Author: Straight Arrow

Journalist, humorist, dedicated but disillusioned citizen/patriot. Sharing, selling, and sometimes eating my words. .... fine ok .... sometimes mumbling too ...

… Neil Gorsuch Has Given Himself Away …

The justices of the Supreme Court aren’t always open about their views, but there are times when they inadvertently reveal just how skewed their perspectives are. First, a little background. Last year the Biden administration announced it would end its predecessor’s pandemic-era policy of expelling asylum seekers at the Mexican and Canadian borders based on … Continue reading … Neil Gorsuch Has Given Himself Away … →

…Opinion: The best way to deal with the debt ceiling: Ignore it …

  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden before a meeting on the debt limit in the Oval Office last week. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) With two weeks left until the national debt ceiling is expected to be reached, precipitating a constitutional and economic crisis, House Republicans continue to insist that President Biden cave in … Continue reading …Opinion: The best way to deal with the debt ceiling: Ignore it … →

… How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine …

The Case Against Incrementalism By Michael McFaul Nearly a year after he invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve any of his major objectives. He has not unified the alleged single Slavic nation, he has not “denazified” or “demilitarized” Ukraine, and he has not stopped NATO expansion. Instead, the Ukrainian military kept … Continue reading … How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine … →

… Climate anxiety is more common than you think…

These CU Boulder students want to help “It feels like everything’s slipping,” ... said junior Miles Sinderman, an environmental studies major.   You might have felt the symptoms before: A pit in your stomach, panic, existential dread, hopelessness, disenfranchisement, frustration and even anger. Greenhouse gases are seeping into the atmosphere, warming the planet. Polar ice … Continue reading … Climate anxiety is more common than you think… →

… Why Is Vladimir Putin So Difficult to Deter? …

Why Is Vladimir Putin So Difficult to Deter? President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China walk past a portrait of Czar Nicholas II in the Kremlin during a state visit on March 21, 2023. Photo credit: Office of the President of Russia/kremlin.ru; CC BY 4.0. Editor’s Note: When a plan to … Continue reading … Why Is Vladimir Putin So Difficult to Deter? … →

… SpaceX launches most powerful rocket in history in explosive debut …

 – like many first liftoffs, Starship's test was a successful failure Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, launched from a spaceport in Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay) On April 20, 2023, a new SpaceX rocket called Starship exploded over the Gulf of Mexico three minutes into its first flight ever. SpaceX is calling the test … Continue reading … SpaceX launches most powerful rocket in history in explosive debut … →

… Our Enduring Discontents …

How did our country arrive at this moment of rupture and fury? How is it that mass shootings, even of children in their classrooms, and police killings of unarmed citizens of color like Tyre Nichols have become a feature of our days? How is it that politicians are banning books in a country whose founding … Continue reading … Our Enduring Discontents … →

… Doubting Thomas …

  AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite Earlier this week, I wrote about four items in the news that should serve as warning shots across the bow of our democracy. Among them was a story, broken by ProPublica, that Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas have, for decades, accepted lavish gifts from billionaire … Continue reading … Doubting Thomas … →

… What connects Trump’s likely arrest with the bank bailouts? “

Answer: the anti-democracy movement Friends, What connects the two biggest stories now dominating the news — Donald Trump’s likely arrest and the Fed’s bailouts of shaky banks? Start with multi-billionaire Peter Thiel, and follow the money. You may recall that in 2016, Thiel spoke at the Republican National Convention to make the case for why … Continue reading … What connects Trump’s likely arrest with the bank bailouts? “ →

… 2023 March Madness upsets:

  ...  Bracket Breakers model anticipates a battle between Arkansas and Kansas The first round of the NCAA Tournament was so insanely fun that we have no choice but to keep going. Slingshot woke up this morning and couldn’t remember how all the numbers in its spreadsheets turned to Furman purple. Here’s our game-by-game look … Continue reading … 2023 March Madness upsets: →

…A War With China Would Be Unlike Anything Americans Faced Before …

A major war in the Indo-Pacific is probably more likely now than at any other time since World War II. The most probable spark is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. President Xi Jinping of China has said unifying Taiwan with mainland China “must be achieved.” His Communist Party regime has become sufficiently strong — militarily, … Continue reading …A War With China Would Be Unlike Anything Americans Faced Before … →

…Nuclear war! …

Why it isn't happening Clickbait!  That's been a problem in the discussion of the Russian invasion.  Media get your attention by writing of escalation!  Not to mention: nuclear threats!And: nuclear war!  There is a profit motive at work here, one that Russian propagandists exploit by their references to nuclear weapons.  Unfortunately, the atmospherics of what … Continue reading …Nuclear war! … →

…. What Ukraine Needs to Liberate Crimea …

A Credible Military Threat Might Be Enough The next six months will witness a great deal of human tragedy. Ukraine’s armed forces will face harsh battlefield conditions, and Ukrainian civilians will continue to endure daily Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Russia’s underequipped and poorly led troops will suffer thousands of casualties, destroying the country’s remaining fighting capability. … Continue reading …. What Ukraine Needs to Liberate Crimea … →

…McGonigal, Trump, and the Truth about America …

Thinking about... The Specter of 2016 We are on the edge of a spy scandal with major implications for how we understand the Trump administration, our national security, and ourselves. On 23 January, we learned that a former FBI special agent, Charles McGonigal, was arrested on charges involving taking money to serve foreign interests.  One … Continue reading …McGonigal, Trump, and the Truth about America … →

… Why does the world need a Ukrainian victory? …

Fifteen reasons 1.  To halt atrocity.  Russia's occupation is genocidal.  Wherever the Ukrainians recover territory, they save lives, and re-establish the principle that people have a right not to be tortured, deported, and murdered. 2.  To preserve the international legal order.  Its basis is that one country may not invade another and annex its territory, … Continue reading … Why does the world need a Ukrainian victory? … →

… The Great Big Medicare Rip-Off …

The government is leaving billions of dollars on the table. Here’s how to fix it. Robert Nickelsberg / Getty When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill establishing Medicare in 1965, he explained that it was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s legacy of government support for those who need it most, the elderly and the … Continue reading … The Great Big Medicare Rip-Off … →

… The Autocrat in Your iPhone …

How Mercenary Spyware Threatens Democracy In the summer of 2020, a Rwandan plot to capture exiled opposition leader Paul Rusesabagina drew international headlines. Rusesabagina is best known as the human rights defender and U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who sheltered more than 1,200 Hutus and Tutsis in a hotel during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. … Continue reading … The Autocrat in Your iPhone … →

… Ksenia Sobchak fled Russia using Israeli passport …

... Russian star linked to Putin ...   Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite and television anchor with a close family connection to President Vladimir Putin, used her dual Israeli citizenship to flee Russia on Tuesday after a police raid of her home that Russian authorities said was tied to a criminal investigation of two of … Continue reading … Ksenia Sobchak fled Russia using Israeli passport … →