IMPORTANT READS

POLITICS OF FINANCE - Has the unthinkable, the Swedish political scientist Bo Rothstein mused earlier this month, now entered the realm of real possibility? Could democracy in the United States be disappearing?

AIR RAGE - Violent behavior on airplanes has reached such epidemic proportions that the President of Delta Airlines last week asked the Department of Homeland security to allow the airlines to submit passengers who have terrified or otherwise abused flight crews for placement on the government's no-fly list.

WORKER SAFETY - The fight for justice and accountability continues for six Amazon employees who were killed when a warehouse roof collapsed during a tornado last December.

AFGHAN AFTERMATH - Gay rights, women’s rights — in reality, these are a nuisance to many U.S. conservatives, but purporting to protect these rights on the other side of the world is a great excuse to play war.

WORLD WATCH - The current crises in eastern Europe reflect more than just Kremlin mischief-making—they reflect the first fruits of an emerging world order that spans the vastness from Beijing to Berlin.

ENERGY WATCH - Roughly a half century ago, rising energy prices devastated Western economies, helping make the autocrats of the Middle East insanely rich while propping up the slowly disintegrating Soviet empire.

UKRAINE WATCH - The situation between the United States and Russia over Ukraine is very dangerous.

ISSUE OF SOVEREIGNTY - March 15, 1939: Hitler’s army marched into Czechoslovakia with the blessings of the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. 

THE VIEW FROM HERE - Sometimes individuals can plunge the world into chaos. 

WORLD WATCH - One day last spring, Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank declared a general strike to protest years of repression they faced under Israeli rule.

OVERSIGHT - The Republicans are about to win a major battle in their war on electric vehicles, this time with the second largest vehicle fleet in America owned by the US Postal Service.

WORLD WATCH - Now that Angela Merkel has departed the geopolitical arena, Vladimir Putin is by far its most experienced political operator, and it’s showing.

NATIONAL GUARD - As the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread, hospitals across the country have reported critical staff shortages.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - As I stated in my last piece, Cancel Culture is alive and well in the United States. That said, we've got nothing on China.

RACIAL RECKONINGS - Every February, the U.S. honors the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who have helped shape the nation.

UKRAINE CONFLICT - So what are Americans to believe about the rising tensions over Ukraine?

TAX RELIEF - Ada Mae’s beautiful blonde curls are wild on this sunny, mild winter afternoon.

WORLD WATCH - As tensions began to rise over Ukraine, US media produced a stream of articles attempting to explain the situation with headlines like “Ukraine Explained” (New York Times, 12/8/21) and “What You Need to Know About Tensions Between Ukraine and Russia” (Washington Post, 11/26/21).

END OF CIVILIZATION - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists unveiled the resetting of the Doomsday Clock on January 20^th 2022, electing to keep the clock’s setting at 100 seconds to midnight, same as 2021, which is not at all encouraging since that’s as bad as the setting has ever been. 

NATIONAL SECURITY - A relative of mine, who works for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) compiling data on foreigners entering the United States, recently posted a curious logo on his Facebook profile: a white Roman numeral three on a black background surrounded by 13 white stars.

WORLD WATCH - America’s national media typically pay little attention to the moves the nation’s state lawmakers make.