Over the next couple of weeks, caucus-goers and voters in Iowa and New Hampshire have their opportunity to pick whom they think should be the presidential candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties. If I could speak to Democrats in those two states, I would tell them this: Choose Bernie Sanders. My endorsement is not […]
I try to live my online life by recognizing the truth of Godwin’s Law and its closely related corollary. Those are: the longer an Internet discussion goes on, the more likely someone will bring up the Nazis; and that the Nazi analogy is usually so absurd, the person making it automatically loses the argument. But […]
Regarding the Syrian refugees, we should let them in, of course. First, it’s good policy. To undermine support for radical Islam, we have to win moderate and liberal Muslim hearts and minds. By denying entry for the refugees, we give ISIS and similar groups the public relations and moral victory that they want. It is […]
I’ve seen some stories bouncing around drawing equivalencies between Islam-inspired terrorists and Christianity-inspired terrorists. Three thoughts occur: I get the impulse to equate the two. However, the threat from radical Christianist terrorism – both to the West and Islamic countries – is much smaller. That’s good, of course, but why it’s smaller is what really […]
During this weekend’s Democratic presidential debate, the Republican presidential candidates went on the attack, criticizing the Democrats for not being willing to say definitively whether we were at war with “radical Islam.” As I’ve written before, I think that the Democrats – as presidential candidates – gave appropriately nuanced responses. But it goes beyond that. […]
Some good reading I found along the way: Islam Is a Religion of Peace Islam Is a Religion of Violence Our terrorism double standard: After Paris, let’s stop blaming Muslims and take a hard look at ourselves To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account What ISIS Really Wants Singaporean’s […]
Short answer: Yes, of course. But we can’t say that too loudly. Let me explain. This question came up during Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate, which followed the attacks in Paris. I freely admit that – to a wounded and frightened world populace – the Democrats responses seemed like weak tea, with their inability to straightforwardly say whether […]
My heart goes out to all of those killed and wounded by terrorist attacks — in Paris, Beirut, Mumbai, the U.S., of course, and elsewhere. Nothing I write or say can take away the pain, sadness, anger, and vulnerability they must feel. I have a few thoughts regarding terrorism, peace, and human nature that I try to […]
In solidarity with those Second Amendment advocates who take an uncompromising stand on the individual right to bear arms, I have decided to become a First Amendment absolutist. As an expression of my lawful, unrestrained freedom of speech, I reserve the right to scream the text of science journals and to hurl profanities at any […]
Here in Singapore, we are currently in the so-called haze season. It’s a time of year when corporate and some small farmers in Indonesia use fire to clear oil palm fields for planting. The smoke from the fields – and other non-farm areas where the fire spreads – blows across the water to mainly Singapore […]
Bill Poorman 