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Blog No. 71 The Annals of Leading from Behind, Part II.

Part II. Ukraine and the Search for a Strategy

Back on June 4, we posted Part I, “The Islamic State and the Search for a Strategy” and promised that Part II would deal with Ukraine and Eastern Europe. After a somewhat longer interval than anticipated, we turn now to Part II. As it happens, little appears to have changed with respect to Ukraine and Eastern Europe since our previous post. Ukraine, and more broadly Eastern Europe, seems to have slid largely out of political and public consciousness. Yet that part of the world continues, in our view, to represent a highly dangerous situation that is almost certain to appear as a new crisis at some point.Read More »Blog No. 71 The Annals of Leading from Behind, Part II.

Blog No. 75. Returning From Abroad to the GOP Debates

In July, we were on vacation in Europe, actually an expedition to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary, and we made little effort to absorb political insights along the way. For example, the conundrums of the Greek economy, refugees flooding the continent, and the question of whether the United Kingdom will remain in the European Union, seemed as vexing at closer range as they had from afar. We did, however, observe the presence of a large rhinoceros outside the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. IMG_2677We harbored no illusion that there was any political significance to that handsome statue, but one does tend to take signs and portents where one finds them.Read More »Blog No. 75. Returning From Abroad to the GOP Debates

Blog No. 74, Part II. The Supreme Court: The Affordable Care Act, Same-Sex Marriage and Other Interesting Issues.

SUPREME COURT 2014 TERM

In Part I we discussed the decisions of the Supreme Court concerning the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage. This Part II will briefly consider four other end of term decisions worthy of note. First, however, we offer some observations concerning Justices Scalia and Kennedy.

Read More »Blog No. 74, Part II. The Supreme Court: The Affordable Care Act, Same-Sex Marriage and Other Interesting Issues.

Special Bulletin. Departure and Donald Trump

As noted in Blog 74, Part II, we are about to depart on vacation with plans to return in August, Before leaving, however, we wanted to say a word about Donald Trump.

We like to think that we take a realistic view of the world but we have to admit that we have been in denial on the subject of Donald Trump. We have not mentioned his candidacy in the naïve hope that it would disappear on its own. It is now clear that is not going to happen. We still believe that it is highly unlikely that Trump will become the Republican nominee, but there is an increasingly serious question as to how much embarrassment and damage he will do to the Republican Party along the way. Our answer is, too much.Read More »Special Bulletin. Departure and Donald Trump

Special Bulletin. Charleston, Race and Guns

The outrage in Charleston provoked a flood of commentary on two of the most difficult issues in American life: race and guns. If the brutal murder of nine people in a church resulted in some lasting progress on those issues, it would provide a memorial to the victims that could offer some comfort to their families and friends. Unfortunately, however,  the likelihood of forward movement in either area is uncertain at best.Read More »Special Bulletin. Charleston, Race and Guns

Special Bulletin. Update to “Republicans’ Misguided Attack On Funding For Family Planning.”

In our June 20 Special Bulletin, we reported on the action of a House subcommittee in eliminating funding for two programs for family planning. One of our readers inquired in a published comment where the “media involvement”  was, and two days later The New York Times weighed in with an editorial, “Republicans Take Aim At Poor Women.” Now, The Huffington Post reports that a Senate subcommittee has taken action that is less draconian but similarly misguided:Read More »Special Bulletin. Update to “Republicans’ Misguided Attack On Funding For Family Planning.”

Special Bulletin. Republicans’ Misguided Attack On Funding For Family Planning

The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) reports that a subcommittee of the House of Representatives has voted to eliminate funding for programs for family planning and teenage pregnancy prevention. We join RMC in believing that this is a serious mistake and have set forth below the full statement by the RMC.

The program for family planning under Title X is a long-standing one, having been enacted in 1970 under President Richard Nixon. As described by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the program operates through family planning centers:Read More »Special Bulletin. Republicans’ Misguided Attack On Funding For Family Planning

Blog No. 73. Jeb’s Announcement and Hillary’s Speech

On Monday, Jeb Bush made the long-awaited announcement that he is a candidate for President. As a matter of style, we thought it deserved an “A.” Bush spoke from a Miami college gymnasium before a crowd described by The Washington Post as a “diverse tableau at a boisterous rally.” He appeared relaxed, energetic and optimistic, the sort of joyful campaigner that he had promised to be but that had not been clearly in evidence in recent months. Toward the end of his speech, Bush turned for several moments to fluent Spanish, demonstrating that he has both the determination and the capacity to seek the increasingly important Hispanic vote.Read More »Blog No. 73. Jeb’s Announcement and Hillary’s Speech