A recent article in The New York Times by its so-called “national security correspondent” is an indication of how incompetent mainstream journalists are, and how unreflectively eager they are to do the bidding of the national security establishment they supposedly cover. The article is “Iran Could Direct Proxies to Attack U.S. Targets Abroad, Officials Warn,” by Eric Schmitt. Nothing in it is newsworthy or news. All of the work in it is done by its brainless and tendentious reliance on the term “terrorism.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Notes on the Anti-War Movement
War Is Peace
We’re reportedly about to go to war with Iran. I just checked a minute ago: The lead story at The New York Times is the Supreme Court’s tariff decision; likewise The Washington Post and MS NOW. At CNN, the lead story is Trump’s trade war. At Fox, it’s a toss up between the trade war and a debit card scandal in California. And so on. Literally business as usual. The pattern is clear enough: as we prepare for war, the thing to do is to turn inward and turn away from it in a spirit of make-believe. Tariffs matter more than war. Trump matters more than war. Debit cards matter more than war. At this point, anything matters more than war. War is imminent, hence unreal.
War, in short, has become normalized in the familiar imperial way, by equating peace with perpetual warfare confined to the periphery of empire, and to the peripheries of consciousness. It’s out there, hence not here, hence nowhere. Continue reading
From Diversity to Neutrality: Rebutting the “Key Move”
This is the précis of a paper I’ll be giving at the virtual/online component of the 2026 conference of the Association of Practical and Professional Ethics. The conference takes place April 10; the paper is called, “From Diversity to Neutrality: Rebutting the ‘Key Move’ of the Kalven Committee Report.” Last year I gave a different paper at the on-ground version of the conference, discussing institutional neutrality’s failure to deal with complicity in injustice.
Institutional neutrality is the doctrine that institutions like universities should refrain from taking public positions on matters of public controversy. The locus classicus of the doctrine is the so-called Kalven Committee Report (KCR) issued at the University of Chicago in 1967. According to the KCR, the core mission of the ideal university is the “discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge” in the service of teaching and research. This mission, we’re told, requires the maximization of intellectual diversity, which in turn requires or entails institutional neutrality. I call this “the key move” of the KCR’s argument. Continue reading
You Say You Want a Revolution
The local papers around Princeton are gushing over an event that took place in town this morning:
In 1776, the New Jersey Legislature convened for the first time in Nassau Hall, the ivy-covered building that is now the centerpiece of Princeton University’s campus.
It was wartime, but the new legislators kept busy: within months, they had adopted the state’s first constitution, elected the state’s first governor, and kick-started preparations to help the Continental Army fight British redcoats. The British eventually seized the building, before being kicked out again by George Washington’s army in the Battle of Princeton, but by then the legislators had moved on.
Two-hundred-fifty years later, as the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence, the New Jersey Assembly returned to Nassau Hall to celebrate its role in New Jersey’s revolutionary history.
“Today isn’t simply a change in venue for us,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said. “It’s a return home, a return to our beginnings, to the place where our Legislature first met in 1776 at the dawn of a new and uncertain democracy.”
The Assembly approved a series of ceremonial resolutions honoring New Jersey’s role in the American Revolution, Princeton University’s 280th anniversary, the New Jersey National Guard, and battleships named for New Jersey, among others.
The celebrants included Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber, and British Consul General to New York Oliver Christian.
Free Speech in Montgomery
Statement to Montgomery Township Committee
100 Community Dr
Skillman, New Jersey
February 5, 2026
Revised for presentation (to better fit the 3-minute time limit), February 5, 2026
On January 7th, Sadaf Jaffer, the former mayor of Montgomery and former head of its Democratic Organization, made public something that this Committee has known for a year. About a year ago, she said, Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan demanded her resignation from the Democratic Organization because Montgomery Township was being denied state and county funds in retaliation for, her, Jaffer’s, criticisms of US and Israeli policy in Palestine. I have an audio file of Mr Barragan’s making this demand.
Continue reading
Political Speech Threatened
From the February edition. Click the right side thumbnail to enlarge it.
Regulating Speech at Princeton’s Kiosks
This is the statement I gave tonight on the issue of the kiosks at Princeton Council:
I’m here to speak about the replacement of the kiosks on Nassau St with electronic versions. I should say that I was unconvinced by the Council’s arguments for replacing the kiosks, and remain unconvinced, but my comment tonight is more query than statement.
In the debate over the kiosks back in 2024, Councilwoman Sacks was quoted in The Princeton Patch as saying: Continue reading
Montgomery Township’s Speech Subversion Scheme
This is a letter to the editor of The Montgomery News–a monthly newspaper published in Montgomery, New Jersey–regarding the case of Sadaf Jaffer that was mentioned here a week ago. If printed, the letter will appear in the February issue. Ms Jaffer’s comment appears at minute 16:30 of this video.
Dear Editor:
I’m writing to draw attention to comments made at the January 7 meeting of the Montgomery Township Committee by former mayor Sadaf Jaffer, also the former chair of Montgomery’s Democratic Organization. Continue reading
Statement of Sadaf Jaffer to Montgomery Township Committee
This is a statement by Sadaf Jaffer, former Mayor of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, to the Montgomery Township Committee. I fully agree with her that “the public deserves clear answers and ethical leadership,” and urge others who agree to contact the Committee and make your views known. I’m pleased to say that Sadaf has agreed to be featured in a future edition of my Activist Interviews series, where I’m sure we’ll hear more about the backstory here. More soon.
Good evening. I am a former mayor of Montgomery Township, a former Assemblywoman, and a former chair of Montgomery’s Democratic Organization.
On multiple occasions over the past year, Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan told me, and told others, that Montgomery Township was being denied county and state public funds because of my opposition to Israeli and U.S. policy in Gaza. Continue reading
Activist Interviews: Emanuelle Sippy
This is the first in an ongoing series of interviews I’ll be doing with a variety of activists and practitioners I’ve worked with or met over the years. Emanuelle Sippy was the head of Princeton University’s Alliance of Jewish Progressives during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment of the spring 2024, and both a forceful and articulate presence throughout. My interview with her was conducted May 4, 2025 at Terrace Club, Princeton University.
Q: You were brought up Jewish, the daughter of a Reform rabbi in Kentucky. What was that like? How would you describe the Jewish part of your upbringing, including your education? Continue reading
Policy of Truth 