Meet Raymundo Ramos, who presents himself as a “human rights activist” in northern Mexico and provides comment to the New York Times. Phillip Linderman, former U.S. consul general for Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, makes a compelling case that Ramos is actually a propagandist for Cartel del Noreste. “Americans have little understanding of the true human rights and public safety situation in Mexico,” Linderman concludes. “The country is defending itself not merely from organized crime, but from a highly sophisticated, insurgent combat force employing guerrilla warfare tactics.”

Over the weekend, we ran an edited excerpt from the forthcoming book, The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good by Alexander William Salter. “Economic science divorced from humanistic concerns makes for an anemic political economy. In contrast, a political economy infused with Catholic social teaching can offer a fruitful synthesis of scientific analysis and ethical vision. Getting the balance right is the first step on the long and uncertain, but nevertheless worthwhile, road to common-good capitalism.”

Assistant editor John Hirschauer had a recent run-in with what Illinois state senator Robert Peters would probably call a “protest against poverty and segregation.” Fortunately for Hirschauer and for TAC it was nothing as dramatic or violent as the “teen takeover” of Chicago last weekend. Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson said in response, “it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.” And Hirschauer said “many people despair, experience distress, and have tough upbringings, yet do not set cars on fire.”

Best,
Micah Meadowcroft
Web Editor

The Beauty of Getting Lost

Gracy Olmstead