France has not been able to come to terms with the fact that it's not a major power anymore. I mean even before the Second World War Paris was one of the main centers of intellectual and cultural life. But now Paris is a kind of subsidiary of Germany, their traditional enemy and they can't come to terms with it.

I've already supported Bernie Sanders in the primaries.

Extensive violations of human rights (torture, forced reduction of living standards for much of the population, police-sponsored death squads, destruction of representative institutions or of independent unions, etc.) are directly correlated with US government support. The linkage is not accidental; rather it is systematic. The reason is obvious enough. Client fascism often improves the business climate for American corporations, quite generally the guiding factor in foreign policy.

The best defense against democracy is to distract people.

The childcare tax credit makes some sense.

In general, I think, U.S. policies remain constant, going back to the Second World War. But the capacity to implement them is declining.

It is a virtual reflex for governments to plead security concerns when they undertake any controversial action, often as a pretext for something else.