There's No There There

This is Murray Polner's blog. Polner, who writes book reviews for HNN, is the author of “No Victory Parades: The Return of the Vietnam Veteran” and “When Can We Come Home? A Debate on Amnesty for Exiles, Anti-War Prisoners and Others.”

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Aug 8, 2017 11:06 am

The Deep South and the Rest of Us

by Murray Polner

The Deep South has changed but segregation and discrimination remain throughout the nation.

Jul 20, 2017 3:08 pm

"Kill Jpan" or My High School Life During WWII

by Murray Polner

What life was like for a student at Tilden High School in Brownsville.

Jul 3, 2017 4:45 pm

We Really Could Use Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev Now

by Murray Polner

Respect or trust Putin or not, we may need Russia one day to help resolve dangerous crises.

Jun 11, 2017 11:54 am

You Can Say Anything You Want, but ...

by Murray Polner

In big-time sports, free speech has its limits.

Apr 23, 2017 11:43 am

Nuclear War Anyone?

by Murray Polner

The certain outcome of a war against North Korea would mean leaving Pyongyang and Seoul in ashes and millions dead including U.S. troops.

Apr 7, 2017 10:04 am

The Road to Success: Bombs, Missiles, Maybe Even Boots on the Ground

by Murray Polner

Domestic politics are hard, foreign affairs sexier.

Mar 14, 2017 11:08 am

On Obama's Failure to Reshape US Foreign Policy

by Murray Polner

I wrote this in early 2010 for The American Conservative, an anti-neocon magazine. Trump is simply awful but before Obama starts writing his memoirs, I want to remember him as I saw him then and continue seeing him as a failure in reshaping the way we conduct foreign affairs and continue our endless, pointless wars.

Feb 23, 2017 10:48 am

A Nuclear War?

by Murray Polner

A nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. is still possible.

Feb 10, 2017 12:02 pm

Whose Kids Are Ready to Fight and Die for Kiev and Tallinn?

by Murray Polner

"What we need is realism: To use powers we have, without pretending to powers that we lack."

Jan 28, 2017 3:56 pm

Blacklists

by Murray Polner

"A mean wind is blowing"--David Brooks, NY Times columnist.

Jan 20, 2017 11:32 am

They Stood Their Ground Against War

by Murray Polner

The case for a foreign policy "based not on preparing for war but on avoiding it."

Jan 8, 2017 6:26 pm

American Civil Obedience: Patriotically Accepting War

by Murray Polner

Who, asks Stephen Kinzer in "The True Flag," gave the U.S. the right to make decisions for the rest of the world?

Dec 29, 2016 4:49 pm

Has Obama "Betrayed " israel at the UN?

by Murray Polner

Henry Siegman's Guest Blog

Dec 12, 2016 12:54 pm

An Election John Wayne Would Have Liked

by Murray Polner

About John Wayne and Trump's voters, there's a striking parallel.

Nov 11, 2016 3:11 pm

Trumpism: At Home & Abroad

by Murray Polner

Can the Democratic Party become the party of working people again?

Oct 16, 2016 10:15 am

Losing Our Souls or Why the New Cold War Will Be Worse than the Old Cold War

by Murray Polner

"For the first time in the history of the U.S. it could be almost destroyed and most of its people killed in a matter of minutes by weapons against which we have no effective defense."

Sep 22, 2016 11:54 am

Smith, Snowden, Manning, Kaepernick & Moral Courage

by Murray Polner

So anyone for a host of Obama pardons before he leaves office?