The Trump administration is moving forward with a proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, potentially removing nationwide restrictions on road construction and timber harvesting across approximately 44.7 million acres of national forest land. That sentence requires a little unpacking before everyone reaches for either a chainsaw or a protest sign. The proposal…
Texas Classrooms, the Ten Commandments, and the Supreme Court
The Ten Commandments are headed toward another possible encounter with the Supreme Court, this time by way of Texas, two groups of public-school families, and a sharply divided federal appeals court. On August 17, more than two dozen Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Baha’i, Unitarian Universalist, and nonreligious families asked the Supreme Court to review Texas Senate…
U.S.–South Korea Military Exercises at a Strategic Crossroads
President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially scale back the annual joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea. The announcement came only hours before the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was scheduled to begin, leaving military officials with the unenviable task of adjusting a major operation after the troops had already…
Who Controls the Strait of Hormuz?
President Trump has taken the contest over the Strait of Hormuz beyond blockades, shipping lanes, and naval power. Speaking in Garden City, New York, he declared that once the United States finished defeating Iran, he would “pretty soon” designate the strait as American territory. He reinforced the point by noting that the United States controls…
Steam or Electromagnetism? The Navy’s Carrier-Catapult Debate
President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare a plan for replacing the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, better known as EMALS, with traditional steam catapults aboard the future USS Doris Miller. The same directive calls for replacing the carrier’s electromagnetic weapons elevators with hydraulic systems. Despite some of the broader headlines, Trump hasn’t ordered sailors…
Hoekstra & the Strains in U.S.–Canada Relations
The diplomatic temperature between the United States and Canada was already running warm before a growing number of Canadians decided that Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador in Ottawa, should be shown the door. An official House of Commons petition, opened July 21 and sponsored by Green Party MP Elizabeth May, has collected more than 105,000…
Border Security and the Future of Big Bend
Sen. John Cornyn is raising an objection that deserves more attention than the usual Washington exchange of talking points. The Texas Republican supports securing the southern border, but he’s asking the Trump administration to meet with local officials, law-enforcement leaders, landowners, and park advocates before constructing additional physical barriers in Big Bend National Park and…
Reconsidering America’s Childhood Vaccine Recommendations
Childhood vaccines have somehow become one more subject that Americans are expected to discuss while wearing political jerseys. Question the government too aggressively, and one side calls you an anti-science crank. Defend established vaccines too confidently, and the other side assumes you receive handwritten Christmas cards from pharmaceutical executives. Such is the calm, reasonable state…
Visa Revocations and the Limits of American Entry
The Trump administration announced that the State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas since President Trump returned to office, marking a significant expansion of immigration enforcement. According to the department, the affected foreign nationals violated visa conditions, committed crimes, defrauded Americans, abused the immigration system, called for violence against Americans, or threatened national security.…
The Senate’s New Sanctions Push Against Russia and Iran
The Senate has taken a major step toward dramatically increasing economic pressure on Russia, the countries purchasing its energy, and Iran. In an 86–12 procedural vote, senators advanced the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, although the measure still requires additional votes before it can pass the Senate and move to…
The Independent Christian Conservative 