Last week, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) introduced the Child Marriage Violates the Human Rights of Girls Act of 2011 (H.R. 3357). This follows Sen. Dick Durbin’s proposal from February (S. 414). Across the globe, 25,000 young girls are forced into marriage every day. These aren’t just young teenagers—in many cases, eight and nine year olds … Continue reading
Read the column here.
The front page of today’s Washington Post reads: “A case of aid gone bad in Colombia.” The article behind it catalogues a litany of abuses of American resources during “[Colombia's] U.S.-funded counterinsurgency campaign against a Marxist rebel group — and the civilian and military coordination behind it.” As I’ve REPEATEDLY noted, foreign aid spending is amongst the … Continue reading
Great article on American diplomatic efforts in Syria today in the Washington Post from reporter Mary Beth Sheridan: U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford, known as a quiet, under-the-radar-screen diplomat, has changed the dynamic of U.S. relations with Syria by traveling to a tank-ringed city at the center of the protests that have swept the country. Acquaintances … Continue reading
A number of progressives (myself included) have been surprised and disheartened by President Obama’s approach to the Middle East. Snarky “Candidate Obama vs. President Obama” posts have become an Internet cottage industry. The man who many supported (including the Nobel Committee) as a leader who would reduce American military adventures abroad—has instead increased our troop … Continue reading
Pew has a new poll out showing where Americans are on deficit reduction issues. Read it. It’s fascinating. Given our national delusions on foreign aid spending, that tops the list of things Americans would cut. Since you’re reading Thought News, you’re smart enough to know that we spend so little on foreign aid that we … Continue reading
When world events like Osama Bin Laden’s death (and it’s unquestionably a world event) occur, I can’t help but spare a thought for those poor, unfortunate pundits whose reputations have taken a dramatic hit. These are the folks who said that “Obama was soft on terrorism” or that “autocracies in Northern Africa were stable” or … Continue reading
After I got back from my run this morning, while I was making fresh-squeezed orange juice for my pregnant wife, I heard on the radio that there’s another poll showing that foreign aid is the only part of the budget that a majority of Americans want to cut (ok, only the third of those three … Continue reading
Even while the situation in Libya is leading most news cycles—along with the nuclear crises in Japan—no one seems quite sure what to make of the United States’ involvement. We’re participating, but not leading? Erm, well, we were leading the mission, but now it’s in NATO’s hands? We’re enforcing a United Nations decision in another … Continue reading
I have a new strategy this week. Each time that I hear a conservative bemoaning America’s declining role as a global leader, I’m gonna do my best John Boehner impression… “We’re broke!” If we don’t have enough money to fully fund LIHEAP or NPR or the International Affairs budget, we certainly don’t have enough money … Continue reading
