David Keene
Columns by David Keene
Removing the military mindset in police departments
Reforms that will reign in the misuse of the police as well as the tactics and strategies employed by police agencies that don't understand this are long overdue. Published June 24, 2020
John Bolton’s opinionated style never a good fit for Trump administration
When Ambassador John Bolton joined the administration as President Trump's national security adviser, I wondered just how long he would last. I would have guessed three months; that he lasted 18 surprised me. Published June 18, 2020
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers’
Eric Engberg, one of my fishing buddies a couple decades ago, was an on-the-air reporter for CBS News for 26 years until he had emergency bypass surgery, bagged his television career in 2002, bought a used trawler and retired to Florida to fish and enjoy the good life. Published June 5, 2020
Governors can not ignore state constitutions to impose COVID-19 restrictions
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court found an extension of Gov. Tony Evers' lockdown unconstitutional, the governor blamed a "partisan" conspiracy between Republican legislators and the court. Published May 25, 2020
What Algeria can teach about coping with an economic crisis
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is committed to a course that may make Algeria a modern example of how to both weather a crisis and come out of it stronger than when it began. Published May 11, 2020
China’s inexcusable attempts to cover-up ‘Wuhan Virus’
President Xi Jinping almost single-handedly mismanaged China's response to the virus and is making his country a pariah rather than a respected and near-dominant power. Published May 6, 2020
Easing COVID-19 restrictions: Desperate citizens dismissed as deplorable Trumpsters
Demonstrators demanding that the COVID-19 restrictions on the way they live their lives so they can earn a living and avoid economic ruin have been condemned by many as short-sighted because we have not yet rid the country of the virus. Published April 27, 2020
Ignore crazy conspiracies about COVID-19 origin
It doesn't take a conspiracy theory to acknowledge that sometimes, to clean up an oft repeated truism, bad things just happen. Published April 17, 2020
Ambitious politicians like Andrew Cuomo and Gretchen Whitmer try to out-perform President Trump
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears daily to comfort the afflicted, warn the public of dangers still lurking out there and, hopefully, perform better than the current occupant of the White House who he apparently hopes viewers will conclude is far less sympathetic, dishonest and perhaps dangerous. Published April 15, 2020
No one got COVID-19 right early on, but critics now bend over backwards to blame Trump
America's liberal politicians and their media supporters want to survive the Wuhan pandemic, but seem just as interested in creating a narrative they can use against Donald Trump and his supporters. Published April 7, 2020
Henry Hyde would have been proud of pro-life Democrat Dan Lipinski
Congressman Henry Hyde, who shared Mr. Lipinski's views on abortion but probably disagreed with the man on much else, would have been proud to know that Illinois is still capable of producing such politicians. Published March 31, 2020
Surrendering American values during the COVID-19 pandemic could destroy the Republic
The American Republic may be dying. The U.S. Constitution, federalism and freedoms we have too often taken for granted have all fallen victim to a virus from far off Wuhan and the panic of our leaders and people. Published March 24, 2020
Current version of Joe Biden should not be running for president
It's time to ask whether former Vice President Joe Biden is up to the job he's after. Published March 15, 2020
Playing coronavirus politics: China puts Taiwan and world at risk
Nowhere are the potential risks of putting politics above all else more acute than in dealing with the various flu-like pandemics that have a tendency to emerge first in China and then spread to surrounding countries and the rest of the world. Published March 3, 2020
Democratic presidential wannabes pander to Bernie Sanders and the crazy leftists
Love him or hate him, Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders is the genuine article. He believes what he believes while the rest of the contenders look like what they are; panderers espousing views they adopted not out of principle, but for this campaign. Published February 27, 2020
The depressed, dismal Democrats have forgotten how to have fun
For whatever reason, the current Democratic field isn't entertaining and certainly doesn't seem to have much fun. Their parties, like their debates, must be dismal affairs. Published February 22, 2020
Iowa Democrats may turn to Michael Bloomberg
Voters may turn to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg of all people if Mr. Biden is seriously wounded in the early going and no one emerges from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina as a clear front-runner. Published February 1, 2020
The people of Taiwan have a country and are dedicated to keeping it
Communist rulers in Beijing have vowed since 1949 that they will retake Taiwan which they describe as a "breakaway province" by force if necessary, Published January 20, 2020
Virginia’s ‘Second Amendment Sanctuaries’
Elections have consequences. Virginia, which for decades had been considered reliably conservative, is now firmly in "progressive" hands and quickly morphing into one of the most liberal states in the East. Published January 7, 2020
The trouble with wind farms
Wind farm operators have routinely overestimated the salvage value of their windmills and underestimated the costs involved in removing them to get permitted jurisdictions to lower how much they are required to put aside. Published January 1, 2020
