Rachel Hadas: The Mothers on the Wall
Young men stamping; clouds of dust their feet
Stir up; the gleaming weapons and the heat –
the women, poised and fearful, gazing down
as the squadron marches out of town
Tom Engelhardt: Slaughter Central
The United States as a Mass-Killing Machine
William Astore: Back to the Future at the Pentagon
‘It hardly occurs to us to question how the Pentagon’s mad military scenarios about near-peer wars could indeed end in nuclear annihilation.’
Nan Levinson: The Far Right in Uniform (corrected version)
How extreme is the military?
Thom Hartmann: The GOP Has No Interest in Actual Governing
The GOP is no longer a serious political party. Instead, it’s now a coalition of disparate groups made up of racists, homophobes, misogynists, gun nuts, conspiracy theorists and the ultra-rich.
John Feffer: How Biden Looks at the World
The Biden administration’s approach of “multilateral restoration” has many virtues compared to the last four years of MAGA. But it has considerable shortcomings as well.
Tom Engelhardt: The Sports Pages of Death
Life in a Wounded and Wounding Land
Alfred McCoy: Washington’s Delusion of Endless World Dominion
China and the U.S. Struggle over Eurasia, the Epicenter of World Power
Jeffrey Sterling: What Happened on January 6th was America the Usual
As the drama has unfolded, the powerful words from James Baldwin linger in my mind when he said “How much time do you want for your progress?”
Rachel Hadas: Camilla
Our newborn granddaughter is named Camilla
from Aeneid VII’s warrior maiden,
the speedy runner, skimming over wheat,
scouring the ocean, keeping her feet dry.
Michael Simms: The Trojan Women
The slaves in the dark hold of the ship cannot climb out or go back to where things went wrong. There’s no light, no voice of comfort, just chaos and darkness where they have to find their own peace without the kindness of others.
Aidan Rooney: Think Back | Emmelie Prophète
Think back, some day,
to this dismembered city,
its sounds, squalor and dolor.
