Ripon Forum


Vol. 40, No. 4

Aug – Sept 2006 Issue

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A Note from the Chairman Emeritus

Amidst all the despair and uncertainty that gripped the nation following September 11, 2001, there remained a feeling of resolve: resolve to fight terrorism; resolve to defend freedom; resolve to put the tragedy behind us and continue down the more than 200-year old path of democracy.

A Vigilant Nation

Five years after the attacks that changed our Nation, America remains on alert.

A Patient Enemy

On 9/11, American entered a war that the terrorists had already begun.

The Battle Abroad

Today, the greatest threat to our military does not come from armed forces, but, rather, from moral ones.

A Key to Our Security

America’s ability to field and deploy new technology is critical to the Long War.

A Challenge that Remains

Our Nation’s first responders still have trouble communicating among themselves.

Q&A with Clay Sell

The Deputy Secretary of Energy discusses the Bush Administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and how it will keep the Nation – and the world – more secure.

Stuck on September 10th

While the Congress acted promptly on Commission recommendations to restructure the Executive Branch, and while we have so far succeeded in preventing any further terrorist attacks in the United States, Congress has done little to reform itself.

The Super Solution to Government Dysfunction

Federal workers in particular need this kind of help, as well. Unfortunately, this is a fact too often ignored by Federal managers, who are restrained by a structure and system that was designed to meet the needs of the past century, not the current one.

Never Forget

The Pentagon Memorial broke ground on June 15th. This was a significant day — a day that marked the beginning of construction of the memorial and gave us a view of the finish line, which will be a ceremony to dedicate the completed memorial in the fall of 2008.

Reforming FEMA

It should be an independent agency with a direct line to the President.

Reforming FEMA

We should focus more on what it does than where it goes.

Ripon Profile of Bill Frist

“I am conservative. I believe the free enterprise system can do a better job at most things than the government can. People should learn to be self-reliant; when they are self reliant, they will have self-respect.”

The Backpage

Like Lincoln, President Bush leads a political party in which many candidates are trying to distance themselves from him as the fall elections draw near.