Nick Gier

After seven long years of investigation, a British commission led by Sir John Chilcot has issued its findings on the British participation in the Iraq War. The report, 2.6 million words in 12 volumes, concludes that plans were “seriously flawed”…

Last December President Obama praised sports heroes who are Muslims. A clueless Donald Trump tweeted: “What sport is he talking about, and who?” Trump must have forgotten about his friend Muhammad Ali, whom Trump once called a “terrific guy” and…

The GOP House Select Committee on Benghazi has interviewed 100 witnesses, spent $7 million of its own funds, and has forced other agencies to spend an additional $13 million. The Defense Department is at its wit’s end and is rightly…

Siddharta Gautama the Buddha was born in Southern Nepal in 563 or 480 BC, depending which scholar one chooses. Buddhists around the world celebrate his birthday in the months of April or May. So Happy Birthday, Buddha! Both Jesus and…

The “Panama Papers,” millions of documents released by a German newspaper, has uncovered major international financial misdealing. The papers were leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, which has set up dozens of offshore tax havens. The first casualty…

As we celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s 273rd birthday next week, we need to be reminded about what a controversial figure he was.  In the election of 1800 he was called “that atheist and leveler from Virginia.” Alexander Hamilton was so committed…

For almost a century the American Civil Liberties Union has been in the forefront in protecting the people’s constitutional rights. For this column I will focus on the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees full due process to criminal defendants and their…

“If heads on poles were symbols of control, they were also symbols of the ritual violence that was the constant underlying element of Louisiana society.” —Daniel Rasmussen, “American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt.” This column is…

“Sanders would be a GOP dream. America will never go socialist.” —Bill O’Reilly The last stop on my month-long trip to Europe last September was London. The London papers headlined Jeremy Corbyn’s surprise election as the Labor Party’s new leader.…

February 6 is former President Ronald Reagan’s 115th birthday, and the myths about him, many times over refuted, continue to intoxicate the minds of many Americans. The GOP presidential candidate who most often compares himself to Reagan is Senator Marco…