The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the focus of news stories, Congressional funding and shut-down negotiations. Just what are the many components and responsibilities of DHS? Steven A. Cash served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office before joining the CIA in 1994 as Assistant General counsel and subsequently serving as an […]
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The question “what can I do?” in response to Trump’s efforts to establish his autocratic rule is frequently asked these days…except by the people we deem to have the power by virtue of their jobs to enact laws and guardrails to protect our democracy; those holding elected, financial, or professional positions and the leverage to […]
Frustrated Americans take to the street in opposition to the actions of the Federal government. The President casts everyday Americans as pawns of foreign interests. He deploys National Guard units and other Federal forces to quell the protests, which only further inflames the situation. Inevitably, American citizens are shot dead by those same forces. While […]
What happens when an astronaut who’s seen Earth from 250 miles up—and an Air Force fighter pilot who’s defended it from the ground—decides that American democracy is now in more danger than at any point in his lifetime? In this conversation, Terry Virts makes a blunt, urgent case for why he’s running for Congress, why […]
An altered image that U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social features the American flag superimposed over a map that includes Canada and Greenland (Donald J. Trump via Truth Social) Masked federal agents on the streets of American cities: Snatching innocents. Trampling constitutional guarantees of due process. Defying judicial orders to cease and desist. […]
Former pilot, astronaut and now candidate for Congress Terry Virts draws on a lifetime of service to assess the current chaos in our institutions and government. Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 360 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, […]
The phrase “release the Epstein files” has such rhetorical power because it promises moral clarity. It offers the public a cathartic moment, exposure, accountability, a sense that the powerful can’t hide behind the system. And in a political culture that increasingly treats outrage as both a pastime and a strategy, it can feel especially satisfying: […]
Major NATO Affiliations in Europe (2025) The United States has long led the most successful, enduring alliances in modern history. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has grown from 12 states in 1949 to 32 now. Its attraction to democratic states is well shown by the fact that all former members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact […]
The world’s longest land border is the over 5000 miles between the United States and Canada. It is also the world’s longest unguarded border. This may be changing. Last week Canada revealed its military is modeling a US invasion. The Canadian response would reportedly involve mimicking the Afghan mujahideen and using Canada’s size and harsh […]