Since the beginning of the centennial of World War I, I have been writing a series of essays about the war as the memory of events passes us by--a hundred years later. But as we approach the centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution, I find it nearly impossible to delimit my thoughts on this profound event in the history of the human race as if it were only a passage of the war, like the Somme, or American intervention, or the internment of enemy aliens.

Even if the drug war were to end today, there would still be street crime in Mexico.

However, these issues would be on a dramatically smaller scale. Mexico’s street gangs could never ascend to the level of an organized crime outfit without the massive profits from illegal drugs to pay for the necessary weaponry, hitmen, political protection, etc.

News first broke about America’s Niger misadventure on October 4. “The real news here is that the US has forces in Niger, where they’re conducting covert operations,” this writer tweeted out. “Hashtag America First.”

Mark Thornton on RT:

The House has a tax bill in their sights, but is it passable? Steve Malzberg joins host Lindsay France to discuss it. The Senate meanwhile has killed a rule that allows citizens to file class-action suits against banks and other financial institutions. Bianca Facchinei has the story. And what is the Iron Law of Convergence? Dr. Mark Thornton is on to explain how this important law was once visible in the US economy.

According to Politico:

On Wednesday, one top [Morning Money] source who talks regularly to President Trump said the only finalists are Jay Powell and John Taylor and the question is just which one gets it. This person said Janet Yellen is out as is Kevin Warsh. Gary Cohn, as we’ve reported, has been out of it for weeks now. But…

The Pentagon is moving forward with pressuring Congress to add women to the Selective Service program, which will make virtually all young people eligible for the military draft. The Washington Times reports: 

The Pentagon says the country should stick with mandatory registration for a military draft, and it advocates a requirement for women to sign up for the first time in the nation’s history.

Last week, Chris Calton completed his first season of Historical Controversies podcast, which covered the History of the War on Drugs.

With the FBI releasing the 2016 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted data this month, reports on police deaths have once again found their way into headlines. Such reports offer a great illustration of how reporting the same facts in different ways can dramatically change how big a problem seems to be. Also interesting is the information that is reported depending on the media outlet.