James Keye The power/economic elite want to know the mood and movements of society just as meteorologists want to examine the measurements of weather systems. But rather than preparing for a tornado or hurricane, the elite wish to prepare for and prevent challenges to their impunity. Massive surveillance is their primary method of prediction. Together…
b. traven and W.J. Astore Are America’s foreign policy leaders mad? It’s a serious question. Consider last week’s dispatch of 300 military trainers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade to Western Ukraine, a country involved in a contentious jousting match with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Or consider this week’s deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group off…
Daniel N. White Two recent events in Austin, Texas are worth noting. The first was Senator Bernie Sanders’ recent appearance at a Democratic Socialists of America sponsored event held at the local IBEW hall. There was extensive promotion of the event by the local AFL-CIO and the turnout was good—close to 600 showed up. Audience…
Nicolas J.S. Davies We read in the news that a revolution in a foreign country has gained control of its capital and most of its territory. The country’s president is forced to flee, while his supporters fight on from their regional base, insisting that the new rulers have no legitimacy. How should the U.S. respond?…
Daniel N. White The criminal foolishness of advocating war against Iran is rather obvious. Senator John McCain, US Naval Academy ‘58, is a criminal fool by anyone’s definition to advocate launching a war we would certainly lose, as he so recently did from the floor of the Senate. This is obvious and the failure of…
b. traven There’s an old comedy routine by Abbott and Costello. Abbott tells Costello, “Who’s on first.” (It’s a baseball routine.) Costello, not getting that the player’s surname is “Who,” keeps demanding: “No, I want to know who’s on first?” It goes downhill from there as the two comedians talk past one another, each exasperating…
James Keye I created this list of “American Myths” 25 years ago thinking that some significant part of the people would begin to understand them over time. What seems to be happening is that the country is dividing into those who cling with increasing aggression to these myths as others realize the falseness of them.…
b. traven We’ve spent the last twenty-five years pulling Israel’s and Saudi Arabia’s chestnuts out of the fire in the Middle East. First with Desert Storm in Kuwait in 1990-91, then Iraq in 2003, and now Iraq redux. We’ve made such a hash of these military interventions that only a mixed metaphor will do…
Nicolas J S Davies As I wrote this essay on the 12th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq (March 19-20), the news was filled with its violent repercussions across the Middle East and the world. The latest atrocity was a multiple suicide bombing at two mosques in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, that have killed…
Richard Sahn In 1933 Dorothy Day, a progressive journalist and Catholic convert, and Peter Maurin, a French peasant and philosopher, founded an anarchist-pacifist movement and newspaper they called the “Catholic Worker.” The paper was meant to be the Christian answer to the Communist Party paper, “The Daily Worker.” Not affiliated with the Catholic Church,…
The Contrary Perspective 