The Off-the-Cuff Breakthrough on Syria

The Off-the-Cuff Breakthrough on Syria

John Kerry may have just accidentally earned himself a Nobel Peace Prize. In off-the-cuff remarks to reporters, the Secretary of State reiterated his support for a U.S. attack on Syria, saying Bashar al-Assad could only ward off a U.S. strike by turning over his...
The Russian-American Beat Must Go On

The Russian-American Beat Must Go On

The Edward Snowden drama has skipped from Washington through Hawaii and Hong Kong and into Moscow. Now, the storyline is back to Washington. Thanks to Russia’s decision to grant Snowden asylum for a year, Obama canceled a bilateral meeting with President...
Confessions of a Repentant War of 1812 Reenactor

Confessions of a Repentant War of 1812 Reenactor

It began innocently enough. I volunteered on a museum’s boat-building project — a replica of a longboat of the type used by Commodore Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Before I knew what was happening, there I was in period military...
The Legacy of 9/11

The Legacy of 9/11

The 9/11 attacks comprise one of those events that you remember where you heard of it and how, like the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor was for old-timers and JFK’s assassination was for middle-timers. I had recently retired (for the first time) and was sitting...
Haiti’s Hard Place

Haiti’s Hard Place

Americans are optimistic sorts. That makes it hard to fathom Haiti’s grim circumstances, even though the country is just 700 miles from Miami. Business there is controlled by a handful of elite repressive families, the infrastructure doesn’t support...
Idaho’s Reclusive Promised Land

Idaho’s Reclusive Promised Land

I haven’t heard such enthusiastic, downright raucous applause since Texas Gov. “Oops” Perry suggested in 2009 that his state just might withdraw from the union. Unfortunately for him, the applauders weren’t Texans. They were the people of the...