Thomas Knapp

On May 8, President Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, colloquially known as “the Iran nuclear deal.” While that decision has come under criticism for being both a really bad idea and a severe betrayal of trust, both of which are true, it’s worth noting that the US withdrawal … Continue reading “The Iran Nuclear Deal Isn’t Just a Good Idea – It’s the Law”

April 20 is cannabis culture’s high holiday, and the Democratic National Committee celebrated it with fervor this year: Blaze up, get silly, file a bizarre lawsuit accusing the Russian government, Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and transparency activist group WikiLeaks of conspiring to steal an election. The suit confirms that after more than a year, … Continue reading “Just When You Thought ‘Russiagate’ Couldn’t Get Any Sillier…”

On April 9, federal agents raided the office, home and hotel room of Michael Cohen, personal attorney to US president Donald Trump. Cohen has come under fire, with potential legal implications, for paying $130k to silence adult film actress and alleged Trump paramour Stephanie Clifford, better known as “Stormy Daniels.” That hush money seems to … Continue reading “Mueller Is Desperate – But for What?”

During a visit to Ohio to promote his infrastructure plan on March 29, US president Donald Trump dropped one of the bombshells that Americans have become accustomed to over the last year and a half: “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon …. Let the other people take care of it now.” If … Continue reading “Syria: Is Trump Finally Putting America First?”

US president Donald Trump signed yet another massive government spending bill – $1.3 trillion – on March 23, after threatening a veto. Why did he threaten a veto? Because the bill doesn’t fund his cherished US-Mexico border wall idea, and because it doesn’t address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that he’s threatened to … Continue reading “On Military Spending and Trade, Trump Puts Americans Last”

Speaking to CNN on the possibility of resuming hostilities in the nearly 70-year-old Korean War (in uneasy ceasefire since 1953), US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says “all the damage … would be worth it in terms of long-term stability and national security.” Worth it, Senator Graham? To whom? The last period of open war on … Continue reading “More Korean War Is ‘Worth It?’ to Whom?”

In late February, Venezuela’s government began accepting presidential candidate registrations and announced a snap legislative election for April. The country’s opposition denounces the process as a sham and Maduro as a dictator, both of which may be true. Oddly, a third voice – the US government – also weighed in. Per US state media outlet … Continue reading “America’s Democracy Hypocrisy”

“An epidemic terror seized upon the nations,” wrote Charles Mackay in his 1841 masterpiece, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. “It was a crime imputed with so much ease, and repelled with so much difficulty, that the powerful, whenever they wanted to ruin the weak, and could fix no other imputation upon them, … Continue reading “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Russiagate”

The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein reports that a new political organization, With Honor, “has launched a major effort to elect to the House more recent military veterans who commit to working across party lines. … a bipartisan core of House Members who are inclined to seek common ground, whatever their personal views.” The idea that veterans … Continue reading “Veterans in Politics: It’s Not About Honor”

Ahead of a vote in the United Nations’ General Assembly on a resolution condemning US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, president Donald Trump and UN ambassador Nikki Haley threatened states voting for the resolution with the loss of US financial aid. “We’re watching those votes” said Trump. “Let them vote against us, we’ll save … Continue reading “US Foreign Aid: Bad for America, Bad for the World”