THE NORTH KOREAN LAUNCH – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  The latest North Korean launch reminds us, on our Independence Day, that our independence and freedom are under constant threat.  From Fox: 

The ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Tuesday flew longer than any missile test conducted by the rogue regime to date, U.S. Pacific Command said -- meaning Kim Jong Un's dictatorship may now possess the ability to strike Alaska.

North Korea launched a missile on Mother's Day that flew for 30 minutes and reached an altitude 1,000 miles higher than the international space station. But Tuesday's missile flew for 37 minutes and reached a height of 1,500 miles, leading missile experts to conclude it could have reached a target 4,000 miles away, putting Alaska in its cross-hairs.

"The threat is much more immediate now," National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters prior to the launch. "So it's clear we can't repeat the same failed approach of the past."

COMMENT:  No we can't.  Last week the U.S. hinted at expanded military options in dealing with North Korea.  The president's first response to this new launch was to say that he can't believe South Korea and Japan would put up with this much longer.  And he put additional heat on China to pressure North Korea to stop these tests.

Nothing so far has worked.  I would not be shocked to see the U.S. Navy shoot down the next missile to be test-launched from North Korea.  That would provoke a serious confrontation with the North, but how can that possibly be avoided?

Once again we bear the brunt of past appeasement, by both Democratic and Republican administrations, of North Korea's frightening regime.

July 4,  2017