May 2009

The Soderbergh Experience
In his new film, The Girlfriend Experience, Steven Soderbergh turns to his obsession with the metaphor of economics as prostitution.
May 29, 2009 | By Noy Thrupkaew | web only

Obama's Honeymoon Nears Its End
With a Supreme Court nomination in process and midterm fundraising already underway, Obama is about to learn that politics isn't just about being popular.
May 29, 2009 | By Terence Samuel | web only

The North Korea Conundrum
How do you solve a problem like Korea? With great difficulty.
May 28, 2009 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 82)
This week in religion and politics: Culture warriors prepare to battle over "judicial activist" Sonia Sotomayor's Court nomination, and the religious right reacts to California's Prop. 8 ruling.
May 27, 2009 | By Sarah Posner | web only

It's Gingrich Time
The return of the former House speaker is not only due to the leadership vacuum in the GOP. Republicans are back in opposition, and nobody opposes quite like Newt.
May 27, 2009 | By Paul Waldman | web only

The Empathy Dodge
Conservative jurists are just as guilty of displaying the soft touch -- it's just reserved for those with money and power.
May 27, 2009 | By Adam Serwer | web only

Exit Strategy
A new study assessing the withdrawal method finds it is nearly as effective as condoms. Should we teach it to teenagers?
May 26, 2009 | By Dana Goldstein | web only

Honor Military Families with Adequate Health Care
The VA is still operating as if all of its patients are young, childless, and male -- and veterans' families are paying the price.
May 23, 2009 | By Courtney E. Martin | web only

What the Guantánamo Speech Means for Civil Liberties
TAP Online talks with the ACLU's Anthony Romero about Obama's proposed changes to national security policy.
May 22, 2009 | By Adam Serwer | web only

Obama, Your Party Isn't Behind You (And That's OK)
Senate Democrats' rejection of Obama's plan to close Guantanamo shouldn't be cause for worry.
May 22, 2009 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Did Your Car Cause the Crisis?
The threat posed by expensive oil hasn't disappeared; it stands ready to derail a fledgling economic recovery this year and handcuff growth until Americans break their decades-long petroleum habit.
May 21, 2009 | By Ryan Avent | web only

Organizing the Unemployed
During past recessions, collective action among laid-off workers was common. Will this financial crisis foster a similar movement?
May 21, 2009 | By Jake Blumgart | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 81)
This week in religion and politics: Obama's Notre Dame speech shines attention on his relationship with religious constituencies, and anti-Muslim propaganda is making the rounds once again.
May 20, 2009 | By Sarah Posner | web only

Going After the Perpetrators of the Housing Bubble
State attorneys general, like Massachusetts' Martha Coakley, are leading the charge to hold accountable the lenders behind the current economic crisis.
May 20, 2009 | By Tim Fernholz | web only

Is Homophobia the New Anti-Semitism?
As the gay-rights movement has been globalized, so has religious and political opposition to homosexuality.
May 19, 2009 | By Michelle Goldberg | web only

The Health-Care Time Warp
With the health-care debate underway once again, Republicans are dusting off the same rhetorical playbook they used during the Clinton years.
May 19, 2009 | By Paul Waldman | web only

Can Obama Influence Netanyahu?
As recent domestic battles show, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caves easily to political pressure. But does he feel pressure to resolve the Palestinian crisis?
May 18, 2009 | By Gershom Gorenberg | web only

Dick Cheney Just Wants To Be Loved
Dick Cheney's attempts at public redemption have a logical root in his Cold War experience.
May 15, 2009 | By Terence Samuel | web only

How Hate Groups Went Mainstream
In his new book, David Neiwert charts the rise of paranoid, hate-focused rhetoric on the right.
May 15, 2009 | By Elbert Ventura | web only

Sex Work
Two new biographies -- one of Helen Gurley Brown and the other of sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson -- offer cautionary tales about mixing sex and the workplace.
May 14, 2009 | By Dana Goldstein | web only

The Trouble with Double X
Is the niche-ification of the Internet amplifying or ghettoizing women's voices?
May 14, 2009 | By Ann Friedman | web only

Denial Island
National-security concerns aren't the only reason -- or even the best reason -- to worry about the climate crisis. But they are real.
May 14, 2009 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 80)
This week in religion and politics: Religious leaders react to evangelicals' permissive attitudes toward torture, and the Notre Dame commencement controversy stokes the abortion-reduction debate.
May 13, 2009 | By Sarah Posner | web only

Obama: Stay Away From Notre Dame's Commencement
Abortion has nothing to do with it. A progressive president shouldn't support an institution that reserves 25 percent of its admissions seats for legacies.
May 12, 2009 | By Richard D. Kahlenberg and Steve Shadowen | web only

Not Even Chuck Norris Can Save the GOP
Celebrities and everymans are the pundits of choice for the GOP. Is it any wonder Republicans are directionless?
May 12, 2009 | By Paul Waldman | web only

How Do Americans Really Feel About God?
The religious right's era of unquestioning Christianity is over. In fact, Americans have incredibly complex feelings about God and country.
May 11, 2009 | By Courtney E. Martin | web only

Obama v. the Republican Party
The president can name the most agreeable of moderates as his Supreme Court nominee, and Senate Republicans will still put up a fight.
May 8, 2009 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Cramdown's Downfall
Bankers are making it hard for Obama to limit foreclosures -- but he's not doing much in the way of fighting back.
May 7, 2009 | By Tim Fernholz | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 79)
This week in religion and politics: More evidence emerges of aggressive proselytizing in the military, and the religious right wants to cause trouble for Obama's Supreme Court nominee.
May 6, 2009 | By Sarah Posner | web only

A "Post-Racial" Assault on Voting Rights
It is minority voters -- not Southern municipalities -- who need the protection of the Supreme Court.
May 6, 2009 | By Adam Serwer | web only

A Long, Uncivil War
In her new book, former ACLU board member Wendy Kaminer goes after the organization and its current director. But in mixing the personal with the political, does she miss the real challenges facing the group in the wake of the Bush administration?
May 5, 2009 | By Michelle Goldberg | web only

A Taxing Argument
Republicans think they'll revive their party by repeating the refrain of "small government, lower taxes." Unfortunately for them, taxation isn't quite the problem they imagine it to be.
May 5, 2009 | By Paul Waldman | web only

Neglecting the Swine Flu Frontlines
Stimulus spending couldn't have hit the ground fast enough to avert the current swine flu crisis. But moderate senators -- including new Democrat Arlen Specter -- still have a lot to answer for in terms of their lack of support for local public-health funding.
May 4, 2009 | By Harold Pollack | web only

In the Court's Best Interest
The Supreme Court nomination process isn't about finding the "best" candidate -- it's about finding the right fit.
May 4, 2009 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Race, Voting Rights, and the Genius of Justice Souter
Justice David Souter doesn't care for politics, but he understands the politics of race better than his colleagues to his left or his right.
May 4, 2009 | By Heather K. Gerken | web only

Specter's Epilogue
Arlen Specter's move to the left isn't a chapter in the Republican Party's decline -- the story has already played itself out.
May 1, 2009 | By Terence Samuel | web only