If Putin moves against Ukraine, putting the great empire on a par with Cuba and Syria will be a huge blow to the nation’s sense of self. It’s a punishment that might work. Published January 25, 2022 in Washington Monthly Russia’s massive troop buildup on Ukraine’s border has produced the worst tensions between Washington and…
The Growing Blight of “Infill” McMansions
Their awful ugliness exemplifies the unbalanced economy that spawned them. Published January 17, 2022 in Washington Monthly Most of us remember the atmosphere of pre-2008 America. One of its signature features was the jerry-built McMansion, usually constructed in isolated developments miles outside cities on hitherto perfectly serviceable farmland, heaving up in eczematous patches that scarred…
Why the Idea of Progress Is Dead in America
The Right’s assault on reason and intelligence has killed the notion that things can improve. Published in CommonDreams Dec 22, 2021 Link to article A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.—William…
The Curious Case of Two Generals Named Flynn
An insider says Mike Flynn’s brother lied about the Pentagon’s response to the Capitol riot. Published in CommonDreams Dec 10, 2021 Link to article Time flies whether one is having fun or not: it’s now almost a year since insurrectionists worked to nullify your vote in a violent storming of the Capitol. Investigations of the attempted…
Steve Bannon and the Deadly Implications of ‘Deconstructing the Administrative State’
It may sweep away the last barrier against political barbarism. Published in CommonDreams Nov. 17, 2021 Link to article Yale historian Timothy’s Snyder’s Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning was published in 2015. It was a book on a subject that had already received vast attention from historians, but it stood out for its novel…
The Leaf Blower and the Robocall: America’s Social Predicament
If we can’t even do the easy things, has the very concept of progress in America died? Published in CommonDreams Nov. 3, 2021 Link to article In the past couple of weeks, the national media briefly paused from its laser-like focus on Gabby Petito to notice that California was phasing out the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers by 2024. Not…