Commentary
Commentary
America Is Exceptional—in All the Wrong Ways
Maj. Danny Sjursen: I was born and raised in an America far more Orwellian than many now remember. Matters have gone so far off the rails since 9/11 that few seem to recall the madness of the 1980s. The U.S. had a celebrity actor for president, who railed about America’s ostensibly existential adversary—the Soviet “evil empire.” ... Only a country that truly, deeply believes in its own special mission could repeat the hideous policies of the 1980s and hardly notice. ... What’s so staggeringly unique about the United States is ultimately this: It stands alone among historical hegemons in denying the very existence of its empire. ... Me, I’m sick of patriotism, of exceptionalism, of nationalism. I’ve seen where all those ideologies inevitably lead: to aggressive war, military occupations and, ultimately, dead children...
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Mar 22, 2019, 12:13pm
Commentary
Empire of Absurdity: Recycled Neocons, Recycled Enemies
Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.): Sure, America (for a few more fleeting years) boasts the world’s dominant economy, sure its dotted the globe with a few hundred military bases, and sure it’s military still outspends the next seven competitors combined. Nonetheless, what’s remarkable, what constitutes the real story of 2019, is this: the US empire can’t seem to accomplish anything anymore, can’t seem to bend anybody to its will. It’s almost sad to watch. America, the big-hulking has-been on the block, still struts its stuff, but most of the world simply ignores it. ... The world is no safer, global terror attacks have only increased ... the United States – or any wannabe hegemon – simply doesn’t possess the capability to shape the world in its own image. ... It turns out that low-tech, cheap insurgent tactics, when combined with impassioned nationalism, can bog down the "world’s best military" indefinitely...
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Mar 20, 2019, 3:54pm
Commentary
WILLIAM BLUM: Sucking Liberals into a New Cold War
William Blum died on December 9, 2018. ... Originally published on Dec. 6, 2017. ... Cold War Number One: 70 years of daily national stupidity. Cold War Number Two: Still in its youth, but just as stupid. ... The Cold War strategist, George Kennan, wrote prophetically: “Were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial establishment would have to go on, substantially unchanged, until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy.” ... NOTE: It should be remembered that the worst consequences of anti-communism were not those discussed above. The worst consequences, the ultra-criminal consequences, were the abominable death, destruction, and violation of human rights that we know under various names: Vietnam, Chile, Korea, Guatemala, Cambodia, Indonesia, Brazil, Greece, Afghanistan, El Salvador, and many others...
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Mar 19, 2019, 11:16am
Commentary
We Must Apply Our Universal Values to All Nations. Only Then Will We Achieve Peace.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: I believe in an inclusive foreign policy — one that centers on human rights, justice and peace as the pillars of America’s engagement in the world, one that brings our troops home and truly makes military action a last resort. This is a vision that centers on the experiences of the people directly affected by conflict, that takes into account the long-term effects of U.S. engagement in war and that is sincere about our values regardless of short-term political convenience. ... This means reorienting our foreign affairs to focus on diplomacy and economic and cultural engagement. ... Valuing human rights also means applying the same standards to our friends and our enemies. ... We do not have the credibility to support those fighting for human rights in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua if we do not also support those fighting for human rights in Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil. Our criticisms of oppression and regional instability caused by Iran are not legitimate if we do not hold Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to the same standards...
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Mar 18, 2019, 4:24pm
Commentary
The Democratrepublican’s Carnivorial Tent
Clark T. Scott: Two parties, my ass! ... There is one political party which is allowed to operate in the ever-moving, privately owned, carnivorial tent known as the “republic” of the United States of America. This operation has no allegiance to any geographic or spiritual location. Any and all locations are seen primarily as possible sources of monetary income and incoming money is the justifier (sic) and instigator of any deception which is deemed necessary at any given time. ... Yes, the chief method employed has always involved getting the suckers to fall for the pretense that there is something especially “exceptional” about each and every physical location or supposed spiritual intent where the numerous barkers in the carnivorial tent position themselves to distract the suckers...
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Mar 16, 2019, 2:24pm
Commentary
“There Are Innocent People on Death Row” — Citing Wrongful Convictions, California Governor Halts Executions
Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith: In a historic executive order signed Wednesday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions and ordered the death chamber at San Quentin Prison — unused following a $853,000 renovation a decade ago — closed. ... Newsom’s order leaves intact the sentences of all 737 condemned people in the state, the largest death row in the country. It also does nothing to stop prosecutors from seeking new death sentences ... In many ways, California’s death penalty system is emblematic of the state of capital punishment nationwide. As in much of the country, people on death row in the state are more likely to die from illness, suicide, or old age than they are to be executed ... As Newsom made clear at the Wednesday press conference, the enduring unfairness inherent in the death penalty was what forced him to act. More than 60 percent of California’s death row population are people of color...
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Mar 14, 2019, 1:02pm
Commentary
Uncle Sam Sent Me to Rehab for PTSD
Maj. Danny Sjursen: I arrived an absolute mess; most of us did. Bloated cheeks, sunken eyes, wearing my PTSD and depression on every inch of my face. ... This, a civilian treatment facility in nowhere, Arizona, was to be my last official duty as an officer in the U.S. Army—an ignominious end to a once-bright career. Still, the truth is I needed it ... See, the formula is as simple as it is dreadful: The military takes these kids, trains ‘em for a few months, then sends them off to some unwinnable war (Iraq and Afghanistan are the current go-to spots). There, they’re sometimes killed or mutilated, but more often than not they suffer PTSD and moral injury from what they’ve seen and done. ... Even if the wars ended tomorrow (they won’t, by the way), American society has another half-century ahead of it, laden with the burden of these unnecessary disabled veterans. It’s inescapable...
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Mar 13, 2019, 12:57pm
Commentary
The Climate Fight Has Clear Villains. It's Long Past Time to Name Them
Thomas Neuburger: Contrary to frightened and popular belief, there are actually a number of avenues to success in the battle to repair an increasingly unfriendly climate — or relative success, given that much of the damage that will be done is irreversible. All of those avenues, however, require the use of force. ... What counts as force? Legal action against fossil fuel companies counts as force. Financial attacks on their assets count as force. But most importantly, criminalizing and punishing the behavior of fossil fuel executives — the individuals themselves — counts as force. ... Just one hundred fossil fuel producers — including privately held and state-owned companies — have been responsible for 71 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions released since 1988, emissions that have already killed at least tens of thousands of people through climate-fueled disasters worldwide....
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Mar 12, 2019, 3:27pm
 Commentary
Israel’s Stranglehold on American Politics
Chris Hedges: Criticism of Israel and the ideology of Zionism is not anti-Semitic. ... Criticism of Israel’s influence and control over U.S. foreign policy, and of Israeli efforts to silence those who champion Palestinian rights, is not anti-Semitic. ... Criticism of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians or its dangerous campaign to orchestrate a war with Iran is not anti-Semitic. ... Israel and its lobby do not care if its political allies, including those in the Christian right and the Trump White House, possess warped and racist attitudes about Jews. The Christian right and many of those in the White House, while embracing Zionism, are also anti-Semitic. ... The sole criterion of Israel and the Israel lobby in determining who to support and who to demonize is identifying who backs the far-right agenda of the apartheid state of Israel and who does not...
Mar 11, 2019, 3:08pm
Commentary
Transitional Times and the Appearance of a New Normal
Graham Peebles: By any measure these are extraordinary times, revolutionary times in which a ‘new normal’ is evolving as existing systems and practices crumble. ... It is a global catastrophe, vast and complex, one that demands the best of mankind, but is being met with two of the outstanding characteristics of the past – indifference and complacency. ... Healing the planet, healing the socio-economic system(s), healing our communities and the individuals within them cannot be accomplished by the old ways – historic, habitual remedies rooted in division, manipulation and control. ... Human beings are in a state of conflict within themselves, and by extension are out of sync with the whole; the result is conflict, within and without. ... Separation is the product of a cultivated false way of thinking; life is a whole and humanity is one, we share a consciousness and a home, we are responsible for one another and we are all responsible for the natural world...
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Mar 9, 2019, 10:50am
Commentary
Does Every Felony Sentence Need to Be a Death Sentence?
John Kiriakou: What company would hire a “violent” felon? What apartment complex would rent an apartment to one? ... The bottom line is twofold: Jobs and forgiveness. There is an active campaign across the country to “ban the box,” whereby employers would be prohibited from asking on a job application whether the applicant has any felony convictions. That’s a great idea in theory, but all an employer has to do is to google an applicant. They don’t need boxes on applications anymore. What ex-felons need is job training and an apprenticeship program. Employers could receive tax credits for hiring newly-released prisoners, training them, and giving them a job. The government, whether state or federal, could bond them. They’d likely be on parole or probation anyway, so the prospect of returning to prison would probably ensure good behavior. ... The tougher of the two is forgiveness...
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Mar 8, 2019, 2:02pm
Commentary
The Global Assault on Indigenous Peoples
Kenn Orphan: “We must answer their call. Our Mother Earth, militarized, fenced-in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated, demands that we take action. Let us build societies that are able to coexist in a dignified way, in a way that protects life." - Berta Caceres, Indigenous rights and environmental activist of the Lenca people, murdered in Honduras in 2016 ... But whether it is the Ngäbe–Buglé in Panama, or the Bonda of India, or the Wet’suwet’en in Canada, or the Papuan in New Guinea, or the Kariri-Xoko in Brazil, or the Aboriginal in Australia, or the Ogoni in Nigeria, or the Lakota in the US the threat of annihilation is both real and imminent. ... Thanks to a system of global capital they are up against powerful forces that seek to strip the earth of every last resource for the profit of a few...
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Mar 4, 2019, 2:03pm
Commentary
American Exceptionalism: The Naked Truth by William Blum
Ed Note: This is his last speech in June 2018 before his death in December. ... We can all agree I think that US foreign policy must be changed and that to achieve that the mind – not to mention the heart and soul – of the American public must be changed. But what do you think is the main barrier to achieving such a change in the American mind? ... Preconceptions? ... The most basic of these basic beliefs, I think, is a deeply-held conviction that no matter what the US does abroad, no matter how bad it may look, no matter what horror may result, the government of the United States means well. ... Many of the citizens fall for US government propaganda justifying its military actions as often and as naively as Charlie Brown falling for Lucy’s football. ... Keep in mind that our precious homeland, above all, seeks to dominate the world. For economic reasons, nationalistic reasons, ideological, Christian, and for other reasons, world hegemony has long been America’s bottom line...
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Mar 2, 2019, 11:44am
Commentary
Neither Rain, Sleet, nor Snow Will Stop the Post Office From Spying on You
John Kiriakou: It’s called the “Mail Cover Program” and it’s run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Yes, even the Post Office is spying on us ... The Mail Cover Program allows postal employees to photograph and send to federal law enforcement organizations (FBI, DHS, Secret Service, etc.) the front and back of every piece of mail the Post Office processes. It also retains the information digitally and provides it to any government agency that wants it—without a warrant. ... between 2000 and 2012, the Postal Service initiated an average of 8,000 mail cover requests per year. But in 2013, that number jumped to 49,000. Why? Nobody knows and the Postal Service doesn’t have to say. ... “How is this constitutional?”...
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Mar 1, 2019, 3:28pm
Commentary
Anand Giridharadas: 'What wealthy people do is rig the discourse'
A political analyst for MSNBC and author of the 2018 bestselling book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, Giridharadas assesses the relationship between philanthropy and antiracism in an era of growing wealth among elite changemakers. ... There are certain dance moves that have been very effective at making us think that members of the ruling class are not the problem that in fact they are. One popular dance move is using generosity to obscure one’s own complicity in injustice. You commit an injustice and then rely on generosity on a much smaller scale to cover it up ... I think philanthropy is a Band-Aid on a bleeding tumor. To be sure, there’s blood, and the Band-Aid helps with that. But the Band-Aid is inadequate to the underlying problem. ... we are at risk of forgetting that the same class of people are also undermining the greater good every day and on an ongoing basis...
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Feb 28, 2019, 11:01am
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