Farewell, John Bolton
by Mel Gurtov
356 words
The firing (or, he insists, the resignation) of John Bolton as national security special assistant is being treated by some observers as a great loss for coherence and professionalism in the conduct of US foreign policy. Josh Rogin at the Washington Post, for example, writes on September 11: “Republicans on Capitol Hill lost a key interlocutor and a key ally inside the White House. Many fear Trump will replace Bolton with someone who will feed Trump’s own desire to drastically pull back on U.S. commitments and alliances abroad. Even Democrats acknowledge Bolton was somebody who they knew and trusted to — at the very least — push back against Trump’s worst instincts or false beliefs.”
In short, we are invited to treat Bolton’s departure as another in a long line of “adults in the room” who are gone, leaving Trump to make policy by gut instinct. (“Trump unplugged,” as one former diplomatic put it.) You would think we had lost a voice for peace, human rights, and international cooperation! Let’s get real: Bolton’s departure is a welcome event. His hawkish impulses, if allowed to proceed uncheck, quite possibly would have led to war with Iran, no talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, continued “maximum pressure” on North Korea and Venezuela, and further sanctions against Cuba and Nicaragua. Yes, Bolton was an “adult” when it came to sanctions on Russia, support for NATO, and Trump’s glad-handing of dictators. But on balance, Bolton was as much a menace to real national and international security as his boss.
Various foreign-policy professionals are being quoted as concluding that with Bolton gone, Trump will have the field to himself, with only Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and friends to restrain him. That is indeed worrisome, since Pompeo has been just as militant as Bolton on Venezuela, North Korea, and Iran. The main difference between the two is Pompeo’s loyalty—his willingness to bite his tongue and go along with whatever Trump says or does. US foreign policy will be no less incoherent and erratic in a Bolton-less world. But at least with Bolton gone, we have one less voice for war in Washington.
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Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University.
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New Hampshire's WMUR TV profiled me during my visit to the Granite State, saying: "Sestak said he brings foreign policy experience to the table in a way that no other Democrat can. The retired three-star vice admiral served in the Navy for three decades and was director of defense policy for the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton."
I was asked why my unparalleled experience in the military and in foreign policy mattered, and responded: "It is this breadth and depth of global experience, an understanding that if you're ever going to use our military, you'd better understand how it's going to end before you think it's wise to begin, that matters"
WMUR asked if I supported negotiations with the Taliban: "How else are you going to end a war?" I responded. Nevertheless, as WMUR reported: "he believes the president has weakened national security, and said it's time for a less ideological commander-in-chief. 'I'm very much a person who believes, like in the Navy, you look at the facts and then resolve the problem,' Sestak said."
This nation needs a President and Commander-in-Chief who understands our changing world and can restore US leadership and convene our allies and friends to advance a progressive national security policy that benefits America and the world's collective good. If you agree, please contribute.
Respectfully,
Joe Sestak
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Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), crept up 0.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The August increase was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent over the year. Food prices increased 2.2 percent. Energy prices decreased 2.0 percent, largely the result of lower prices for gasoline.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the data, please contact an economist in the Mountain-Plains Economic Analysis and Information office at 816-285-7000, or feel free to email us at BLSInfoKansasCity@bls.gov.
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Dear Editor:
Please consider this timely thinkpiece by veteran journalist Robert Koehler about denying Bahamian victims of Hurricane Dorian entrance to the US. For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
~~~~~~~~~~
Altruists of the world unite!
by Robert C. Koehler
1040 words
The biggest joke on the planet may be the phrase “national security.”
It almost always justifies something brutal, whether outright murder (a.k.a. war) or climate apartheid — the rejection and condemnation of refugees who are fleeing terrible conditions in their homeland, often created or intensified by climate change.
Thus Mark Morgan, acting director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, addressing the extent to which the United States would open its arms to Bahamian refugees in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, discussed the necessity “to balance the humanitarian need and assistance of those that need it versus the safety of this country,” by which he meant . . .
Well, the president (of course!) made matters perfectly clear, unplugging all political correctness regarding refugees and U.S. security: “I don’t want to allow people that weren’t supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers.”
One result of the national reticence of Trump America to unconditionally welcome refugees from the Bahamas — where 185 mph winds pummeled the islands for several days, rendering 70,000 people homeless — was that 119 people were told to leave a ferry that was transporting refugees from Grand Bahama Island to Florida because they lacked visas to enter the U.S. A CBP spokesperson later denied the agency had anything to do with the incident, but the ferry company said it acted after it had been advised by CBP that refugees would be denied entrance without proper documentation.
Even if it was merely border confusion, rather than intentional cruelty, that resulted in the refugees’ forced exit from the ferry (and who knows what has happened to them since?), the bureaucratic pseudo-paranoia over the safety of American citizens — yours and mine! — that has supposedly reared its head regarding another possible “invasion” of desperate non-white refugees, is a lie so blatant it’s virtually invisible.
In point of fact, the government could care less about our safety in the course of actions it either pursues or avoids. Hence, while it’s quick to go to war (regardless of the consequences, both internationally and domestically), maintain a nuclear weapons stockpile and devote a trillion dollars to developing the next generation of nukes, it refuses to confront such issues as gun violence, medical debt, the right to clean water and, oh gosh, global warming . . . just to name a few. But it’s obsessive in its determination to keep bad non-Americans from slipping into our country and proceeding to harm an American citizen or (even worse) get on the welfare rolls.
Pretending to keep bad people — excuse me, I mean “very bad people” — out of America is a low-watt public relations ploy that feeds only one thing: us-vs. them thinking and fear of the enemy du jour, the subhuman “other.” Stirring up this fear among a segment of the population makes governing so much easier, creating an instant unity often referred to as patriotism.
But beyond the obvious racism of the Trump-era obsession over border “security,” there’s an even more blatant, unaddressed stupidity about this policy: There is no such thing as national security independent of global security.
Another term here is wholeness: All things — all people — are connected. Unfortunately, we have managed to divide the planet into a bunch of nation-states that, with a very few exceptions, maintain standing armies to protect themselves from other nation-states and view national sovereignty as their highest, and perhaps only, political value. This seems to leave the planet as a whole unable to unify around deep and serious issues such as climate change, which transcend national borders.
The intellectual defense of national sovereignty is that it’s a far better alternative than an autocratic, one-world government. Such a monstrous entity — Hitler writ large — is very easy to imagine, considering that governments on a smaller scale have authoritarian tendencies even if they purport to be democracies, and, of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely. No one wants to imagine a Putin or a Trump dictating directives to the planet at large. Nevertheless, leaving the planet in the hands of 190 or so potential autocrats or corporate errand boys is hardly a better alternative.
Those who are without power — the poor, the indigenous, the uprooted — are at the mercy of heartless authority, no matter that the authority has global limits. One recent such example: Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, infamous for his willingness to turn the Amazon rainforest, ravaged by human-set fires, over to mining, farming and logging interests, told reporters the Amazon is “too much land for so few Indians.”
The planet is also at the mercy of the same authority, a phenomenon that journalist George Monbiot described with shocking precision during a recent TED Talk. Noting that “human beings have got this massive capacity for altruism” — indeed, that our remarkable ability to cooperate with one another is what has allowed us to survive as a species — he adds:
“Our good nature has been thwarted by several forces, but I think the most powerful of them is the dominant political narrative of our times, which tells us that we should live in extreme individualism and competition with each other. It pushes us to fight each other, to fear and mistrust each other. It atomizes society. It weakens the social bonds that make our lives worth living.
“And into that vacuum grow these violent, intolerant forces. We are a society of altruists, but we are governed by psychopaths.”
All of which brings me back to Trump America and helping the refugees of Hurricane Dorian vs. “keeping the country safe.” I am writing these words on the 18thanniversary of 9/11, which compels me to point something out to the president: We responded — the whole world responded — to that disaster with unadulterated compassion for the victims. No one worried, let us say, that maybe some delivery boy fleeing the tower and seeking our help had a criminal record . . .
If we want to survive, by which I mean transcend, the global crises we face today, we must grasp the planet, and each other, with compassion — the altruism in our DNA — rather than bureaucratic caution and cold concern for the ruling interests.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Koehler(koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.
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Just Friends
US Headlining Tour Kicks Of
September 19th
Watch the Music Video for "Supersonic",
here: http://bit.ly/2kGPn9D
"...the group has completely blown their sound out of the water and
created an immediate and recognizable identity that is
separate from their contemporaries."
September 12, 2019 - Next week, funk-punk collective Just Friends will embark on a US headlining tour. The run will kick off on September 19th in Fresno, CA and end on October 16th in Newport, KY. Following their headlining tour, they will support The Story So Far on a run of tour dates through October and November. For a full list of tour dates, please see below.
Just Friends is made up of Sam Kless (vocals), Brianda Goyos León (vocals),Avi Dey (trumpet), Chris Palowitch (trombone, keys), Brandon Downum (guitar), Matt Yankovich (guitar), Kevin Prochnow (bass), Ben Donlon (drums), Eric Butler (trombone, vocals), Ryan Ellery (audio engineering, live sound, guitar), and occasionally Bart Thompson (bass) and Kent Soliday (guitar). Their musically diverse sound combines a unique range of punk, brass, hip hop, funk, and emo influences.
At the core of Just Friends is the idea of community. Although many of the group's members, including Kless, were in other local groups over the years, they began writing under their current moniker in 2013, originally reconvening during the summers when they'd come home from their respective colleges. In 2015, they released their debut collection, Rock 2 the Rhythm, followed by their sophomore effort, Nothing But Love, in 2018. Following the release, after of a slew of smash hit live performances supporting fellow Bay Area rockers Mom Jeans, the group signed to Pure Noise Records in early 2019 and released the music video for "Supersonic".
This past summer, the band toured on the 2019 Sad Summer Festival alongside the likes of The Wonder Years, The Maine, Mayday Parade, and more. They have also toured with bands like Mom Jeans., Oso Oso, Graduating Life, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Kississippi, awakebutstillinbed, and more.
Just Friends Upcoming Tour Dates:
US Headlining Tour
September 19 - Fresno, CA - Strummers
September 20 - Reno, NV - The Holland Project
September 23 - Iowa City, IA - Gabe's
September 24 - Kansas City, MO - The Rino
September 25 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird
September 27 - Chicago, IL - Cobra Lounge
September 28 - Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch
September 29 - Lakewood, OH - Mahall's
September 30 - Columbus, OH - Big Room Bar
October 2 - Somerville, MA - ONCE Ballroom
October 3 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
October 4 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bazaar
October 5 - Asbury Park, NJ - House of Independents
October 6 - College Park, MD - MilkBoy Arthouse
October 7 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club
October 9 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
October 10 - Orlando, FL - Soundbar
October 11 - Tampa, FL - Crowbar
October 12 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
October 13- Nashville, TN - The End
October 15 - Indianapolis, IN - The Hoosier Dome
October 16 - Newport, KY - The Southgate House Revival
US Tour w/ The Story So Far
October 24 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park
October 26 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Theatre
October 27 - Las Vegas, NV - house of Blues
October 29 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
October 30 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
November 1 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
November 2 - Austin, TX - Emo's
November 3 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
November 5 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
November 7 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
November 9 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
Follow Just Friends:
Website: jfcrewfanclub.com
Twitter: twitter.com/jfcrewbaby
Facebook: facebook.com/JustFriendsCA
Instagram: instagram.com/jfcrewfanclub
Releases Split EP with
Save Face
Listen Now at
Fresno, CA - September 12, 2019 - Rock & roll band, Graduating Life have released their split EP with New Jersey rock band, Save Face via Pure Noise + Epitaph Records today! Fans can listen to the EP at https://smarturl.it/GradLife and order physical copies and exclusive merchandise at http://smarturl.it/GraduatingLife.
Lead vocalist, Bart Thompson, shares, "Tyler [of Save Face] and I have known each other for years and I'm just excited that we finally get to do something together!"
About Graduating Life: Formed in 2017 by vocalist Bart Thompson, Graduating Life started out as a solo project. That year, he released An Introduction to Rock & Roll, and toured the US four times. Over the past year, Graduating Life has grown into more of a full band, and Grad Life, which was re-released back in the spring when the band signed to Pure Noise Records, was their first official release together. Thompson, along with a few other members of Graduating Life, is also a member of bands such as Mom Jeans. and Just Friends.
Graduating Life is Bart Thompson (vocals), Sam Kless (bass), Austin Carango (drums), Chris Palowitch (keys/trombone), Eric Butler (guitar), and Ryan Ellery (guitar).
Follow Graduating Life:
Website: https://graduatinglife.merchnow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graduatinglife/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/graduatinglife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graduatinglife/
Bandcamp: https://graduatinglife.bandcamp.com/
About Save Face: New Jersey rock band Save Face is the project of vocalist and guitarist Tyler Povanda, but if you look at their Facebook page, it credits "Tyler Povanda and friends." Povanda is the nucleus around which friends, former tourmates, and scene veterans revolve, making Save Face a completely freed and ever-changing entity with Povanda at the heart since 2012, triangulating Queen, Weezer, and Saves The Day into punkish blasts of wiry, intricate guitar-rock.
Save Face's 2018 debut full-length Merci was a riveting concept record about an addict's post-rehab struggles. It established Povanda as a feverishly creative composer, a quality that's lifted Save Face to critical acclaim and fan adoration. Save Face as it exists now has that same commitment and vision, but the band is not the same. For Povanda, Save Face now is an endless new start, a hand-picked punk rock band that is constantly reinventing itself, its shows, and its records.
He credits his community of collaborators with elevating him and his work. "I don't think I'm always right," he says. "The one thing about having a band is it's good to have people check you on things and foster the best version of what it can be. I have a lot of those people in my life."
On their upcoming tour to support their anthemic slacker-punk new single "Bummer," Save Face will perform with five members for the first time ever-including with members of upcoming tourmates Just Friends, a collection that reinforces the always-shifting but always-there-for-you nature of Povanda's community. Povanda says the shows will be as they always have been: monumental, intentional, each not quite the same as the last. In the same way Save Face records are carefully crafted, so too are their shows. Get to one if you can. You never know which Save Face you'll get.
"I don't feel like I'm locked into a path right now, and that's super important to me," says Povanda. "I feel like I can really take it anywhere I wanna go at this point."
Follow Save Face:
Website: http://www.saveface.band/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savefacenj/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/savefacenj
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savefacenj/
Bandcamp: https://saveface.bandcamp.com/
EP Tracklisting:
1. Bummer (Save Face)
2. Teenagers (Save Face)
3. Wonderful (Graduating Life)
4. Heart A Tact (Graduating Life)
For hi-res album artwork, please click here.
