DiaBLOGue

The Magnitude of the Nuclear Arms Race

From primitive rocks and clubs to the present nuclear arsenals, the history of warfare is characterized by the dramatic increase in the number  of civilians killed in each war and by scale changes in our…

The Ethics of Deterrence

May a nation threaten what it may never do? May it possess what it may never use:  These questions, raised in the Catholic bishops’ pastoral letter, state concisely the ethical dilemma with which Christians in…

Mythology and Nuclear Strategy

Nearly everyone talks about nuclear weapons and our nation’s nuclear policies and strategies. Yet very few of us understand even the most elementary vocabulary of the subject. Why should terms like “counterforce” and “countervalue,” “first…

Southern Idaho Summer

I was six. 
I wheeled Grandpa’s milk cans out 
to wait like patient soldiers for the cheese truck. 
I strutted in a new red and blue 
corduroy cowboy suit. 

Returning

Mouth over the reed, 
you empty your feelings 
into the hollow heart. 
These are the pieces left: