Browsing: Opinions

   Before Trump’s top officials descended on Europe this past week, Donald Trump seemed to have three ideas for ending the Ukraine war: abandon ship, meaning depriving Ukraine of US aid and thereby forcing it to agree to a settlement with Russia; deploy European troops in Ukraine to deter Russia after a peace agreement; and give Ukraine aid in return for “guaranteed” access to its rare earth mineral deposits. Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, confirmed all these points and reiterated what he said was the Trump administration’s “underlying principle”: that the Europeans “have to own this conflict going forward.”

     The lessons to be learned from the events in Munich in 1938, in which Prime Minister Chamberlain signed off on the Nazi seizure of Czechoslovakia, are of course relevant, but they have also been used to justify all manner of wars and violence that have had little justification. Perhaps even worse, the Munich analogy has been used to justify the refusal to negotiate with adversaries. 

     Earlier this week, President Trump was anointed chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees—but only after firing all of the Democratic appointees on the board and handpicking their replacements to join the remaining half of the board (all Republican appointees), bucking the decades-long norm of a bipartisan Kennedy Center board. After this new, entirely Republican-appointed slate of trustees voted him in, he posted, “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees.” Then he fired the Kennedy Center’s president and installed someone loyal to him to run the Center.

     His plan is to expand the infamous Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, part of the U.S. naval base in Cuba, which George W, Bush began using as he waged his horrific “war on terror” in the Middle East. He began imprisoning alleged terrorists, often arbitrarily arrested, in a hellhole where they had zero rights. Some are still there, several decades later. Trump’s plan is to expand the detention center to hold 30,000 people, which would be, oh, more than double the size of two unforgettable Nazi concentration camps combined: Dachau and Treblinka.

“I don’t know who you are and I don’t know why you like this guy (Trump). I think what you like about him; he appears to be strong and the rest of us are weak… That’s what he’s selling…Here’s what you’re buying…He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for… He’s the ISIL man of the year.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on CNN 2015

    According to the Bible, prophets served as emissaries between  the people and God. Scriptures teach us that God speaks through life experiences we encounter. They also speak of how God spoke directly with Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and countless others. Scriptures revealed that these people heard God’s voice because they had pure hearts.

       As Miami’s waterfront transforms into an exclusive playground for billionaires, many millionaires are migrating north to Fort Lauderdale, drawn by its luxury real estate, growing economy, and vibrant cultural scene. Over 2,500 millionaires now call Fort Lauderdale home, creating a unique opportunity: What if these wealthy individuals turned their attention to the city’s historically underserved neighborhoods?

      In just two weeks, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their minions have managed to alienate, disrupt, disparage, and defy Americans and foreign friends alike. They have openly mocked Congress, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the virtues of diplomacy, all for self-serving ends. Here are five cases that summarize what they have done so far, why they are so dangerous, and why resistance is necessary.

     Amidst our evolving climate realities, many Americans are feeling the financial pinch of the climate crisis in insurance costs. Amy Bach, the Executive Director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit founded to help insurance consumers, calls it “the price tag of climate change.”

“Vietnam Syndrome” hasn’t gone away! It resulted in the elimination of the draft and ultimately morphed into “Iraq Syndrome” – so it seems – and even though those lost, horrific wars are now nothing but history, the next American war is ever-looming (against Canada? . . . against Greenland?). And yet, good God, the military is having a hard time recruiting a sufficient amount of patriotic cannon fodder.