https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Throne-Americas-Abdication-Leadership/dp/1541773853 The rules-based world order that developed after World War II was not an accident of history. It resulted from America’s vigorous leadership. So for our allies in Europe, Asia and around the globe is was so puzzling that President Donald Trump would walk away from treaties and organizations America designed. While he blustered about …

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https://campaignlegal.org/ It is constitutionally required that we do an ‘actual enumeration’ of the residents of the United States every ten years on the 00’s. Well, it’s that time. And in the middle of a pandemic and a presidential election, we are being reminded of how challenging that process can be and yet how important it …

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https://www.enedstrom.com/ Before we engage in any war, Erik Edstrom asks us to imagine three visions: First, imagine your own death. Second, imagine war from ‘the other side’. Third, imagine what might have been if the war had never been fought. Through that lens and his own combat experience, Edstrom graphically depicts why in all his …

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https://anneskim.com/   In 2017, research showed that 4.5 million Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 were neither in school nor working.  Falling into that gap is a far different experience than the one enjoyed by more affluent and socially connected people that age who can take a ‘gap year’ between high school and …

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https://www.amazon.com/Hardhat-Riot-Nixon-Working-Class-Revolution/dp/0190064714 Sometimes riots come to define communities as you attach the name forever in your mind with the riots–like Watts, Attica, Detroit and others. And sometimes riots get lost in the long arc of American history. Few, however, are as little remembered and yet profoundly impactful as what occurred on May 8, 1970, in lower …

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https://www.amazon.com/Power-Worshippers-Dangerous-Religious-Nationalism/dp/1635573432 While the number of religious nationalists may not be overwhelming their influence on American politics, and access to those in the White House, is a stunning political achievement. Some may envision evangelicals as fighting a culture war against modernity, but the movement described in Katherine Stewart’s book, ‘The Power Worshippers’, is so much more …

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https://www.amazon.com/Cost-Loyalty-Dishonesty-Failure-Military-ebook/dp/B07V3N9HYB It’s tough to accept hard truths, but it’s also deadly and bewildering to continue to accept that the most well financed military in the history of the world has not had a true victory, while being involved in many conflicts, in the last 75 years. Why is this? Where do we begin? The quality …

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https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-Camilla-Bartlett/dp/0374238715 There are so many unknowns when it comes to Russia and its relations with the United States.  Quick quiz: friend or foe? Democracy or dictatorship?  Who can tell from the glowing words that President Trump has spoken about Vladimir Putin.  He appreciates his strong leadership, while others equate his rule to a strongman approach …

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https://www.amazon.com/Loaded-Disarming-History-Second-Amendment/dp/0872867234 In many ways, gun adherents and those who seek to control their use in America have something in common. They misinterpret the true initial intent of the Second Amendment. Most commonly we hear that it was adopted as way to insure that Americans could protect their homes or to allow them to hunt or …

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https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Paradise-American-Alastair-Gee/dp/1324005149 Fifty-two large fires are now burning 748,987 acres in the western United States, with many proving to be very difficult to contain.  The number that have burned by this time of year is the largest in a decade, with 33,000 fires searing over 1.9 million acres by July 12.     In California, fire is …

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