As the war in Afghanistan rages on and the Taliban appears to — once again — be gaining strength, U.S. President Donald Trump has committed more troops to “defeat the enemy.” America’s new Afghanistan policy is expected Sept. 6, when Defence Secretary Jim Mattis testifies before Congress, but Trump already outlined in August that one of [...]
The Chicago Cubs broke a 108-year drought by winning the World Series last year. American workers are in a 40-year drought, but with the right game plan, they too can start to win. Consider first the sorry facts. The median inflation-adjusted earnings of full-time male workers peaked in 1973. By contrast, the earnings of capital [...]
NEW YORK – The US is in the midst of a political meltdown, unable to manage a domestic economic agenda or a coherent foreign policy. The White House is in turmoil; Congress is paralyzed; and the world is looking on in astonishment and dread. If we are to survive and overcome this collapse, we must [...]
NEW YORK – In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump and his advisers have joined Saudi Arabia in accusing Iran of being the epicenter of Middle East terrorism. The US Congress, meanwhile, is readying yet another round of sanctions against Iran. But the caricature of Iran as “the tip of the spear” of global terrorism, [...]
In the last week of July, 54 years ago, President John F. Kennedy initialed the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with his counterpart, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Kennedy spoke to the nation in a remarkable address, which reminds us of his gifts of vision and eloquence; of the obligation and wisdom to pursue peace even in [...]
(CNN) In a recent speech in Poland, President Donald Trump asked whether the West “has the will to survive.” It’s a good question, but aimed in the wrong direction. While Trump spoke about foreign aggression, the real threat to the West is the collapse of ethical norms, led by Trump and others like him. America is engulfed [...]
The greatest problem in Washington is not polarization but lying. The legislative machinery has ground to a halt not because of the great divide between liberals and conservatives but because of the great divide between the lobbyists and the people. The lobbyists want things that are against the public interest, and they use lies and [...]
MEDELLÍN – O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! (Oh friends, not these sounds!), proclaimed the baritone in the stirring performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to the G20 leaders in Hamburg last Friday evening. That soul-stirring phrase, the opening line of “Ode to Joy,” Beethoven’s appeal to universal brotherhood, was the perfect message to the global leaders sitting in [...]
As they return from the July Fourth break, the Republican leadership is twisting in agony on the Obamacare repeal and it couldn’t happen to a more miserable bunch. President Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell have been trying to jam through a deeply unpopular and cruel piece of legislation, but [...]
For those with a college degree or above, life is good. Jobs are plentiful, incomes are rising, inflation is low, health is broadly improving, and the impacts of the new information technologies — from smartphones to e-commerce to ubiquitous information — are generally beneficent. For those without a college degree, the situation is starkly different. [...]
