essays

formulations of my political thought

Afghanistan: Time to Leave

March 12, 2009

“If you are the 4th-poorest country in the world, you have a long way to go. When you try to train an army, they have an 80% illiteracy rate… It’s gonna take a long time.” Former White House Press Secretary … Continue reading →

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Back into the Light

January 19, 2009

At an alumni function last year, I spoke with a friend I had not seen in over a decade. He had spent many of the intervening years in Afghanistan with the US Army, in an intelligence unit. I asked him … Continue reading →

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The Fascists at “Homeland Security”

January 8, 2009

The case of Raquel Williams illustrates the way an insane bureaucracy can change rational, thinking men into lock-stepping foot-soldiers of fascism. Raquel is a Brazilian woman who married an American man, Derek Williams, while she was studying in Florida to … Continue reading →

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Vote Obama, But Don’t Stop There

October 30, 2008

Sarah Palin has been traveling around what she calls the Real America – the “pro-America” parts of the country, where they “grow good people” who “fight our wars.” These are the Real Americans, Sarah tells us. Real Americans know that … Continue reading →

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Agitating for War

July 1, 2008

If you haven’t yet read Seymour Hersch’s new article, you need to do that now. Hersch wrote about US military incursions into Iran last year, and this is the latest update. He is a seriously connected, established journalist who consistently … Continue reading →

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The Backslide Begins

June 28, 2008

Barack Obama is already letting us down. No sooner than I could get it out into words, he’s already settling into the disturbing patterns that ruined the McGovern campaign. Bad decisions – or worse, indecisiveness – followed by poor message control, … Continue reading →

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Fear and Loathing in ’08

June 19, 2008

Reading Hunter S. Thompson’s fine book on the 1972 presidential campaign today will trigger a case of reverse déjà vu: there is no lack of Fear and Loathing in the 2008 Presidential Election. Like Obama today, George McGovern offered the … Continue reading →

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She Just Won’t Quit

June 2, 2008

Two weeks ago, I predicted on Sascha’s blog that Hillary Clinton would do the right thing and quit after the races that are taking place tomorrow. Now I’m not so sure. At first I thought Clinton’s continuing swagger was just … Continue reading →

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Chinese Jingos vs. American Jingos

April 29, 2008

“America: Love it or leave it.” “China: Love it or we’ll kill you.” That pretty much sums up the difference between the jingoists in my country and the jingoists in my wife’s. Both our countrymen have a tendency to overreact … Continue reading →

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PA Reality

April 22, 2008

Today, finally, the voters of Penn’s Woods go to the polls. But methinks tomorrow we will be no closer to having a Democratic presidential nominee. The recent debate was a travesty. Once again, I had no idea it was coming … Continue reading →

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