September 2007

The Rise of the Have-Nots
The American middle class has toppled into a world of temporary employment, jobs without benefits, and retirement without security.
September 28, 2007 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Somebody Better Get Me Some Mo' M-F-ing Ice Tea
Half a century after the Little Rock Nine, Bill O'Reilly comes to Harlem. Too bad he hasn't visited our schools. Or our polling places.
September 28, 2007 | By Terence Samuel | web only

The Dynamic Post-Presidential Duo
In their post-White House careers, Bill Clinton and Al Gore have chosen opposite paths to bringing about social change. Who's been more successful?
September 28, 2007 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The Dems Debate Hillary
Last night's debate felt less about picking a winner and more about unseating the woman who is leading the Democratic field. But are voters paying attention?
September 27, 2007 | By Jon Margolis | web only

Progress on Climate Issues -- With or Without Bush
This week's UN summit on climate change may not have made major news, but it builds up momentum for greater progress as nations head into major environmental talks in the coming months.
September 27, 2007 | By Kate Sheppard | web only

Whither the Conservative Culture War?
Last week's Values Voter Debate may have looked like an easy appeal to the base, but the absence of the Republican front runners casts doubt on whether the religious right's power is on the wane.
September 27, 2007 | By Paul Waldman | web only

The Labor Lessons GM Never Learned
This week's UAW strike is a reminder that if the company had heeded union demands during the 1970s, substantial portions of our public policy could look radically different.
September 27, 2007 | By David Moberg | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 2)
Pressure mounts to rally 'round a GOP candidate (but which one?), Christians atone with cash on Yom Kippur, and how the White House has angered some of its faith-based grant recipients.
September 26, 2007 | By Sarah Posner | web only

The Fed as Enabler
For more than two decades, the Federal Reserve has been the prime enabler of a dangerously speculative economy. If we dodge this bullet without addressing the deeper threats, there will be more bullets to come.
September 25, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Run, Newt, Run!
If the former speaker of the House enters the presidential race, he will be vulnerable to spattering by the very dirt he would sling. His potential candidacy also speaks volumes about the state of the Republican Party.
September 25, 2007 | By Adele M. Stan | web only

Giuliani's War Cabinet
In his bid to become the 9-11 President, Rudy Giuliani has attached himself to a school of scholarly thought about the Middle East that has brought us nothing but disaster.
September 25, 2007 | By Matthew Duss | web only

Hillarycare Mythology: Did Hillary Threaten Democratic Senators?
Carl Bernstein's oft-repeated account of Hillary Clinton during the push for health care reform in 1993 is of doubtful origin.
September 24, 2007 | By Paul Starr | web only

Hillary's Own Plan
Senator Clinton's health proposal signals a new phase in the long struggle for universal health insurance. Here's how her new plan compares to the 1993 Clinton Health Security Plan.
September 24, 2007 | By Paul Starr | web only

The Religious Left Grapples with the War
Many progressive Protestants are struggling to reconcile their support for the troops with their moral opposition to war. They're making a fresh case for more religious-political dialogue.
September 24, 2007 | By Michal Lumsden | web only

The Real Estate of Abortion Politics
The fight over building permits for the Aurora, Ill. Planned Parenthood clinic is just one more example of how the fight over reproductive health is coming down to questions of infrastructure.
September 21, 2007 | By Ann Friedman | web only

John Warner Stands Down
The veteran Virginia senator was supposed to provide the exit ramp for other GOP senators seeking to abandon the president. Then why did he -- and so many of his colleagues -- vote against the Webb amendment?
September 21, 2007 | By Terence Samuel | web only

The Myth of Moroccan Democracy
Recent parliamentary elections have cast doubt on whether Morocco is the model of Middle East reform the United States is hoping for.
September 20, 2007 | By Shadi Hamid and Jeb Koogler | web only

Judging Israel's Alleged Strike in Syria
Israeli officials won't confirm that they were behind a military raid in northern Syria, so information about it has come from the usual unreliable sources.
September 20, 2007 | By Gershom Gorenberg | web only

New School Racism: Jena and Beyond
Thursday's rally in Jena, Louisiana, should be the starting point for a national conversation about the state of race relations in America.
September 20, 2007 | By Courtney E. Martin | web only

Cashing in on Chinese Surveillance
How Wall Street is pouring money into the Chinese government's Big Brother-like surveillance of its citizens.
September 20, 2007 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Segregated Schools Leave Children Behind
As Congress debates reforms to No Child Left Behind, no one will state the obvious: Separate schools don't produce equal results.
September 19, 2007 | By Dana Goldstein | web only

The FundamentaList (No. 1)
The quest for Dobson's endorsement, the Values Voter Debate, Bible codes about 9-11, Santorum's prep for war with Iran, and televangelist domestic violence.
September 19, 2007 | By Sarah Posner | web only

Voting for Strategy Over Policy
Voters can't -- and shouldn't -- judge who has the best health-care plan without hearing a persuasive case for why each candidate can overcome the political obstacles that stand in the way of meaningful reform.
September 19, 2007 | By Paul Waldman | web only

The Cineplex's Complex War
In his new film, In the Valley of Elah, Paul Haggis offers a portrait of returned Iraq soldiers which critiques not just the war, but also the way we treat our veterans.
September 18, 2007 | By Kay Steiger | web only

Iraq Forever?
Last week's intense focus on whether the surge was working obscured the real Bush agenda -- a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq.
September 18, 2007 | By Spencer Ackerman | web only

Hillary Rejoins the Health Care Debate
Hillary Clinton has just released a forward-thinking health care reform proposal. Does her plan's daring owe something to the Edwards campaign?
September 18, 2007 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The Culture of "K-Ville"
A new FOX drama premiering tonight portrays a post-Katrina New Orleans. But in reducing its tragedy to a cop drama, have the real lessons been lost?
September 17, 2007 | By Christine Cupaiuolo | web only

All Things Fed
Will Bernanke deliver an interest rate cut? Why is Greenspan criticizing Bush's tax cuts now? And is big business really seeking regulation?
September 17, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Attracting Young Voters with Debt Relief
The sub-prime mortgage scandal is only part of the debt problem in the United States. The issue is likely to attract the attention of young voters this election cycle, which may be the key to bringing about change.
September 17, 2007 | By Anya Kamenetz | web only

In the Wake of Petraeus
Despite Bush's embrace of the Petraeus report, it will be Republicans who pay the steepest price for the continuation of the war.
September 14, 2007 | By Terence Samuel | web only

Electoral Vote Shuffle
Current proposals to change the way electoral votes are apportioned via state-level legislation raise larger questions as to why our federal elections are run at the state level at all.
September 14, 2007 | By Scott Lemieux | web only

New Plan, Same War
Americans don't trust that the Bush administration will be able to resolve the Iraq war. So why is Bush going on television tonight to claim the Petraeus plan as the way forward?
September 13, 2007 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Sunni World
The cheerleaders for the surge have constructed a Disney-esque fantasy of Iraq which might as well be in Orlando for all it has to do with the grim reality on the ground. And Abu Risha's assassination isn't likely to dim that fantasy.
September 13, 2007 | By Marc Lynch | web only

Soldiers as Peacemakers
The Defense Department is getting ready to work in troubled areas before and after wars. But do guns and butter mix?
September 13, 2007 | By Matt Sledge | web only

Cracking Down on Corporate Abuses Abroad
The tangled relationships between American multinationals and Colombian paramilitary groups are coming under scrutiny in Colombia and in the United States.
September 13, 2007 | By Anastasia Moloney | web only

Studying the Islamic Republic from the Inside
For just two years, a groundbreaking masters program provided a handful of foreigners with a rare insider's glimpse into Iran. Until it became a victim of Ahmadinejad's neo-isolationism.
September 12, 2007 | By Iason Athanasiadis | web only

Why Health Care Is a Losing Issue for the GOP
The Republicans candidates' love affair with free-market fundamentalism has prevented them from addressing the health care crisis. The Democrats should take full advantage of that.
September 12, 2007 | By Paul Waldman | web only

The Dispensable Man
David Petraeus has admitted David Petraeus doesn't matter. Will anyone believe him?
September 12, 2007 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The Financial Paradoxes of Globalization
Daily commentary on the financial meltdown and the demonstrated failure of right-wing economics. Today: The myth that nations become more democratic as they become more market-oriented.
September 11, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Newt's New Spin on the Iraq War
To woo conservatives, Newt Gingrich is weaving a fantasy of a quick, decisive victory over terrorism.
September 11, 2007 | By Dana Goldstein | web only

Portrait of the President as a Skin Mag
After his commission for an official portrait was revoked, artist Jonathan Yeo decided to create a montage of Bush using shots from porn magazines. But does it work as political critique?
September 11, 2007 | By Kriston Capps | web only

Pakistan on the Brink
Six years after the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration encourages more strife in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
September 11, 2007 | By Adele M. Stan | web only

The Real Economic Danger
Even before Wall Street went bonkers, consumer debt was high and wages were dropping. But most middle-class folks didn't have to face these facts because at least their homes were valuable.
September 10, 2007 | By Robert B. Reich | web only

No Justice with No-Match Rule
A Bush administration proposal would have resulted in mass firings of workers just in time for Christmas. But an effort by the labor and immigration movements has led courts to intervene and halt the plan -- for now.
September 10, 2007 | By David Bacon | web only

The Missing Measure of Our Outrage
If most of us can agree the Iraq War is a colossal failure, why aren't we doing much about it?
September 10, 2007 | By Courtney E. Martin | web only

Wall Street Isn't the Economy
The stock market is just a single indicator that often has little do with the health of a very large economy. Wall Street is not Main Street.
September 10, 2007 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The Bush Administration's Deep Denial
Bush officials' testimony shows they're still haven't come to terms with what's happening in credit markets.
September 7, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Is it Time for a Compromise on Iraq Withdrawal?
Legislation that forces the beginning of a withdrawal, but remains silent on a definitive end-date, could be the compromise that brings Democrats and Republicans together. It might also be the out that Bush needs.
September 7, 2007 | By Terence Samuel | web only

The Rise and Stall of Van Halen
A new biography of the band that made metal marketable doesn't disappoint the fans, but leaves the serious guitar geeks wanting more.
September 7, 2007 | By Matthew Duss | web only

Why Fred Thompson Won't Enliven the GOP Race
Thompson's failure to upstage the GOP debate with his formal presidential bid was to be expected in a race where the Republican candidates are all sticking to the same positions.
September 7, 2007 | By Jon Margolis | web only

Supply Side Bait and Switch
Politicians promoting the sham of supply-side economics are foolish, but their economic advisors should know better.
September 6, 2007 | By Ezra Klein | web only

The Israeli Government's Genocide Politics
How Israel's top officials are turning a blind eye to both the decades-old genocide in Armenia and the present-day plight of refugees from Darfur.
September 6, 2007 | By Gershom Gorenberg | web only

Shoring Up the Middle Class
Rebuilding mass prosperity in America will require upgrading the jobs in industries like transportation, construction, health care, and sales, and ensuring workers in those jobs regain bargaining power.
September 6, 2007 | By Harold Meyerson | web only

Katrina, Without the Water
Daily commentary on the financial meltdown and the demonstrated failure of right-wing economics. Today: A House hearing on saving distressed mortgages, predators as housing policy, and unused regulatory power.
September 5, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

For Workers, It Was No Holiday
America remains on a course where the biggest gains go to a narrow elite, and ordinary people face increasing insecurity. Hopefully by Labor Day 2009, we will have more to celebrate.
September 5, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

Trapped in the Political Closet
Larry Craig may have been guilty of hiding his sexuality, but the demands of public life lead more than a few politicians to carve out a hidden self.
September 5, 2007 | By Paul Waldman | web only

India's Exit Lessons for Iraq
Pundits and lawmakers keep making the Iraq/Vietnam comparison. But India in the wake of British colonial rule is a relevant and perhaps a more cautionary tale that should be heeded.
September 5, 2007 | By Nicolaus Mills | web only

An Old-Fashioned Run on the Bank
Deregulating the airline and electric power industries, Countrywide trumpets its federal insurance, and what's up with the Fed?
September 4, 2007 | By Robert Kuttner | web only

The Petraeus Workout
Petraeus describes the Iraq War as a war of figurative inches. Before Congress, he's likely to emphasize these smaller achievements instead of the bigger picture -- which is unquestionably bleak.
September 4, 2007 | By Spencer Ackerman | web only

A World Without Teacher Unions?
Despite the myriad criticisms of teacher unions, their abolition would be a huge loss for supporters of public education -- and for the American labor movement as a whole.
September 3, 2007 | By Richard D. Kahlenberg | web only