Rachel Marsden is a columnist with Human Events Magazine, and Editor-In-Chief of GrandCentralPolitical News Syndicate, distributing to over 3,000 newspapers nationwide. She is also a media and political campaign strategist and TV/radio commentator. Her first political book will be published in 2009. rachel@rachelmarsden.com http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2013 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:15:00 GMT Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:15:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ PARIS -- Anyone who knows anything about the real world of intelligence and espionage knows that James Bond is a joke who wouldn't survive his first day on the job (and not just because he'd fall asleep during static... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/06/18/edward-snowden-and-the-dangers-of-amateurism-n1622254 a777181f-fe70-4059-9309-f547b3636ff1 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:15:00 GMT Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor on the run for having dumped some classified documents on the desk of a British reporter, says that he doesn't consider himself a hero, but... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/06/11/nsas-prism-program-falls-victim-to-an-ego-trip-n1617707 d9aed04e-083c-485a-9807-d39b4545fef8 Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:30:00 GMT To believe the media narrative, the "Arab Spring" has arrived in yet another Islamic nation -- Turkey this time -- snowballing at record speed from a single protest over the fate of trees under an urban-development... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/06/04/who-are-turkeys-agents-provocateurs-n1612892 339c7bd0-e170-4a2c-8bdc-3eea81a59f07 Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:08:00 GMT PARIS -- The war in Syria is Russia's to lose. Arguably, it could very well end up being Russia's biggest test as a player on the world stage since the end of the Cold War. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/05/28/russias-big-test-n1607704 d8ec4236-2cbf-40d4-ba27-0a24b5da5917 Tue, 28 May 2013 15:13:00 GMT PARIS -- Given that no one is officially denying it, it's fairly safe to say that Russia's domestic security service recently slammed America's foreign spy service face-first into the Moscow pavement -- blond wig and... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/05/21/fogle-fiasco-underscores-americas-intelligence-problem-n1602626 f13d5fd2-af5c-4558-84f3-5b4a462d2a9c Tue, 21 May 2013 18:23:00 GMT PARIS -- Hardly a day goes by without America-bashers accusing the U.S. of "imperialism" or "interventionism." Meanwhile, China is largely exempt from that sort of criticism from the same crowd. If only they'd listen... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/05/15/chinas-lowprofile-imperialism-n1594533 b923e6a1-ae02-4e1e-b22f-1025d7534cf8 Wed, 15 May 2013 04:01:00 GMT PARIS -- As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with his Russian counterparts this week in Moscow to discuss Syria, much of the world is wondering what America's endgame is. But what if we are already... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/05/07/is-america-about-to-checkmate-russia-n1590178 933c3875-aa0f-4cc4-b9c2-7cba3fd614cf Tue, 07 May 2013 15:22:00 GMT PARIS -- In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, it's only natural to ask why some terrorists are only caught after they've inflicted carnage on innocent civilians. What went wrong? Here are a few significant... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/04/30/five-major-hindrances-to-counterterrorism-efforts-n1582866 53965883-6d9f-4939-98a5-c95119c39eeb Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:07:00 GMT PARIS -- The details revealed so far in the Boston Marathon bombing case are strikingly similar to those of a high-profile case in France last year. Both exemplify the modus operandi of today's young... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/04/23/boston-bombing-case-parallels-toulouse-attacks-n1576190 de62af97-c34a-4100-885a-45c1b149bd3c Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:25:00 GMT PARIS -- As dignitaries gather in London to pay their respects to one of modern history's greatest leaders, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died last week at the age of 87, the riff-raff of Great... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/04/16/nannystate-freeloaders-celebrate-thatchers-death-n1569302 4ca4be52-a376-4344-816b-8c6547a5977c Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:53:00 GMT PARIS -- The left revels in sex scandals involving preachy conservative moralists, but when members of the left get caught up in seedy financial scandals, so perverted and twisted is their relationship with money that... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/04/09/a-socialist-lawmakers-fiscal-double-life-n1562588 f98691b4-55ad-4044-af2b-c4a84b88a210 Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:45:00 GMT PARIS -- Be careful about how you interpret what you're seeing, as your eyes might be deceiving you. That's the advice I offered viewers the other day on Russia's global TV network's flagship program, "CrossTalk," when... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/04/02/capitalism-isnt-dying-n1555791 ca994899-74d0-4f4e-a173-1f4fa60b9b4a Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:16:00 GMT PARIS -- The Internet went crazy last week over what was described in hyperventilating tweets as NATO's plan to kill hackers. "NATO-Commissioned Report Says Killing Hackers Is Basically OK," blared one tech blog... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/03/26/nato-cyberwarfare-treatise-is-long-overdue-n1549683 ebed4de9-0a80-4c10-b61d-9da28bf37a99 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:09:00 GMT PARIS -- The European Union's $13 billion bailout plan for Cyprus has nothing to do with socialism but rather with much greater stakes. This is the EU attempting to outmaneuver an uncharacteristically... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/03/19/a-european-bailout-unlike-any-other-n1538581 55480d97-0066-40cc-8a41-583c253df128 Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:05:00 GMT A chess piece has fallen in Latin America. The road to prosperity and peace for the citizens of many countries -- probably even yours -- runs through the recent death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/03/12/the-deal-that-america-and-russia-must-make-following-chavezs-death-n1531994 79f059e4-b298-49f6-bf0a-d5621f919a08 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:18:00 GMT PARIS -- Is there anything people can possibly do these days to disgust or unnerve themselves? Or is the only barrier to bad behavior massive societal shunning, the likes of which isn't noticed by those who are too... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/03/05/have-they-no-shame-n1526328 74ffc301-dfa1-4079-8fa2-e8a14d0e9376 Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:09:00 GMT PARIS -- When Ben Affleck's "Argo" -- a film based on the true-life, CIA-assisted Canadian operation to rescue American diplomats during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 -- won the Oscar for Best Picture, all... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/02/26/leggo-my-argo-irans-unhealthy-fixation-on-ben-affleck-n1520753 b008a972-0e37-4f66-83b5-2407b4cc2aca Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:15:00 GMT PARIS -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced last week that the Pentagon has created a new military award for keyboard cyber-warriors and drone joystick jockeys. The Distinguished Warfare Medal will... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/02/19/pentagon-keyboard-jockeys-can-now-outdecorate-combat-heroes-n1515481 5c2017ed-c84e-48f4-9e3f-8c097fff7444 Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:56:00 GMT PARIS -- A leaked U.S. Department of Justice white paper supporting the killing of terrorists overseas who happen to hold American citizenship is causing mass hyperventilation across America. Although average... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/02/12/assassination-memo-a-first-step-in-setting-new-warfare-parameters-n1510766 0a25a9ae-c895-4f03-8fe8-2cac999fbf60 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:56:00 GMT PARIS -- The anti-war types are unhappy with France's foray into Mali to help that country's troops eradicate balkanizing terrorism at the request of the Malian government. If even the French aren't "allowed" to go to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/02/05/delusions-of-the-antiwar-crowd-n1505636 7f8e1932-687f-4652-a3be-e221a6c76b47 Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:27:00 GMT PARIS -- A bipartisan group of senators has just lit a soggy fuse under the immigration debate. The statement of principles tabled by four senators from each party is such an impotent byproduct of compromise that... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/01/29/rachel-marsden-immigration-reform-plan-is-a-farce-n1500353 a1e53894-8d8f-426d-9ab5-2d14900119f3 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:42:00 GMT PARIS -- The realities highlighted by the Oscar-nominated film "Zero Dark Thirty," which detailed the operation that ended with the killing of Osama bin Laden, don't begin and end with the debate over what some... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/01/22/spy-secrets-of-zero-dark-thirty-n1494836 73c6b6f6-6ef2-4fd6-ab81-bc7a75aacb2b Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:05:00 GMT PARIS -- Socialist French President Francois Hollande is in the pilot's seat in the world's latest military incursion. We're not used to seeing the French lead the way into battle, but it's becoming increasingly frequen http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/01/16/hollande-proving-himself-a-surprisingly-wise-warrior-n1489722 eeff9601-8036-4b24-aab3-bfc6f22b4c0f Wed, 16 Jan 2013 06:50:00 GMT It's very likely that kids will find this column to be, like, totally stupid, and will conclude that they can write one sooooo much better. They will declare this on their Twitter feed, sandwiched between the hundreds o http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/01/08/the-death-of-depth-n1484522 3aa0b07a-bd30-4195-8387-21d93867fffd Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:35:00 GMT Predicting events can be a dangerous game. That's because some people simply project wishful thinking, allowing their personal biases to obscure reality. We see it repeatedly during election season. The key to making ac http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2013/01/01/what-hemingway-can-teach-us-about-new-years-predictions-n1476918 37b42b03-7f76-4f1d-bcf7-1e51f3547f6d Tue, 01 Jan 2013 05:01:00 GMT After a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., the injection of anything short of seriousness into the subsequent public discourse about guns is touchy. But last week, the National... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/12/24/nra-solutions-are-straight-out-of-hollywood-n1473528 1e43a5b2-e97d-49d9-9d9a-e1513a0615d6 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:28:00 GMT PARIS -- Anyone who can't withstand a rational debate on the subject of gun control -- particularly in light of last week's Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut -- should be automatically prohibited... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/12/18/put-prospective-gun-owners-under-the-microscope-n1469612 5594629f-e169-4f92-845e-4e4603df05ee Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:18:00 GMT PARIS -- Is "killed by a drone strike" the new "alive and well"? If you pay close enough attention, it makes you wonder what's really going on. Here's how this charade usually goes: One or more major news... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/12/11/when-terrorists-killed-in-drone-strikes-arent-really-dead-n1464509 c8f3b874-6941-41df-970d-c419be4e6c80 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:41:00 GMT Wasn't the U.S. defense budget supposed to be in for some belt-tightening by now? Whereas President Barack Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, waged war the old-fashioned way, with troops and tanks, Obama has... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/12/04/the_folly_of_the_defense_intelligence_agencys_spyhiring_spree a618f1e7-9389-4686-8aa1-7eace7d84b08 Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:41:00 GMT Anyone who has seen the latest James Bond film, "Skyfall," would be hard-pressed to find any traditional espionage tradecraft. More actual spying would have meant less of Daniel Craig running around in a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/11/27/bonds_skyfall_could_be_our_worst_nightmare c67dd13d-0c26-48bf-aff6-905d4f8e01a0 Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:00:00 GMT A colleague mentioned earlier this week how thankful he is that he can tell anyone who deserves it to go take a flying leap. (Actually, his precise words are unprintable, but you get the idea.) At first glance, such... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/11/20/true_capitalism_can_weed_out_systemwrecking_psychopaths 92e33312-9462-48f6-a523-9d4ebe082788 Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:50:00 GMT French public reaction to American CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus' suicide-bombing of his own career demonstrates a lack of understanding of the perceived offense in favor of a blind defense of libertinism. It was... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/11/13/the_french_view_of_the_petraeus_sex_scandal e0fdb2e3-52e9-40f7-991a-1b85a58ca24a Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:46:00 GMT Regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election next week, one thing seems certain: Americans are about to learn the same hard lessons recently visited upon the French and the British. That is, whoever ends up... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/10/30/why_were_still_in_deep_trouble_no_matter_who_wins_the_presidency ab656ff6-f2c1-44e2-a74d-f4a16a56a495 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:24:00 GMT There's a good chance that American voters will screw up the presidential election. "How could you say such a thing when in a democracy the people are, by definition, correct?" you ask. Because there's no such... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/10/23/how_the_election_could_go_wrong_for_romney c56e8c1c-d24b-4dda-8a8e-fe2b55427796 Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:23:00 GMT PARIS -- The people of France have spoken on the subject of the U.S. presidential election. Naturally, you couldn't care less about what anyone else (let alone the French) thinks about you or your electoral... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/10/16/french_favor_obama_in_presidential_racewhich_shows_they_have_much_to_learn 706f2282-008e-441d-afb7-ee75b4535c1e Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:41:00 GMT PARIS -- America has collective attention deficit disorder, and in one way it's a bigger threat than terrorism, cybersecurity dangers and the never-ending Middle East drama: Those other problems at least have... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/10/09/presidential_showdown_highlights_americas_criticalthought_problem 7427e1ca-b74c-4248-a958-3f742af69588 Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:20:00 GMT PARIS -- Mitt Romney's biggest problem in this race isn't that he's wealthy -- it's that he lacks the sort of passion that can only be forged by trial and tribulation. It's one thing to articulate the principles of... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/10/02/romney_can_win_by_doing_one_thing b8a992c8-b4b1-4407-a07f-90bc7e425f5e Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:44:00 GMT While news in America continues to be dominated by the usual election-cycle fare of gimmicky talking points, gratuitous finger-pointing and constant bickering over which presidential candidate is best qualified to steer... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/09/25/britains_backup_plan 37deac29-91a3-4edb-b76e-115fbac490b6 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:32:00 GMT The CIA claims that it never saw the storm coming, but Canadian intelligence sure did. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird landed in Vladivostok, Russia, earlier this month for the Asia-Pacific Economic... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/09/18/the_truth_behind_the_new_islamic_flashpoints 23588e92-2b7f-495a-be2b-de279f300a7c Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:45:00 GMT It would seem that we're now at the stage of global economic lunacy where the worldwide socialist slide is so far gone that the president of Russia is lecturing the world, and particularly Europe, about the risks of... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/09/11/is_putin_the_russian_reagan 52a5ed20-02e0-4c21-808b-c96452a557ce Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:42:00 GMT By now, it should be pretty clear to anyone with even the faintest pulse that regardless of who ends up winning any future elections, they aren't going to change your personal economic reality quickly enough to suit... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/09/04/tips_for_adapting_to_the_new_global_economic_reality 9c469e25-3e00-424f-8627-5b8bf92eb864 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:08:00 GMT This week's Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., is a political autobahn. Depending on how Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan play it, they'll either gain some unfettered mileage in advancing their agenda with the voting... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/08/28/five_things_romney_needs_from_the_gop_convention 650bba61-9477-4125-85c1-98db5413fa50 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:21:00 GMT If Justin Bieber or the Rolling Stones suddenly decided to stage an impromptu concert in a public place somewhere in America without a permit, would the authorities ignore it and shrug it off? Doubtful. Even buskers... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/08/22/how_pussy_riot_bamboozled_the_media 2880e038-b0b5-4153-bd8d-e91ba261fe78 Wed, 22 Aug 2012 04:01:00 GMT A recent intelligence leak confirms something that regular readers of this column already know: that the Obama administration has officially authorized covert support of local "rebel" groups, through government agencies... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/08/14/obama_sides_with_an_unlikely_ally_in_syria 2ef2624f-7d25-4376-964b-6252e5db7951 Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:48:00 GMT Watching the Olympic Games, I find one phenomenon particularly striking. After an event, athletes who literally seconds before had been attempting to trounce one another in competition suddenly start hugging each... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/08/07/how_nations_can_use_the_olympic_athletes_mentality_to_win cfd651f1-3fe9-4a37-93d9-60d0ae0b8610 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:48:00 GMT Mitt Romney and I are competing in a new Olympic event that involves proffering unvarnished criticism of the Olympics themselves. We're the Lochte and Phelps of this event -- appearing united when necessary and when it... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/07/31/olympics_highlight_englands_iron_stomach_for_nonsense_inepitude da28ad73-21e7-4c5b-a111-d9feb2b4583e Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:55:00 GMT It's hip these days for everyone from world leaders to the Occupy Wall Street crowd to attack free-market, limited-government capitalism as wild and in need of control because it's supposedly the cause of the world... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/07/25/cronyism_not_capitalism_the_real_cause_of_olympic_security_mess 08cb0f0f-b44e-42b5-a971-9f07b1799215 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:01:00 GMT When I was a little kid, there was a game I used to play while out and about with my family. Every time we came upon an escalator, I'd run ahead and charge up it as fast as I could, just so I could then stand at the top... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/07/17/the_escalator_of_success_next_time_take_the_stairs e07d6c33-eacb-4bf4-846b-d8dd1a92bb66 Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:19:00 GMT Testifying before a Senate committee a few months ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented that America was "in an information war, and we are losing that war." This week, she blew a fuse at the "Friends of... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/07/10/could_we_have_the_wars_without_the_manipulation 2ac6bc7d-213a-4858-8b5a-f760937a8e53 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:44:00 GMT Improved technology is changing the spy game, merging once-disparate roles in the intelligence field and favoring an increased download of traditional spy roles to the private sector. This week, Canada's Postmedia... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RachelMarsden/2012/07/03/the_rise_of_the_spynextdoor 1bae0f4f-3cb2-49df-a90d-c2ba7c78f121 Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:23:00 GMT