Peace and Security
A Formula for More Murder
Picture a world in which most of the people you encounter — on the street or at work, in stores or classrooms, at the movies or in church — are openly carrying guns. That’s the world Second Amendment absolutists are promoting when they repeat their mantra, "The only...
We Shouldn’t Take Their Oil
Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign ad pledges to “take their oil.” That’s what President (gasp) Trump would do after having “quickly cut the head off the Islamic State,” says the deep-voiced narrator. Along with political decapitation, there are many...
Outrage in Oregon
The armed men occupying an isolated federal building in a remote Oregon bird sanctuary say they won't leave until the federal government stops its "tyranny." Yet it's not clear what that tyranny is, exactly. One of the group’s leaders is Ammon Bundy, who, along with...
Border Boondoggle
Good fences, wrote Robert Frost, make good neighbors. But an 18-foot high, 2,000-mile wall? That's another story. It just antagonizes your neighbor — and shows your own fear and weakness. Yet this is what self-described conservatives running for president propose to...
The Days of Lying to Protect Killer Cops Are Numbered
Right around Thanksgiving, the city of Chicago released a dash-cam video showing the cold-blooded murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald at the hands of a Chicago Police Department officer. The very next day, the Chicago Urban League — supported by my organization, the...
The GOP Candidates Know Nothing about Syria
Like many political animals, I was glued to the latest Republican presidential debate. For the most part, there were no surprises: Donald Trump railed against Muslims, Chris Christie lamented that the NSA can’t intercept Americans’ phone calls and emails as easily as...
In Dark Times, Poetry Can Enlighten Us
Following the Paris terrorist attacks, the colors of the French flag appeared on American computer screens, in the icons of apps and the faces of friends on Facebook. As this solidarity with the people of France surged, Americans with connections to the Middle East...
The San Bernardino Massacre Isn’t Part of a ‘World War’
Why should a “Muslim” shooting outrage us so much more than other mass shootings? “Our nation is under siege,” Chris Christie declared after the San Bernardino murders. “We’re facing the next world war.” Other candidates issued their own battle cries. Donald Trump...
Seeing No Evil, Chicago Edition
Have Yourself Some Anti-Refugee Hysteria
As holiday shoppers empty their wallets to buy presents for family and friends, there’s been an outbreak of miserliness among our politicians — directed at some of the world’s most helpless people. At least 30 Republican governors, and one Democrat, are vowing to bar...
