Both inside the US and around the world, political observers have been waiting a long time for an election that would promise relief from the most noxious features of the American system. Alas, while it is high time that the US lead the way in reversing these trends, the outcome of the 18 month struggle to elect a new administration looks likely to scuttle all hopes for serious leadership and reform…

Both inside the US and around the world, political observers have been waiting a long time for an election that would promise relief from the most noxious features of the American system. Alas, while it is high time that the US lead the way in reversing these trends, the outcome of the 18 month struggle to elect a new administration looks likely to scuttle all hopes for serious leadership and reform.

What is a Ceausescu moment? Politically aware people above a certain age know immediately what I mean. They can remember the shock on the face of the Romanian dictator when a horde of workers broke from decades of placid obeisance and interrupted his year-end 1989 speech with jeers…

It would not be a stretch to argue that the most consequential development in the world over the last third of the twentieth century was the asphyxiation of the public interest in the United States. The largest and most advanced economy in history effectively neutered its own political system, thanks primarily to sustained pressure from wealthy interests (who promoted the dogma of free market beneficence, maligned and stigmatized government, systematically suborned politicians and regulators to do their bidding, narrowed the range of political discussion in the mass media, etc.). Momentous consequences ensued, both domestically and internationally…

"The Department of Defense is the only federal agency that cannot pass a clean audit. Many of its major acquisition programs suffer from chronic cost overruns. Virtually every defense contractor has been found guilty or has reached a settlement with the government because of fraudulent and illegal activities. This has got to change", – Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, explaining his opposition to a Department of Defense funding bill, Nov. 10th, 2015..