are quickly becoming the new norm. At the forefront? U.S. Navy destroyers. Coming to a Destroyer Near You It almost sounds like something from a sci-fi plot or Star Trek: A U.S. Navy destroyer is underway in the Arabian Sea, full steam ahead toward the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile, a group of Iranian fast-attack boats approaches, disregarding calls from the destroyer to change their course. They’re armed with various anti-ship missiles and are ready to blow an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer out of the water. But before they’re able to lob their missiles...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that al Qaeda “has a new home base” inside Iran and he confirmed the killing of al Qaeda’s No 2. leader. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, Pompeo said the terrorist group has “burrowed deep inside” Iran and “threatens the progress of the Abraham Accords.”

Interesting that the MSM didn't drop the moniker of rioter, or seeker of riots, on them back in 2015 or since then: CBS News, 8/31/2015: "Pigs in a blanket" chant at Minnesota fair riles police" "ST. PAUL, Minn. - Protesters in a Black Lives Matter march held outside the Minnesota State Fair over the weekend were captured on video yelling "pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon," a statement that some law enforcement members viewed as targeting police officers... St Paul Police Federation President Dave Titus told CBS Minnesota... I don't think chanting or singing what's basically promoting killing...

If you want to see my husband get pissed, call the United States, "our democracy." I dare you! "We are a Constitutional Republic," he'll growl with a glare and he's right. Or rather, we were. We got lost for awhile in a morass of incorporation, debt, wars and subtle changes in legal terminology. Now, thanks to President Trump, we are* a Constitutional Republic again. And this is the crux of why President Trump will serve as our President for the next four years. You see, the old incorporated UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (all caps) was dissolved months ago*. The Election...

On January 13, 1776, General Washington sat down to write a letter to the Massachusetts state legislature, reporting how dire their situation was. Such letters were unfortunately to become the norm throughout America’s long War of Independence; the General felt that the civilian legislature needed to be kept apprised of the state of the fight, and in particular, they needed to know how much more material support the troops required from their government. In January of 1776, the Continental Army had been conducting the Siege of Boston for eight months. That’s eight months of sitting, encamped outside the most important...

It is nigh impossible to look away from the chaos in Washington, but U.S.-Iran relations in the waning days of the Trump administration deserve a wary glance. Two U.S. bombers flew a “deterrence mission” in the Gulf region this past Thursday. U.S. Central Command has yet to release a statement on the flight, but an official described the last such mission in December as a means of ensuring “that if the Iranians do think they have a plan that’s executable, that they think twice before executing it, because they do see that we have a robust posture and presence still...

On Christmas Day last month, it was announced by Russian state media that a regiment in the Russian Southern Military District received quite a notable “present” – it was the first batch-produced Sukhoi-57 Felon multi-role fifth-generation fighter jet. At least another four of the jets could be provided to the Aerospace Force this year. “The Aerospace Force has obtained the first batch-produced Sukhoi-57 plane,” a source in the defense industrial complex told Tass. “It was delivered to a regiment in the Southern Military district.”

On January 10, 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a gathering of communist party officials that “The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, but time and the situation are in our favor.” Xi is wrong though. While countries around the world hide their dirty laundry—falsifying coronavirus death statistics, recasting concentration camps and forced sterilization as progressive, and quietly disappearing anyone who voices criticism—Americans not only parade it for all to see but also exaggerate it. The violence at the Capitol was a protest which spun out of control; it was not, as former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger...

Why everyone loves Barrett’s MRAD sniper rifle: It is incredibly light-weight, offers excellent accuracy, and most importantly: can be chambered in several calibers. American-Made Precision Barrett Firearms‘ status within the United States military is solid. The Tennessee-based firearm manufacturer has designed and built several extremely long-range sniper and anti-materiel rifles chambered in the .50 BMG heavy machine gun cartridge, as well as other larger diameter precision cartridges.

I have tried to distinguish two issues: whether President Trump committed impeachable conduct (he did), and whether that conduct is accurately described in the article of impeachment Democrats will propose today (the description is problematic). Relevant to that latter point, as I’ve previously detailed, is the title of the article: “Incitement to Insurrection.” My point here is not to rehash the problems I’ve already outlined. It is, rather, to look at the issue through the prism of my colleague Dan McLaughlin’s characteristically incisive and comprehensive essay on the insurrection-based disqualification from public office in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment....

In August 2020, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced that the second F-35I Adir squadron, the 116th Lions of the South based out Nevatim in the southern of the Middle Eastern nation, became operational six months after being formed. The squadron underwent an operational fitness inspection, during which its members were reportedly tested on various scenarios. More of a Good Thing Israel is now looking to add a third squadron of the domestically-modified Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In early January, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told the Ynet news that he hoped Israel could conclude a weapons deal...

Two and a half centuries ago today, Portugal’s noble Tavora family was extirpated in Belem....Seems someone got the idea that the Tavoras tried to kill (and more problematically, failed to kill) Portuguese king Joseph I. Circumstantial, torture-adduced evidence put the scheming Marchioness Eleonora de Tavora and clan behind an apparent assassination attempt, wherein a couple of assailants had shot at the king’s unmarked carriage as it returned on a little-used road from a rendezvous with his mistress. (One of the circumstances was that the mistress was a Tavora, which put the accused in a position to know the king’s secret...

Researchers in Ohio said Wednesday that they’ve discovered two new variants of the coronavirus that likely originated in the U.S. — one of which quickly became the dominant strain in Columbus, Ohio over a three-week period in late December and January. Like the strain first detected in the U.K., the U.S. mutations appear to make Covid-19 more contagious but do not seem like they will diminish the effectiveness of the vaccine, researchers said.

The submachine gun was developed during the First World War, and Germany’s MG18 is largely recognized as the first successful example of the new class of weapon. Typically chambered with pistol cartridges, such weapons gave extra firepower to NCOs, squad leaders, and scouts during the Second World War. 6 Best World War II Submachine Guns During the conflict, nations such as the United States supplied submachine guns to tankers and other troops who couldn’t carry a full rifle, while the SMG was also supplied by the German and British militaries to paratroopers and other elite soldiers. While picking out the...