Author: Braxton Taylor
We spent last weekend on a lake that offers up pretty good largemouth and smallmouth fishing. One of my daughters asked to go catch smallies, so we did. We tossed swimbaits, topwaters, and drop-shots. We caught a pile of bronzers, including a couple that taped out past the magical 20-inch mark. She was very happy.The following morning, her twin sister asked to go largemouth fishing, which meant it was time to go toss faux Kermits in the shallows. She also mentioned that she really wanted to get good at using a bait caster, which is basically a prerequisite to successful…
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.In an effort launched shortly after DOGE’s creation, ProPublica has now identified more than 100 private-sector executives, engineers and investors from Silicon Valley, big American banks and tech startups enlisted to help President Donald Trump dramatically downsize the U.S. government.While Elon Musk has departed the Department of Government Efficiency, the world’s richest man is leaving a network of acolytes embedded inside nearly every federal agency.[Find the full list here; filter it by “Department of Defense” to see the DOGE staffers at the Pentagon.]At least…
The family of a man who died in a boating accident is suing Major League Fishing (MLF) for what they say were negligent decisions made during the day of an April fishing tournament.On April 16, 2025, a competitive angler from Georgia named Flint Davis struck a fishing boat helmed by guide Gary Holcombe, the owner of Smith Lake Striper Guide Service. The accident occurred during the Lewis Smith Lake Tournament, which runs for three days and offers a $115,000 cash prize.Three of Holcombe’s clients–58-year-old Joey Broom, 41-year-old John Clark, and 62-year-old Jeffrey Little–were killed. Flint and Holcombe sustained injuries but…
The U.S. intelligence community should lean harder on industry and make fewer of its tech tools in-house, the director of national intelligence said Tuesday.”I want to get us away from having the government trying to build tech solutions for itself because it’s really not what the government is best at doing, but really focusing on buying and purchasing solutions wherever we can, so that our workforce can really focus on the things that we are very good at and have exclusive responsibilities to fulfill,” Tulsi Gabbard said at Amazon Web Services’ annual public-sector conference in Washington, D.C.Known examples of in-house systems…
The following is an excerpt from CATCH A CRAYFISH, COUNT THE STARS: Fun Projects, Skills, and Adventures for Outdoor Kids. We just released a paperback edition; you can get a copy right here.There are more than 10,000 species of birds on Earth, with over 2,000 that can be found in North America. What’s amazing is that every species of bird in the world evolved from meat-eating dinosaurs like the velociraptor. It makes sense when you look at pictures of birds like the cassowary, shoebill stork, or California condor. They kind of look like dinosaurs. But even sparrows that are small…
The Air Force’s plan to buy 26 new E-7 Wedgetail radar planes is in jeopardy as the Pentagon shifts its focus to space-based surveillance, the defense secretary said Tuesday. The service has already spent more than $1 billion to develop and begin production of its first two E-7s, which it has long argued are the more capable, more survivable successors to the decades-old E-3 AWACS needed for airborne domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific. But the program may be in trouble amid a Pentagon-wide review of major defense acquisition programs and a push to do more from space.“If we have systems and…
There’s a reason why elite warriors, top-tier athletes, and high-level performers in any field all have something in common: They learn by watching. Not casually. Not passively. But with laser-focused, intentional observation. If you want to fast-track your progress as a protector, leader, and confident shooter, you need to train smarter by training your eyes before your hands. This isn’t theory. It’s how I trained as a Navy SEAL—and how I’ve trained thousands of students who came to me stuck and unsure, and left with clarity, precision, and a sharpened edge. Let’s break down exactly how this works, why it’s…
The civilian job market is tight. With all your military experience and skills listed on your resume, it still might not be enough to secure a meaningful position in the private sector. You’re competing against candidates who did not take time to serve in the military but offer deep experience in their chosen career field — and they may bring vast networks of helpful contacts as well as advanced degrees and certifications.Is it time to upskill or get more education?As I wrote in my book, “Success After Service”:Deciding to go back to school after military service is not an easy…
President Trump called for the arrest of California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday after the state’s attorney general sued Trump’s decision to federalize National Guard troops for at least 60 days without a request from Newsom in response to protests against federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. Latest: An estimated 4,000 Guard troops have now been federalized and put on active duty—doubling the total from Monday—in support of Trump’s raids, which have been conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE agents. The newest announcement of 2,000 more Guard troops was delivered via social media not by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure into law last month that creates a Montana Shooting Center Task Force. That group will analyze and recommend locations and design parameters for establishing a world-class shooting facility in the state. Although the ink is barely dry on the Governor’s signature, there are indications the task force is already at hard at work. Last week, for example, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) announced the temporary closure of a parcel near Logan, MT. The 86-acre parcel of Montana state trust land will be closed July 7 and 8. On those days, a routine…