Robert L. Terrell

Obama's Unnecessary Militarism Has Critically Crippled His Wobbly Presidency

I suspect that few of those who have closely watched President Barack Obama’s actions since he took office were surprised by his announcement last night that he intends to send 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan. If nothing else, the length of time it took for him to make the decision was a clear indication [...]

The U.S. Ruling Class Needs to Upgrade its Performance or Move Aside

Like most U.S. citizens, I am prone to go long stretches of time without thinking much about the ruling class. This is due to several factors, the most important being the highly sophisticated phalanx of barriers used by members of the clan to hide their prodigious wealth, unmatched power, and pervasive influence, from [...]

Afghanistan, the U.S. and the Lure of Atavistic, Imperial, Military Prowess

I have had the good fortune to live for long periods of time in Third World settings that I believe provide me important insights into the strategic military dilemma Afghanistan poses for the United States and its allies. The first, and most important, dimension of the situation that everyone needs to grasp regarding this [...]

President Barack Hussein Obama's Nobel Peace Prize: The World Has Called Us Out

Lightening bolts are beautiful, as long as you are not standing at, or near, their points of impact. I am moved to make the observation in response to President Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because his selection has hit the US populace like a huge, startling, bolt of lightening.
Obama is apparently [...]

Nancy Pelosi's Smile

I read an article about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi this evening that reminded me of an encounter I had with her a couple years ago at a San Francisco restaurant. The article focused on her dominant position at the pinnacle of power in Washington, D.C., and the scowl she leveled on Joe [...]

My Best Case for Using Worst Possible Case Thinking While Designing The National Health Care Program

As a person who strongly supports the establishment of a high quality, efficient, intelligently managed, and honorably functioning system of health care in the United States that includes every citizen on an equal basis, I feel obligated to offer the following line of thinking regarding dangers inherent in such a system.
My sense of obligation in [...]

Sometimes Conservatives Get It Right: Government and End of Life Dilemmas

Through clenched jaws, and fluctuating surges of dread and high hopes, I am forcing myself to enjoy the current hellacious debate underway here in the United States over the Obama administration’s titanic struggle to enact substantive health care reform. Moreover, the longer I ponder the arguments pro and con, and the shifting cast of frequently [...]

Harbinger of the Future: Devastated Detroit

The full significance of the financial crisis bedeviling the United States, and much of the rest of the developed world, is clearly apparent to those who dare seek to acquire an up close and personal view of the massive, full spectrum collapse underway in Detroit. The once prosperous city used to be one of the [...]

Gentrification, Homeless People and Young Professionals

The homeless people on my block are being forced to compete with young professionals for midday squatting rites. The young professionals are attracted by a food service business that sells them gourmet coffee and lunch from a waist-high street-side window. Each working day, they pour onto the block and gather in front of the window [...]

New Thinking, Major Reforms and Urgent Action Needed ASAP

The current crises threatening stability in virtually every sector of U.S. society should be all the proof sane and balanced people need in order to understand that we are hovering on a precipice between extraordinary achievement, and dramatic, unalterable decline.  Given that, we all need to remain alert and aware regarding all the best things [...]