(U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Kuang) Less than two months before that other date that will live in infamy – January 6, 2021 – the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Gen. Mark Milley, had some words of warning for the nation. Speaking at Fort Belvoir Virginia on Veterans Day, 2020, Milley cautioned against the possibility of a rogue commander in chief. Milley said: We are unique among armies, we are unique among militaries. We do not take an oath to a king or queen, or tyrant or dictator, we do not take an oath to an individual. No, we do not take an oath to a country, a tribe or a...
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Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism In August 1982, Ronald Reagan’s father-in-law was dying. Nancy Reagan’s beloved dad, Loyal Davis, was an atheist – a troubling fact to the 40th president. So Reagan penned a private, handwritten note in which he recounted how the prayers of colleagues and friends had cured him of a painful stomach ulcer. Demoed Reagan’s Evangelical Vision.” In recent years, Donald Trump, another former president and the current Republican presidential candidate, has often spoken about his faith, posing for photo ops with right-wing preachers ...
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If this was a nation where the president used the legal system to go after his political opponents, as Donald Trump so often claims, then he would have fled the country to live in exile after his failed coup attempt and not be sitting through jury selections in a courtroom while dozing off. Trump lies and says his criminal trials are politically motivated and now, he can lie and say he didn’t fall asleep in court yesterday…and probably again today. Is it just me or is he not looking well? His hue has gone from a bright ugly racist orange to a sickish tangerine that fell off a truck. Maggie Hab...
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Medal of Honor Recipient Lt. Cdr. George Levick Street III This week, the Department of Defense highlights another hero who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Pacific in World War II. In July 1944, the U.S.S. Tirante submarine commanded by then-Navy Lt. Commander George Levick Street III “sank at least six Japanese ships,” a feat of leadership and bravery that earned Street the Medal of Honor and his crew the Presidential Unit Citation. The Medal of Honor citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as co...
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While President Joe Biden struggles for electoral survival, his friend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can safely expect resounding approval for a third straight term at India’s general elections starting next Friday, April 19. This will be a momentous election and an inflection point in India’s growth trajectory and place in the world. Like any powerful leader, Modi is both adored by many Indians who hope to finally encounter prosperity, human dignity and better lives and reviled by others who are losing influence in a fast-changing Indian democracy. Modi’s victory with a large majority o...
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Editorial cartooning is a wonderful art. Cartoonists can express a viewpoint in cartoons that often get laughs (from those on the political side of the cartoonists’ viewpoint). But the danger is that they’re overtaken by events (through no fault of the cartoonists, who aren’t psychics). Here’s a cartoon now being circulated: It is now less impactful due to former President Donald Trump dozing off during his criminal trial in New York. Trump had used the name “Sleepy Joe” to describe Biden. So his nodding off during the court proceedings triggered a lot of comment on X. There’s also a quickly g...
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Former President Donald Trump stands trial on April 15, 2024.Yuki Iwamura//AFP via Getty Images Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University and Tim Bakken, United States Military Academy West Point Former President Donald Trump’s New York trial on charges related to paying hush money to an adult film star begins on April 15, 2024. The Conversation U.S. asked Tim Bakken, a former New York prosecutor and now a legal scholar teaching at West Point, and Karrin Vasby Anderson, a political communication expert at Colorado State University, to set the scene from each of their perspectives. It wi...
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ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C135%2C4731%2C3009&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip” /> Israel’s air defense system intercepted nearly all missiles fired from Iran on April 13, 2024.AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg Javed Ali, University of Michigan For decades, Iran and Israel have been engaged in a “shadow war.” Falling short of direct military confrontation, this conflict has been characterized by war through other means – through proxies, cyber attacks, economic sanctions and fiery rhetoric. Events over the last few weeks in the Middle East have, however, changed the nature of this conflict. First, Israel – i...
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Ran Porat, Monash University Close to midnight on April 13, hundreds of military drones were launched from both Iran and Iraq toward Israel. Subsequently, several waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and rockets followed, originating from Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon – all directed at Israel. This unprecedented multi-front attack on Israel constitutes a de facto declaration of war and marks the first direct assault against Israel from Iranian soil. However, despite the scale of the operation, it appears to be a tactical failure. If Iran wanted to test Israel’s ability to deal with a m...
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O.J. Simpson shows the jury a pair of gloves, similar to those found near the crime scene, during his trial in Los Angeles in 1995.POO/AFP via Getty Images Frankie Bailey, University at Albany, State University of New York With the death of O.J. Simpson, I can’t help but wonder whether the media has learned any lessons from its coverage of his trial, in which the ex-football star was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. In many ways, the “trial of the century” brought out some of the media’s worst impulses. As criminologist Gregg Barak explained, the O.J. Simpson case was a true ...
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