Nothing is more likely to make you question the morality of the death penalty than an execution gone horribly wrong. Yesterday, Oklahoma officials attempted to intervene after the lethal drug cocktail administered to death row inmate Clayton Lockett not only failed to kill him, it made him writhe and gasp after he’d been declared unconscious. […]
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux is a freelance writer and a former writing fellow at the Prospect.
Follow @ameliatd
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Politics of Pain
How do liberals and conservatives view suffering? Two leading experts discuss.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Daily Meme: Ladies’ Choice
Nothing sparks speculation in Washington like a new political memoir, but two are a true bonanza, enough fodder for days of online chatter. Last week, Hillary Clinton announced that the story of her four years as Secretary of State, the unimaginatively named Hard Choices, will appear in bookstores in June. Although Clinton has yet to […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Did Jesus Have a Wife?
An ancient fragment doesn’t prove that Jesus was married—but it does raise questions about Christians’ attitudes toward sex.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Daily Meme: The Passion of Kathleen Sebelius
Let’s just say that this has not been Kathleen Sebelius’s year. As secretary of Health and Human Services, she absorbed much of the blame for the botched rollout of the Obamacare website. Even after the White House exceeded its health insurance signup goal–the chance for a victory lap if there ever was one–Sebelius announced last […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Abortion Restriction That’s Too Extreme for Most Pro-Lifers
There’s a growing rift within the anti-choice movement over bans on abortion at six weeks.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Daily Meme: Who’s Afraid of Stephen Colbert?
Yesterday, CBS announced that Stephen Colbert, the flag-waving, eagle-loving faux-conservative comedian, will replace David Letterman as the next host of the Late Show. Although Colbert made his name on Comedy Central by impersonating a right-wing pundit, he’ll play it straight when he gets to the big time. Some people are questioning whether plain ol’ Stephen […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Daily Meme: Yep, He’s Toast
There’s nothing so satisfying as a good dose of political schadenfreude, which is being served up on a platter this week by Louisiana Representative Vance McAllister. Grainy images of McAllister locked in a passionate embrace with Melissa Hixon Peacock, a married aide, last December are making the rounds online. Peacock’s husband, Heath, is fueling the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Fetal Abnormalities: The Next Minefield in the Abortion Wars?
Conscience clauses are just the beginning—genetic counselors are on a collision course with state-level abortion politics.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Daily Meme: The Obamacare Victory Dance Begins
In a triumphant ceremony in the Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, President Obama announced that the White House’s last-minute push to enroll seven million people in private health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act was successful. Sign-ups even slightly exceeded the administration’s goal, coming in at 7.1 million newly insured Americans. This was despite the […]