Chris Hedges (Courtesy of Truthdig) The increase in nihilistic violence such as school shootings and Friday’s lethal assault on a Planned Parenthood clinic, the frequent executions of poor people of color by police, and the rise of thuggish demagogues such as Donald Trump are symptoms of the collapse of our political and cultural institutions. These…
Katie Stuart My 23 year old son, Gillen, is in the Air National Guard. He is four years into a six year commitment. A few weekends ago, he came home from “drill” with the news that he may have to go to Afghanistan for six months in the spring of 2017. A few days later,…
W.J. Astore The year was 1915. Europe, indeed much of the world, was embroiled in the devastating Great (or World) War. Under President Woodrow Wilson, the United States was proud to have stayed out of the war, the massive bloodletting of which seemed peculiarly European, an “Old World” form of militarized madness that most Americans…
Walter Stewart Editor’s introduction: I’m a product of the all-volunteer force, having joined ROTC in 1981. But I’m a strong believer in a citizen military, one in which the burden of defending the Constitution, as well as the privilege of doing so, is shared equitably among all young citizens. Walt Stewart is a product of…
W.J. Astore My wife and I were talking about the Republican attack on Planned Parenthood and how ludicrous it is in the grand scheme of things. The Federal Government contributes just over $500 million to the budget of Planned Parenthood. That’s the equivalent of two F-35 jet fighters to support vitally important health services provided…
P.J. Sullivan Americans have a powerful affinity for predators. Our national symbol, the American eagle, is a flesh-eating raptor, the top predator of the skies. The pets we dote on, cats and dogs, are carnivores. We kill for them and invite them into our homes, even into our beds. When Cecil the lion was killed…
Michael Gallagher Pope Francis was praised in the New York Times as showing a “deft hand” in diplomacy during his recent American trip. A manifestation of his deft hand was his lamentable failure, especially in his address to the United Nations, to condemn the policy of nuclear deterrence: the idea that peace can be kept…
Daniel N. White Introduction: America’s self-declared war on drugs is in its fifth decade with victory nowhere in sight. In fact, the war has created its own violent dynamic, its own complex of deeply conflicted interests. In the USA, that would include the DEA, Homeland Security, the FBI, and most other law enforcement agencies;…
Daniel N. White Detroit, its economic and physical collapse and failure, has been a staple story of the press for better than three decades now. Everyone who ever lived there has their story about it, and me here in Austin, Texas, hell, I now have mine. Just got back from a funeral of an aunt…
W.J. Astore We tackle heavy subjects at this site, but occasionally we throw in a change of pace. My Dad was a fount of homespun wisdom and sayings. Three of them immediately spring to mind. “Water seeks its own level,” meaning (for him) that you don’t have to coddle talented kids—they’ll find their own path in…
The Contrary Perspective 