4 days agoThe High Cost of Letting People Off the HookIt’s been a blockbuster week, from the overturning of Roe (imagine if we hadn’t been warned) to the explosive testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump’s fourth and final chief of staff Mark Meadows. While seemingly distinct, those two tentpoles are actually holding up the same canvas, which is…Politics15 min read
Jun 24Smoking CannonAs the January 6 hearings commenced, an old and trusted friend commented to me that he thought only the production of a smoking gun would be likely to change any minds in our current calcified, hyperpartisan political climate. Many pundits have echoed that opinion. Yes and no, say I. We…Politics17 min read
Jun 5God, Guns, and GoldIn the immediate wake of the horrific events in Texas eleven days ago, a friend said to me, “I take it you’re going to write about Uvalde this week.” I said, “Why don’t I just re-run my essay from the last mass shooting?” (There are several.) …Guns16 min read
May 19They Don’t Want It to StopWhere would you like to begin with the horrific events in Buffalo last week? Let’s start with the most obvious and urgent aspect. There is an epidemic of right wing domestic terrorism in the United States — especially against people of color — one with no analog anywhere else on…Racism12 min read
May 13Zebras Not Horses: The New American NormalFunny story. Early one morning last week, the wife and I were awakened around 6am by what sounded like an enormous explosion, followed by a burst of light. …Politics11 min read
May 4The Very Worst Person We Should Have Let Decide Our Abortion PolicyThe New York Times’s Peter Baker called this week’s leak of an Alito-penned draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade “one of the biggest earthquakes in American domestic politics in a generation.” (Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward of Politico broke the story.) No doubt about that. It’s early days to say…Abortion15 min read
Apr 20Violence and the Heroic ImpulseWhen last we met, I was pondering whether Vladimir Putin was rational enough to recognize his losing situation in Ukraine, and — given his almost total control of the information available to the Russian public — simply declare victory and go home. The question was partly rhetorical. He has not…Politics15 min read
Mar 28Might Putin Just Declare Victory and Go Home?When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, most of the Western world assumed that his army would readily conquer the nation within a few weeks. …Ukraine14 min read
Mar 11The Ghost of Impeachments PastAs I wrote two weeks ago, it’s almost an obscenity — and the height of parochialism — to think about the war in Ukraine in terms of domestic US politics. But there is an aspect to that discussion that goes beyond tribalism. Because I hasten to remind you, dear reader…Putin13 min read
Mar 7A Guide to Recognizing ImperialismForeign policy debates are often framed as a fight between realists and idealists. The very terms are self-flattering; the former are more often cynics and the latter aspirationalists. In the American response to the war in Ukraine we are seeing the weaknesses of both, most glaringly in the ways that…Ukraine19 min read
