Politics

As those who frequent these pages are no doubt aware, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost his mind.

To the extent Washington’s favorite autocrat had any sanity left going into the summer, he lost it completely in the wake of June elections that saw AKP lose its absolute majority in Parliament. That meant Erdogan would have a more difficult time rewriting the political rule book on the way to consolidating his power in an executive presidency. 

This article is divided into three parts. Part I provides an historical overview of the American culture of fear and violence that has pervaded the country and comprises the toxic sea in which fear blooms and mass murderers and terrorists swim. Part II discusses three key issues -- guns & violence; police violence & militarization; and white supremacy. Part III concludes with "Music to March To" for a movement of change.

Clinton's campaign was never in the dire state that the press claimed it was. And Trump, it turns out, appears to be a perfect messenger for today's increasingly radical and intolerant Republican Party. He's the Fox News id, which is why he's winning over the demagoguery wing of the GOP.

America needs the federal government to create good jobs directly. Nothing else is doing it. Objections to this argument take the form of a family discussion at a holiday dinner.

The fight to check the spread of Islamic State in Afghanistan is making for some strange bedfellows.