Jim Caton lives in Southeast Michigan where he teaches English and works as a freelance writer. A graduate of Wayne Law School, he writes on matters of constitutional law, public policy and international affairs. He is currently at work on a book of economic and social criticism entitled Ass Backward.
In a week or two the United States will take its official sobriety-and-stiletto style and a planeload of reporters to Hiroshima. It will be the first time a sitting president has visited that city rebuilt from the radioactive rubble that another president created. The only appropriate act for Barack Obama when he touches down would
On Tuesday, the threat of war with China heightened when the United States made its third incursion into Chinese-claimed waters in eight months, sending the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence sailing within the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone surrounding Chinese-held Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea under the pretext of defending the principle of
President Barack Obama visited Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday and might as well have said, “Ricky, you’re doing a heckuva job.” Like George W. Bush’s belated visit to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Obama’s presence in Flint served two purposes. One was to provide a photo opportunity—caring president lifts local spirits in face of
Criminal charges brought in the Flint water scandal by Michigan’s attorney general name three state officials as defendants. Bill Schuette has charged two officials of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and Flint’s utilities manager with felonies and misdemeanors, among them misconduct in office and tampering with evidence. Schuette indicated that the indictments of
Hillary Clinton will not talk about it. Bernie Sanders will not talk about it. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz will not talk about it. But they know. Looming on the horizon of the next presidential administration is the ominous and growing possibility of war with China. For the past year, the United States has been
Around the world, the poisoning of Flint’s water supply has been known as a “crisis.” And such it has been, a public health crisis of tragic dimension for the residents of the beleaguered Michigan city. But what has happened to the people of Flint is not a natural disaster or even, as Governor Rick Snyder
The language of the rich is imperious. When crossed or challenged, the powerful assert their strength. “The rich do as they please,” the mighty Athenians tell the recalcitrant Melians in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. “The weak suffer what they must.” When the proud Melians decide to fight for their independence rather than submit
The wealthy and their technocrat servants in government do not speak the same language as you and I. The language of the rich, when they speak to us, is one of condescension and manipulation, of cheer and redirection. It reveals its falseness most clearly when it confronts strong emotion in the people. In the face
There will be no justice for the people of Flint. To expect otherwise would be to ask a thoroughly corrupt system to indict itself. Last Wednesday, a five-member task force on the city’s water crisis released its 116-page report condemning the “culture” at Michigan governmental agencies and finding Governor Rick Snyder guilty of nothing worse
Imagine replacing your car seats with lawn chairs. Or cardboard. How safe would those changes be if you were in a rear-end crash? Safe enough according to the federal government! Rear Seat Danger Ignored by NHTSA.