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As a ROTC cadet and an Air Force officer, I was a tiny part of America’s vast Department of Defense (DoD) for 24 years until I retired and returned to civilian life as a history professor. My time in the military ran from the election of Ronald Reagan to the reign of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It was defined by the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, America’s brief unipolar moment of dominance and the beginning of its end, as Washington embroiled itself in needless, disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the 9/11 attacks....

The empty seats in the stadiums of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were a blessing in disguise, for the sporting spectacle, no matter how good, was not be able to dispel the fact that the super-spreader event was held in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis and against the wishes of the vast majority of the Japanese public. In so doing, the International Olympic Committee – which earnestly believes itself to be the leader of a global social movement – has been revealed as no more than the traveling circus of the global sports industry, ready to make...

By David Webster, Associate Professor of History / Professeur Agrégé, Département d’Histoire, Bishop’s University The Olympic Charter states one of the fundamental principles of Olympism is that “sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality.” In reality, the Olympics and politics are inseparable — and a movement in Asia almost 60 years ago has had a lasting impact on how the Olympics have become heavily politicized. In the 1960s, some 36 countries embraced a new counter-Olympics: GANEFO, the Games of the New Emerging Forces. GANEFO formed to challenge the International Olympic Committee, “a tool of the imperialists...

The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill introduced by the U.S. Senate could mean sweeping investments for roads, bridges, internet and water infrastructure in Wisconsin. But, Republican senators are calling for changes on how to pay for the bill as House Democrats threaten to tie its fate to another proposal investing in “human infrastructure,” such as funding for tax breaks and child care. The roughly 2,700-page bill includes $550 billion in added federal spending over the next five years for highways, rail, power and water infrastructure. In June, President Joe Biden touted the infrastructure framework in Wisconsin and its historic...