Samuel Johnson said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." H.L. Mencken expanded that definition when he said, "Patriotism, in truth, is the great nursery of scoundrels.… Its chief glories are the demagogue, the military bully, and the spreaders of libels...
Most discussions about the costs of war focus on two numbers: the cost in dollars and cents and the more profound and heartbreaking cost in lives. Yet even as depressing as these numbers are, the figures discussed rarely encompass the whole truth. Over many...
You can't teach people that it's wrong to kill people by killing people. I've said and written this so often that I've almost forgotten what it really means. A good friend of mine recently brought me back to reality. He asked simply, "Well, then, if you don't teach...
"Having seen the people of all other nations bowed down to the earth under the wars and prodigalities of their rulers, I have cherished their opposites, peace, economy, and riddance of public debt, believing that these were the high road to public as well as private...
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, perhaps better known by its nickname “Gitmo,” is an affront to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the legacy of our national heritage. It should be closed now and all the people detained there returned to the place...
Despite all the hysteria, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from Washington war hawks, there are no spending cuts proposed in the defense budget, nor is there any change at all in our defense policy. Typical of the frenzy was the comment by House Armed Services Committee...
Once again, President Obama has ordered U.S. soldiers into harm's way unnecessarily. Last week, he quietly told the U.S. Congress that he had sent 100 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers into Uganda to help governments in central Africa fight a rebel army that's been...
