Author: Sheila Marler
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Justice is a Choice
Reading Time: 4 minutesI’ve changed my tune on Ukraine. What made the difference? We live in an us-or-them world in which people are eventually forced to take sides. This is not only true of Ukraine. Even if Ukraine is never anything more than a waiting game there will always be places in the world where…
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Stratfor’s Second Quarter Forecast 2014
Reading Time: < 1 minuteStratfor's Second Quarter Forecast 2014.
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United States to Russia: Do as We Say, Not as We Do
Reading Time: < 1 minuteU.S. involvement in Ukraine is counterproductive because it pushes all the wrong buttons for Russia, especially now that relations between Putin and President Obama are at an all-time low. “From Moscow’s point of view, any form of direct U.S. involvement in Ukrainian security operations could grow over time into stronger assistance,…
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Putin Must Restore Harmony in Ukraine
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe situation in Ukraine has alternated between rhythm and discord. The music began when Ukraine decided to pursue an Association Agreement with the EU. The first discordant note sounded when the Ukrainian president was told that he must end relations with Russia. His decision not to sign the AA resulted in local…
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American Interests in Ukraine
Reading Time: 2 minutesI’m reading George Friedman’s “A Forecast for the 21st Century”. So far, it’s reinforced something I’ve read between the lines in analyses of past administrations. The world’s governments don’t act irrationally. Our current administration is no exception. A 2012 article on stratfor.com helps to explain the U.S. behavior. Perhaps it even explains…
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Reproductive Rights & Female Status
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe dialogue about women has not been flattering lately. Officially, it’s centered around reproductive rights, but in between the lines the brutal tactics convey something else. Most recently we’ve been confronted with callous hospital policy. One hospital risks a mother’s death from complications of pregnancy. The other keeps a dead woman on…
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From Thomas Hobbes to John Locke: Putting Ayn Rand Through Her Paces
Reading Time: 11 minutesThe question of morality in political and economic systems has been brought into the national conversation by Paul Ryan, a follower of Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand’s definition of morality is the morality of rational self-interest. She argued that rational and ethical egoism should be the guiding principle of morality, and she defined…
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Will Business Leaders Take This Lying Down?
Reading Time: 2 minutesI have recommended that taxpayers cut off discretionary spending as a response to the government shutdown and looming default. However in the last week there has been little Congressional response to the lobbying efforts of business groups. There is a simple explanation for that: the shutdown is fueled by ideology rather than…
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Memo to the House: Extend the Debt Limit and Open the Government
Reading Time: 2 minutesRecently, there are hopeful signs that retailers and manufacturers are pressuring Congress to end the impasse over the spending limit. [ref name=”NRF calls for Immediate End to Government Shutdown”]NRF”]NRF Call for Immediate End to Government Shutdown. October 9, 2013. Available: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nrf-calls-immediate-end-government-160000729.html;_ylt=A2KJjagM3lZSjWoAC9zQtDMD[/ref] [ref name=”GOP Lobbyist: Business Needs to ‘Step Up’ Against the Tea…