Daniel N. White Books on war are too important to be left to generals, or for that matter to the usual war buffs. I suspect that the entire cadre of American lefties who read seriously about war could fit handily into an SUV. If so, Bruce Cumings might just occupy the driver’s seat. His one-volume…
b. traven Daddy, who won all the wars the USA has fought since World War II? Well, son, there is some debate about that. Our government likes to tell us that we won them because we are “exceptional” but there are serious questions about who really won. One thing is clear, though: When we wage war on…
Richard Sahn As a sociology professor who believes in the power of the spoken word, the critical analysis of an issue, the learning by questioning process, I am disheartened by the proliferation of online courses. Such courses may be a college administrator’s dream, but they are a serious educator’s nightmare. Since the beginning of my…
b. traven For those Democratic voters who still, after five years of bitter experience, retain the forlorn hope that a real liberal or progressive heart beats in Obama’s chest, the recent revelation in The Washington Post that it was Obama who, in 2011, empowered the National Security Agency to go after Americans’ private communications should finally end…
b. traven Before I read Albert Camus’ novel Caligula, I felt that man’s sojourn on this planet was dominated by a state of mind called “happiness.” But in the novel I read the words Camus gave Caligula that “Man dies and is unhappy.” That seemed a rather morose and novel thought to me. But through…
Greg Laxer I have just returned from nearly two weeks in Moscow, my first visit to Russia. Just from the sights I absorbed on the ride from the airport to downtown, I appreciated that Russia is a great nation and justly deserves to be recognized as such by the U.S. and other hostile governments. This…
Richard Sahn Everyday in American newspapers and on our TV and cable news there are stories of gun related homicides. As a society we are used to these stories, we are numb to them, we take them for granted as in “What else is new?” But we are also, I would argue, proud of them.…
By Daniel N. White. Introduction by William Astore. The current count of American service members killed in the Afghan War stands at 2245. What did they die for? For most Americans the answer remains unclear. Also unclear is why, nearly twelve years into this war, the U.S. military continues to maintain a large (and…
b. traven John Kerry, America’s Secretary of State, has spent the last four months cobbling together a new Palestinian-Israeli peace process charade. To this end, he’s appointed Martin Indyk as his “Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian (Peace) Negotiations.” Why has the U.S. media failed to assess this appointment in any critical way? If Indyk had been Muslim…
b. traven Even Dubya couldn’t get it right. Remember when George W. Bush was fooling us every few weeks with his color-coded “Red” and “Orange” security alerts? They didn’t scare the terrorists, but they did frighten most Americans into accepting another of his assaults against our constitutional rights. Now we see Obama trying the same…
The Contrary Perspective 