By James A. Haught Cults usually are one-man religions. A magnetic, dictatorial, dogmatic, demagogue draws throngs of followers and leads them into lala-land, sometimes dangerously. Jim Jones took 900 gullible adherents to cyanide suicide. David Koresh brought seventy Branch Davidians to fiery death. Shoko Asahara sent his Supreme Truth believers to plant nerve gas in […]
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Donald Trump
Did Plato’s Republic warn Democracies about Trump 2,394 Years Ago?
By Matthew Sharpe | – Western philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato, the old saying goes. And The Republic (c. 375 BCE), featuring Plato’s teacher Socrates in dialogue with several friends, is unquestionably central to Plato’s thought. There are few subjects that Plato’s masterpiece does not touch or play on: political theory, education, […]
In Wake of “Afghanistan Papers” Scandal, Trump to Yank Out 4,000 Troops
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – VOA reports that Trump will pull 4,000 US troops from Afghanistan, leaving less than 9,000 in country. Of the 13,000 US troops now in Afghanistan, 8,000 are training the Afghanistan National Army, while 5,000 are actively engaged in counter-terrorism operations. Last week Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that any […]
Result of 50 yrs of the New Right: Trump Will Stay, GOP will Cling to Him
By J.M. Opal | – Donald Trump is no Richard Nixon. Nixon was a bully, a cynic and a crook who did all kinds of damage to American politics and society, not to mention to Cambodia and Vietnam, too. And yet he had a sense of obligation to his office — and to the Republican […]
A Coup against Trump? Or Trump’s Coup against the Rule of Law?
(Foreign Policy in Focus) – Donald Trump says that impeachment is actually a coup. It’s one more example of his attack on the rule of law. Coups have been one of the greatest threats to democracy. The people elect a daring leader willing to take on the status quo. And then, as in Iran in […]
On Impeaching Trump: An Open Letter to a Working-Class Friend
Robby reflects the views of many older white workers who are critical of the system and blame Democrats and liberals for its breakdown. I first met Robby Robertson during the 1969 General Electric strike. He was a young, militant worker fighting for a decent contract and social justice. He considered himself a “radical humanitarian.” We […]
Top 5 Differences between Chill Trump and “Angry” Greta Thunberg
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump bullied environmentalist Greta Thunberg over her Time magazine cover on Thursday. In a tweet he called the award “ridiculous” and accused her of having “anger management issues,” advising her to “chill.”
Patronizing Jews and Persecuting Palestinians: The Trump Executive Order
Oakland, Ca. (Informed Comment) – President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring Judaism to be a nationality is both a gross act of anti-Semitism, and an attack on free speech. The alleged intent is to combat rising anti-Semitism on college campuses, by requiring the schools to treat the Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) movement and other advocacy […]
Trump Fails again to Bring our Troops Home from Mideast: Mulling Escalation of 14,000 v. Iran
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s Pentagon is allegedly mulling sending 14,000 US troops to the Middle East to counter Iran. Although the Pentagon pushed back against the initial report, that had only said they were considering the troop escalation, and the Pentagon did not deny considering it. Trump has sent 14,000 troops to the […]