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Sitting on the tailgate of my truck, I fire up the new Optimus Gemini II dual-burner camp stove in order to make some coffee and oatmeal to start the day. With a scenic backdrop of snowcapped mountains piercing a pale blue sky, I twist the knobs on the slim silver stove to get the heat settings just right. Moments later, I’ve got oatmeal simmering in one pot while my coffee water boils in a mug next to it. The new Optimus stove, which fits perfectly into my truck-camping regimen, is considered compact. The stove has two burners, making it a…
Toronto sure looks like a rough place these days. Not even by Canadian standards, but ours. Even the U.S. Consulate isn’t safe, as we found out last month.Yeah, that gun control is going just swimmingly, isn’t it? However, I apparently need to give the Toronto cops their due. They made two arrests in the incident, which is good. It’s everything else they announced about the arrests that has me scratching my head.Toronto police announced the arrests Thursday of a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy in the second shooting at the U.S. Consulate in five…
After a long day in the sun paddling the Missouri River, I hopped off the canoe, walked along the sandbar, and began to set up my tent. As I unfolded the poles, I began to hear the clinking and clanking of knives chopping vegetables and metal spoons hitting the side of a mixing bowl. Soon, the crackle and smoke of fire began to spread over the campsite, and I got my first inkling that something tasty for dinner was on the way. I walked over to the fire with my camp chair in hand, and took a seat to watch…
Violent crime is down across the country, and that’s a very good thing. Our homicide rate hitting record lows is something that we should all be celebrating, and we’re on pace to see it even lower this year. Again, a very good thing. However, the only acceptable number of homicides is zero, and that means there’s always work to be done. We need to be realistic, though, which is why gun control is still a non-starter.But maybe the answer is to not let dangerous people walk around on our city streets? I’m just putting that…
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has dropped its fight against a court-imposed ban on its policy of limiting what professors can publicly say and write. Tim Bakken, the school’s longest-serving law professor, brought the original suit, claiming the academy’s policy violates his constitutional right to freedom of speech. He challenged West Point’s policy implemented in early 2025 that barred faculty members from publishing papers, speaking at conferences, or even appearing on a podcast without first seeking approval from higher-ups in their department. The faculty speech rule appeared to be in response to President Donald Trump issuing an executive…
I got my first Swiss Army knife at a flea market when I was about 11 years old. I have no clue which model it was, but it had the basic tools we typically see nestled between those familiar red handle scales, such as a knife blade, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew. I beat the hell out of that knife for a few years. It whittled hundreds of sticks into sharp points. I used it to open cans of Dinty Moore or Chef Boyardee I’d brought to the campfire. It trimmed rope we used in countless forts in the…
Iowa’s always been pretty decent when it comes to gun laws, but the state has made a couple of major improvements over the past few years. In 2021, the state’s permitless carry law kicked in, and the following year voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that declares firearm ownership a fundamental individual right and mandating that courts apply “strict scrutiny” to any future gun control legislation. Those advances could be in danger, though, unless Iowa gun owners turn out in force this November. While Democrat candidates like Christina Bohannan and Josh Turek don’t…
A veteran with mobility issues who served in Operation Desert Storm said he has lost more than $150,000 after a construction project went awry. Ed Smith, 73, of Kansas City, and his family claim they began building another home on their second lot last year. But the family alleged the contractors they hired to complete the project took the $157,000 and did not complete it after over a year. The money was reportedly was paid from Smith’s retirement funds. “In exchange for $157,000 of my dad’s complete retirement funds, we have a hole in our backyard in the wrong place,”…
Some military photographs make their importance obvious, while others look ordinary until you learn the story behind the image. Five brothers pose aboard a Navy cruiser. Women sort packages in a crowded warehouse. A pilot stands among children near an airfield. At first glance, photographs could be routine snapshots of military life, but once you learn the story that led up to or followed the camera click, you’ll realize they’re anything but. Each image carries a story of survival, loss, courage or deception that the photograph alone cannot explain. Once you know these stories, it becomes impossible to see the…
Widows of service members who died while serving our country are often faced with a difficult choice, years after their loss. By federal law, a financial benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or DIC, equating to about $1,700 per month, ends as soon as a surviving military spouse remarries, or stays in place as long as the spouse remains single through age 55. The organization known as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) has been urging lawmakers to protect the DIC benefit, rather than strip it away, no matter a surviving spouse’s marital status. “The compensation is intended…
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U.S. Navy veteran John Donovan is the newest national commander of the nearly 1 million-member DAV (Disabled American Veterans). The Arkansas native, who himself is disabled, was unanimously elected Aug. 5 during the organization’s 104th national convention, held in Orlando, Fla. He was previously elected as national senior vice commander at DAV’s 2025 national convention in Las Vegas, and most recently served as adjutant for the Department of Arkansas and vice chairperson of DAV’s national board of directors. He also previously served as a national executive committee member for District 21 from 2019 to 2021 and was on DAV’s national…
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The pressure is on in Montana, where two candidates from different parties and with military backgrounds are attempting to defeat a Donald Trump-backed Republican in a U.S. Senate race. Concerns are rising about potential vote splits come November, with a pivotal deadline fast approaching. Seth Bodnar, an independent, graduated from West Point two months before the Sept. 11 attacks and studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar prior to becoming a U.S. Army Green Beret and being deployed to Iraq as an infantry officer. Alani Bankhead, a Democrat, served 21 years in the Air Force and retired as a lieutenant…
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National Purple Heart Day falls on Aug. 7 every year, honoring the men and women wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s an unofficial observance — businesses and government offices don’t close — but it’s marked widely in practice, with states and cities pausing in recognition and Major League Baseball teams routinely honoring local recipients during pregame ceremonies. The Nation’s Oldest Military Decoration On Aug. 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington personally ordered creation of the Badge of Military Merit, meant to recognize bravery in combat at a time when the Continental Army had almost no formal…
