Afghan Northern Alliance fighters in 2001. Almost two decades later, the war continues. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder Robert M. Cassidy, Wesleyan University The war in Afghanistan has become so protracted that it warrants the epithet the “Groundhog Day War.” Fighting has gone on for nearly 17 years, with U.S. troops in Afghanistan seven years longer … [Read more...] about No, the war in Afghanistan isn’t a hopeless stalemate
Ways YOU can help The Moderate Voice
Efforts continue behind the scenes to help The Moderate Voice grow, despite this site and others having lost a source of great free syndicated content. Efforts are going on to upgrade our content and technical set up. And, heading into 2020, there is reason to expect TMV will grow. But here are some ways you can help: 1. Share TMV posts you like on social media. You'll … [Read more...] about Ways YOU can help The Moderate Voice
Reprehensible Remarks by a Retired Air Force General ( FINAL UPDATE)
FINAL UPDATE: As Trump continues to brazenly refuse to apologize for – or even address -- the disgraceful remarks made by one of his staff members about Senator John McCain(below), one prominent Republican has had the guts to “blast” White House officials for “refusing to condemn a vile remark made about the mortality of Sen. John McCain…” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) … [Read more...] about Reprehensible Remarks by a Retired Air Force General ( FINAL UPDATE)
Why the betrayal of Bill Cosby, Eric Schneiderman and other influential men is deeper than you think
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at a news conference in New York in 2016. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File Hilary Jerome Scarsella, Vanderbilt University New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on Monday, May 7, hours after The New Yorker published an article in which four women accused him of physical abuse. This came soon … [Read more...] about Why the betrayal of Bill Cosby, Eric Schneiderman and other influential men is deeper than you think
Trump’s flawed version of disruption
WASHINGTON -- On the same day that President Trump recklessly pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal with Iran, the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels fired the informational equivalent of a heat-seeking missile at the Trump presidency. Taken together, these events clarify the nature of what Trump has inflicted on our country. Trump is regularly described … [Read more...] about Trump’s flawed version of disruption
Trump’s Anti-Nuclear Strategy- Pooof!
It is amazing how often Donald Trump acts on important issues without a significant strategy. He cannot put two and two together to understand how one action can impact another. In trying to get North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons, Trump did not give full consideration to how his Iran action would affect North Korea. He was itching to withdraw from the Iran pact made … [Read more...] about Trump’s Anti-Nuclear Strategy- Pooof!
Trump’s Anti-Nuclear Strategy- Pooof!
It is amazing how often Donald Trump acts on important issues without a significant strategy. He cannot put two and two together to understand how one action can impact another. In trying to get North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons, Trump did not give full consideration to how his Iran action would affect North Korea. He was itching to withdraw from the Iran pact made … [Read more...] about Trump’s Anti-Nuclear Strategy- Pooof!
(UPDATE VI) Trump Bag Man Netted Millions From Russian Oligarch & Big Corporations
I have long believed that the many shady deals that Donald Trump, his fixer Michael Cohen and their associates made with Russians, Ukrainians and others in the years before he became president are of less importance to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and other investigators than the individuals involved in those deals. That has been borne out in another stunning week of … [Read more...] about (UPDATE VI) Trump Bag Man Netted Millions From Russian Oligarch & Big Corporations
An Ex-POW Speaks Out on Gina Haspel’s CIA Nomination (UPDATES)
UPDATE: Please scroll down for CODA and an Update Original Post Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain who himself faced years of torture while a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam during that War (an experience that Trump has ridiculed), today came out in opposition to Gina Haspel’s nomination to be CIA director. McCain, who has been home in Arizona battling … [Read more...] about An Ex-POW Speaks Out on Gina Haspel’s CIA Nomination (UPDATES)
A Review of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies
When I told my wife, Jennifer that we were seeing the North American touring production of Love Never Dies at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, she asked me if it was a “new James Bond musical.” I said something such as “No, although I would totally see a James Bond musical, Love Never Dies is actually a sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera and that’s pretty … [Read more...] about A Review of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies
The Perils of an Un Name
Remember Abbott and Costello’s hilariously funny baseball skit, “Who’s on First?” There have been several renderings of it, but basically the lengthy exchange revolves around Abbott trying to explain to Costello, who is on a mythical baseball team, the names of the players on the team and how ball-players are given funny names. Part of the exchange: Abbott: Strange as … [Read more...] about The Perils of an Un Name
Manning the Perp Watch
My Dachshund and I were cruising up West End Avenue yesterday when we spotted a crowd on the next block. People were clogging the sidewalk, and trucks equipped with satellite gear were lining the streets. I wondered what a media circus was doing in the neighborhood. We advanced toward the mob, propelled by my curiosity and the dog’s inbred urge to chase down badgers. I … [Read more...] about Manning the Perp Watch
Lean On Pete (2018)
When you see a well-made film, a story that has meaning, you don't forget about it quickly after leaving the theater. You think about it for days, contemplating the decisions that were made to create it. Lean On Pete is one such film. Lean On Pete is the story of Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer) and is set in Portland, Oregon. Charley's mother is no longer around and he … [Read more...] about Lean On Pete (2018)
Rudy G and Bubble Boy Trump: Call It Implausible Deniability
Michael Winship Think of two bubbles. One is the alternative universe presented by Fox News in which darkness reigns and every single word or action taken against the right wing and its president is perceived as an attack or smear that’s inherently part of a titanic conspiracy aimed at wrecking your life. I have visited that weird Fox bubble on occasion, walked the … [Read more...] about Rudy G and Bubble Boy Trump: Call It Implausible Deniability
Surveillance and Privacy
The right to privacy is not explicitly protected in the Bill of Rights. However, it is implicitly protected in Amendments I, IV and V. Consequently most Americans take their privacy for granted and assume that it is adequately protected. Perhaps they should not, for at least one ominous reason- surveillance technology. Surveillance technology is now everywhere. We are … [Read more...] about Surveillance and Privacy
Trump pulls out of Iran Nuclear Deal
Embed from Getty Images The U.S. is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, Presidential Donald Trump has announced. To those who hated the deal and Trump's supporters, this marks the erasure of a major mistake. To those who supported it -- and that includes European countries -- it conjures up five words: let the serious consequence begin. President Donald Trump has … [Read more...] about Trump pulls out of Iran Nuclear Deal
Obama in San Diego: Values, Facts Made for Success as President, Aid Democracy
by Ken Stone Greeted with a standing ovation by a potential audience of 11,000, Barack Obama told a San Diego convention Monday about how he trusted 22- and 23-year-olds with big responsibilities in his 2007 campaign for president. He recalled how a Chinese-American volunteer from Los Angeles, dispatched to rural Iowa, was called an ethinc slur after he arrived but … [Read more...] about Obama in San Diego: Values, Facts Made for Success as President, Aid Democracy
The West Virginia primary shows Trump’s election was no aberration
WASHINGTON -- Sooner or later, Donald Trump will be gone. Trumpism, however, is here to stay. Look at West Virginia, which holds its Republican Senate primary Tuesday. Candidate Don Blankenship, a disgraced coal baron who spent a year in jail after a mine explosion killed 29 workers, was reportedly trailing two respectable GOP rivals just over a week ago. Then … [Read more...] about The West Virginia primary shows Trump’s election was no aberration
Cartoon: Hush Money for Rudy
Presidents often reverse US foreign policy — how Trump handles setbacks is what matters most now
Charles Hermann, Texas A&M University The United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, according to a May 8 announcement by President Donald Trump. The decision reverses a hardwon agreement that President Barack Obama negotiated with European allies, Russia, Iran and other nations in 2015. This is hardly Trump’s first foreign policy turnaround. The … [Read more...] about Presidents often reverse US foreign policy — how Trump handles setbacks is what matters most now