President Joe Biden has just returned from his first international trip, making several European stops in an effort to reassert America’s prominence on the world stage. How did he do? This post (humbly) offers a report card, summarizing the trip. While it is clearly too early to determine the long-term success of Biden’s first foreign … Continue reading Biden’s European Report Card
Can We Get It Back?
President Biden is off to Europe. I remember a time when this was no big deal, when our alliances with our European allies were rock solid; when NATO held the Soviet Union, our principal Cold War adversary, in check; when citizens of the EU opined about the wonders of the American experiment; and when even … Continue reading Can We Get It Back?
Difficult Diagnoses
I received an email this week from the wife of a friend who had just died. He was a victim of Parkinson’s Disease along with Lewy Body Dementia. (I’m not a doctor and I don’t even know if I’ve stated his diagnosis correctly). He was always a free spirit, enthralled with life in all its … Continue reading Difficult Diagnoses
Trauma
Several events this week remind us of the pervasive trauma we collectively endure each day. Just last week, my post focused on how violence in Gaza triggers trauma in that region which has been experienced over generations. Now, one week later and our attention turns to home-grown trauma here in the US prompted by a … Continue reading Trauma
Israel/Palestine Yet Again
It is the most intractable of international conflicts. Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in sectarian violence since Israel was established back in 1948 as a geopolitical response to the Nazi horrors exposed during the Second World War. The struggle for rights and opportunities in a place that two distinct groups consider their homeland is further … Continue reading Israel/Palestine Yet Again