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Posted by on Sep 11, 2025 in Blog | 3 comments

Thoughts on the Shooting

 

 

Aside from the moral and ethical questions on politically-targeted violence, in the most self-serving Machiavellian sense, the real lunacy with violent acts –including assassinations of public figures– is that they often produce the unintended consequence of elevating the profile of the victim. Violent acts usually backfire in terms of generating sympathy and popular support. If you’ve never heard of the victim before, well you’ve heard of him now. Who knows how many future book deals that’s worth or how many speaking engagements he’s going to enjoy, assuming he’s able to survive the ordeal.

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Posted by on Aug 27, 2025 in Blog | 0 comments

Orphans Now, Terrorists Later? Questions for Supporters of Israel

 

QUESTIONS FOR SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL

ORPHANS NOW, TERRORISTS LATER?

I’ve purposely avoided writing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Not because this terrible tragedy isn’t important and doesn’t demand our attention. It’s mostly because the discord is so complex and combustible that debate and discussion becomes pointless. Given the intense depth of conviction on all sides of the conflict, I’m not sure there is a resolution. That said, I hope to come up with something thoughtful here that might achieve a consensus of opinion–even among those who disagree. At least, I’m willing to try and see how this goes.

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Posted by on Aug 25, 2025 in Blog | 0 comments

Why Do Foreign Leaders Subject Themselves to the Trump Media Circus?

 

 

WHY DO FOREIGN LEADERS SUBJECT THEMSELVES TO THE TRUMP MEDIA CIRCUS?

I don’t get it.

Each and every time Trump welcomes another foreign leader into the White House, it’s accompanied by a lengthy (and very often lively) press gathering, which consists of questions and answers. But in reality, it’s almost all Trump rambling. THE ENTIRE TIME. Recently, someone timed these circus sideshows. The calculation was that Trump talks *87 percent* of the time. That’s pretty shocking given most of the cabinet and his advisors are also in the room, in addition to the leader of the foreign country. It’s like listening to a chain saw rip through a forest of dead trees.

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Posted by on Aug 16, 2025 in Blog | 1 comment

The Fart of the Deal / The Art of the Steal

 

 

THE FART OF THE DEAL AND THE ART OF THE STEAL

Stop calling it a “historic summit.”

There was nothing “historic” about any of it, other than the world witnessing the shameful spectacle of two power-mad dictators — one wickedly intelligent, coldly calculating, and consistent….the other woefully inept, simpleminded, and unstable — staging a pitiful photo op and quickie “press conference” on a American soil.

I’ve seen more substance come out of 15-minute meetings at my local Starbucks, even when they got my order wrong.

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Posted by on May 14, 2025 in Blog | 3 comments

Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Five-Part Netflix Series Review)

 

 

TURNING POINT: THE VIETNAM WAR (NETFLIX SERIES–REVIEW)

“You will kill 10 of us, we will kill one of you. But in the end you will tire first.” — Ho Chi Minh

“We’re killing these people at a ratio of 10 to 1.” — Army Gen. William Westmoreland, U.S. supreme commander in Vietnam

“Westy, the American people don’t care about the 10, they care about the one.” — Sen. Fritz Hollings, a decorated World War II veteran from Westmoreland’s home state of South Carolina

The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago. The recent anniversary date (April 30, 1975) prompted several retrospectives–old and new. As is the case with many historical events, the passage of time does provides a broader, deeper, and clearer perspective of what really happened. Much like a forest and the trees, some distance away from the subject often provides the best vantage point.

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