BLOG Post #281: Trump’s Game 13 Nov 202012 Nov 2020 What is Trump’s game? In defying the vote numbers and urging rejection of a Biden victory, does he seriously believe his own narrative about voter fraud? I doubt it;…
BLOG Post #280: Biden’s Jobs 1-10 8 Nov 2020 In the next several weeks, President-elect Joe Biden will be preoccupied with creating a 100-day action agenda. It might be called "Operation Renewal." Here are my top-10 choices, in no…
BLOG Post #279: In Defense of Confucius Institutes 30 Oct 202029 Oct 2020 Readers may be surprised to learn that while disputes between the US and China over trade, human rights, and the pandemic are making headlines, educational exchange programs are Washington’s chief…
BLOG Post #278: Trumpism Has Brought Democracy to Its Knees 19 Oct 202018 Oct 2020 In what we can only hope is its terminal phase, the Trump administration is doing everything it can to make a mockery of American democracy. Friendly foreign observers bemoan the…
BLOG Post #277: Our Deranged President 11 Oct 2020 In 2016 America’s electoral college gave Donald Trump the presidency. Within a few months we came to realize that this man has serious mental problems. Within a year, some psychologists…
BLOG Post #276: Trump Unmasked 3 Oct 20203 Oct 2020 "I just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight,” Donald Trump said Thursday night. A day later he was airlifted to Walter Reed Hospital, down…
BLOG Post #275: Saving Democracy 24 Sep 2020 Friends call it “impotent rage.” I share it. How is it possible that the president of a democratic country can get away with announcing, well in advance of an election,…
BLOG Post #274: Defeating a Demagogue: A Reminder from History 22 Sep 202021 Sep 2020 It may be small comfort as we watch Donald Trump try to cheat and bully his way to a second term, but a recent study of his demagogic predecessor, Senator…
BLOG Post #273: Trump’s China Diversion 12 Sep 202011 Sep 2020 The Trump administration’s orchestrated attack on China is commonly assumed to stem from upset over China’s human rights violations and its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and along…
BLOG Post #272: The Election: Concerns, Confidence, Candidates 31 Aug 202031 Aug 2020 Five things that worry me about the election: • Biden’s declining support among Latinos; • Trump’s law-and-order appeal amidst violence and destruction of property in protest marches; • Domination of…
BLOG Post #271: The Israel-UAE Agreement: Good for a Few, Bad for Most 26 Aug 202025 Aug 2020 The Real Deal Commentators evidently desperate for good news are touting the Israel-United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreement as a welcome path to Middle East peace. The agreement trades Israel’s promise…
BLOG Excerpt from my new book, “America in Retreat: Foreign Policy Under Donald Trump” 21 Aug 202021 Aug 2020 [Note to the Reader: The following excerpt is from the final chapter of the book. It was written earlier this year, but I think everything that has happened since gives…
BLOG Post #270: The World Bank’s Poverty Illusion 12 Aug 202016 Aug 2020 What would you estimate is the minimum amount of money you need to get by every day? $100? $50? The figure, of course, depends very much on where you live…
BLOG Post #269: Falling Behind: COVID, Climate Change, and Chaos 2 Aug 20205 Aug 2020 Multiple Crises, Multiple Obstacles COVID-19 and the protests for racial justice have drawn attention away from the mostly bad news about the environment. Yes, the skies in most parts of…
BLOG Post #268: The Trump Nightmare 23 Jul 202023 Jul 2020 By now it is an established fact that Donald Trump may, or may not, accept the results of the presidential election. He will definitely accept a win, and he “will…
