ehm1212

Alexandra Gutierrez on how feminist horror movie Jennifer’s Body is neither one of these things: As in biology, sex and death are the two elemental components of the horror film. Nowadays, critics’ warnings of gratuitous nudity and violence in scary movies seem, quite frankly, gratuitous. Psycho‘s iconic shower scene long ago evolved into the literal […]

Manuel Pastor on how neighborhood approaches fit into the national poverty strategy: The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) has given new meaning to the adage that failure is an orphan but success has a thousand parents. The zone, a public-private partnership founded and led by the charismatic Geoffrey Canada, has produced significant gains in student achievement […]

Alan Jenkins on the effect racial barriers have on the economy: When he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) — the economic stimulus package — President Barack Obama promised it would “begin the process of restoring the economy and making America a stronger and more prosperous nation.” The act invests some […]

Michelle Goldberg on racial resentment: Now that popular conservatism has given itself over so avidly to racial resentment, it’s curious to remember how hard the right once tried to scrub itself of the lingering taint of prejudice. Indeed, for a decade and a half the Christian right — until recently the most powerful and visible […]

Paul Waldman on the right’s animosity toward Obama: Back when Barack Obama began his extraordinary quest for the presidency, lots of conservatives — particularly those prone to wake screaming in the night from visions of Madam President Hillary Clinton — just couldn’t say enough nice things about him. What attracted them most was not his […]

Mark Schmitt and Shelley Waters Boots say it’s time for a new national effort to fight poverty: It has been 13 years since a Democratic president’s signature on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 eliminated a flawed program that also provided the only protection against destitution. Yet that act also brought […]

Courtney Martin asks if Americans’ expectations are too high when it comes to health-care reform: Barack Obama spent much of last year’s presidential campaign trying to shake off the “elitist” label. He took pains to play down his Ivy League education and play up the more working-class elements of his background: “I wasn’t born into […]

Harold Meyerson on how the “values” of the largest private-sector employer in the U.S. are shaping our national economy: The story isn’t part of the official Wal-Mart creation epic, but it tells us almost all we need to know about the company’s approach to the interests of its employees and the laws of the nation. […]

Paul Starr on the president’s health-care speech: President Obama‘s speech to Congress on health care Wednesday evening succeeded at several levels. Beforehand, observers said that he needed to explain to a confused public what he is proposing and why it makes sense, and the speech did that. Analysts also said that the president needed to […]

Terence Samuel on how the resignation of Obama’s green-jobs czar is a primer on the right’s political warfare tactics: President Barack Obama‘s week began with the setback of green-jobs czar Van Jones‘ resignation from the administration. It ends with the president buoyed by a sense that he has retaken control of the health-care reform debate […]