We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Breitbart
As someone who underwent ex-gay therapy for three years — and not because I was “going undercover” as gay to fancy myself an investigative reporter — I couldn’t care less if a clinic owned by Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and her husband, Marcus, practices ex-gay therapy. I’m not saying I don’t feel sorry for…
Discovering a Better Left
About 40 years ago, I read a book by the historian-activist James Weinstein, and my political outlook changed utterly, and for good. Its title, The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925, doesn’t sound like a catalyst of hope, much less of personal transformation. But at the time, I was recovering from a feverish romance with…
A Man With a Clear Conscience
He warned us. On Jan. 27, 2003, Mohamed ElBaradei told the United Nations Security Council that his initial inspections had revealed no evidence of nuclear-weapons activities in Iraq. The next day, ignoring this new intelligence, President George W. Bush presented an urgent case for military action in his State of the Union address, and The…
The Manichean World of Tim Wu
For the past dozen years, several distinguished thinkers about law and technology have warned that a golden age of Internet freedom may be about to close. The most influential alarm-ringer has been Lawrence Lessig, who argued in his 1999 book, Code, that under corporate and governmental pressures, the Net could be flipped to serve top-down…
How They Wrecked the Economy
During a break at a recent conference on the future of economics, I was carrying the galleys of Jeff Madrick’s new book, Age of Greed, when I got into a conversation with Paul Volcker. At 83, the former Fed chairman is a bit hunched but still sharp as an old hawk. Glancing at the book’s…
Imagining Malcolm X
Manning Marable’s biography of Malcolm X is a significant and poignant cultural event because of its subject, its purpose, and the recent tragic death of its author, the founder of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University. Marable worked on this biography for more than two decades, struggling in recent years with…
Whose Point of View?
If Wikipedia is where the masses go for information, then progressives should be there to help get the facts right.
Once Made in the USA
The U.S. may soon reach the point where it can’t rebuild its manufacturing base.
Segregation Nation
Omaha’s radical attempt at school integration shows how beneficial diversity can be — and how hard it can be to sustain.
Pinching Pensions
Why is the right attacking public employee retirement benefits?
Florida, Inc.
If a state were a business, CEO Rick Scott would be shown the door.
(Not) Talking Taxes in New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s high popularity has meant that he hasn’t had to court the Democratic base, so he has chosen to target public-sector unions.
Talking Taxes in Connecticut
The state’s current governor, Dannel Malloy, has taken it upon himself to make Connecticut’s taxes more progressive.
Wisconsin: From Protest to Movement
Organizers see We Are Wisconsin as less aligned with the Democratic Party, and more like a “Tea Party of the left.”
Standing Up for Government
At the core of nearly every roiling fiscal debate today is an argument over the role of government in American society.
Reality Bites
The science-based community once was split between Democrats and Republicans — but not anymore.
Wrong Turns
Blocked by failed negotiations with Israel and an ambivalent Obama administration, Palestinians look to the international stage.
Ever the Accused
Few cases start off as clear-cut as the one against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the newly resigned International Monetary Fund chief who is now facing rape charges in Manhattan. A cleaning woman told police that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her when she walked into his hotel suite at Sofitel New York on the afternoon of May 14. She…
When Your Base Is Nuts
In today’s Republican Party, the truth shall set you down, and out.
Dialogue: Let’s Talk About Sex
When should the media cover politicians’ sexual improprieties? Adam Serwer: So, shortly after Arnold Schwarzenegger left office, we found out that The Governator fathered a child out of wedlock with an employee. Did the media fall down on the job here? Patrick Caldwell: No. The press already wrote about Arnold’s womanizing past when he first…
The Question
p>What are some of the X-rated videos found in bin Laden’s compound? “Debbia Does Dubai.” –Judith Long, The Nation “72 Virgins Do Heaven.” –Josh Harkinson, Mother Jones “Girls Gone Staid.” –Eliot Nelson, Huffington Post “Abbotto-Bad Girls.” –Katie Halper, Laughing Liberally “The U.S. Defense Budget: Filthy! Hardcore! and Barely Legal!” –Baratunde Thurston, The Onion
Tea Party Crasher
A new right-wing magazine launches and inadvertently redefines the meaning of “diversity.”
Debtors’ Prison
Sometimes, loans simply cannot be paid.
