Michael McKenna
Columns by Michael McKenna
Why silence beats strong opinions in today’s political circus
At least officially, the presidential election of 2020 had the highest rate of turnout (of voting-age population) since the 1968 presidential election. Published August 24, 2025
Little of DOGE’s work likely to survive
The DOGE guys seemed well-meaning, but hardly anything they did will survive. Published August 20, 2025
Finding hope in the middle of life’s journey
In the face of loss, the great poet William Wordsworth encouraged us to reconcile the nostalgia and sadness with our primal impulse to keep going. Published August 17, 2025
Silicon Valley’s China chip problem undermines America’s AI dominance strategy
Despite saying in April that it would restrict the sales of Nvidia's advanced H20 chips to China, Team Trump has decided to grant export licenses that allow Nvidia and AMD to sell those chips to China. Published August 13, 2025
Trump’s TikTok delays undermine his China hawks while Intel controversy grows
Sen. Tom Cotton sent a letter last week to the chairman of the board at Intel asking questions about the chipmaker's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan and Mr. Tan's ties to Chinese companies. Published August 10, 2025
Gerrymandering is destructive no matter who does it
A few weeks ago, Team Trump decided that reopening the redistricting of House districts in Texas would be a good idea, ostensibly because it would provide an extra five GOP votes in the House. Published August 6, 2025
E-Verify, a choke point for stopping illegal immigrant employment in America
President Trump promised during his campaign that, if elected, he would finish the job he had started in the first term -- namely, he would fix America's broken immigration system. Published August 3, 2025
How many dead are enough in Gaza?
A few days back, this column addressed the attack by Israeli soldiers on Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip. The Israelis killed three people and wounded several others. Published July 30, 2025
American energy is essential to American dominance
I recently wrote a column arguing that increased American production of oil and gas was part of the reason we were able to attack Iran with impunity a few weeks ago. Published July 27, 2025
Catholic churches under siege around the world
About a week ago, for reasons known only to them, Israeli forces attacked Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip. Published July 23, 2025
Trump’s quiet revolution changed everything, now it must survive its own zealots
In the wake of the first victories of the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre decided that the threats to the revolution were too numerous and too serious to allow for due process. Published July 20, 2025
Republicans must prepare for a post-Trump future now
Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has become law, the Republican Party is faced with a few uncomfortable facts. Published July 16, 2025
The Justice Department’s Orwellian about-face on Epstein
Last week, Team Trump decided and announced, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, that Jeffrey Epstein didn't engage in blackmail, didn't have a customer list and died by suicide. Published July 13, 2025
Why is Trump’s energy supremacy important?
In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed a complete oil embargo against the United States in direct response to America's support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Published July 9, 2025
Trade deals, tariffs, and tall tales: Trump’s negotiating circus continues
One of the few entertaining elements of living and working in Washington is that every once in a while, someone says something so aggressively ridiculous and nonsensical that it cannot be ignored. Published July 6, 2025
They died for freedom, not federal control: The forgotten price of American independence
As we careen toward the final July 4 before the quarter-millennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence, we should think about the real cost of the Revolution paid by those who fought it. Published July 2, 2025
Mamdani is a gift to Trump and the Republican Party
Zohran Mamdani won the New York City Democratic primary for mayor, immediately becoming the favorite to win the general mayoral election -- and an object of both adulation and concern. Published June 29, 2025
Destruction won’t kill ideology: Why bombing Iran won’t stop its nuclear ambitions
A lot of people are confidently predicting that President Trump has successfully threaded the needle between corroding Iran's ability to build and launch nuclear weapons and destabilizing the regime in Tehran. Published June 25, 2025
Environmentalist goon squad Greenpeace learns a lesson
In 2016, Greenpeace deployed operatives and assorted stooges to North Dakota to organize opposition to a pipeline being constructed by Energy Transfer, based in Texas. Published June 18, 2025
Happy birthday to the U.S. Army
In the depths of a cold night almost 250 years ago, a handful of soldiers waited their turn to cross a river and head toward their enemy in hopes of surprising them on Christmas. Published June 15, 2025
