Up To Date With Ethan Callender

O Say Can You Please Entry 15: “Syria”sly?     And now, for a brief “reprieve” from the impeachment shenanigans, today, we’ll talk about what may very well be a genocide waiting to happen. As Patches O’Houlihan from the 2004 comedy Dodgeball would have said best, “The President can’t tame a turkey if it’s the month before Thanksgiving.” Speaking of Turkey, that nation has launched an invasion into Syrian territory to remove a perceived problem with the Kurds in the area. To explain who the Kurds are, they are an ethnic minority in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and of course, Turkey. They are seen as separatists and terrorists by the Turkish government, led by one Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He is the Turkish President and has held the position since 2014, but he’s actually been in charge for much longer (as the Prime Minister.) His reputation is that of an Islamist, autocratic strongman who has a strong nationalist bent. In other words, his character doesn’t show the kindness or unders...

O Say Can You Please Entry 14: Ripe for the Picking     Remember when I said that more on the inquiry would be coming soon? It turned out “soon” would mean over a week between entries, but I have something really big and really related to the inquiry to talk about today. That story is that the Trump administration has flat-out refused to cooperate with the House’s impeachment inquiry. That’s a bold move to take, especially considering that one of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” that the President is being accused of is obstruction of justice, which is plainly the case here should he have done anything wrong. However, the door isn't totally slammed shut, as he implored the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to hold a vote on formally starting the inquiry, as is usually the case. However, there is no Constitutional requirement for that , but it is still nice to have happen. It would also be nice to have a cooperative President, but that doesn’t matter, right? As long...