Politics & Society
Bad Journalism
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The Iranian nuclear agreement is not a treaty, thus it does not require advice and consent from the Senate. Congress just gave itself a power that it already has. Brilliant.
Christianity
Terrorism is Terrorism and Islam is Islam
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Now we are faced with the problem of so-called radicalization. How are young people from Europe and the United States indoctrinated with and by the glamor and mythology of the Islamic State and its promise of a caliphate? The way to counter the indoctrination of young Muslims is to stop associating their religion with terrorists. We ought to challenge the discourse that makes them the dangerous Other.
Culture
Running in High Heels? Not!
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If you are old enough for an AARP card, you ought to know that confidence and sexiness are not functions of the length of one’s skirt or the height of one’s heel. Confidence and sexiness are states-of-mind
Culture
Blue on Black Violence, Racial Bias, and Societal Psychosis
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These killings are a result of how too many white police officers perceive and misperceive African-American men. When people have limited contact with members of another group they very often see members of that group through the lens of stereotypes.
Politics & Society
Not Another Conversation on Race
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In the aftermath of Michael Brown’s murder, Valerie Elverton-Dixon suggests we do not need another conversation about race, but instead one focusing on police brutality, poverty, and treating each other like human beings.
art
In Memory of Robin Williams
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A tribute to Robin Williams: In the brilliant light of his celebrity, we are forced to see depression and suicide that takes too many loved ones from too many people. Because we love Robin Williams, attention must be paid of the threat to all the others who we do not see and do not know.
Politics & Society
Cutting Through the Nonsense
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President Obama has ordered airstrikes against the non-state actor the Islamic State (IS) a.k.a. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) a.k.a. the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He has also ordered an airlift of food, water and medicine to Iraqi religious minorities who have fled their homes and who are now living on Mt. Sinjar. IS, a ruthless militant organization, has fought its way through Iraq with surprising speed and, as I write this, is only a few miles outside of Erbil, a major city in the Kurdish region of Iraq and where a US consulate is. In his weekly address, President Obama said that the broad strategic goals of the US military operations in Iraq are to protect US citizens in Erbil, address the humanitarian crisis, prevent Iraq from becoming a safe haven for terrorists, and to urge Iraqis to reconcile, unify, and defend their country.
General News
Eric Cantor and Karma
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We the People hold the power, and in a representative democracy, in a republic, we lend that power to elected officials on Election Day. This is a sacred trust. Eric Cantor and the other conspirators did not respect the millions of people who voted for President Obama, thus they disrespected their own constituents. It seems that Cantor, busy with the responsibilities of national leadership, failed to stay in touch with his constituents. I say Cantor’s loss in the Primaries is a function of Karma.
art
In Memory of Ruby Dee
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Remembering the life of Ruby Dee, a great American actor whose art was not for its own sake; it was for the sake of humanity becoming both more human and more divine.
Politics & Society
Iraq is not Pottery Barn
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In advance of the Iraq War, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman and Secretary of State Colin Powell both referred to what is commonly known as the Pottery Barn rule: you break it; you buy it. The United States did break Iraq, but we cannot buy it. We do not, cannot, and ought not own it. Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people and what becomes of the country is their responsibility alone.