How democracies die

The following is a response to an abstract expertly written by my friend, Lynn Gerlach, of a book co-authored by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt entitled How Democracies Die. The abstract is an excellent read in its own right and was the inspiration for my comments below. I encourage my readers to visit the Speakeasy Blog at www.tammarackcommunicatons.com in order to read the entire piece, including the comments section. So, off we go”.

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Still a few kinks to work out

I read an Associated Press article in the local newspaper this morning reporting that most of the violence witnessed at a recent Trump protest in Oregon was perpetrated by a group of self-described anarchists who elbowed their way into an otherwise peaceful gathering. As it turns out, these were the folks who were primarily responsible for the smashing of windows and other mayhem that occurred at the scene. Well, speaking of anarchists”:

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Power failure

Polity: A particular form of political system or government

…failure to act against aggressors only invites further aggression.

Robert Kagan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, “Power Failure”, WSJ, September 6-7, 2014.