After reviewing the ills that beset America, from a weak economy to a misguided energy policy, from failing schools to costly health care, Barack Obama focused on the nation’s mood. ‘Less measurable, but no less profound,’ the new President suggested in his inaugural address, ‘is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear …
Continue reading “Letter from Washington / Don’t Bet on America’s Decline”
It was 40 years ago to the day as I write these words. On the evening of July 20, 1969, my parents, older sister and I gathered around our lone TV in our small one-story house to watch history. The screen was momentarily blank, but the image would soon appear from some 240,000 miles away. …
Continue reading “America’s Cycles: The Moon, ‘Malaise’ and Free Berlin!”
“I am not scared,” said a young woman, her clothes drenched in blood, during last week’s protest in Tehran to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 1999 student uprising against Iran’s brutal regime, “because we are in this together.” Hundreds of miles away in the Italian town of L’Aguila, leaders of the Group of Eight …
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” Alexander Pope wrote in 1733, as if presaging the seemingly endless search for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. On this issue, hope springs to life especially with the change of political seasons in Washington, Jerusalem and other key capitals. New leaders assume office, promising to apply new energy …
In a recent Rasmussen poll, just 53 percent of American adults said they believe capitalism is better than socialism. The rest thought socialism was better or were not sure. The poll shows just how much the global economic crisis has shaken the confidence that, until recently, the United States-led free market economy will continue to …
Tehran’s brutal crackdown on democracy-hungry protestors may have defeated the most serious threat to the Iranian regime since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but the Obama Administration will continue to face the questions of how to respond to such uprisings and when to promote democracy around the world. These questions offer no easy answers. Cultures …
Continue reading “America’s Human Rights Challenges Extend Beyond Iran”
At first blush, the gripping images of popular uprising and deadly crackdown in Iran have severely complicated President Obama’s approach to that nation, jeopardizing his plans for deliberative “engagement” with Iran’s leaders to convince them to abandon their quest for nuclear weaponry. How, after all, can the United States seek dialogue with a regime that …
Continue reading “Iran’s Turmoil May Prove Convenient for Obama”