It's a fair question, given the surprise and secrecy surrounding the trip Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D–Hawaii, is making to war-torn Syria. First reported by Foreign Policy this morning (click here for that story), Gabbard's trip is of a "fact-finding" nature, her aide Emily Latimer said in an email to me this morning: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has long been committed to peace and … [Read more...] about Who paid for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s secret trip to Syria?
Civil War
NOTW: Best kidney stone removal method ever and one really busy giant tortoise
FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE Large kidney stones typically mean eye-watering pain and sudden urinary blockage until the stone “passes” (often requiring expensive sound-wave treatment to break up a large stone). Michigan State University urologist David Wartinger told The Atlantic in September that he had recently happened upon a pain-free–even exciting!–way to pass stones before they … [Read more...] about NOTW: Best kidney stone removal method ever and one really busy giant tortoise
Watch Hawaii U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono denounce anti-immigrant sentiments
If you take ideas like justice, individual responsibility and the right of people, of families, to make better lives for themselves, then we live in dark times. Right now, not 50 years ago but right now, men in power (and they're nearly all men) have discovered that denouncing immigrants and refugees, promising to build giant walls at our border with Mexico, demonizing Islam, … [Read more...] about Watch Hawaii U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono denounce anti-immigrant sentiments
Maui County finally honors its African-American history
For better or worse, we all live in historic times. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is every bit as protected by the Constitution as hetero marriage. The flying of Confederate battle flags at state capitols across the South–an act begun in the mid-20th century in response to the Civil Rights movement–may finally be ending. And everywhere on the Mainland, … [Read more...] about Maui County finally honors its African-American history
Talking story with author Wayne Moniz about Hawaii’s hidden Civil War history
It was a very bloody war. Today, most historians simply call it “the Civil War,” but it was anything but. From 1861 to 1865, nearly 3 million Americans fought in it, and more than 750,000 died as a result of the fighting, though most (two-thirds) succumbed to disease rather than violence. Those who died amounted to 2.5 percent of the U.S. population at that time. Were we to … [Read more...] about Talking story with author Wayne Moniz about Hawaii’s hidden Civil War history