Foiled again: Vice Adm. Robert Harward added insult to injury when he rejected President Trump’s national security adviser job offer, writes Fred Kaplan. Harward took the near-unprecedented step, as a senior military officer, of turning down a request from his commander in chief—and gave others permission to do the same.
Citizens united: Does social media make the world better or worse? Neither, argues Yascha Mounk—it empowers ordinary citizens and outsiders, helping to depose Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak and to elect American autocrat Donald Trump.
Power of discretion: President Trump’s vow to defund sanctuary cities has left progressive activists and undocumented immigrants profoundly anxious. But these designated areas have long been “offering a false sense of security,” according to Daniel Denvir. The only way to make cities safer for immigrants, Denvir argues, is to arrest and prosecute fewer people.
The opposite of moderately content: Daphne Merkin’s new book This Close to Happy discusses Merkin’s Orthodox Jewish upbringing and struggles with mental illness. Isaac Chotiner spoke to the author in a wide-ranging conversation about severe depression, family, and how revisiting history through memoir can change one’s perspective on life.
For pleasure: Is Fifty Shades Darker actually any darker than Fifty Shades of Grey? Marissa Martinelli ran the numbers.
Reflecting in quiet mourning this Presidents Day,
David
