Opinion: Harvey’s heartbreak

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, August 28, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist The scenes out of Houston this morning are terrifying and heartbreaking, and the flooding is likely to worsen as rain keeps falling there. The Times’s newsroom staff has reporters on the ground in Texas, including Cliff Krauss, who has written an [essay]( about his own flooded home. In the Opinion report, Mimi Swartz — a longtime Houston resident and Texas journalist — [writes]( that “like most Texans, I was pretty sure the situation was being, well, overblown by the media.” As the storm arrived, her optimism waned. I also recommend the [coverage]( in The Washington Post, which has made the smart decision to hire a team of reporters who specialize in weather. In a digital world, journalistic expertise has become [even more valuable]( than it used to be. As for the weekend’s other big story, President Trump’s pardon of Joe Arpaio: It’s worth spending some time to understand who Arpaio is. His Arizona jail once brutally [abused]( a paraplegic prisoner. Prisoners at the jail died at a suspiciously high rate. Latino prisoners were marched into a segregated area with electric fencing. And Arpaio himself described the jail as a “concentration camp.” And the sheriff’s office that Arpaio ran failed to properly investigate many cases of child sexual abuse. “So, yeah, that’s who Trump just pardoned,” tweeted the Phoenix New Times this weekend, an alternative weekly that has done more than any other news organization to expose Arpaio over the years. If nothing else, I encourage you to read the publication’s [Twitter thread]( summarizing its coverage over the years. As Peter Suderman of Reason [wrote]( “This thread demonstrates 1) incredible awfulness of Arpaio 2) usefulness of Twitter 3) importance of local journalism.” In The Times, Paul Krugman puts the pardon in a broader perspective and [argues]( it suggests the country “may well be in the early stages of a constitutional crisis.” A personal note: Thanks to Roger Cohen, Ian Prasad Philbrick and Bari Weiss for writing this newsletter over the past couple weeks, while I’ve been on vacation. I had a great break, but I also missed the back-and-forth with all of you. As always, drop me a line at [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:Leonhardt@nytimes.com) when you have thoughts, questions, criticisms or requests about the newsletter. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including Todd Gitlin on [antifa activism](. Op-Ed Columnist [Fascism, American Style]( By PAUL KRUGMAN How many Republicans will refuse to collaborate? Op-Ed Contributor [And Then the Rain Came]( By MIMI SWARTZ Texas has seen plenty of storms and floods in my time, but never water like this. ADVERTISEMENT Editorial [States Dare to Think Big on Climate Change]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Washington is in denial, but California and nine Northeastern states are forging ahead. Editorial [Unemployment in Black and White]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The unemployment rate for black Americans is typically twice the rate of white Americans. Policy makers seem to think that is normal. It’s not. [A counter protester holds a “Antifa” sign at the Boston Free Speech Rally earlier this month.]( A counter protester holds a “Antifa” sign at the Boston Free Speech Rally earlier this month. Stephanie Keith/Reuters [Op-Ed Contributor]( [Who’s Afraid of Antifa?]( By TODD GITLIN It’s not the same as the far right. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect more violence. Op-Ed Contributor [The Rush to Develop Oil and Gas We Don’t Need]( By JIM LYONS President Trump is pushing to increase production on federal lands. The Stone [White ‘Power’ and the Fear of Replacement]( By ABIGAIL LEVIN AND LISA GUENTHER The marcher’s chant in Charlottesville really meant, “You will not take away our historical right to exclude.” Red Century [The Cold War and America’s Delusion of Victory]( By ODD ARNE WESTAD The collapse of Soviet Communism led the United States into triumphalist error about its destiny as the global superpower. On Campus [The Biggest Misconception About Today’s College Students]( By GAIL O. MELLOW Forty percent of all undergraduates go to community colleges, and many can’t afford to go full-time. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Sunday Review [There Once Was a Great Nation With an Unstable Leader]( By NICHOLAS KRISTOF This might be a good time for disheartened Americans to remember that Rome survived Caligula. Sunday Review [Behold Our ‘Child King’]( By PETER WEHNER Republicans need to start thinking of themselves as a shadow government. Sunday Review [President Trump and the Baby-Sitters Club]( By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON Rallies are fun, but nothing gets done, and Mr. Trump gets angry! Letters [America’s Farms and Immigrant Labor]( Readers respond to Senator Jeff Flake’s homage to the Mexican worker on his family’s ranch. SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. 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