Max Stephenson Jr.

Other Recent Posts

• Gabrielle Giffords: Heralding a ‘Profile in Courage’

  May 13, 2013 Comments (0)

  I was touched this week to read that a committee of notable political and civil society leaders, working on behalf of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, had honored former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with that institution’s Profiles in Courage award on May 5. The honor is annually given to an individual who embodies the sort of mettle chronicled in the Pulitzer Prize winning volume of essays by that title, which highlighted the difficult decisions taken by eight senators who risked their political careers by taking unpopular principled positions.

  

• President Obama Revisits the “Gitmo” Nightmare

  May 06, 2013 Comments (0)

  On April 30 President Barack Obama rekindled public debate and conversation concerning this nation’s prison for detainees at its Guantánamo Bay, Cuba Naval Base by suggesting during a press conference that the facility must be closed. The President was succinct concerning why:                                                                                                              

  It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing.    It lessens co-operation with our allies on counter-terrorism efforts. It is a     recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.

  

• “With Hatred and Malice toward those who Dare Differ with Me”

  April 29, 2013 Comments (0)

  I always read nationally syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts’ twice-weekly commentaries with interest, but this past Wednesday’s column made my blood run cold. Pitts reported receiving the following unsigned screed in response to his recent essay concluding that America should stand together with those killed and injured, united and defiant in the face of the Boston Marathon bombing. He shared it, unedited, in his column:

  

• Democratic Torpor?

  April 22, 2013 Comments (1)

  This past week saw at least three significant events for the American regime, which were overshadowed, understandably, by the Boston Marathon bombing in news coverage. All three occurrences, while not obviously directly related, suggest lessons for self-governance and the profound importance of democratic political choices.