Why we need to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Independence Day.
I don’t often hear the 4th of July called “Independence Day” anymore. It was pretty common when I was a kid, almost one third of the life of the country ago. The 4th of July names the date of a great occurrence. Independence Day names the occurrence. The occurrence was the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which lists the 27 faults the colonists held against the king. The fifty-six men who eventually signed were, of course, risking their lives for this act of treason against the king, but they did it because they felt the king was abusing his…
Why does a shooting at the Washington Hilton require a ballroom at the White House?
Something about the White House Correspondents Associate (WHCA) dinner shooting bothered me. That is, it bothered me beyond the issue of someone trying – again – to murder public officials. Of course, there were the obvious questions – how many conspiracy theories will evolve from it, why were thirteen members of the line of succession there, why was yet another young man possessed of the need to attack people with a gun, etc. But the one I found most curious was how did a shooting at the Hilton Hotel become a demand to expedite the construction of a ballroom at…
Corruption is not a victimless crime
Corruption. Rot. Decay. Degradation. Putrescence. Words that describe a path from being whole and healthy to not being. Americans hate corrupt government. They also tolerate it. It gives them something to complain about. They can say it’s hopeless to try to fix it. Everyone does it so what’s the point? Nothing I can do. Besides, it doesn’t really affect me. Many voters think corruption is background noise. It isn’t. Many government contracts require competitive bids to ensure fair access to the work and a proper review of the contractor’s capabilities. No-bid contracts, offered to only a single contractor, ignore those…
Trump is dangerous to the world
Donald Trump is a danger to the world. His actions threaten the stability of nations, the operation of international trade, and the conduct of foreign policy. He works openly against the norms the world has lived by for the past 80 years as he threatens NATO, attacks international law, diminishes our relationships with allies, advances relationships with those who do not hold our best interests at heart. Any action by a major power can have dire unintended consequences. There is a great difference between consequences that are unintended and those that are foreseeable but unconsidered. The war in Iran has…
The Trump War – How will we know it succeeded?
What will it really take to achieve the objectives stated by the Trump administration to win the Iran war? And do we have the will to do it?
War! Again.
War in Iran. What happens next? why are we doing this? 60 years after the Gulf on Tonkin, are we repeating the same mistakes? Survey of several possible reasons for war beyond the official line.
Embarrassment at Davos
Trump’s presentation at Davos was embarrassing. I began drafting this essay thinking I would direct blame for some of this administration’s self-inflicted chaos to Republicans in congress, cabinet members, and both official and unofficial advisors. It’s not that they deserve more blame than the Don for the costs, chaos and corruption of the government but I don’t think they get enough. I kept coming back to the fact that Donald J. Trump is president of the United States of America and they are not. The buck stops with him no matter how hard he tries to redirect it. So here…
Making America Weak Again
MAGA means “Make American Great Again” but what is actually happening is “Making America Weak Again”. The role of a national government is often described as needing to protect life, liberty and property or pursuit of happiness along with other elements that depend on the type of government. Nations that are strong do those things well. Nations that are great do them very well and do them with the success of their people in mind. Nations that are great understand that they live in a world with others. Nations that are great protect their people from foreign military adventures, from…
Our Experiment in Democracy is Under Attack
The rule of law in America is in danger. Why does that matter to the average person who is just trying to get along and make ends meet?
The United States and Lebanon
A devastating explosion of ammonium-nitrate killed at least 135 people, injured thousands and destroyed a large part of Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanese are understandably horrified, shocked and angered by the negligence of a government that allowed a lethal condition to exist in their major port city, 100 yards from residential areas for as long as seven years in spite of repeated warnings. Lebanon has historical problems. It is sandwiched between Israel and Syria and serves both as buffer and punching bag for local powers. The government suffers from corruption (ranked number 137 of 198 in the World Corruption Index for…
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