It seems like the older I get, the more deja vu I experience. A "Peace Department" in the United States? Check it out, children. Way back in 1971, with Vietnam dividing the country more virulently than Iraq does now, then-senator Vance Hartke (D, of course) wrote an article for Playboy magazine advocating precisely that.

Any time I hear "peace" or "justice" in an organization's name, I'm on my guard. I wish you could have also talked about one of those groups, the International Peace Academy, and its chairperson Rita Hauser. Its connection to the UN and Hauser's background (straddling, like the UN, the left and center) would make for an interesting article. But there are so many other such groups. Thanks for coining the term "peace racket." I hope it sticks.