J.E. Dyer

J.E. Dyer is a retired Naval Intelligence officer who lives in Southern California, blogging as The Optimistic Conservative for domestic tranquility and world peace. Her articles have appeared at Hot Air, Commentary’s Contentions, Patheos, The Daily Caller, The Jewish Press, and The Weekly Standard.

Economy

J.E. DyerDecember 15, 2013
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Biofuels for defense: Cronyism and the banality of evil

Are you able to work up indignation about cronyism at this point? Or did your sense of moral outrage glaze…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerDecember 14, 2013
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China: Ignoring UNCLOS, ordering a U.S. Navy cruiser to stop

If you were wondering whether it’s bad that the Chinese navy maneuvered aggressively near a U.S. Navy ship last week,…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerDecember 9, 2013
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Another day, more endemic extortion from a regulatory Congress

Author Peter Schweizer made the talk-show rounds a few weeks back to tout his new book Extortion, which examines the…
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Sports and Culture

J.E. DyerDecember 9, 2013
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Attacks chairs and urinating patrons: the San Francisco Public Library

Apparently it’s a blood sport patronizing the Main Library in San Francisco. That doesn’t stop local reporters from employing ellipsis…
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National Security

J.E. DyerDecember 8, 2013
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A Pearl Harbor survivor story

I didn’t mean to be at the computer so late this evening. But if I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerDecember 5, 2013
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Mordor falling?

Maybe that’s a tad optimistic. Maybe we’re just starting the battle for Gondor. Or something; you figure out what LOTR…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerDecember 4, 2013
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Great news: U.S. has security plan for the West Bank!

One has to be sparing with exclamation points, but this one’s a lollapalooza. A dilly! A doozie. A big honkin’…
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Education

J.E. DyerDecember 4, 2013
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Schools asking parents, students to declare political affiliation

This can’t be coincidence. Blog reports in the last two weeks indicate that public schools in two different states have…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerDecember 3, 2013
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Ukrainians not going quietly into that good night

It was a minor blip on the American radar screen when Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovich, announced on 21 November –…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerDecember 2, 2013
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U.S. airlines expected to comply with Chinese ADIZ rules

According to the State Department, the United States expects our airline carriers will comply with the ADIZ rules laid out…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 30, 2013
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Iranian navy takes another big step outward

A couple of years ago, the Iranian navy announced it had deployed a submarine to the Red Sea as part…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 29, 2013
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Bad tidings of sea and air space challenges

“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.” — Ronald Reagan It made the…
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Economy

J.E. DyerNovember 27, 2013
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What to talk about this Thanksgiving

I agree wholeheartedly with Libby, Kevin, Jim Geraghty, and others that it is creepy and fascist of leftist policy advocates…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 26, 2013
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The Geneva deal and triggers for Israeli action (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of a two-part post. Part 1 is here. The consequences of Iran getting the bomb are…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 25, 2013
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The deal that will launch a thousand attack sorties? (Part 1)

This is Part 1 of a two-part post. Part 2 is here. It’s hard to overstate the concern with which…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerNovember 23, 2013
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California auto-enrolling health plan exchange customers in food stamps?

There’s automated efficiency, and then there’s the Brave New World. Writer Nicole Hopkins’s mother, a resident of Washington state, found…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 23, 2013
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Kerry tries desperately to force deal of century on Iran

Objectively, the deal being offered to Iran in the talks in Geneva is a very good one, for Iran. Iran…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerNovember 22, 2013
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Court-packing: Obama to succeed where FDR failed

It’s sitting there as plain as the nose on your face. The purpose of filleting the filibuster, Harry Reid’s latest…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerNovember 20, 2013
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Three things to keep in mind about Obamacare

We’re getting off track here, people. We all keep obediently discussing the new Revelation du Jour about the terrible, horrible,…
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National Security

J.E. DyerNovember 19, 2013
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Antidotes to the Obama reading of the Gettysburg Address

The indefatigable LU Staff highlighted today an egregious omission from President Obama’s video-recorded reading of the Gettysburg Address: the dropping…
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Economy

J.E. DyerNovember 16, 2013
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Breaking wind: NIMBYs, hostages, and other woes from the European wind wars

Those darned Europeans are so attached to their picturesque views. When it comes to wind power and wind-turbine farms, the…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 14, 2013
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Obama’s Iran policy: The definition of insanity?

A few days ago, there were shouts of “Vive la France!” as la France Surcouf stepped in to stop the…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerNovember 13, 2013
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The Pants on Fire Report: Covered California required insurers to cancel plans

President Obama blamed health-insurance cancellations on “bad-apple” insurers, who presumably offered and then cancelled the lousy, cut-rate insurance plan that…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 12, 2013
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Russian navy: First port visit to Egypt (among others) in 21 years

Suddenly, even Vladimir Putin looks more attractive. He looks, at least, like he actually intends to fight radical Islamism –…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerNovember 11, 2013
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Pentagon EO trainers learn of ‘White Male Club’

Your tax dollars at work for you. Had to investigate this one for myself, as it seemed too surreal to…
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National Security

J.E. DyerNovember 9, 2013
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Ninety-five years

This post is an annual tradition for Veterans Day at The Optimistic Conservative. This year, I am putting up the…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 9, 2013
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Get real: With Obama and Iran, It’s Deal AND No Deal

Those TV commercials emphasizing the word “and” rather than “or” are the key to understanding the basic proposition in the…
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Religion

J.E. DyerNovember 3, 2013
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Russian backer gets massive Jesus statue put up in Syria

It’s taller by about a meter than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. On 14 October, Russian…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 3, 2013
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Russian bombers fly to Venezuela, Nicaragua during strategic forces exercise

For some reason, the “reset/overcharge” policy of the Obama administration hasn’t induced Russia to take a chill pill on the…
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Foreign Affairs

J.E. DyerNovember 2, 2013
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Yet another reminder: Iran still closing in on bomb

So, who’s up for another round of graphs showing that Western diplomacy, sanctions, and technology have yet to out-maneuver Iran…
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Economy

J.E. DyerOctober 31, 2013
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Want hope and a future? Deregulate.

Readers, in a comments exchange at TOC (my home blog) today, I responded to Reader of Excellence “jgets,” and realized…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerOctober 30, 2013
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Crisis of politics: The opportunity in the storm

Each day brings new bad news about Obamacare. Each day also brings another volley from one or both sides in…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerOctober 28, 2013
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Obamacare, and law as SMOD

One of the most remarkable things about Obamacare has been the theme, lurking with a blithe, disarming shrug, that we…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerOctober 24, 2013
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A house divided: The GOP dialogue continues

I wrote a few days ago about the current division in the Republican Party, which is as profound as I…
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Law and Government

J.E. DyerOctober 21, 2013
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Brown signs bill to overpopulate planet

Apparently Jerry Brown didn’t get the memo. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is 95% certain that humans are…
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Politics

J.E. DyerOctober 16, 2013
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GOP: Polls and hinge points of history

What does it mean that recent polls show 7 in 10 respondents think Republicans are putting their agenda ahead of…
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J.E. Dyer

Biofuels for defense: Cronyism and the banality of evil

China: Ignoring UNCLOS, ordering a U.S. Navy cruiser to stop

Attacks chairs and urinating patrons: the San Francisco Public Library

A Pearl Harbor survivor story

Mordor falling?

Great news: U.S. has security plan for the West Bank!

Ukrainians not going quietly into that good night

U.S. airlines expected to comply with Chinese ADIZ rules

Iranian navy takes another big step outward

Bad tidings of sea and air space challenges

The Geneva deal and triggers for Israeli action (Part 2)

The deal that will launch a thousand attack sorties? (Part 1)

Kerry tries desperately to force deal of century on Iran

Court-packing: Obama to succeed where FDR failed

Antidotes to the Obama reading of the Gettysburg Address

Obama’s Iran policy: The definition of insanity?

Russian navy: First port visit to Egypt (among others) in 21 years

Pentagon EO trainers learn of ‘White Male Club’

Ninety-five years

Get real: With Obama and Iran, It’s Deal AND No Deal

Russian backer gets massive Jesus statue put up in Syria

Russian bombers fly to Venezuela, Nicaragua during strategic forces exercise

Yet another reminder: Iran still closing in on bomb

A house divided: The GOP dialogue continues

GOP: Polls and hinge points of history

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