Category: Opinion

Thinking twice about that US-China superwar

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Doug Bandow

“President Donald Trump has proved, yet again, why America’s founders wisely insisted that only Congress could declare war. The legislative branch must empower the government’s chief executive to, in the words of Constitutional Convention delegate James Wilson, ‘involve us in such distress.’ Had Trump followed the law, he may never have launched his disastrous attack on Iran. Yet much worse would be a conflict between the U.S. and People’s Republic of China.” (07/06/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-china-war-taiwan/

Thomas L. Knapp

Scrutinizing the Unpardonable: The AUKUS Public Inquiry So Far

Source: CounterPunch
by Binoy Kampmark

“In the annals of policy, strategy and budgeting, the AUKUS pact comprising Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States will be seen as one of the most mindless, absurd projects of tiny, poorly furnished minds. Not for those in the UK and US, with both receiving Croesus-rich dollops of Australian cash for stuttering submarine programs. Not for flabby think tankers who repeatedly run out bills on the advisory circuit lauding the importance of costly boats and the China threat. It will be down to Australian government officials, elected and appointed, who seek the imaginary assurance of nuclear-powered submarines that they do not need, expending money they can scarce afford (AU$368 billion), while surrendering the country’s sovereignty in carefree, even treasonous manner.” (07/06/26)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/06/scrutinizing-the-unpardonable-the-aukus-public-inquiry-so-far/

Thomas L. Knapp

My Conversation With Karl Marx About Donald Trump

Source: Common Dreams
by Norman Solomon

“The following invented interview has been edited for clarity and length: Norman Solomon: You’ve downplayed the importance of the individual in history. But the United States now has as president an individual who transformed power relations and the political landscape. Karl Marx: I can assure you that he did not do that by himself. Power relations are class relations. And by the way, I never said individuals are irrelevant to history. I exhorted individuals to get involved in changing history. NS: President Trump has rolled back gains from the last hundred years and more. Also, he’s mentally unstable, to put it mildly. KM: The basics still hold. As I wrote in 1869 about a situation in France where a cult existed around a tyrant, the class struggle ‘created circumstances and relationships that made it possible for a grotesque mediocrity to play a hero’s part’.” (07/06/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/karl-marx-reflects-on-donald-trump

Steve Trinward

Polarization, Anti-Intellectualism, & Loneliness

Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen

“Last week I spent several days in Philadelphia at the Braver Angels National Convention. During one session, it occurred to me that the anti-polarization work they and others do responds to three problems of modern society and only the first, polarization, is obvious. Two others are perhaps less obvious but also important—both on their own and because they are intertwined with polarization. Let me take each in turn.” (07/06/26)

https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/polarization-anti-intellectualism

Thomas L. Knapp

The Tom Kean Question

Source: The American Conservative
by Spencer Neale

“Against the wishes of his doctors, Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) returned to Congress on Tuesday, his first appearance there in more than 100 days. Addressing the House floor, Kean began by noting that he is a ‘private person’ before explaining his multi-month absence from his duties in Washington, DC. ‘Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing,’ said the 57-year-old Kean. ‘I was given the diagnosis of depression.’ It was a stark admission for a politician whose critics have long questioned his absence but were met with silence. Though depression is not disqualifying in and of itself, the lack of transparency from a person who was elected to provide it is worrying. Furthermore, if a disability keeps you off the job for four months …. then the job likely isn’t compatible with the disability Kean is currently navigating.” (07/06/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-tom-kean-question/

Thomas L. Knapp