Posts Tagged ‘Peace voice’
Trump botched all this
by Tom H. Hastings OK, I have seen, in my life, Eisenhower and Kennedy and Johnson and Nixon botch Vietnam. I have seen Reagan botch the Euromissile crisis alongside the AIDS outbreak. I watched George Bush the Younger and Dick Cheney utterly botch Iraq. But in my lifetime I have never witnessed any US president botch anything so disastrous as Trump has botched the response to covid 19. I didn’t know so many mistakes were even possible and he just won’t stop. His coronavirus denial was ... Full Story
At Risk—the Idea of America
by Mel Gurtov Perhaps the most damaging legacy of the Trump years is the disservice he and his associates are doing to Americans’ sense of self and nation. In ordinary times there would not be much debate about what it means to be an American or what are American values. Every school child learns these things: It’s Civics 1. Race, class, and gender identity have always been important, but generally they have been subsumed under a larger identification with the nation. “We’re ... Full Story
Waiting For Hitler
By Mel Gurtov If there is one thing I have learned as a political analyst, it is that there is no such thing as "never again." Use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians as well as soldiers? Widespread hostility toward immigrants? Ethnic cleansing and genocide? Putting autocrats in power by popular vote? A US president who is antidemocratic, criminal, and uncaring about human rights? And now, how about a new Hitler in the heart of Europe? Seems inconceivable, but a ... Full Story
No Exit? The NY Times and North Korea
by Mel Gurtov Three opinion pieces on US policy toward North Korea have appeared in the New York Times in the past week. They deserve critical comment. The writers are all very capable people who share a deep concern about Korea’s security and the possibility of a major blowup that would cause enormous human and material losses throughout the Asia Pacific. As a longtime student of Korean affairs, however, I find that these commentaries—which reflect ... Full Story
Presidential Politics and the American Soul
By Robert C Koehler When I want to believe that America is a democracy — indeed, to feel so deeply this is so that my soul trembles — I turn to Martin Luther King, who gave his life for it. He cried out for something so much more than a process: a game of winners and losers. He reached for humanity’s deepest yearning, for the connectedness of all people, for transcendence past hatred and the demonization of “the other.” He spoke — half a century ago — the words that ... Full Story
WAAAHHHH…but we don’t wanna get arrested!!
By Mike Ferner As the macho, gun-toting, testosterone-addled cowboys who took over the wildlife refuge in Oregon call it quits, their pitiful whine can be heard all the way to Florida: “Waaahhh…but we don’t wanna get arrested…” So much for the rugged-individualists and badass proponents of personal responsibility. Let’s see what happens as their armed insurrection winds down. How will the system treat the militant bullyboys? Will they get pepper-sprayed in the face as ... Full Story
