Blurring Sports and the Military
W.J. Astore (For an extended essay on sports and the military, please see my latest at TomDispatch.com: “Why Can’t We Just Play Ball? The Militarization of Sports and the Redefinition of Patriotism,”...
View ArticleFor the U.S. Military, the World Is Not Enough
W.J. Astore Somewhere, I don’t remember where, I came across a humorous variant of Newton’s three laws of motion, proposing a fourth law, as follows: “Newton’s Fourth Law: Don’t start no shit, won’t be...
View ArticleNations as Machines for War
W.J. Astore Back in 1992, when I was thinking about what to write my dissertation on, I put together a statement of intent and a bibliography. My statement was titled, “Economic Mobilization and...
View ArticleMilitary Clothing for Presidents? No, Sir!
W.J. Astore A reader reminded me yesterday of an article I wrote a decade ago about U.S. presidents donning military flight jackets. And he sent along this image of President Trump dressed up for his...
View ArticleA Few Observations on War, Sports, Fortresses, America, and Life
W.J. Astore It’s a new year! And as we adjust to 2019, I thought I’d share a few random observations (hopefully of some import). “Retirement”: Many Americans fear the concept of retirement. Part of...
View ArticleThe Pentagon’s Long Con
W.J. Astore “War is a racket,” wrote General Smedley Butler in the 1930s. Dwight D. Eisenhower warned at the end of his presidency about the military-industrial complex and its misplaced,...
View ArticleIran Wants War!
W.J. Astore You won’t see this illustration in the mainstream media: If the Iranians really wanted peace, they’d move their country. In all seriousness, U.S. media talking heads, many of them retired...
View ArticleAmerican Militarism Is Riding High
W.J. Astore In my latest article for TomDispatch.com, I again turn to the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex, inspired by a critique written by J. William Fulbright almost a half-century ago....
View ArticleAmerica’s Militarized Profession of Faith
W.J. Astore I grew up in the Catholic Church, where I professed my faith weekly at every mass I attended. I also grew up a fan of the U.S. military, even as I read many books critical of its...
View ArticleThe Militarization of Everything
W.J. Astore In my latest article for TomDispatch.com, I talk about militarism in the USA, a subject that’s been on my mind ever since President George W. Bush hid behind the bemedaled chest of General...
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The U.S. Military, the Founders, and Original Intent
It’s too easy to speak of war in the abstract … the Founders knew better W.J. Astore In America, you sometimes hear talk of “original intent” (or strict constructionism) from conservatives, usually...
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America’s Forever Wars Have Come Home
Introduction by Tom Engelhardt at TomDispatch.com Here’s a little portrait of the United States in June 2020, a passage from a New York Times report on the National Guard’s treatment of a recent...
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Interview on Police Militarization
W.J. Astore Today, Burt Cohen and I discussed police militarization and how to reverse it. The interview was based on my article for TomDispatch.com, posted here at Bracing Views as well. Here is...
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The Pentagon — and War — Win Again
The Pentagon Budget: Up, Up, and Away! That budget is the true stealth warplane, nearly invisible to oversight and nearly impregnable to all challenges W.J. Astore Who’s going to win the 2020...
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America as a POW Nation
The political button in question (Photo by Tori LaGarde) W.J. Astore I wrote my latest article for TomDispatch.com (below) before the Capitol riot, adding a quick reference to it at the last minute in...
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A Very American Coup
W.J. Astore All this talk of coups, and U.S. military veterans’ involvement in the same, reminds me of an article I wrote for TomDispatch.com exactly eleven years ago in 2010. In the article, I...
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Brief Reflections on Trump, War, and Militarism
Trump’s motto: In generals I trust. It didn’t work out so well for him. Or the country. W.J. Astore As the Senate prepares to acquit Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, I thought it would be...
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Memorial Day 2021
W.J. Astore In my village, there’s a memorial to the men who served in “the war with Germany,” 1917-18, which we now call World War I. Here’s a photo of it that I took a few days ago: It includes the...
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The Unexamined U.S. Military
W.J. Astore Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that the unexamined life is not worth living. Can it also be said that the unexamined military is not worth having? What amazes me about the U.S. military...
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American Militarism Is Riding High
W.J. Astore In my latest article for TomDispatch.com, I again turn to the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex, inspired by a critique written by J. William Fulbright almost a half-century ago....
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