LA Times (July 3)
“The Trump administration is absolutely bonkers—which comes as a surprise to no one at this point, but it’s remarkable how many different ways it manifests itself.” His administration is one growing knot of contradictions. “Time and truth are fluid when you’re the mayor of ‘crazy town.’” The only thing we know is that “nothing the president says can be believed, and no threatened or promised action can be trusted until, in fact, it has happened.”
Tags: Administration, Believed, Bonkers, Contradictions, Crazy town, Fluid, Promised, Threatened, Time, Trump, Trusted, Truth
New York Times (December 27)
A quarter century ago Tiananmen appeared to signal the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Today, “the world’s largest political organization, with 86 million members, seems as robust as ever.” Despite this seeming success, the CCP remains riddled with contradictions and insecurity over everything from protests to environmental catastrophe, a housing bubble and slowing growth. “The dark side of the Chinese dream — the negative fantasy that haunts China’s psyche — explains why Mr. Xi, the strongest Chinese leader since Deng, is so skittish, so ready to jump at shadows.”
Tags: China, Communist party, Contradictions, Deng, Environment, Growth, Housing bubble, Insecurity, Protests, Robust, Tiananmen, Xi
