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Vol. 20 No. 6June 2009
Columns
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Perils of the Public Plan
A badly designed public plan could turn out to be the opposite of what progressives intend. -
Testing Testing
Beneath the feel-good press releases about national education standards lie unresolved policy differences. -
The Optimist
By asserting that our institutions are capable of actually governing, Obama is, in effect, demanding that they do so. -
Race De-Baiting
As Sotomayor's nomination has made evident, accusations of racism often obscure much deeper and more pressing questions about how our differences matter and how they should not.
Culture
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Do the Netroots Matter?
The progressive blogs and online networks have changed politics. But did they replace the media or win the 2008 election? -
Cheap Thrills
Is buying more the way to economize? Clearly, this is not your grandmother's downturn. -
The Ultimate Bear Market
The uncouth bankers who brought down Bear Stearns make for an entertaining story. But the real responsibility for the crisis lies elsewhere. -
Our Cherished Paradoxes
American history is a series of clashes between personal freedom and societal order. Politics may be what holds us together.
Departments
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The 10 Dumbest Arguments Against Health-Care Reform
The health-care debate has been overwhelmed by grumbling resistance. Too bad the complaints are largely groundless. -
With China, Money Talks
Strategic and economic dialogue? Forget it, Hillary -- it's China. -
A Scheme Out of Gas
Hawks are lobbying hard for a gasoline embargo against Iran. Too bad such a sanction just won't work. -
Up Front
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Noted
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Marion's Moral Compass
The philandering former D.C. mayor leads a crusade against gay marriage. -
Recession Depression
The authors of Womenomics are telling employees to demand work-life balance -- or else! But in a bleak economic climate, most women workers lack real bargaining power. -
Women and the Minimum Wage
The increase in the federal minimum wage helps women -- but not nearly enough.
Special Report
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Financial Product Safety
The case for a new agency to put the needs of consumers first -
Reforming Credit
Our financial system needs to work for consumers at all income levels. A guide to the crisis, its causes, and cures. -
When Creditors are Predators
We need to regulate to assure that loans work -- and stop the loans that work people over. -
Regulation as Civic Empowerment
The policing of the financial system can't just be left to bureaucrats. Properly designed, regulation can be a community-organizing strategy. -
Community Reinvestment: The Broader Agenda
CRA has created a cadre of community-friendly bankers. It's time to bring reinvestment policy into the 21st century. -
The Assault on the Black Middle Class
Sub-prime lending was racially targeted and demolished decades of progress made by America's most diligent and striving people of color. How will America make amends? -
Banks as Heroes
Community-development banks show what financial institutions can do when they have the right motivation and the right mission. -
Reversing the Damage
What will it take to resume credit flows to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods? -
A Bridge to Somewhere
How do we build the road from predatory lending to good financial services for all Americans? -
Don't Blame the Community Reinvestment Act
Homeownership rates and CRA enforcement soared in the 1990s, but sub-prime came later. CRA shouldn't be the scapegoat for the housing meltdown. -
What Does Financial Capital Owe Society?
Corporate social responsibility is a worthy goal, but it's no substitute for regulation, subsidy, and government sponsorship of social institutions.
Features
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The Shipping Point
Wal-Mart and other discount retailers are exploiting workers in California warehouses. Can an organizing campaign make a difference? -
The Last Drug Czar
Both Obama and his appointed leader of the war on drugs, Gil Kerlikowske, say they've had it with the military metaphors and are taking a new approach to America's substance abuse problem. -
Hillary's Challenge
Our first feminist secretary of state sets out to prove that foreign policy works best when it makes women a priority. -
Charm Offensive
A long list of liberal groups worked to elect Obama. Now the administration is working overtime to make sure they stay happy. -
Latin America's Legalization Push
South of the border, where drug violence has taken a serious toll, lawmakers are weighing their decriminalization options.
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Vol. 20 No. 5May 2009
Columns
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Across District Lines
"School choice" does not have to be code speak for privatizing public education. -
Tough Love for Obama
Can Obama's supporters save him from his economic advisers? -
The Mystery of the Right
The right's abrupt decline is one of the most puzzling questions in political history. -
John McCain's Best Idea
Employer-provided health insurance is our single biggest tax break. It's time to give it up.
Culture
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I.F. Stone, Journalist -- and Spy?
Was "Pancake" working with the KGB? The evidence is inconclusive. -
The Pakistan Puzzle
Recent tomes on Pakistan overlook ordinary citizens' conflicting motivations, says our man on the ground. -
A Violent Regeneration
A search for American identity after the Civil War led to a surge of machismo and bloodlust. -
Keeping Secrets
Lawyers and shrinks have privilege; journalists should, too. But it's not that simple. -
Blacks in Space
In the future, we will be able to travel faster than light. And black women will still be secretaries.
Departments
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Up Front
Battle of the cable news demagogues; modernizing the GOP; a graphic view of swine flu; and The Question. -
Can a Speech Change the World?
In his Cairo address, Barack Obama sought to transform the way the United States engages with the Muslim world. -
Noted
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The Peak Shrink
Freaked out about the end of oil? There's a therapist for that.
Features
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New Kids on the Hill
To see where the parties are headed, look to the youngest members of Congress. -
Outside the 9-to-5
Some of the fastest-growing professions with nonstandard work hours are dominated by women. -
Settling for Radicalism
Israel has looked the other way as its military and government have gradually become more radical, and it may be too late to go back. -
The Invisible Workers
For nannies and housekeepers, the home is a workplace, and they're fighting for basic rights. -
Betting the Fed
The Federal Reserve is a hugely powerful yet unaccountable institution. Will its activism bring a backlash? -
A Family-Leave Safety Net
Right now paid time off is a perk available to only privileged families. Here's how we can make it an option for all workers. -
Wealth-Care Reform
Fixing our health-care system will make us more economically secure. It won't make us much healthier. -
Green Peacemaker
Can Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA, meet businesses' needs without alienating the environmental-justice movement? -
The Next Tax Revolt
It's time for progressives to stop pretending that raising taxes on only the very rich will be sufficient to fund an ambitious agenda. -
When Opting Out Isn't an Option
For too long, "working women" has meant professionals with children. It's time we focus on the majority of female workers. -
Pink-Collar Blues
Many male-dominated professions are suffering an epidemic of job loss. But women aren't faring so well in the recession, either.
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Vol. 20 No. 4April 2009
Columns
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Expert Advice
George W. Bush left us with a staggering set of questions for which political answers are elusive at best. -
A Give and Take on Immigration
One year after the largest raid in U.S. history, we rarely hear stories of small towns suffering in the absence of immigrants. -
Radicalizing Love
If monogamous love limits women, then perhaps feminism is the adultery of social norms. -
Revolution Amid Recession
Universal broadband internet is going to be spectacularly disruptive, and the challenge isn't just going to be getting everyone connected.
Culture
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A Stalled Counterrevolution
The finger-pointing for the economic crisis is in full force. In this review: Revisionism, I-Told-You-So-ism, human psychology, and a historical perspective. -
Exit, Stage Left
A new collection of plays revisits a moment when the narrative power of organized labor was at its zenith. -
Getting Smarter About IQ
Simple advances, like adequate vision and dental care, can do more for the nation's children than theoretical debates about education inequality.
Departments
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The FundamentaList (No. 65)
Taking a close look at the common-ground approach of the "Come Let Us Reason Together" coalition, and Rick Warren's Facebook for evangelicals. -
Republicans Tripping
Conservative critics used Obama's recent diplomatic trip to demonize the president. Unfortunately for them, their histrionics don't seem to be working. -
The XXX-Files
Porn industry lobbyists feel out Capitol Hill in a time of economic crisis. -
Up Front
A mixed farwell to bananas; the Fed's toxic legacy asset portfolio; and The Question. -
Noted
Cutting back on consumption, improving education, and "belling the cat." -
Seeking Justice in a System that Doesn't Guarantee It
How do we hold police and local governments accountable for the backlog of untested rape kits? -
How Bush Won the War Over the Courts
By exploiting certain rules, Bush managed to dramatically alter the makeup of the federal court system. -
Jerusalem's Obstructionist Construction
The pattern of Israeli construction in East Jerusalem is meant to erase the Clinton parameters for peace.
Features
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A Tale of Two Exurbs
Most outer-ring suburbs are being developed into unwalkable sprawl. But it doesn't have to be that way. -
The Rich and Powerful Can Avoid Risk
Managing and balancing risk in the future is an organic human problem, a political problem, and a problem of power. The question is how to remedy the fact that some players have the power to shift risks and to use the political process for insurance, while others do not. -
Charitable Relations
For years, foundations worked in concert with government, creating programs that could then be federally funded and expanded. Will a Democrat in the White House mean a return to this model? -
The Next War Over the Courts
Conservatives are already fired up about Obama's judicial nominations. Is the White House prepared for the fight? -
Progressivism Goes Mainstream
New research on ideology refutes the conservative myth that America is a "center right" nation. -
States Left Behind
When Obama selected his Cabinet, he caused a fair bit of upheaval in his nominees' home states. -
Rights Versus Rites
When it comes to the lives of women around the globe, do local traditions ever trump human rights? -
Risk Is Best Managed From the Bottom Up
We need regulations to address risk in every layer of the system, from the loan or bond, to the bank, to the very structure of the global financial industry. -
It's Time to Rethink the Problem
Everything Americans thought they knew about risk was wrong. Now what? To restore real prosperity, we'll need to get smarter about what we don't know. -
Housing is Local, and Lending Should Be, Too
We're just now learning how dangerous it is that the sources of finance for homeowners and their neighborhoods have no real connection to those people and places. -
Private Risk Is the Public's Business
From the earliest days of the republic, government at all levels has actively intervened to regulate and reallocate risk. -
A Strong Safety Net Encourages Healthy Risk-Taking
The basic underlying principle of the New Deal was that security is not opposed to opportunity but essential to it.
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Vol. 20 No. 3March 2009
Columns
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Slouching Towards Solvency
Obama's real economic challenge is to minimize exotic securitization and to regulate the shadow banking system. -
All Work, No Pay
Whether she likes it or not, Michelle Obama now serves as a public figure for the administration. Should the first lady get a salary for her work? -
My Recovery Prediction
Just as the economy faltered, so it will recover. There's a reason it's called the "business cycle." -
Missed Connections
Bush kept choices about taxes separate from questions of services. Progressives have turned the tables.
Culture
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Naughty Mommies
Are bloggers who proudly identify as "bad moms" challenging ideals of motherhood or reinforcing them? -
Intimacy Meets Hard Times
Some countries have a strong marriage culture and others are indifferent. The U.S. alone cherishes both marriage and the right to exit from it. -
Team of Rivals Redux
How four men and one woman, with very different backgrounds and views, shaped the New Deal. -
How Supreme a Court?
The highest court follows the political trends rather than defying them. Not that there's anything wrong with that. -
Political Islam 101
Three books administration officials should read as they attempt to deal with the Middle East in all its messy nuance.
Departments
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Thinking Even Bigger
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Breakfast at Hugo's
After criticizing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, our correspondent gets a lesson on the Bolivarian revolution. -
Up Front
The "official" Treasury Department stress test, a Twitter debate, and a very "new media" question. -
Noted
Responses to Adam Serwer's cover story, "The Other Black President," James Crabtree's piece "Britain's Great Right Hope" and a letter from Executive Editor Mark Schmitt.
Special Report
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Fighting for Green Justice
In the race for green jobs, environmental-justice advocates don't want urban communities to get left behind. -
Cities on the Front Lines
Conversion to solar and wind energy is an environmental necessity and an industrial opportunity. Success will require a concerted national policy. -
The Green Challenge: An Introduction
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From Mass Transit to New Manufacturing
With the right policies in place, an expansion of public transportation could help reindustrialize the United States. -
Beyond Sunny Hopes and Windy Rhetoric
To realize the promise of solar and wind power, aspirations need to be matched with more effective strategies. -
Where the Jobs Are
Compared to spending on the military or oil industry, green investment can improve both job quantity and quality. But it will take a massive shift in resources. -
A Green Industrial Economy
The opportunity for good jobs is there -- but unionization and government contracting standards will make a huge difference. -
Lessons From Europe
Funding for research into new technology is key.
Features
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The Radical Minimalist
Obama's regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein, has a complex faith in market initiatives. But sometimes a "nudge" is not enough. -
Post-Consumer Prosperity
We won't return to an economy driven by ever-increasing consumption. But by prioritizing investment and consuming less, we just might end up living better. -
Our Man in Kabul
Richard Holbrooke learned some hard lessons in Vietnam. Now he is applying them to Afghanistan and Pakistan. -
The Education Wars
Unions and reformers are fighting over the future of schools. Now the battle lines have started to blur. -
A Politics of National Sacrifice
Thirty years after Carter's "malaise speech," the language of humility and civic obligation resonates more powerfully than ever.
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Vol. 20 No. 2February 2009
Columns
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Practical Liberalism Redux
Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Barack Obama is capable of being a pragmatic progressive. -
Broad Rights
Obama will be forced to decide whether reproductive health care is an essential service or merely a political chess piece. -
The Dual Mission
Though initially tasked with rescuing politics, Barack Obama must transform the economy as well. -
Breaking the Grip of the Past
Reflexive conservative ideology remains a powerful factor in national debate. So it's crucial--if not for Obama, then for others--to continue to press the case that our present problems have ideological roots.
Culture
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Green Building Blues
As the field of green architecture experiences its growing pains, sustainability and good design have yet to meet. -
Why They Fought
An army is a grand exercise in group loyalty and cooperation. Understanding what holds it together provides lessons beyond the military. -
A Little Liberal Persuasion
Darwin and Lincoln were born on the same day two centuries ago. A mere coincidence, or did the two men write the language of modern liberalism? -
Agonies of the Twitterati
For the "intravidual," life is BlackBerries, conferences, snippets of family time, and a constant desire to be elsewhere. But how many people really live like that?
Departments
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Noted
Responses to Harold Meyerson's cover story, "A Global New Deal," Robert Kuttner's piece "Obama's Economic Opportunity" and a letter from Executive Editor Mark Schmitt. -
Foodie Politics
Alice Waters launched a culinary revolution that changed American cuisine. But should she adopt a new strategy for her local food crusade? -
Up Front
Real talk about Michael Steele, Elvis and the Wizard of Oz fill in as GOP role models, and T.A. Frank parodies the Republican strategy -- or does he?
Special Report
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New Leadership, New Hopes
How much difference will the Obama administration make to the recovery of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast? -
Housing New Orleans: Still a Work in Progress
Far too many people are still without decent affordable homes, and hidden vulnerable groups like the mentally ill have been hit hardest of all. -
The Color of Toxic Debris
The racial injustice in the flow of poison that followed the flood. -
Not by Accident
The wholesale damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina was not an inevitability. A sustainable New Orleans is still possible. -
The Houma Nation Digs Out
In the wake of Gustav and Ike, a resilient traditional people recovers from both nature's assaults and bad policy. -
The New Normal
Governments at all levels responded slowly to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The people of the Gulf Coast took up the slack but haven't absolved government of its responsibilities. -
Translating Disaster
In the crisis, the Gulf's Hispanic communities dealt with linguistic and political isolation. But Katrina produced a boost to new organizing efforts. -
Gulf Coast Notebook
Communities rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike. -
Justice Polluted
An environmental-justice attorney explains how the civil rights of Gulf Coast residents were violated.
Online Extras
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The Power of Race and Place
How and why the predominantly black areas of the Gulf Coast are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. -
Death and Life in New Orleans
Three people tell their stories of coping in the aftermath of Katrina. -
A Piecemeal Approach to Undoing Bush's Wrongs
Features
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Britain's Great Right Hope
As the Republican Party struggles to develop a new message and regain popular support, its British counterpart is on the verge of a comeback. Will the Tories become the model for conservatives everywhere? -
Department of Change
Obama cannot rely on Cabinet appointments alone to take the country in a new direction. Here are five government offices Obama will need to remake if he is to realize his agenda. -
Twilight of the Autocrats
The global financial crisis is threatening the delicate bargain that the Chinese, Russian, and Venezuelan regimes have struck with their citizens. -
You Can Handle the Truth
After eight years of a notoriously secret executive branch, Obama seems willing to consider opening the vault to historians and journalists alike. -
Where Are the Workers?
Union organizing is an increasingly global, top-down effort. But card-check legislation could return employees to their central place in the process. -
The Other Black President
With 35-year-old Ben Jealous at the helm, the NAACP redefines its mission for an era in which black politics are mainstream. -
Anatomy of a Netroots Failure
Darcy Burner won the love of Internet activists but lost her 2008 campaign for Washington state's 8th Congressional District. Maybe the new politics can't write off the old just yet.
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