“We just can’t work with him because our base thinks he’s the Antichrist.” —Barack Obama paraphrasing GOP leaders (8/25/16) President Putin is the Antichrist, and Russia is the 10-horned beast of the Book of Revelation. —Psychic T. Chase (1999) Former…
Refugees and Immigrants are People, Too: Let’s Welcome These New Americans
Nick GierLeave a Comment on Refugees and Immigrants are People, Too: Let’s Welcome These New AmericansTruly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. —Jesus, Matthew 25:40 Ultimately, we fear this executive order may become a self-inflicted wound in the fight…
Donald Trump’s Right-Wing European Allies: Brits, French, Dutch, Germans, and Danes Turn against Immigrants
Nick GierLeave a Comment on Donald Trump’s Right-Wing European Allies: Brits, French, Dutch, Germans, and Danes Turn against ImmigrantsMany countries are shifting from a universal civil nationalism towards the blood-and-soil, ethnic sort. —The Economist (11/19/6) In 1992 Francis Fukuyama published a book with a very strange title: The End of History and the Last Man. Fukuyama’s thesis…
Obama and Reagan: Assessing their legacies
RR is totally lost, out of his depth, and uncomfortable. He has not enough knowledge or decisiveness to cut through the contradictory advice that is being offered to him. —Richard Pipes, at a 1981 National Security Council meeting The general…
Betsy DeVos: the worst possible choice for Education Secretary
Largely as a result of the DeVos’ lobbying, Michigan tolerates more low-performing charter schools than just about any other state. —Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press Billionaire Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, and her brother Erik Prince are…
Green California Makes Progress while Petro State Texas Falters:
From 2015 to 2016, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, California’s Gross Domestic Product rose 4.1 percent while Texas dropped 1.4 percent—right at the edge of recession. Once again conservative economists have been proved wrong: high taxes in the…
Idaho’s religious shield law and tragic child deaths
Editor’s note: this version of Mr. Gier’s column is an expanded version from the one currently in print. An adult’s religious freedom crosses the line when it causes death to a child. –Child Activist Linda Martin These children…
In praise of Asian monarchs: past and present
In late May 1992, against the advice of the State Department, I travelled to Thailand for a two-week visit. There had been a military coup the previous year, and on May 17, an estimated 200,000 Thais gathered in Bangkok to…
Columbus Day and the Christian conquest of the world:
“We discovered Columbus, lost on our shores, sick, destitute, and wrapped in rags. We nourished him to health, and the rest is history. He represents the mascot of American colonialism in the Western Hemisphere.” —Lakota activist Bill Means May 4,…
Gandhi, the Buddha and the limits of non-violence:
“I felt I was in the presence of a noble soul, a true disciple of Lord Buddha, and a true believer in peace and harmony among all men.” —The Dalai Lama “Gandhi is the greatest Indian since Gautama Buddha and…