Author Archives: Sean Patrick Hazlett

About Sean Patrick Hazlett

Finance executive, engineer, former military officer, and science fiction and horror writer. Editor of the Weird World War III anthology.

Veteran’s Day Quotations

Posted on Friday, November 11, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

“Those who ‘abjure’ violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.” — George Orwell “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who … Continue reading →

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Posted in Defense, International Security, Leadership, Politics, War | Tagged Veterans, Veterans Day | 4 Comments

Battle of the Crater: Fascinating Tale of a Little-Known Battle

Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Battle of the Crater is Newt Gingrich’s and William R. Forstchen’s fascinating historical novel about this infamous battle, in which the Union Ninth Corps attempted to end the siege of Petersburg, Virginia (Click here to listen to an excerpt from the audiobook … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Reviews, California, Central Asia, China, Climate Change, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, International Security, Mathematics, Media, Middle East, Policy, Politics, Science, Technology, War | Tagged Battle of the Crater, Book review, Civil War, Newt Gingrich, United States, William R. Forstchen | 6 Comments

Republicans Should Beware Obama’s Advantage on National Defense

Posted on Monday, November 7, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

With the unemployment rate above 8% for the last 33 consecutive months, it is little surprise that the President’s job approval is only at 43%. An early October Gallup poll found 46% of respondents would vote for a generic GOP candidate … Continue reading →

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Posted in Defense, International Security, Leadership, Middle East, Nuclear proliferation, Policy, Politics, Technology, Terrorism, War | Tagged CIA, Defense Secretary Gates, Democrats, Gallup, Iran, Iranian Assassination Plot, Iraq, Libya, Maersk Alabama, Nuclear proliferation, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, President Obama, Republicans, Somali Pirates, Stuxnet, UAVs | 14 Comments

War with Iran?

Posted on Sunday, November 6, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Yesterday, New York Times columnist David Sanger published an intriguing piece on “America’s Deadly Dynamics With Iran.” For those who have been following this blog from the beginning, many of you may remember I did my Master’s thesis on Plan … Continue reading →

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Posted in Defense, Energy Security, International Security, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Terrorism, War | Tagged Iran, Iran's nuclear program, Iranian Assassination Plot, Israel, Nuclear proliferation, Plan B for Persia, Stuxnet, Stuxnet 2.0, War with Iran | 15 Comments

ROARR’s Guiding Principles (Part III): Equality of Opportunity Does Not Imply Equality of Outcomes

Posted on Saturday, November 5, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In Part I of this series, I argued a fundamental reason our government is broken is the political selection process favoring ideological warriors over pragmatic problem solvers. I introduced my “Funnel of Futility” theory: as ideology becomes increasingly important in one’s … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Business, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Leadership, Mathematics, Media, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Technology, Writing | Tagged Affirmative action, Democrats, Nepotism, Reflections of a Rational Republican, Republicans, ROARR | 7 Comments

Bush vs. Obama: Unemployment (October 2011 Jobs Data)

Posted on Friday, November 4, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Update: Click here for the most recent jobs statistics. On the first Friday of every month, I update the unemployment numbers so that I can compare the unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the unemployment rate under President Obama at that … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged Bush vs. Obama, President Bush, President Obama, Unemployment | 30 Comments

Profiles in Incompetence: Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland

Posted on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Sometimes the decisions and actions of a single individual can lead to disaster. It does not happen often, because most good leaders surround themselves with people who help them compensate for their blind spots. Mayor Jean Quan is not one of those … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, California, Crime, Finance and Economics, Leadership, Media, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Unions | Tagged An Open Letter to the Citizens of Oakland from the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, Frank Ogawa Plaza, Incompetence, Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland Police Officer's Association, Port of Oakland | 6 Comments

Blue vs. Red State Inequality

Posted on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Today, David Brooks published an intriguing opinion editorial about the difference between Blue and Red State inequality. Brooks’ definitions of Blue and Red State inequality are necessarily fuzzy. You might be able to evaluate the issue from a quantitative standpoint, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Education, Finance and Economics, Leadership, Policy, Politics | Tagged Blue State Inequality, David Brooks, Income inequality, Inequality, Red State Inequality | 12 Comments

The Selfish Generation

Posted on Monday, October 31, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Earlier this month, AARP released the video above, which typifies every stereotype many members of my generation hold about Baby Boomers. Namely that they lived it up in the sixties, led extremely comfortable and self-indulgent lives built on the backs of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Finance and Economics, Healthcare, Media, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Socialism, Taxes | Tagged AARP, Baby Boomers | 10 Comments

ROARR’s Guiding Principles (Part II): Small, but Not Minimal, Government Is Best

Posted on Sunday, October 30, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In Part I of this series, I argued that a fundamental reason our government is broken is the political selection process favoring ideological warriors over pragmatic problem solvers. I introduced my “Funnel of Futility” theory: as ideology becomes increasingly important in one’s decision-making … Continue reading →