The U.S. Senate, however, was unenthusiastic: The votes against Mr. Tillerson’s confirmation were the most in Senate history for a secretary of state, a reflection of Democratic unease with President Trump’s early foreign policy pronouncements that threaten to upend a multilateral approach that has guided United States presidents since World War II. I've said that …
The Similarity Between the Change of an American President and a Roman Emperor
In the midst of the current upheaval, an interesting observation from Peter Salway's Roman Britain (Oxford History of England). In his discussion of the relationship between the Roman Emperor and his provincial governors, he says the following: It is easy to become so absorbed in the career of the hundreds of individuals whose appointments are …
Continue reading "The Similarity Between the Change of an American President and a Roman Emperor"
Happy New Year, Comrades, and Thinking About the Class Struggle
To the right is a Soviet New Year card; I've featured these before. If they look suspiciously like Christmas cards, well, that's just the genre... As it happens, this New Year isn't one our counterparts on the left have looked forward to ever since That Man With the Big Hair won a couple of months …
Continue reading "Happy New Year, Comrades, and Thinking About the Class Struggle"
Tillerson for Secretary of State? Of Course!
Donald Trump's anticipated choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State already has people riled up. What could a dirty oil man--especially one who has "relations" with the Russians--do for this country's foreign affairs? The first thing Donald Trump has doubtless found out is something this blog has said for a long time: …
Continue reading "Tillerson for Secretary of State? Of Course!"
My Thoughts on Donald Trump and the Chinese
The incoming administration is doing many things that put their opponents--and some of their supporters--in a lather. That's not hard to do these days in the US, it seems that everyone pretty much lives that way. One of those is with the Chinese--taking a call from Taiwan's president, his threats regarding trade, etc. I have …
Continue reading "My Thoughts on Donald Trump and the Chinese"
In Case of Flag Burning…
Four facts to consider: President-elect Trump wants to revoke citizenship for those who burn the flag. Many have promised to leave the U.S. if he becomes President (which he will, Deo volente.) Renunciation of U.S. citizenship is at a high level. Paperwork for same renunciation is slow. Our State Department can work out a nuclear …
They Called Me a "Faux News" Site Too
It's all the rage these days, in the wake of Trump's victory, to attack (generally conservative) "faux news" sites, even to the point of getting them blocked or banned altogether. This rage (like every other rage) isn't a new as people think: I was accused of this back in 2008, when I posted this piece …
Everybody Wants Their Empire Back
And we mean everybody: Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) in next month’s re-run presidential elections, wants Hungary to join a new alliance consisting of former members of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The far-right politician believes Central European countries with similar cultures, including Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and …
Show Us the Money, Donald Trump
Glenn Harlan Reynolds laments the way campuses (or campi, really) have reacted to the lachrymose response to Trump's victory: The response to the shock has been to turn campuses into kindergarten. The University of Michigan Law School announced a ”post-election self-care” event with “food and play,” including “coloring sheets, play dough [sic], positive card-making, Legos …
You Like #Calexit? So Do We
Now that the tables have turned, the people who want secession have also: Since Donald Trump’s electoral victory was first announced, #Calexit has been trending on Twitter, with distraught Californians looking to form their own state. Liberal Californians who are serious about this should take comfort: you've got many conservative friends east of you who …
Positive Infinity 