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This is a summary of a discussion held on On Point from WBUR Boston. The topic is the recent killing of a black man in Ferguson and the pursuant unrest in that town and the country. The guest on the show was Jelani Cobb, associate professor of history and director of Africana studies at the University of Connecticut. He is a frequent writer in the New Yorker magazine. Mr. Cobb spent eight days in Ferguson trying to better understand what happened. The discussion below goes beyond the recent events in Ferguson and tries to get at the why. We have a racial divide and a divide with our history of lynching blacks. This is certainly the case with white Americans and many black Americans. Michael Brown's death brought about memories of these hangings. Michael Brown's body lay on the street for four hours and it was like the spectacle of the lynchings of blacks peppered in this nations history. A major purpose of the lynchings was to say to blacks “know your place and behave”. Per Pr

“The museum is owned by the city, and the city is, in fact, in bankruptcy. That asset lawfully should be available to assist in the plan of exit,” said Ian Peck, Art Capital’s chief executive. “But we also believe that this art is a national treasure and should be preserved as such.” "As Detroit prepares to defend its plan next week to exit bankruptcy, city leaders have received an unusual offer: Why not mortgage all the Van Goghs, Picassos and other works in the Detroit Institute of Arts? A company called Art Capital, which makes loans backed by artwork, has told the city it is willing to lend it up to $3 billion, roughly 10 times the exit financing Detroit is now contemplating, using the museum’s art as collateral." Detroit Mum on Proposal to Use Its Art as Collateral , New York Times, August 26, 2014 With this deal Detoit could leave the agreement in place with the city retirees and provide funds to make Detroit Public Schools the best district in the state. Why wouldn

Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College sat down with Heritage Foundation President and former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint to discuss Mr. DeMint's new book Falling In Love With America Again. The following is my critique of some points made during that discussion. Per Mr. DeMint, “People who make good choices, (who work hard, play by the rules, and live within their means) succeed, and people who make bad choices (who don't work hard, don't play by the rules and live beyond their means) fail.” He states this is true for institutions and individuals. Problems arise when organizations get so large that their success no longer depends on the quality of service it delivers.” Bigness allows them to make the rules by which they must comply with. He goes on to say that is what happens when cronyism raises its ugly head between big business and big government. Interestingly, Mr. DeMint's organization, Heritage Foundation, is a big influence peddler in Washington. It is a co

This is a summary of a podcast from On Point Radio discussing the gridlock in Washington*, what is causing it and addressing when and if it will change. The program aired on July 29, 2014. We are in a era where congress is polarized with less legislation being passed since 1973 when records began to be kept. Contributing to it is a Tea Party faction making the institution even more fractured. The opposition party, the Republicans, has control of the house and they are determined that there is no accomplishment under an Obama administration. In our system negotiation and compromise is essential to get anything done and the Republicans are determined to get nothing done while Obama is President. Republicans blame Democrats saying Harry Reid blocks everything presented by the Republican controlled Congress. The legislative portion of the process has turned into an extension of the campaign for election. The Republican party has created a situation for inaction and partisan war instead o

This is a very good discussion of the status of our economy. The program is now daily on WDET. Follow it. Below is a summary of what Mohammed El-Erian is saying. (Do not be confused by his name. He is an Egypt born American citizen who is considered to be one of the top economic thinkers in the world.) Mr. El-Erian says we are in a world of economic contradiction and there is a 50/50 chance of the economy getting better or worse. The world is buying time for the economy to heal and it is not responding fast enough. "You have to have foundation to have conviction". He is saying presently there is not foundation. Per Mohamed the options we are facing are summarized below. What must be avoided is not to get paralyzed between the two scenarios. The economy in the United States has come back a long way. At some point if it continues it will reach critical mass. There is great innovation taking place We have an energy revolution making us more energy independent Many

Below is a good discussion on   Mike Brown, Riots, Race & Public Safety on WDET The moderator  Bankole Thompson did a great job and hopefully WDET has the wisdom to make him the permanent host of Detroit Today. He will make Detroit Today a "must listen to program".

Hillary Clinton and most in Washington seem to be beating the drum of getting more directly involved in the Middle East. The President is advocating a more deliberate approach. Who is right. Perhaps Obama's heritage gives him a clearer view. There is a third philosophy to the middle east. Could those having the commonality of radical Islam be carrying out a very sophisticated and long attack against the west, especially the United States? It started with 911 and has not stopped. This strategy is that of the Spanish matador fighting the bull. Without the matador having sophisticated weapons the bull has the advantage. The bull is bigger and stronger than the matador. If the battle is strength against strength the bull wins every time. The matador must outsmart the bull and gradually wear him down. The bull fight begins with a picador on horseback enraging the bull and weakening its shoulder muscles with a lance and having him attack a well protected horse. The matador then furthe

China, Taiwan and Japan claim ownership of the uninhabited Senkaku islands. These islands have been controlled by Japan since 1895 except between 1945 and 1972 when the United States administered the islands. The islands are close to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and may have significant oil reserves. The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan was signed in 1952 and it would require the United States to come to the aid of Japan if that country defended the island from takeover by China. In the 1970's when Mao Zedong was negotiating a trade treaty with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon a sticking point was control of Taiwan. This disagreement was resolved by Mao saying that he would allow the island to be kept under the wing of the United States initially because the United States was in a better position to protect it for the time being. When China was ready, fifty to hundred years from then, China would request the United States

Gordon Levi, columnist for Haaretz (Israel), talks about his coverage of the Israeli occupation of Gaza over the past two decades. He spoke at an event held at Columbia University in 2010. He speaks of the conflict with Gaza from a different perspective and it is worth listening to the first 42 minutes of the video clip below. Prior to becoming a writer Mr. Levi was in the Israeli army. Below is a summary of some of his perceptions. * Palestinian citizens of Israel are deeply discriminated against. * He questions who is the "super power" in the relationship between Israel and the United States. If the U.S. was willing to stand up to Israel it could solve the problem in the Middle East * Mr. Levi describes the average citizen of Israel as "blind to the problem" of how their country treats Palestinians, including those who are citizens of Israel. * Israeli citizens are in a comma relative to acknowledging how its government views the Palestinians