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I’ve written before here1 about some of the problems in the United States armed forces that make the idea of reform – and we badly need reform! – problematic; indeed it is problematic to the point of preposterous. I’m going to talk now about one of the phenomena that goes into that: the excess of officers. Mostly, I will center on the Army, but the problem cuts across the services and cross-fertilizes from one to the other. Note: I am pretty dispassionate and objective about this sort of thing. If it offends anyone, tough. Most of you knew that, right?...

President Obama labeled the U.S. government "the most important organization on earth" and said that he'd "squeeze every last little bit of opportunity" from his position as president of the United State over the next two years. Watch here:

Billionaire Paul Allen says he'll contribute at least $100 million to the fight against Ebola. The Microsoft co-founder said Thursday that among the initiatives he's supporting is the development of two medevac containment units that the U.S. State Department can use to safely evacuate health workers who become infected. Allen, who is worth more than $15billion, said he's working with the World Health Organization to increase its capacity for handling the logistics of transporting international aid workers, and he's establishing a fund to help cover the costs of emergency transportation of the workers.

White House press secretary Jay Carney could not offer a tangible reason to explain why it took the Obama administration two years to label Boko Haram a terrorist organization Friday on MSNBC. He cited a number of lesser measures the administration implemented to address the group’s heinous acts, but stopped short of stating what kept Boko Haram off the State Department’s terror organization list between 2011 and 2013: KRISTEN WELKER: It took two years for that to happen from 2011 to 2013. Why did it take so long? JAY CARNEY: The fact is we have been working with Nigerian government...

"The spread of polio around the world has become so serious it is now an international public health emergency, the World Health Organization warned today. The agency said the problem could grow in the next few months and unravel the nearly three-decade effort to eradicate the crippling disease. It described current polio outbreaks in Asia, Africa and the Middle East as an 'extraordinary event' that required a coordinated international response. It was the first-ever international alert on polio. 'Until it is eradicated, polio will continue to spread internationally, find and paralyze susceptible kids,' Dr Bruce Aylward, who leads WHO's polio...

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PEMBROKE, Mass.—Hugh Crossen found himself well into retirement and a little adrift. The former salesman missed meeting new people. As a hobby, he maintains a collection of 7,000 restaurant menus, but he says his wife, Joyce, "isn't as tickled with it as I am." "It takes up a lot of space in the cellar!" says his spouse. Fortunately, Mr. Crossen, who is 77 years old, found a new audience in the "Dull Men's Club," a regular gathering in this town south of Boston. There is no agenda other than to salute the quiet eccentricities of everyday life. The club started...

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS MISSISSIPPI LAW THAT COULD SHUT DOWN STATE’S ONLY ABORTION CLINIC By Madeleine Morgenstern Anti-abortion advocates stand outside Mississippi's only abortion clinic. A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked a new law that could see it shut down. (AP) JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law that could shut down the only abortion clinic in the state. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan in Jackson issued a temporary restraining order the day the new law took effect. He set a July 11 hearing to determine whether to block...

Color of Change, a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that engages in lobbying and public advocacy, is organizing a campaign against the “stand your ground” self-defense laws in a variety of states, particularly in Florida as a result of the Trayvon Martin incident that took place in Florida. Color of Change was founded in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones. Rucker previously directed Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org — one of multiple groups funded by George Soros. Jones served as Special Advisor for Green Jobs in the Obama administration, a position from which he resigned after it was exposed that he belonged

It is likely that someone at the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential donor information showing a contribution from Mitt Romney’s political action committee to the National Organization for Marriage, says the group. In a letter exclusively obtained by The Daily Caller, the organization has asked the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to “investigate and learn the source of the breach and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.” It also provided evidence suggesting the leak might have been the result of “IRS employee misconduct.” The dispute stems from a March 30 post on the pro-gay...

While the Republican presidential candidates have been battling in Florida and other state primaries, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has been quietly putting together what aides say will be the biggest grass-roots campaign organization in Florida history. Obama campaign staff members won't give out numbers about their organizing effort — how many paid staff and volunteers, or of the "neighborhood team captains" they say are the linchpin of the effort. Obama, she said, "is a community organizer at heart. Our neighborhood team model is based on people organizing in their neighborhoods." Despite the campaign's reluctance to provide numbers, it's clear...

There are nine Republican presidential candidates on Tennessee’s primary ballot, but four of them have no committed delegates to the party’s nominating convention. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads in delegates, while onetime House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have substantial numbers committed to their campaigns, according to The Knoxville News Sentinel. Ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has three delegates. GOP candidates with no delegates committed to them include U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, onetime Louisiana Gov. Charles “Buddy” Roemer and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. Party rules allow...

Four Republican presidential candidates — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Rep. Ron Paul — submitted petitions Thursday in time to qualify for Virginia's March 6 Republican primary. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman did not submit signatures with Virginia's State Board of Elections by Thursday's 5 p.m. deadline and will not be on the primary ballot. The candidates who submitted the required signatures must clear another hurdle. The Republican Party of Virginia has until Tuesday to certify which candidates qualify....

As many commentators have already noted, the pursuit of the Republican Party’s nomination for president has been one of the most — if not the most—unpredictable races in the modern era. And votes are yet to be cast. No candidate typifies the capriciousness of the race thus far better than Texas Gov. Rick Perry. And now Perry, once thought to be written off, is polling in double-digits again in Iowa and South Carolina. What makes Perry different from the others who rose just as quickly as they fell is his strong grassroots organization. At the center of that organization is...

OKLAHOMA CITY – As we rapidly approach the month anniversary of the Occupy OKC movement moving into Kerr Park in downtown Oklahoma City, there is evidence that the small group of true believers are being split apart by egos and infighting. In the past week, Red Dirt Report has stopped by Kerr Park, talking to Occupants and trying to get a sense of how things are going. It's still largely unclear, but one thing is for certain - it is not the strong and seemingly unified organization it was on the day it was launched and that has been confirmed...

A few moments after we wondered when Gov. Rick Scott's pollster, Tony Fabrizio, would join Rick Perry's presidential team, Politico coincidentally reported that Republican campaign sources say he has or will soon. Fabrizio has been in talks with the campaign since and before Perry's disastrous performance at the Republican Party of Florida's Presidency 5 straw poll. Just after the event, Perry sources had told people that Fabrizio was signing on. But Fabrizio, obviously, hadn't. Still, chances are the Politico piece is spot on. And, if so, it's bad news for Mitt Romney. Fabrizio, along with newly hired Perry ad-men Nelson...

Senior Aides to Texas Governor Rick Perry say they remain at least two, and as many as four weeks away from any final decision on whether to run for the GOP presidential nomination. Governor Perry is described as enthusiastic about the possibility and a reference to his wife Anita's encouragement yesterday, is actually a reflection of what aides say is many months of her agitation in favor of running. His time frame for getting into the race is about creating the financial network to fund a national campaign that goes big in every state, not state-by-state like others are now...

When President Obama came un glued like a papier-mache doll in a steam bath during his press con ference this week, I thought perhaps it might be because he lost an old argument with Hillary Clinton. But yesterday, when Obama hauled out Bill Clinton -- Hillary's No. 1 political ally and, secondarily, her husband -- I was sure of it. It's largely forgotten now, but during their lengthy primary battle, the two committed liberals' greatest disagreement wasn't over policy or their shared disdain for George W. Bush. It was over their different visions of the presidency. In a Nevada debate,...

Note to the Village People: The lyrics in your biggest hit need an update. The organization previously known as the Y.M.C.A. is henceforth to be called “the Y.” One of the nation’s most iconic nonprofit organizations, founded 166 years ago in England as the Young Men’s Christian Association, is undergoing a major rebranding, adopting as its name the nickname everyone has used for generations. “It’s a way of being warmer, more genuine, more welcoming, when you call yourself what everyone else calls you,” said Kate Coleman, the organization’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

In August 2006, two American Muslim charities were donors to an overseas organization while that organization personally brought close to $100,000 to the home of the head of Hamas. The two are still affiliated with this organization, an entity which curses and calls for resistance against the United States. This being the case, why do they continue to enjoy the privilege of having a federal U.S. tax exempt status? Why do they even continue to exist at all? The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has two charities — ICNA Relief and Helping Hand (HH). Both have a non-profit 501(c)3...