W.J. Astore Back in January 2010, I wrote the following article for TomDispatch.com on the possibility of “a very American coup” occurring in conjunction with the presidential election of 2016. I make no claims to prescience: for example, the “great recession” I predicted didn’t come to pass, and there are as yet very few protesters…
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 At the New York Times, Robert Draper had a fascinating article last month on how Republican candidates for president are positioning themselves on foreign policy. Rand Paul excepted, all of the Republican candidates are calling for a more “aggressive” U.S. foreign policy, one that promises more military interventions and higher military spending. The…
Peter Van Buren Editor’s Note: TCP is especially proud to offer an original article by Peter Van Buren, author of We Meant Well, a compelling account of U.S.-led rebuilding efforts in post-invasion Iraq. Van Buren, who worked closely with American troops in Iraq, knows the bloody nature of war, which makes him doubly aware of…
Chris Hedges. Courtesy of Truthdig. Introduction: The rise of Jeremy Corbyn to lead Britain’s Labour Party is heartening. Here’s a man with a heartfelt contrary perspective. Sadly, he has no American equivalent among the major parties’ candidates. Bernie Sanders comes closest, but Sanders supports drone strikes and refuses to take a stand against Israeli aggression.…
Michael Brenner [Editor’s Note: It’s not footballs that are deflated, notes Michael Brenner. It’s our news, which is deliberately deflated and distorted so as to not disturb the ruling elites. Brenner offers some compelling examples and issues calls for meaningful reforms. His article makes for invigorating reading over this Labor Day Weekend.] An informed public…
W.J. Astore “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind,” Jim Morrison said, and this is certainly true in America. Consider the lead stories over the July 4th weekend. The first was the threat of terror attacks against America. We were told that law enforcement officials were “in no mood for a national party” — that the…
b. traven, W.J. Astore, and Stuart Lyle We at The Contrary Perspective believe in freewheeling debate. We recently had such a debate, largely behind the scenes, on the causes and larger meaning of America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. We offer this debate to our readers, unedited except for the addition of links and clarifications,…
W.J. Astore Here are a few excerpts from my latest article at TomDispatch.com. I urge you to read the entire article here. Thank you! War on drugs. War on poverty. War in Afghanistan. War in Iraq. War on terror. The biggest mistake in American policy, foreign and domestic, is looking at everything as war. When a war…
W.J. Astore Many people associate the Confederate flag (the “stars and bars”) with the South and the U.S. Civil War (Whoops — I mean “The War of Northern Aggression”). For some people, it’s been a more or less vague expression of Southern heritage, or a symbol of rebellion, a sort of redneck “good ol’ boy”…
The Contrary Perspective 