Dana Goldstein

Andy Borowitz at The Daily Beast: At a press conference in Washington today, President-elect Barack Obama repeatedly refused to answer questions about the size of his package, calling the subject “a personal matter.” Again and again, reporters attempted to get Mr. Obama to tell them exactly how big his package was, but the president-elect was […]

In the Canadian National Post, Jeet Heer writes a column about younger Jews being increasingly critical of Israel, mentioning the writing of Ezra, Matt Yglesias, Spencer Ackerman, and myself. Heer does something I like. While Philip Weiss has done some great work documenting younger Jews’ skepticism toward Israel’s recent actions, Weiss describes this nascent movement […]

My friend (and former TAP editorial assistant) Kay Steiger has an important piece at RH Reality Check today, asking whether TV-doc Sanjay Gupta, reportedly Obama’s choice as surgeon general, can “talk about sex.” Gupta’s CNN show, “House Call,” has occasionally focused on HIV/AIDS, and the good doctor has publicly stated that Plan B prevents pregnancy, […]

Yesterday, labor leaders from both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win coalitions met to discuss reunifying under one umbrella, reportedly encouraged to do so by the Obama team. For edu-wonks, this raises questions about whether the two major teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, could possibly become one. Historically, […]

After a hard fought primary with a female opponent, could the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act be the first bill — and a very symbolic one — that Barack Obama signs into law as president? That is what House leaders are hoping. In a conference call this morning, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, and […]

For those in the mood to celebrate Al Franken‘s impending win, former TAP-er and friend Mark Goldberg sends along this 2002 Salon essay by Garrison Keillor, lamenting Norm Coleman‘s victory against Walter Mondale. You should really read the entire thing, it’s priceless. But here’s a sample: …Norm is a slick retail campaigner, the grabbiest and […]

As a writer with the last name “Goldstein,” I’ve often found my opinions filtered through other people’s assumptions of what Jews think or should think. It happened in comment sections when I reported on the controversy over using circumcision as an HIV-prevention method. (The truth is, I’m a defender of Jewish parents’ rights to choose […]

If you’ve been following the recent New York Times and Boston Globe reporting on efforts to get teenage girls to recognize and leave abusive relationships, I really recommend Courtney Martin‘s column today on our main site. Courtney points out the problems with placing all the responsibility for preventing violence on the shoulders of young women, […]

With Gardasil, that is. I know Merck’s lobbying campaign to get school systems and states to require childhood HPV vaccination is controversial. Conservative parents don’t want to admit their daughters are highly likely to have pre-marital sex. And some on the left are skeptical of any drug company’s attempt to shill its product. In a […]

Have you been reading Eliot Spitzer‘s delightful new Slate column? In his latest outing, Spitzer disses Obama‘s stimulus plan and says we shouldn’t be upgrading roads and schools, but instead spending on a new electronic health records system, smart energy meters, and other high tech innovations. (He doesn’t mention one of our fave spending priorities […]