Asif Mahmood

The NYT Editorial Board has rebuked various Democratic Party institutions for actively supporting election-denying and otherwise extremist Republicans to the detriment of allegedly more moderate voices within the Republican Party.  The problem, however, is that the Republican Party has utterly failed to address the attempt of Donald Trump to destroy the republic on January 6.  … Continue reading Asif Mahmood

Why Ukraine Matters: A Response to Andrew Bacevich

Introduction For decades Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of History and International Studies at Boston University, has written compelling warnings about the militarization of US foreign policy.  In books and articles that persistently echo Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cautions against the military-industrial complex (MIC), Bacevich has shone a revealing light on how the corrupting militarization of politics … Continue reading Why Ukraine Matters: A Response to Andrew Bacevich

Evil is Always a Choice, Never a Necessity

The general context of this post relates to a brief response I gave to John Nichols’ excellent defense of Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Mandela Barnes’ speech addressing problems in US history that placed a particular burden on Blacks and Native Americans from the very inception of the Republic.  The article and the commentary it elicited can … Continue reading Evil is Always a Choice, Never a Necessity

Plagiarized Endorsements for the June Primary

By now, all registered voters should have received their California State and County Information Guide and Official Vote-By-Mail Ballots.  In retirement, I have decided to comb through these guides a little more carefully than before and to share some thoughts as to why I have made my choices.  I will suggest some candidates, but I … Continue reading Plagiarized Endorsements for the June Primary

The High Treason of the Global Right: A Story from Poland

A friend from Poland sent me a recent statement from a conservative politician in Poland named Roman Giertych.  The statement alleges a conspiracy between Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and the leading conservative party in Poland, the Law and Justice Party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, hereafter PiS).  The secret agreement would have rendered the … Continue reading The High Treason of the Global Right: A Story from Poland

Essential Fascism: A Response to Goodfellow

Sam G (I like the Lord of the Rings echo here!): You have always maintained an appropriate caution in drawing parallels between the fascism that emerged in interwar Europe and similar elements in the US political landscape of the present.  What emerged in the Nazi period, for example, drew from foundations deeply set in medieval … Continue reading Essential Fascism: A Response to Goodfellow