Current Events

It was 13 years ago this month that I launched this blog. Since then, I have used this site to capture in words the major events of our time (which is why Paul Marion and I called our 2017 best-of-the-blog book History as It Happens). Mindful of that tradition and…

It’s Time to Vote Up or Shut Up By George Chigas As much as we like to rail against “he who must not be named,” it’s ultimately not his fault. He’s just doing what a [noun of orange hue] would normally do in his situation. If the zookeeper decides to…

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…