by Mark H. Gaffney, The Unz Review:

Barren Summit

Forty years and counting
Since Kennedy was killed
And our vacuum of leadership
Still has not been filled.

Why should those shoes present
Such difficulty filling?
The candidates are weeded out
By those who did the killing.

by David Martin, author of The Assassination of James Forrestal (2019)

The last few years have been a painful time for those of us old enough to remember the 1960s. Over my lifetime I watched my country decline by every measure of greatness. It’s been excruciating, slow and nearly imperceptible from day to day, like water torture. Who would have guessed, even ten years ago, that we would now be on the brink of nuclear war with Russia? Each day, I scour the news and Internet hoping and praying for the peace movement to show up. But where are they? Even as events continue to escalate and momentum builds for a wider war in eastern Europe, I see no placards, no protesters in the streets, and very little evidence that our people understand what is happening. I never thought it would come to this.