U.S. Was Poised To Strike Iran Last Night, Then Trump Pulled Back

The planes were apparently in the air, and the ships in position, for an American attack on Iran last night. Then the order to pull back came in.

The Reparations Debate Reaches Capitol Hill

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

Pete Buttigieg Lays Out An Encouraging Foreign Policy Platform

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg laid out his foreign policy platform in a speech this week. It’s certainly an improvement over the current President.

They’ve Got XCIX Problems, But Arabic Numerals Ain’t One

Amusing results, and a history lesson, in a new poll

SpaceX Begins Deployment Of Satellite-Based Internet

Earlier this week, SpaceX deployed the first 60 satellites in a network that could result in Internet access from virtually anywhere in the world.

Taiwan Becomes First Asian Nation To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Taiwan has become the first nation in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

Caster Semenya and the Limits of Binary Gender

We segregate men and women in sports for good reason. How we do that is complicated.

Richard Lugar Dead at 87

His passing is a sad reminder of another era of the Republican Party.

Donald Trump Continues To Defend The Racist Protesters In Charlottesville

Taking Joe Biden’s bait, President Trump once again defended his response to the racist rally in Charlottesville two years ago..

Sri Lanka Attacks Prove That ISIS Has Not Been Defeated

Sunday’s attacks in Sri Lanka make it clear that the claim that ISIS has been defeated are nowhere close to being true.

ISIS Claims Responsibility For Sri Lanka Church Terror Attacks

ISIS is claiming responsibility for Sunday’s attacks in Sri Lanka, a strong sign that the claims by the Trump Administration that it had largely defeated the group were not true.

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Pledges from wealthy men to help rebuild Notre Dame cathedral after a devastating fire is generating backlash.

George Washington Students Want to Drop ‘Colonials’ Nickname

Despite the obvious connection with the university’s namesake, the word does have other connotations.

Battle Against Latest Ebola Epidemic Not Going Well

The response to the latest outbreak of the Ebola Virus has both succeeded and failed in several response.

Trump Picks Kelly Knight Craft As U.N. Ambassador

President Trump has selected Kelly Knight Craft, the current Ambassador to Canada, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Heather Nauert Withdraws As U.N. Ambassador Nominee

Two months after being named, Heather Nauert withdrew her name as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations due to a ‘Nannygate’ problem.

Donald Trump Shrugging Donald Trump Shrugging

Donald Trump And The Incredible Disappearing Caravan

Now that the election is over, President Trump and his sycophants in the right-wing media seem to have completely forgotten about the “invading” “caravan” of Central American asylum seekers.

Birthright Citizenship Isn’t Just The Law, It’s A Good Idea Too

In addition to being mandated by the Constitution, birthright citizenship goes to the core of what it means to be an American.

American Green Berets Assisting Saudi War On Yemen

American involvement in the genocidal Saudi war on Yemen is getting more complicated. This is a bad idea.

India’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Colonial Era Anti-Gay Law

A significant advance for LGBT rights in the world’s most populous democracy.

Trump Withdraws America From The World, And The World Responds

President Trump is alienating our allies and making friends with dictators, and the world is responding as you might expect they would.

Kofi Annan, Former U.N. Secretary-General, Dies At 80

Kofi Annan, who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations at the dawn of the “War On Terror,” has died at the age of 80.

A Year After Charlottesville, Trump Shows That He Doesn’t Get It Or Doesn’t Care

One year after Charlottesville, it’s clear that President Trump still doesn’t understand what happened there, or that he just doesn’t care.

Donald Trump Continues To Undermine America’s Most Important Alliance

On the eve of the NATO Summit, President Trump continues to engage in tactics that seem to serve no purpose other than to undermine America’s most important and successful alliance.

Army Refutes AP ‘Army Discharging Immigrant Recruits’ Story

The situation isn’t as awful as portrayed by the AP—but it’s still pretty bad.

Central African Ebola Outbreak Appears To Be Contained

An Ebola outbreak that started last month in Central Africa appears to be contained. You can thank an aggressive vaccination campaign for that.

Supreme Court Upholds Final Version Of Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban

In a ruling that largely relies on the authority granted by Congress to the President to regulate immigration on national security grounds, the Supreme Court has upheld the final version of the Administration’s travel ban.

Trump Administration Argues It Didn’t Need Congressional Authorization To Attack Syria

Echoing the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration is arguing that it did not need Congressional authorization to attack Syria earlier this year.

The Racist New York Lawyer And Internet Vigilantism: How Far Is Too Far?

New York attorney Aaron Schlossberg found himself on the receiving end of an Internet firestorm this week. His case raises some interesting questions about Internet vigilantism.

Central African Ebola Outbreak Hits A Major City

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached a major urban center.

U.S. Opens Embassy In Jerusalem Amid Massive Deadly Protests In Gaza

Celebrations and a deadly day in the Middle East.

George W. Bush’s Rehabilitation

61 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of a man who left office a failed president.

Ebola Making A Reappearance In Africa

Ebola is making a reappearance in Central Africa.. Will the world be better prepared this time?

The Rise Of The Trumpidian GOP Candidates

Whether Don Blankenship wins or loses in West Virginia, his success is yet another example of how Donald Trump has changed the GOP for the worse.

Bolton Sees Libya As Model, North Korea Likely Sees It As a Warning

The United States is apparently looking to Libya as a guide for upcoming talks with North Korea. The DPRK most likely sees the fate of that nation and its leader as a warning.

Eighty Percent Of Top State Department Positions Remain Vacant

Top positions in the State Department are vacant, and there’s only one person to blame for that.

Attacking Syria Without Congressional Authorization Would Be Illegal

Without Congressional authorization, any attack on Syria would be illegal, but don’t expect Congress to do anything about it.

The Limits of Comedy

Controversies involving Jimmy Kimmel and “The Simpsons” highlight a perennial question.

Nick Kristof and the Perils of Parachute Journalism

A well-meaning journalist brushes off critiques by experts in the field. He owes it to his readers to keep learning.

Boko Haram Returns Kidnapped Girls, Warns Against Sending Back to School

The Nigerian terrorist group has released an unknown number of the 110 girls kidnapped from a boarding school last month.

Kelly Tells Reporters Tillerson Was on the Toilet When Told of Firing

One of the supposed “adults” in the Trump administration has no class.

Tillerson’s Ouster Was Hardly A Surprise

While the nature of Rex Tillerson’s firing as Secretary of State was shocking in its abruptness, taken in context with the rocky nature of his tenure it was hardly surprising.

Former Secretary Of Nobel Committee Says Obama’s Peace Prize Was A Mistake

Nine years later, at least one member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is admitting what seemed at the time a rather obvious fact.

Tillerson out at State

Next up: Pompeo

Most of West Africa Now Qualifies for Combat Pay

Service members deployed to Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda qualify.

South Africa Votes to Confiscate White-Owned Land

Under Nelson Mandela’s leadership, the country made a smooth transition from apartheid. Now it’s going the way of Zimbabwe.

John Bolton Is Foolishly Calling For Preemptive War Against North Korea

John Bolton is leading a cry for preemptive war against North Korea.

Did Trump Really Move Left On Guns? Don’t Count On It

President Trump appeared to change positions on several gun control ideas, but he probably doesn’t mean it.

Xi Jinping Solidifies His Hold On Power In China

China’s Xi Jinping solidified his hold on power well into the next decade over the weekend.

Black Panther Movie Review Roundup

Some thoughts on the biggest Marvel blockbuster yet. [Modest spoilers]