August 2006

Mind the Gap
Democratic voters have unambiguously repudiated the Bush doctrine. The same can't be said for Democratic foreign policy elites.
August 30, 2006 | By Justin Logan | web only

Transparently Dishonest
PricewaterhouseCoopers touts total tax confusion with a new service for their corporate clients.
August 30, 2006 | By Robert S. McIntyre | web only

Workingman's Blues
Have a nice Labor Day. Try to forget it's a sick joke.
August 30, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Is Our President Learning?
Rarely was that question asked -- until now. But the new push to present Bush as a bookworm is as desperate as it is dubious.
August 29, 2006 | By Steve Benen | web only

Against Democracy
Why human rights, not democracy, should be the lodestar of a liberal foreign policy. A response to Shadi Hamid.
August 29, 2006 | By Spencer Ackerman | web only

Fear of a Ninth Planet
Busybody scientists can stuff it. Pluto's a planet if we say it's a planet.
August 29, 2006 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

Threat Assessment
Two new books shed light on the ideological and organizational roots of al-Qaeda.
August 28, 2006 | By Aziz Huq | web only

See Dick Run (the Country)
Cheney's the real president. It'd be nice if the press noticed.
August 28, 2006 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

The Wild Bunch
OutKast contains multitudes in the vibrant new movie, Idlewild.
August 25, 2006 | By Alex P. Kellogg | web only

Indepedenzia Day
The Basque people may disapprove of ETA's tactics, but they are still determined to gain independence.
August 25, 2006 | By Sarah Wildman | web only

The Lieberman Conundrum
Why Democrats should fear the possible re-election of Joe Lieberman.
August 25, 2006 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Working, Stiffed
A new PBS documentary on the working poor tells riveting tales but largely fails to connect the dots.
August 25, 2006 | By Tracie McMillan | web only

What Would Lenin Do?
Attempting to shore up our dysfunctional employer-based health care system is counterproductive, not progressive.
August 25, 2006 | By Maggie Mahar | web only

An Accountability Moment
Now comes the domestic Israeli political fallout from the war with Hezbollah. It ain't pretty.
August 24, 2006 | By Jo-Ann Mort | web only

Vision Gap, Part II
The case for putting democracy promotion at the center of a new progressive foreign policy vision.
August 24, 2006 | By Shadi Hamid | web only

Don't Look Away
Pleading hopelessness is a bogus excuse -- stemming the AIDS catastrophe is actually an achievable goal.
August 24, 2006 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Running Man
In style and substance, Harold Ford Jr. channels Bill Clinton.
August 24, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

The Offer Hillary Shouldn't Refuse
Don't run for president, Senator Clinton. Succeed Reid; lead the caucus in the Senate.
August 23, 2006 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Vision Gap, Part I
Progressives desperately need to have a real debate on core foreign policy principles. An argument, in two parts, for resisting the realist temptation and reclaiming democracy promotion from Bush.
August 23, 2006 | By Shadi Hamid | web only

Mind Matters
Ramesh Ponnuru's scary thoughts on life and moral status in The Party of Death.
August 23, 2006 | By Neil Sinhababu | web only

Welcome to America, Senator!
The "macaca" fracas has only illustrated -- once again -- what George Allen doesn't understand about the country.
August 23, 2006 | By Subodh Chandra | web only

It's Not Welfare Anymore
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is 10 years old today. You can call it many things, but don't call it welfare.
August 22, 2006 | By Margy Waller and Shawn Fremstad | web only

Welfare Redux
From our March 2006 issue: Back in 1996, we were pessimistic about reform. We were wrong. But new rules pushed through this year may confirm our worst fears.
August 22, 2006 | By Christopher Jencks, Scott Winship and Joseph Swingle | web only

Bodega Blues
When fighting Wal-Mart's practices, let's not lionize mom and pop. Their store is most likely pretty bad.
August 22, 2006 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

Requiem for a Disaster
Spike Lee channels rage and sorrow in the extraordinary Hurricane Katrina documentary, When the Levees Broke.
August 21, 2006 | By Alex P. Kellogg | web only

Beyond Wal-Mart
The superstore has become a useful poster child for the problems of the modern American economy. But reforming it would only be a drop in the bucket.
August 21, 2006 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

In Case of Emergency
Scared to think of what the government's response to another terrorist strike would be? Before the next attack, we should act to create a new legal framework for federal emergency powers.
August 18, 2006 | By Bruce Ackerman | web only

Storm Trooper
Cholene Espinoza's new book offers a compelling picture of what post-Katrina life is like for one small town in Mississippi.
August 18, 2006 | By Adele M. Stan | web only

My Summer Reading Journal
George W. Bush reads Camus (as told to Julian Sanchez).
August 18, 2006 | By Julian Sanchez | web only

First Responder
Everyone was appalled by Hurricane Katrina's destruction. Some people decided to do something about it. TAP talks to Cholene Espinoza, author of Through the Eye of the Storm.
August 17, 2006 | By Tara McKelvey | web only

Two Wars on Terror
We're making headway on one, but not the other. Unfortunately, we can't avoid fighting both.
August 17, 2006 | By Suzanne Nossel | web only

Down These Main Streets
What Bob Casey's populism means for the Pennsylvania Senate race and beyond.
August 17, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Rolling with the Punches
Londoners carry on with life after last week's terrorism scare.
August 16, 2006 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Mad Love
Remembering Arthur Lee -- psychedelic prophet, proto-punk innovator, cracked genius.
August 16, 2006 | By Devin McKinney | web only

What's in a Name?
Seriously, "Washington Redskins" really is racist.
August 15, 2006 | By Michael Tomasky | web only

Here We Go Again
As news of the foiled airline plot kicks off another election-season debate about toughness and national security, it's time to set a few things straight.
August 14, 2006 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

The French Connection
Why America's prickliest ally is so crucial to forging a solution in Israel and Lebanon.
August 14, 2006 | By Jo-Ann Mort | web only

A Hawk for All Seasons
When it comes to foreign policy, Joe Lieberman's hawkish consistency is the hobgoblin of a little mind.
August 14, 2006 | By Spencer Ackerman | web only

Stakes on a Plane
The case against the new airport security measures.
August 14, 2006 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

Faulty Towers
Oliver Stone curbs his politics -- and his storytelling skills -- for the plodding World Trade Center.
August 11, 2006 | By Sudhir Muralidhar | web only

First, Do Harm
TAP talks to Oath Betrayed author Steven H. Miles about physicians' complicity in U.S. detainee abuse.
August 11, 2006 | By Aziz Huq | web only

Inside Job
How Humana and other insurance companies rigged the Medicare prescription drug plan.
August 11, 2006 | By Barbara T. Dreyfuss | web only

Loss Prevention
What Merck's problematic cervical cancer vaccine tells us about profit-driven health care.
August 11, 2006 | By Maggie Mahar | web only

Spills of War
The bombing of a Lebanese power plant sparks an ecological catastrophe in the Mediterranean.
August 10, 2006 | By Christopher Moraff | web only

The Shylock Code
What the (sober) statements of Mel and his allies really mean.
August 10, 2006 | By Adele M. Stan | web only

Patron State
Why Beijing's influence might grow in a post-Castro Cuba.
August 10, 2006 | By Joshua Kurlantzick | web only

Which Side Are We On?
Any admission that Iraq is facing a civil war dooms the administration's justifications for the U.S. mission there. But even Republicans are starting to admit just that.
August 10, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Punting Pensions
Notwithstanding 907 pages of new pension legislation, baby boomers are still in deep doo-doo.
August 9, 2006 | By Robert B. Reich | web only

Sore Loserman
Lessons from Connecticut.
August 9, 2006 | By Thomas F. Schaller | web only

Flip, Flop, and Dodge
Joe Lieberman has gone from an unrepentant Iraq hawk to a critic of the Bush administration's wartime management. Too bad his earlier position had more integrity.
August 8, 2006 | By Matthew Yglesias | web only

This is Not a (Litmus) Test
Anti-war liberals argue that Iraq is a legitimate litmus test issue, while centrists decry all litmus tests as illegitimate. They're both wrong.
August 8, 2006 | By Ben Adler | web only

Crossing Borders
A gay rights festival comes to Jerusalem, a city where identities cross, collide, and -- sometimes -- co-exist peacefully.
August 8, 2006 | By Sarah Wildman | web only

No End of Ideology, Round 2
There's no getting around the fact that the netroots are ideologically liberal and are likely to pull the Democratic Party to the left.
August 8, 2006 | By Scott Winship | web only

Learned Aggressiveness
Regardless of the outcome tomorrow in Connecticut, the netroots have already won.
August 7, 2006 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Winning Like Losers
Do Democrats want to win in November? Looking at the Democratic leadership, it's hard to tell.
August 7, 2006 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Tongue-Tied
History shows that class-based arguments concerning immigration are far less successful than race-based ones. For liberals, that's a real problem.
August 7, 2006 | By Eric Rauchway | web only

Regressive Behavior
The GOP's priorities were on display last week in the Senate. It wasn't a pretty scene.
August 6, 2006 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Democratic Dilemmas
The conversation no one is having about the Voting Rights Act.
August 4, 2006 | By David Epstein | web only

Say That You'll Go, Joe
As Joementum runs backwards in Connecticut, the senator may be facing a very tough choice next week.
August 4, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

The Anti-Regulator
Behold Susan Dudley, the president's nominee for regulatory czar. And be afraid.
August 4, 2006 | By Genevieve Smith | web only

A Republican Revolution
Why former Republicans in Kansas and elsewhere are deciding to run as Democrats.
August 3, 2006 | By Benjamin Weyl | web only

Take a Pay Hike
The case for raising congressional salaries.
August 3, 2006 | By Ezra Klein | web only

Do Nothing, Please
The minimum wage bill is a reminder that the current "do-nothing" Congress is even worse when it's forced to do something.
August 3, 2006 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Putting Down Netroots
A response to Scott Winship.
August 3, 2006 | By Mark Schmitt | web only

No End of Ideology
Netroots members insist that they're non-ideological pragmatists. They're wrong.
August 2, 2006 | By Scott Winship | web only

Indian Summer
Israeli youth in an exotic land can't quite escape the war back home.
August 2, 2006 | By Joshua Kurlantzick | web only

Incredible Joe
Joe Lieberman doesn't enhance the Democratic Party's credibility on national security -- he diminishes it.
August 2, 2006 | By Ari Melber | web only

Contra Iran
TAP talks to Magnus Ranstorp about Hezbollah and the Iranian connection.
August 2, 2006 | By Laura Rozen | web only

The Center Holds
If Joe Lieberman leaves the Senate, it will mean that moderation in the Democratic Party ... will be alive and well.
August 2, 2006 | By Michael Tomasky | web only

We Are All Absurdis Now
Around the world and close to home in Gary Shteyngart's new novel.
August 1, 2006 | By Erica Lipper | web only

Branching Out
On detention policy, the ball is finally in Congress's court. That could be a bad thing.
August 1, 2006 | By Jonathan Hafetz | web only