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Trump and war in Iran: What’s the plan?

When President Trump spoke at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative on Friday, he offered a pristine example of what he calls “the weave.” What detractors take for incontinent verbal rambling is, in his own telling, genius-level embroidery of a rhetorical mosaic. While spinning his tapestry of soundbites, the wartime president declared that the Iranians “have to open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me, for — I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake. The fake news will say he ‘accidentally said’ (chuckle), now there’s no accidents with me. Not too many. ...

Debunking ‘myth’ of lone wolf

Since the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, government officials have said their greatest fear is self-radicalized individuals they call “lone wolves.” The March 12 terrorist attack on Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, prompted a Department of Justice news conference on Monday which offered new information about the attack and a debunking of the lone wolf theory. Jerome Gorgon Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said: “I’ve seen some odd attempts to explain away or even lessen this terrorist attack by claiming that (the attacker) was ...

Nothing is ‘off limits’ in Trump’s second term

As the No Kings protest testifies, the political terrain favors activists. Donald Trump’s second term has been one that never rests; if it is not Truth Social posts, it is the President’s gratuitous remarks. Nothing is off limits as far as Trump is concerned. Whether rejoicing at the death of Robert Mueller or his attacks on Conservative Supreme Court justices for their anti-terrorist decision, all boundaries are ignored. The problem with this approach is that Trump only strengthens his enemies and alienates reliable Tories. In this respect, he seems determined to break his MAGA ...

Bringing down the gavel

The two leaders of the West Virginia Legislature came under scrutiny last week for different issues, though one is being more transparent than the other one. First, my friend Brad McElhinny with West Virginia MetroNews reported last week that a political action committee connected to Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, began putting up ads attacking a rival, state Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, as he faces a contested GOP primary. The PAC, Mountaineer Conservative Coalition, pushed an ad taking Takubo to task for a 2021 vote on the bill now called the Save Women’s Sports Act. ...

United we stand, divided we fall, even now

For a brief window this coming week, Passover and Holy Week, the sacred observances of Jews and Christians, respectively, will overlap. Jews around the world will gather this Wednesday and Thursday evenings for the Seder, which recounts the Exodus from Egypt and God’s redemptive hand in history. And after Good Friday and Holy Saturday on Sunday, April 5, Christians will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal salvation. Two biblical traditions, distinct but from the same Abrahamic family tree, will thus find themselves marking holy seasons at the same ...

Arc of justice

Former President Barack Obama liked to quote the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s line that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Of course, what was an expression of optimism for the moral reformer King was more in the nature of a victory spike of the football for a competitor in a zero-sum electoral contest like Obama. More importantly, the belief that things are moving toward justice comes more naturally to believers in American exceptionalism, of which Obama isn’t one. He famously said that he believed in America’s exceptionalism only as much ...