A Reminder about “Proof”

The curious case of the finger tattoos.

Noem Can’t Define “Habeas Corpus”

That’s a problem, given her job and all.

On Bill Maher and Normalizing Trump

Being nice at dinner is easy.

Being Sent to CECOT is an Inhumane, Slow-Motion Death Sentence

To the Trump administation this a feature, not a bug.

Higher Ed is an Area of Trade Surplus

But the Trump administration is out to wreck it.

I Have No Sense, And I Must Rule

A day of AI, tariffs, and world historic stupidity.

Can We Call Them “Disappearances” Now?

Can we say the administration is putting people in camps?

El Salvador Offers to be an Out-Sourced Prison for the US

This would include US citizens.

Assad Regime Toppled

A fifty-year dictatorship has been ousted. What now?

Fascist Side Trips: Militarism and More Unreality

Plus: Governor Glenn Youngkin helps out.

They Want To Believe

Hundreds Wounded in Pager Sabotage

A massive Israeli operation. To what end?

Dumb Critique or Dumbest Critique?

Some Democrats are unhappy Harris is touting the endorsement of the Cheneys.

Jerry West, 1938-2024

The legendary basketball player and executive is gone at 86.

Biden Orders Shutdown of Asylum Process

A desperate measure for a desperate problem.

A Bad Year For The West?

The BBC’s security correspondent thinks so.

Israel and the al-Shifa Hospital

It’s likely legal and almost certainly won’t matter.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Conviction Overturned

The trial judge had a conflict of interest.

Age, Illness, and American Politics

The controversies over our geriatric Congress continue.

Pentagon Opposes Helping Prosecute Russian War Crimes

A wrongheaded if longstanding position.

Brits Deporting Migrants to Rwanda

A legal but unsavory solution to a problem.

The ‘Crime of the Century’ Didn’t Happen

Three-and-a-half years and almost 6 million tax dollars have produced nothing.

Putin’s Nuclear Gambit

The threat is not idle and the options for responding are not good.

QEII and the Empire

How much blame did the 70-year constitutional monarch share?

Biden and bin Salman

An embarrassing photo demonstrates the perils of leading the free world.

Russia’s Diplomatic Isolation

The West continues to close Moscow off.

Meanwhile, In The Rest Of The Russian Empire…

Putin must be worrying about losing what little empire he has built.

Is Autocracy Really Winning?

A depressing magazine piece argues it is.

Evangelical Politics in the Time of Polarization and Covid

A piece in The Atlantic inspires thoughts.

A U.S. Marine opens the door as President Joe Biden prepares to disembark Marine One, Saturday, July 3, 2021, at Antrim County Airport in Bellaire, Michigan. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz) A U.S. Marine opens the door as President Joe Biden prepares to disembark Marine One, Saturday, July 3, 2021, at Antrim County Airport in Bellaire, Michigan. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

Biden Blamed for Afghan Fiasco

The collapse is not his doing. But he’s accountable for the poor planning.

Donald Rumsfeld, 1932-2021

He was both the youngest and oldest man to run the Pentagon.

The Politicization of Math Class

The least controversial subject in school is suddenly controversial.

President Joe Biden takes notes doing a G7 Leaders’ Virtual Meeting Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in the White House Situation Room. President Joe Biden takes notes doing a G7 Leaders’ Virtual Meeting Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in the White House Situation Room.

Biden Declares Armenian Genocide a Genocide

The President has overturned decades of US foreign policy and alienated a NATO ally for, well, reasons.

Chauvin’s Life in Prison

Don’t believe everything you see on TV.

Leaving Afghanistan After Only 20 Years

Four administrations and two decades later, it’s about to be over.

Eighteen Years of Blogging

Some reflections

The Office of Legal Counsel

Holding the president accountable is hard.

SCOTUS Rules Asylum Seekers Can’t Challenge Rejection in Court

A 7-2 decision by the highest court in the land is less decisive than the numbers suggest.

Kosovo President and Opposition Leader Indicted for War Crimes

A reckoning for 2500 Kosovar Serb civilians who were slaughtered is at hand.

Our Awful Criminal Justice System

A stroll down memory lane.

QAnon Conspiracist Republican Senate Nominee from Oregon

Jo Rae Perkins may be a nut, but she won a four-person primary.

Trump’s Threat To Attack Iranian Cultural Sites Would Probably Be A War Crime

President Trump’s threat to attack Iranian cultural sites would most likely constitute a war crime if he actually carried it out.

Arizona Cop Under Investigation For Abusing Quadrapalegic Teenager

An inexcusable assault on an utterly defenseless African-American teenager.

Trump Clears American Soldiers Involved In War Crimes

Against the advice of his top military advisers, President Trump has cleared three American soldiers of war crimes, sending a horrible signal to the world and to the troops in the field.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate comes from a part of the world that most people almost never think about.

Whistleblowers vs Leakers vs Spies

Yes, officials who follow the law are “whistleblowers.”

Robert Mugabe, Independence Leader Who Sent His Nation To Disaster, Dead At 95

Robert Mugabe led a nation to independence only to become a dictator who destroyed its economy, has died at the age of 95.

Donald Trump’s Ninety Minutes Hate

Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail last night with another one of his red meat speeches. The analogies it causes one to draw are chilling to say the least.