The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Watching the impeachment trial, waiting for the Senate decision on relevant witnesses versus brazen cover-up, I keep thinking about three ridiculous arguments made by President Trump’s defenders and echoed incessantly on Fox and its spillover social media and…
Thought Experiment: What if… Donald J. Trump By George Chigas What would it look like if people like me, who see very little to like about President Donald J. Trump, were to suspend judgment for a moment and try to be more objective, even empathetic? What would it look like?…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Though cynics may mock it as a bit theatrical, the somber demeanor of House leaders delivering the the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate did fit the gravity of the event. Understanding the importance of the message conveyed…
Seeing Through the Double Standard By George Chigas The use of the double standard (in this case, when a state applies the rules of war differently depending on which side you’re on; but it also applies to multiple other contexts: personal, home sports teams, etc) is an age-old form of…
“US or Them” means No one By George Chigas Shortly after midnight on January 3, 2020, a US drone attack killed Iranian general and chief military strategist Qassem Soleimani as his convoy was leaving the Baghdad International airport. The assassination follows months of escalating violence subsequent to the Trump administration’s…
Checking for Climate Change Understanding By George Chigas It’s not difficult to see why so many people are taken in by the argument that we should consume our plentiful reserves of fossil fuels (off shore and wherever they can be found) before making the transition to non-Greenhouse gas emitting energy…
John Wooding recently retired from his position as professor in the Department of Political Science at UMass Lowell. He is an occasional contributor to this blog. Born in Northampton, England, John is a U.S. citizen now, but retains strong ties to the UK through family, friends, and colleagues. He offers…
With an election in the UK coming up soon, here’s a look back at the 2015 election by John Wooding, born in Northampton, England, and now a US citizen, who taught political science at UMass Lowell for many years. This is the election that led to the Brexit (British exit…
This message if from Felice Kincannon (felicek@turi.org) on behalf of the organizing committee. Dear All, Please try to carve out some time to attend the First American Learning Cities Networking Conference next week, Thursday and Friday, November 14 and 15. Apologies for the fact that this invitation is late.…
Politics being one of the main themes on this blog, I think it is helpful now and then to cut through the jargon and remind ourselves of what some key terms mean and where they come from in history. For example, Left, Right, Left Wing, Right Wing are terms that…