In 2005, I showed up at Camp Lemonnier, the American military base in the East African nation of Djibouti. As I joked in a column published that year, Djibouti is one of Earth’s hard corners few people can pronounce and still fewer visit. Located on the Horn of Africa, Djibouti’s neighborhood is violent. Ethiopia, Eritrea […]
Op-Eds
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I was arrested for nunchucks. Now, justice.
When news broke last week that a federal judge had ruled a New York law banning possession of nunchucks unconstitutional, I felt vindicated. You see, as a teenager growing up in New York City in the 1980s, I was arrested and thrown in jail for illegal possession of nunchucks. Really. During high school, I got […]
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Seeking peace and good will on earth
Not for a long time has the world seemed so removed from the angelic proclamation of 2,000 years ago: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Millions have died in countless wars over the last 100 years. People continue to die today as the result of […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The self-destruction of U.S. farmers
Not long ago, agriculture was a crown jewel of America’s export economy. Then President Trump happened. He launched his “easy-to-win” trade wars, and our trading partners hit back right where the farm belt hurts. Soybeans have been our biggest farm export and China their biggest foreign market. Last year, U.S. farmers sold almost $14 billion […]
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James Comey serves only himself
Never before has a former FBI director boasted about taking advantage of an administration’s disorganization for his own ends. But never before has a former FBI director been as self-satisfied as James Brien Comey Jr. In an interview at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Comey delighted his Upper East Side audience with […]
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Getting tough on criminal justice reform
Republicans and conservatives dating back at least to Richard Nixon have used the slogan “tough on crime” and its corollary “lock ’em up and throw away the key” as electoral red meat. The problem is what to do when inmates are released with few skills, fewer job prospects and a bleak future that leads some […]
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Everywhere, there is a growing backlash to populism
NEW YORK — Emmanuel Macron has been the great hope for those who worry that global politics is being dominated by populism, nationalism and racism. In his presidential campaign last year, Macron was able to rally France around a message of reform and multilateralism, staying firmly wedded to the European Union and other international alliances […]
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Will Trump repeat Obama’s mistake in the Middle East?
WASHINGTON — During his time in CIA custody, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told his interrogator something prophetic. The United States may enjoy some fleeting battlefield successes, Mohammed declared, but in the end “we will win because Americans don’t realize … we do not need to defeat you militarily; we only need to fight long […]
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Mixing up everything — and everybody
As one ages, one increasingly evaluates the events of one’s life. Not just one’s personal life, but the life of the larger world as well. This is about the life of the larger world. Having grown up white in segregated Missouri, I have been aware since I was barely past toddler age that race is […]
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Many thanks be to thee at Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve when just arrived at the house Three students home from college and one more en route. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care As we stood in the kitchen, many stories to share. When what to our wondering eyes should disappear, But the lights in the house […]