War on the West?

'Progressive' comedian Bill Maher defends Western values against perceived assault, especially in the Israel-Palestine conflict. His commentary on “The War on the West” went viral, with as of this writing more 1.2 million views on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnl243DjsUE On Substack, I do a deeper dive into the concept that there's a war on Western values, reporting on …

Is ‘Studied Empathy’ Toward Palestinians and Israelis Still Possible?

My basic approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "studied empathy" for both sides, following the example of Simon Sebag Montefiore’s book, Jerusalem: The Biography, which I wrote about on Substack. Studied empathy is by no means easy, and likely that even with good intentions, one will be accused of bias and misunderstanding. At times like this, …

John Brown: The Man Who Started the U.S. Civil War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orxQY0N0-HA&t=8s John Brown, Soldier of Christ or America's first domestic terrorist? Clearly a man with a colossal ego.

From US-Russia Proxy Wars (1946-1989), to Soviet Collapse (1991), Regional Conflicts (1991-2021), Are We Now in a New Cold War?

As the prospect of a new cold war between Russia and the West intensifies in Ukraine, conceivably "the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II" (NYT), it is important to recall what the world looked like in the first Cold War. The world was over-simplified, divided into US-allied capitalist countries; Soviet communist-allied countries; …

Your Memories of 9/11? The Thin Line Between Life and Death

On the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I asked readers of the Slender Threads newsletter to share their memories. Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here, I shared "When stopping for a cup of coffee was the difference between life and death..." Reviewing old emails, I also …

After 40+ Years of War, Afghanistan Is Lost, Ostensibly to the Taliban

After almost 20 years, the U.S. has withdrawn troops from Afghanistan. The extremist Islamic group the Taliban has retaken the country. The U.S. first invaded the country after the 9/11/2001 attacks on New York and Washington to quickly topple the Taliban government because it provided a safe haven for the Al Qaeda terrorist group and …

‘Why 1850 Doesn’t Feel So Very Far Away’

"Congress has been here before, and it wasn't pretty," writes Joanne B. Freeman, PhD, in the NYT. She is a professor of history and American studies at Yale, and author of “The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War.” Dr. Freeman has spent her career as a historian analyzing political …

Domestic Terrorism In U.S. Has A Long History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMsCXnH4ePA Slave Patrols: The Birth of the Modern Police. Before and during the civil war, terrorizing African Americans and whites who believed in their freedom was legal. One of the beginnings of American policing was slave patrols -- "organized groups of armed men who monitored and enforced discipline upon slaves in the antebellum U.S. southern …

‘Failed Insurrection’: History Was Made on Jan. 6, 2021 in U.S. As Trump Supporters Stormed Capitol

Americans will remember where they were on January 6, 2021 when mobs incited by President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, breaking security barricades, House and Senate windows, killing one policeman and threatening others as well as members of Congress, occupying the Speaker of the House's seat and office, stealing documents, and halting certification of …

H.W. Brands on Abolitionist Zealot John Brown, and the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFXSx6j0nTQ In 2020, historian H.W. Brands published The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom. Numerous video presentations and reviews are available at the link. From the publisher: ""What do moral people do when democracy countenances evil? The question, implicit in the idea that people can govern themselves, …