Scott McConnell, James Pinkerton, Scott Galupo, and Noah Millman weighed in on the “you didn’t build that” contretemps. Daniel Larison discerned that neither presidential candidate would revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and speculated about the Republican ticket’s VP, Galupo scorned the mutually dishonest presidential debate over capitalism and marveled at Romney’s self-induced tax debacle, while Rod Dreher compared the presidential contest to a choice between lukewarm sodas.

Philip Giraldi reviewed a new book that exaggerates Israel’s Iran ops and dismantled the idea that the CIA should be “unleashed” on Syria. Tom Engelhardt gaped at the absurdly high cost of protecting America’s secrets, Jim Antle explored the growing conflict between fiscal hawks and foreign policy hawks, and Larison took on internationalism and nationalism in the GOP. Kelley Vlahos exposed former Lt. Gen. William Boykin’s “spiritual war” against Islam, Jordan Bloom sang the sequestration blues, and Millman reflected on virtue and survival.

Michael Dougherty, Eve Tushnet, and Millman shared perspectives on childhood and family disintegration. Daniel J. Flynn praised a book on the rationalizing brain, McConnell celebrated free speech on Metro North, Galupo reflected on social mobility as a concept, and Dreher was in a heat over extreme drought, contemplated Wendell Berry’s endorsement of gay marriage, and grappled with the theater shooting in Colorado. Bloom reevaluated fair use laws, and Paul Gottfried thought through the partisan logic of voter ID laws.

In case you missed it, spend some time with the cover story of our August issue, in which Ron Unz issues an epic debunking of “IQ and the Wealth of Nations.”