zzn10p1 - New Times Always

The cracks in the dike of Donald Trump against the world were more apparent last week, as one Republican senator from Arizona joined another from Tennessee in protesting that the disarray had gone far enough, and Barack Obama added his voice to the dissent—not to mention the first news from Robert Mueller’s investigation. But the staunch stand of the others who constitute a majority in the executive branch, the Congress and the courts, served notice that it would take more than public disapproval to restore the nation’s center. It’s only fall but it still looks like a cold winter.

We no longer have to wait for more bad news on the opioid crisis, which has now been proclaimed a public health emergency, or on poverty fronts everywhere, as this issue details wherever the disability checks run out and in Brazil, where millions face disaster. Not so China’s Xi Jinping, whose government has elevated him to a status next to the legendary Chairman Mao, and who in one distant province appears to be installing the apparatus of a police state.

This is Number 10 of New Times Always! The first was launched on June 1, and when this one emerges by October 31st it will mean a new number every 15.3 days. Of greater significance is that we will have reduced our frequency to almost weekly, the initial target. It will mean further that our publishing schedule will more closely match the rate at which the world is churning out change, with some time to spare for thoughtful consideration, But not, under the circumstances, for celebration.

Don West for New Times Always!

Trump campaign officials charged by special counsel

Narrative ■ The first evidence to come from the efforts of special counsel Robert S. Mueller emerged this week. It was not clear whether they were the tip of the iceberg or just the beginning.

Flake and Corker feel liberated to speak their minds

Narrative ■ So far, the biggest repercussion from the Flake and Corker profiles in courage in taking on Trump is that no others from that party have joined them out there in the cold, raising the question: How bad will it have to get before the GOP takes notice?

GOP insurgency plans for a civil war in 2018 midterms

Narrative ■ No matter who will command the heart and soul of the Republicans during the 2018 midterm elections, the party is preparing to fight its own civil war within.

Barack Obama’s withering rebuke of Donald Trump

Narrative ■ The former president, perhaps later rather than sooner, has let be known his agreement with what many in the rest of the world have concluded about his successor.

Orbiting Jupiter: my week with Emmanuel Macron

Narrative ■ Read this one as you will, and at least with a grain of salt. Given the early popularity of the new French president, the writer has proven himself immune to his charms. It’s at best entertaining and we leave to history how definitive it will prove to be.

The secretive family making billions from the opioid crisis

Narrative ■ Just in time for President Trump to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency comes this story about the family that is given credit for cornering the market for painkillers and has profited in large measure from the resulting problem.

This is what a 21st-century police state really looks like

Narrative ■ There are two important stories about China in this number 10 of New Times Always! You may want to read this one first. The second is on page two.

Disabled and disdained

Narrative ■ If there’s an elephant in the room of any report about U. S. society and economy, it emerges every time someone takes a close at poverty, and we pass it on. This one is no exception.