As I write, Mr. Trump is declaring that “nobody knows” what he is going to do about Iran. I fear that “nobody” includes him.
Donald Trump
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Israel, Iran and the deadly results of abandoning international laws
In judging the morality of an act of war, an easy ask is always: “Was the belligerent party left with no other recourse?” That does not appear to be true in this case.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
I fought in Afghanistan. Watching Trump’s Army parade, I didn’t feel proud.
My primary problem with the parade wasn’t just that it broke a norm. My problem is that it reminded me how easily we tell ourselves comforting stories instead of asking hard questions.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The L.A. immigration raids: This is what it feels like to be occupied by a foreign army.
No one I knew in Los Angeles was afraid to go downtown. That is, they were unafraid until President Donald Trump called in the National Guard and then the Marines.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘It felt like a kidnapping’: Catholics respond to the immigration raids in LA
“It literally felt like kidnapping. I saw three of those ‘kidnappings’ happen in the span of 20 minutes.” That is how Angel Mortel described detainments she witnessed outside of a Los Angeles courtroom.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The deadly impact of the end of U.S.A.I.D. and Pepfar in southern Africa
Improvements in health care in Eswatini have relied for years on Pepper and the generosity of the American people. During the height of the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic, Eswatini’s population plummeted, and life expectancy dropped from 61 in 1988 to 44 by 2003.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The ‘Trump effect’ on Canada’s immigration restrictions
“Carney is responding to the [immigration] backlash but also to the Trump effect, which is placing more pressure on Canada to tighten its border.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Bishops condemn El Salvador’s ‘international prison’ where Trump is sending migrants
”Do not collaborate in the fight against migrants by the great colonizing countries.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ betrays the poor. The church must oppose it.
The church and the bishops of the United States should lead the way in speaking against this bill and calling on Catholics to work for its defeat, writes Archbishop John C. Wester of Sante Fe.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Elon Musk’s DOGE hit programs to help the poor especially hard
Elon Musk and DOGE have used the language of efficiency to impose a radical change in how we view helping others.