Coronavirus Lays Low the Military

Don’t look now but, for all intents and purposes the US war machine has ceased to exist. It’s not the case for defensive purposes. If the United States were to come under attack, the Pentagon would throw everything it has at the problem from ground troops to advanced fighter jets. If "fighting sick" was the … Continue reading “Coronavirus Lays Low the Military”

We Need a Coronavirus Truce

During World War I, soldiers all along the Western front held a series of informal truces in December 1914 to commemorate Christmas. It was early in the war, and opposition had not yet hardened into implacable enmity. The military command, caught by surprise, could not impose complete battlefield discipline. An estimated 100,000 British and German … Continue reading “We Need a Coronavirus Truce”

Take Rights Seriously, Even During a Pandemic

"If the provisions of the Constitution be not upheld when they pinch as well as when they comfort, they may as well be abandoned." ~ Justice George Sutherland (1862-1942) In his 2008 book "Taking Rights Seriously," the late professor Ronald Dworkin explored the origins and governmental treatment of human liberty. He argued that Thomas Jefferson … Continue reading “Take Rights Seriously, Even During a Pandemic”

America, We Have To End the Wars Now

Can anyone think what our society might have spent six and a half trillion dollars on instead of 20 years of war in the Middle East for nothing? How about the trillion dollars per year we keep spending on the military on top of that? Invading, dominating and remaking the Arab world to serve the … Continue reading “America, We Have To End the Wars Now”

Netanyahu Uses Coronavirus To Lure Rival Gantz Into ‘Emergency’ Government

Benny Gantz, the former Israeli general turned party leader, agreed late last week to join his rival Benjamin Netanyahu in an “emergency government” to deal with the coronavirus epidemic. Two weeks ago he had won a wafer-thin majority vote in the parliament that gave him first shot at trying to put together a coalition government. … Continue reading “Netanyahu Uses Coronavirus To Lure Rival Gantz Into ‘Emergency’ Government”

The Quiet and Lethal Wars Against Iran

Some wars are fought with bombs and bullets. These are the wars in Syria and Iraq, in Afghanistan and Yemen. Then there are quieter wars executed by drone. These cowardly wars also kill people, but not our people. These quieter wars accomplish what the more cacophonous wars accomplish without the public outcry and condemnation. Medical … Continue reading “The Quiet and Lethal Wars Against Iran”

Orwellian ‘Enemies’: The Enduring Utility of ‘Axes of Evil’

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms…" ~ George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (1946) Lieutenant General Robert P. White. Remember his name. I knew nothing of this man … Continue reading “Orwellian ‘Enemies’: The Enduring Utility of ‘Axes of Evil’”