The American Emperor Has No Clothes

Maj. Danny Sjursen / Truthdig Mar 19, 2019 Donald Trump can exhume all the neoconservatives he likes, but the United States' days as a global hegemon appear to be numbered. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

The End of the American Republic

Jacob Bacharach / Truthdig Feb 20, 2019 Donald Trump’s national emergency heralds a new era in our nation’s history—one with frightening parallels to the Roman Empire. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

America Has a Lot to Learn From the Roman Empire’s Fall

Tom Engelhardt / TomDispatch Feb 17, 2019 There are plenty of parallels between the new Rome and the old one. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

A Brief History of Jews in Jerusalem

Juan Cole / Informed Comment May 14, 2018 For hundreds of years under the Romans, Jews were excluded from the city by law. Ironically, it was Iran and Muslims who rescued them from that exile. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

America Remains Drunk on Power

Eric Ortiz / Truthdig Mar 22, 2018 Our addiction to empire is killing us. When will we recognize that this planet is big enough for every global citizen to have a patch of serenity? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Was Jesus Basically a DACA Dreamer?

Juan Cole / Informed Comment Dec 24, 2017 In today’s U.S., Dreamers are undocumented young people who were brought here as children—much as Christ's parents took him to Galilee. Should he have been deported? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Challenging the U.S. Empire by Spotlighting the Brutality of Drone Killing

By Ray McGovern / Consortiumnews Jul 20, 2017 Demonstrators are using protests to raise awareness of the expansion of drone bases across America. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Electing the Tyrant: Parallels Among Ancient Rome, Mexico During the Conquest and the U.S. Today

By M. Antonio Jimenez / Silicon Valley De-Bug Nov 23, 2016 If the Romans taught us anything, it is that their republic was built on excluding the many. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Billionaire Oligarchs Don’t Give Out Bread Anymore, but They Gleefully Supply Circuses

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Oct 17, 2016 The phrase "bread and circuses," coined by a Roman satirist who said the commoners had to be provided food to prevent their rioting and public spectacles to distract them from Augustus' tyranny, rings true today—with a key difference. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Inequality in Ancient Rome and Modern America

Staff / Truthdig Dec 21, 2011 Historians used the Gini coefficient, a modern measure of wealth inequality, to compare disparities between the classes in the Roman Empire 150 years after the death of Christ and those in the United States today. The ancients, with their ranks of plebeians, patricians and senators, scored slightly better than we did. (more) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Vandals Assault Roman Treasures

Staff / Truthdig Sep 5, 2011 Police walking a beat in Rome have more than pickpockets to look out for. A new rash of vandals and treasure hunters has afflicted the home of the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church, a city so stuffed with artifacts it is difficult to protect. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Nixon & Co. Grappled with Archie Bunker, Homosexuality

Staff / Truthdig Mar 24, 2009 The Nixon tapes have yielded untold, er, riches over the years, and here's yet another nugget, featuring Nixon in a wide-ranging conversation with Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman on the subject of homosexuality. The discussion begins with a dissection of an episode of "All in the Family" and then spins off to such topics as how homosexuality "destroyed the Greeks," the Roman Empire and San Francisco. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )