Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at Fair Observer on January 23, 2018
It’s happened again: For lack of a budget, the US government has been forced to shut down. Government shutdowns have become an unfortunate by-product of American democracy. This one, which began at midnight, January 20 — ironically the one year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration — is the fifth such shutdown dating back to 1990. […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at Fair Observer on January 22, 2018
Donald Trump does not understand that the value of human beings is not linked to their country of origin. President Donald Trump’s reported reference to “shithole countries” in a White House meeting with congressional leaders shocked and angered many in the US and around the world. His appalling insult stunned most citizens of a nation […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at The Cipher Brief on January 18 , 2018
Two recent events illustrate the futility of the Palestinian leadership’s current course in its decades-long quest for a genuinely independent Palestinian state, and highlight the urgent need for dramatic action if they are ever to achieve it. The first is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current six-day visit to India with a 130-member delegation. The […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at Fair Observer on January 3, 2018
What is happening to America’s democracy? Under the presidency of Donald Trump, America’s most venerable institutions have been compromised or attacked and its values questioned. Can America’s democracy stand? The assertion seems risible: the United States, the world’s lone superpower, the most powerful military in the world, the world’s oldest democracy with multi-layered, carefully developed […]
Published on by Gary Grappo
Published first at Fair Observer on December 8, 2017
America’s self-styled master dealmaker didn’t leverage recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital to advance the peace process. Instead, he set it back. So, What’s New? There is a good deal less than meets the eye in President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there — albeit at […]