Canada will be a superpower one day. Here's what Donald Trump sees, and why he wants to buy them now on the cheap.

What I can’t figure out is why nobody’s discussing the looming crisis that’ll come when foreign leaders, seeking a way to demonstrate they still hold leverage over the American economy, conclude they no longer want to hold American debt.

By raising the emotional stakes, breaking political routines, and demanding attention, Trump has pulled millions of people—supporters and critics alike—back into civic life. Voting has increased. Organizing has increased. And awareness has increased. Trump has reminded the country – and arguably, the world - that democracy is not passive. It requires participation, argument, and choice. And once awakened, civic engagement is very hard to put back to sleep.

The Big Orange Menace is obviously intent on intimidating us into staying in bed with the covers pulled over our heads. He doesn’t want us to protest or vote or challenge him in any way. And the moment we give in to that inclination to say “Please just leave us alone,” he’s won.

Having grown up in the shadow of a narcissistic father, I know this isn't the type of person we should have representing America.

Thoughts for the new year My own father was a narcissist who believed none of the rules that applied to normal people ever applied to him. Everything wrong was always someone else’s fault, though he’d quickly take credit for anything good that happened around him. I’m used to this crap, and know that over the long run it will be defeated. Here’s why.

As my old college friend Brian O’Donnell used to observe, “Whenever you say ‘Somebody ought to fix this,’ you, invariably, are the somebody.”