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View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. Thursday, April 13, 2017 NYTimes.com/Opinion »

The guest writer of today’s newsletter is Max Strasser, an editor in the Opinion section. With important elections taking place these days everywhere from Kansas to France, you can be forgiven if this Sunday’s referendum in Turkey has slipped past your radar. But it’s worth your attention. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed a set of constitutional amendments that would expand his power over the judicial system, limit the role of the Parliament, and give him the authority to declare some laws by decree. (If you want to go deep, the full text of the proposed changes is here. If you just want some more context, Human Rights Watch has a good fact sheet.) It’s not much of a stretch to call Mr. Erdogan a strongman. Over the past 15 years, he has muzzled the news media, sent many political opponents to jail or into exile, and purged the government bureaucracy of his enemies. But changing the Constitution would be a serious escalation. Writing recently in Al Jazeera, Ayse Sozen Usluer, an official in Mr. Erdogan’s office, said the purpose of the amendments is to “solve Turkey’s chronic administration problems which have held the progress of the country hostage for decades.” But many people see it as something much more insidious. In an Op-Ed, Elmira Bayrasli chronicles Mr. Erdogan’s rule and says it may be too late to rescue Turkey from his damage. If he loses, she writes, the president will look for other ways to secure power. Still, she hopes that the referendum is defeated. That “would keep alive the prospect that once this president is no longer in office, Turkey can finally have a shot at curbing the power of its rulers and, perhaps someday, making way for representative, inclusive democracy.” And what happens in Turkey matters not just for the 75 million people who live there. Mr. Erdogan has been something of a model for the populists and “illiberal democrats” ascendant these days from Hungary to the Philippines and beyond. The most recent polls have “yes” ahead by a point or two, but anything could happen. I asked Mustafa Akyol, a contributing opinion writer and a veteran Turkish political columnist, for his thoughts. “In any case, I am afraid Turkey will have difficult years ahead,” he told me. “We should all think of ways to minimize the damage and keep up hope.” The full Opinion report from The Times, including Arthur Brooks on how to handle protesters at town hall meetings, follows. David Leonhardt is off this week.

Editorial Mr. Trump’s Fickle Diplomacy By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Russians thought they would have a pal in the White House, but relations between the two countries are as tense as ever.

Op-Ed Columnist Trump Versus the Love Gov By GAIL COLLINS Let’s compare the president and Alabama’s new former chief executive. Op-Ed Columnist How to Stand Up to Trump and Win By NICHOLAS KRISTOF Don’t just hold a sign. Experts share how to resist and get results. Op-Ed Columnist Sean Spicer’s Teeny Little Slip-Up By ANDREW ROSENTHAL All he did was make a bizarre and disgusting comparison between Assad and Hitler. Why is everyone so upset?

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Op-Ed Contributor Is It Too Late for Turkey’s Democracy? By ELMIRA BAYRASLI Whether this Sunday’s referendum succeeds or fails, there’s little hope for the country.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer Reaching Out to the Voters the Left Left Behind By THOMAS B. EDSALL The economic and political gap between cities and rural counties is even wider than we realized. Can the Democrats do anything about it? Contributing Op-Ed Writer The Broken Supreme Court By LINDA GREENHOUSE Making a court vacancy a highly visible part of a Republican electoral strategy stamps the court as an electoral prize, pure and simple.

Editorial Whose Side Is Betsy DeVos On? By THE EDITORIAL BOARD At a time when student loan borrowers are suffering, they may lose federal protections. Editorial Notebook Artist to ‘Fearless Girl’: I Need My Space By FRANCIS X. CLINES The confrontation of two sculptures in the Financial District has attracted delighted crowds, but the man behind one of the works is not amused.

Eron Hare Contributing Op-Ed Writer Can the G.O.P. Turn Back the Tide of Town Hall Anger? By ARTHUR C. BROOKS Members of Congress facing furious crowds could learn a lesson from social science and start treating protesters as individuals.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer Outed as Transgender on ‘Survivor’ — and in Real Life By JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN Do transgender people have an obligation to be open about their history? Op-Ed Contributor How to Make the Nuclear Button Safer By MICHAEL KREPON A Cold War disaster averted suggests a smart way to prevent impulsive action by the president alone. Op-Ed Contributor Does Egypt’s President Really Want to Fight Terrorism? By BAHEY ELDIN HASSAN It looks like Sisi’s real concern is solidifying his authoritarian rule, not cracking down on jihadists who kill Egyptians. Op-Ed Contributor Stop Treating Liberia’s President Like a Hero. She’s a Human. By DAYO OLOPADE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf doesn’t uphold liberal values. So why is she worshiped? Op-Ed Contributor The Ups and Downs of the Sears Empire By SARA PARETSKY Everything you needed — underwear, a house, a tombstone, a dining room set — all in one store or catalog.

HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to newsletters@nytimes.com.

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Letters Uber’s Efforts to Influence Its Drivers’ Behavior Readers discuss psychological tricks used to encourage Uber drivers to work where and when is best for the company.

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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