“It is a tragic and potentially lethal irony that those who most despise science and the method of free inquiry should have been able to pilfer from it and annex its sophisticated products to their sick dreams.” Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything It’s a wonder…

“The disadvantage of an elite education is that it’s given us the elite we have, and the elite we’re going to have.” William Deresiewicz, The End of Solitude The level of shock and outrage in my email in-box and on social media regarding a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion about…

“The prevailing myth then as now is that poverty is a punishment for idleness and indolence. If you had nothing to show for yourself, it meant that you hadn’t worked hard enough.” Angela Davis, An Autobiography Kevin McCarthy, the spineless House minority leader, finds himself in the spotlight for the…

“Trump, like the seceding slaveholders, made it clear long before the election that he would not respect the outcome were his opponent declared the winner.” Sean Wilentz Putin’s War in Ukraine continues. Only a negotiated settlement will stop the Russian onslaught but it doesn’t appear that such a political settlement…

“An autocratic regime renders people provincial and mostly focused on themselves.” Masha Gessen Although my view of the United States Supreme Court is dim due to the legerdemain of Mitch McConnell, I’m pleased that judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate. I didn’t watch her confirmation hearings because…

“The White House has now correctly identified something long obvious, yet long overlooked: that corruption ‘hobbles effective governance’ and ‘contributes to national fragility.’” Casey Michel & Paul Massaro, “America’s Money Lost the Afghan War” It was good advice in the Watergate era and it remains good advice today: follow the…

“From its inception as an independent state, Ukraine was a paradise for moneymen seeking to profit from the privatisation of power.” Tom Burgis, Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering The World Since Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine the idea of sacrifice has been on my mind. The people…

“One should never discount the historical importance of lunatics.” Marci Shore, Historian There’s a vendor at the store where I work part-time, a woman in her mid-40’s, who was born in Ukraine and lived there until about twenty-five years ago when she came to America. Her father, brother, and cousins…

“It made no geopolitical sense. But it made commercial sense. War, after all, is a business, a very lucrative one.” Chris Hedges, Counterpunch Cooler heads have not prevailed. Once war starts it’s difficult to predict what direction it will take, but one thing history tells us is that the men…