Energy Security Requires National Leadership
By Scott Rudder
The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, James Woolsey, issued a stark warning, based on a US government study, that the death of millions of Americans could be only weeks away due to our national power grid’s shocking vulnerability to man-made and natural disasters. Knowing that, you might assume that our national leaders are doing everything in their power to ensure that the grid is adequately protected and that tragedy will be averted. But you would be wrong.
Consider this, the United States is the most powerful country the world has ever known. We have the ability to cure the incurable, to explore the unexplorable, to give generously to our friends and to wreak devastation upon our enemies. We can do this because we, as a people, are inventive and determined, and we have the energy infrastructure to facilitate these amazing things. Simply put, our modern-day success is interdependent with our energy infrastructure.
Yet, all of this could come to a screeching halt through a single cyber or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from a rogue state or terror organization, or a major solar flare, known as a Carrington Event, which could plunge our nation into an extended blackout.
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Posted: November 16th, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Energy, Monmouth County, National Security, Opinion | Tags: Energy Council of New Jersey, Energy Grid, National Security, Opinion, Scott Rudder | Comments Off on The Power Grid – America’s Achilles’ Heel
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Yesterday, the House of Representatives defeated, 205-217, an amendment to the 2014 Defense Appropriations Bill that would have defunded the National Security Agency’s Domestic Phone Metadata program.
Congressman Frank Pallone was in New Jersey campaigning for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate which will be decided in the Special Primary on August 13. He did not vote on the measure.
The rest of the New Jersey delegation split, 4-7, to continue domestic spying.
Voting for the amendment (against the spying) were Republicans Chris Smith and Scott Garrett and Democrats Rush Holt and Bill Pascrell.
Voting nay (for funding the spying) were Republicans Rodney Freylinghuysen, Frank LoBiando, Leonard Lance and Jon Runyon, along with Democrats Rob Andrews, Donald Payne, JR, and Albio Sires.
Posted: July 25th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Smith, Congress, National Security, NSA | Tags: metadata, NSA, wiretapping | 6 Comments »
By Ernesto Cullari
iPad’s are great. Like most Americans who own one, I use mine to check work and personal e-mails. You probably check sports scores, update your Facebook status and send out an occasional Tweet. But you and I wouldn’t dare to think that it takes the place of human relationships and personal interaction. But did you know that President Barack Obama uses his iPad to read the Top Secret President’s Daily Brief (PDB), rather than attend these critical and time sensitive meetings with seasoned intelligence officers in person? Despite the turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere, author and investigative journalist Bob Woodward recently reported that President Obama does not “regularly attend security briefings”.
According to
History.com, PDB’s are like a laundry list of sensitive intelligence matters, configured in order of importance. They are vital lists containing time sensitive data that are pertinent to both our imminent and long-term national security. Each morning the head of the CIA and other intelligence branches are to meet with the President, so that they can explicate in detail any development that would catch the Commander in Chief’s eye. In fact, every President since JFK has attended the President’s Daily Brief in person, with the exception of Barack Obama.
Marc Thiessen and the Government Accountability Institute report that Obama has attended only 38% of all PDB’s in the last 3 years and 9 months.
That’s right, the leader of the free world prefers what amounts to treating America’s national security like a social network, where he can simply log on and log off or change his status to “offline” when he doesn’t want to be bothered with defending the nation. Resorting to simply reading the brief rather than meet with its authors amounts to gross negligence and dereliction of duty.
On September 11th 2012, Al Qaeda operatives stormed the American Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Terrorists then reportedly raped and murdered US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Two former Navy Seals were also murdered in the terrorist attack. After the embassy was stormed, a black Al Qaeda flag replaced the American flag.
Posted: September 20th, 2012 | Author: admin | Filed under: 2012 Congressional Races, 2012 Presidential Politics, 2012 U.S. Senate Race, Barack Obama, Bob Menendez, Ernesto Cullari, Frank Pallone, Media, Middle East, National Security | Tags: Barack Obama, Bob Mendendez, Ernesto Cullari, Frank Pallone, IPad | 2 Comments »
By Scott Rudder
