The last nineteen months have been a tumultuous time for the nuclear disarmament movement, placing it, today, on the cusp of some important decisions about its future direction.Many advocates of nuclear disarmament felt considerable elation at the election of Barack Obama in 2008. In the previous years, the Bush administration had scrapped the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, refused to support … [Read more...]
Rand Paul Could Use a Lesson from My Father on Discrimination
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Rand Paul's criticism of the federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s can be better evaluated by looking at the workings of similar legislation that appeared on the state level two decades before.In 1945, New York became the first state since Reconstruction to pass anti-discrimination legislation. At the time, there was plenty of biased behavior in the state based on race, … [Read more...]
Replacing International Oppression with International Aid
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The outpouring of humanitarian aid from numerous nations for the suffering people of Haiti is truly extraordinary -- particularly when set against the shabby record of the past.After all, in previous centuries the French government invaded Haiti, enslaved its people and, when the Haitians arose and drove out the French, subsequently crippled its economy by foisting a huge reparations burden … [Read more...]
Nuclear Terrorism: How It Can Be Prevented
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The recent furor over an unsuccessful terrorist attempt to blow up an airliner is distracting us from considering the possibility of a vastly more destructive terrorist act: exploding a nuclear weapon in a heavily-populated area.Such a disaster -- which would kill hundreds of thousands of people -- is not a remote possibility at all. Although terrorist groups do not have the fissile material … [Read more...]
In War, Winners Can Be Losers
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Thus far, most of the supporters and opponents of escalating the U.S. war in Afghanistan have focused on whether or not it is possible to secure a military victory in that conflict. But they neglect considering the fact that, in war, even a winner can be a loser.The most obvious way in which military success can turn into defeat is by imposing vast human and material costs on the victor. … [Read more...]
Thinking Outside the Box: What Obama Could Have Said
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Much of the American public is skeptical about the value of Obama's plan, announced in his address of December 1, to send another 30,000 U.S. troops to fight an apparently endless war in Afghanistan, and with good reason. If, after eight years of sending U.S. and NATO soldiers to wage this war, al Qaeda maintains its foothold in the region, the Taliban is stronger, Afghanistan is more unstable, … [Read more...]
Who’s Afraid of World Government?
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A few weeks ago, Glenn Beck of the Fox News Channel, with that hysterical flourish that has made him the darling of rightwing extremists, proclaimed: "America, if . . . you're not really into that whole One World Government thing, watch out." This kind of warning, regularly issued on Fox News, seems rather absurd today, given the obvious weakness of the United Nations and the failure of … [Read more...]
Moving Toward a Nuke-Free World
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Addressing a U.N. Security Council Summit on September 24, 2009, President Barack Obama observed that the resolution unanimously adopted by the Security Council earlier that day "enshrines our shared commitment to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons."But the enthusiasm for this measure among the representatives of major nations should not obscure the fact that securing their commitment … [Read more...]
The Weakness of National Military Strength
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During 2008, the nations of the world spent nearly $1.5 trillion on their military forces. That is what has been reported by the highly-respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which noted that the five biggest spenders were the United States ($607 billion), China ($85 billion), France ($66 billion), Britain ($65 billion), and Russia ($59 billion). Adjusted for inflation, the … [Read more...]
When “Public Options” Serve the Public—and When They Don’t
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Currently, there is nothing more controversial in President Barack Obama's health care reform proposal than the "public option." Much of the controversy, of course, has been generated by private insurance companies, determined to safeguard their hefty profits, and by Republican politicians, eager to destroy anything that might redound to the benefit of the Democrats. Even so, a little clear … [Read more...]
The Ongoing Danger of Nuclear War
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This August, when hundreds of Hiroshima Day vigils and related antinuclear activities occur around the United States, many Americans will wonder at their relevance. After all, the nuclear danger that characterized the Cold War is now far behind us, isn't it?Unfortunately, it is not.Today there are nine nuclear-armed nations, with over 23,000 nuclear weapons in their arsenals. Thousands … [Read more...]
A Nation of Tax-Evaders
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The furor over the non-payment of taxes by Tom Daschle and a few other recent nominees for public office should not obscure the deeper truth that the United States has become a nation of tax-evaders.On the simplest level, this tax evasion is exemplified by the fact that vast numbers of people, including some who are quite wealthy, under-report their incomes to avoid paying their lawful share … [Read more...]
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