Mideast “Policy”

Letter to Representative Salud Carbajal: July 2, 2917 Dear Representative Carbajal, Congress should retake its Constitutional power to declare war and remove the blanket authorization that allows the President to send troops and drop bombs wherever he wants. Trump’s “foreign policy” is a potential disaster. 1. Syria. The US has no business fighting in Syria […]

The Russia Investigation

With Washington seemingly consumed by the Russia investigation, when they aren’t being shot at playing baseball, I thought I’d hazard a comment in media res. In short, I suspect there is more smoke here than fire, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the smoke became a turning point in Trump’s presidency or even, although unlikely, […]

Thoughts on Democracy

Two weeks of travel through United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar provided us with quite a different perspective on the world. For one, the United States seemed a long way away and less relevant than we normally assume. Dubai is an entrepot for trade and commerce between and among Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and the […]

Dear Speaker Ryan:

846 Lilac Drive Montecito, CA 93108 February 22, 2017 The Hon. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House H-232 The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Speaker Ryan: Please stop Donald Trump! President Trump apparently believes he can do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants, with no need to think, consult or ask what the majority […]

The Trump Era

I enter upon the Trump Era with nothing but fear and loathing. Literally, I do not know of an American public figure I would less like to have as my President. He is a bully, a narcissist, a brazen liar, rude, selfish, uninterested in facts. Anyone who gives his first speech to the CIA and […]