Fresco of dancing Peucetian women from the Tomb of the Dancers in the Corso Cotugno necropolis of Ruvo di Puglia, end of the 5th or mid-4th century B.C. The ancient Greeks believed that charisma was the grace of the gods. But charisma has little gra… — Fresco of dancing Peucetian women from the Tomb of the Dancers in the Corso Cotugno necropolis of Ruvo di Puglia, end of the 5th or mid-4th century B.C. The ancient Greeks believed that charisma was the grace of the gods. But charisma has little grace in the modern age.

Boris, The Donald and charisma in the age of reality TV

December 23, 2019

Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won big in the United Kingdom’s recent election, establishing a clear path — or more precisely, a clearer path — to Brexit Jan. 31. Amid all the questions of winners (the Tories) and losers (the Labour Party, its unpalatable former leader Jeremy Corbyn, and quite possibly the British worker, London as world financial capital, immigrants, globalism, Scotland, the Irish backstop), was the notion that the Conservatives succeeded because of Johnson’s Trumpian charisma, which he damped down for the occasion by corralling his usual hijinks.

Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes’ “Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great” (1796).

Afghanistan and the failure of leadership

December 16, 2019

President Donald J. Trump has announced the withdrawal of 4,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan, with the intention of withdrawing all troops by the November election, thus bringing to a close America’s longest war, after 18 years. Or will it?.

An extract from the 16th-century Codex Magliabechiano depicting human sacrifice under the Aztecs. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Inc. (FAMSI).

Becoming the enemy: Trump and U.S. war crimes

November 28, 2019

At the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s haunting “Vertigo” (1958) — perhaps his and cinema’s best — James Stewart’s detective figures out that the woman he’s fallen for (Kim Novak) is nothing but an imposter hired by a murderous husband to help make his wife’s death look like a suicide. And what clues him in? His beloved puts on a necklace that belonged to one of the dead woman’s ancestors.

“You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing,” he tells her as he confronts her in the film’s harrowing final scene. “You shouldn’t have been that sentimental.”

“You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing”:: I was reminded of that line as President Donald J. Trump prevented the demotion of Naval Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher….

A legend comes to life

November 21, 2019

He was a realist and a romantic, a lover of strong women and beautiful men. And though he was in his day the richest, most powerful man in the world, his most prized possession was a book – Homer’s “The Iliad,” annotated by his tutor, Aristotle.

Most of all, he was as much a myth as a man and a mystery – even to himself.

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 B.C. – a month shy of his 33rd birthday – after conquering and reordering Persia, he left a sprawling empire and a burning question: What drove him?

It’s a question I explore in “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” (Nov. 30, JMS Books), the latest entry in my series “The Games Men Play” and its first historical subject.

Trump's Heartbreak Hotel and the new 'N' word

October 20, 2019

As you no doubt have heard by now, next year’s G -7 summit will not be held at the Trump National Doral Miami.

In a disastrous press conference, Mick Mulvaney, acting chief of staff — emphasis on acting — defiantly made the announcement that the project had been put out to bid and, surprise, surprise, the Trump Doral, late of a bedbugs loss suit, was deemed the best choice. Oh, and there was a quid pro quo on Ukraine support and investigating the Bidens, but it wasn’t wrong because elections have consequences and, anyway, “deal with it.”

Ah, the good old days, when there was at least bipartisan cooperation in investigating intrigue:: President Ronald Reagan receives the Tower Commission Report on his administration’s Iran-Contra scandal from two of the commission’s members — Republi… — Ah, the good old days, when there was at least bipartisan cooperation in investigating intrigue:: President Ronald Reagan receives the Tower Commission Report on his administration’s Iran-Contra scandal from two of the commission’s members — Republican Sen. John Tower (left) and Democratic Sen. Edmund Muskie (far right). Courtesy the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute.

Impermanent interests: Trump's own Iran contra scandal

September 21, 2019

What did Iran have to do with Nicaragua? Nothing except that the Reagan Administration used the sale of embargoed arms to Iran — yes the very Iran that we now hate — to fund the Contras in their opposition to the communist Nicaraguan government, all behind Congress’ back.

What does Saudi Arabia have to do with Ukraine? Nothing except that the Trump Administration is apparently sending troops to Saudi Arabia to distract from a whistleblower complaint that President Donald J. Trump allegedly withheld aid to Ukraine as he pressured the struggling democracy to investigate rival Joe Biden’s efforts to help son Hunter’s business dealings there. Needless to say, any administration efforts to cooperate with the inevitable congressional hearings won’t be happening.

A New York Air National Guard major poses with Rudolph and Judith Giuliani at Yankee Stadium in April 2009. Photograph by Tech Sgt. Jeremy M. Call.

Rudolph Giuliani and the power of context

September 19, 2019

The Giulianis are getting a divorce and it’s starting to get ugly. For those who hated Rudolph Giuliani’s heavy-handed, albeit successful, management of New York City or can’t understand how “America’s mayor” — the man who guided the city during its worst day, 9/11 — wound up as President Donald J. Trump’s lawyer, the divorce news comes with a high degree of schadenfreude.