ehm1212

Scott Lemieux on how the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens provides a foothold for a strong liberal presence on the Court: The pending resignation of Justice John Paul Stevens gives Barack Obama the chance to make his second appointment to the Supreme Court. It also represents what is likely to be his best chance […]

Mark Schmitt explains that as the GOP gives up on Michael Steele, the real impact of the Citizens United decision will be felt: It turns out banks aren’t the only things that can be too big to fail. Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, seems securely ensconced in his position despite his […]

Joel Anderson, Alexandra Gutierrez, Tim Fernholz, and Aminatou Sow discuss the premiere episode of David Simon‘s new show about post-Katrina New Orleans: Joel Anderson: First things first, they’re spot-on with regard to the accents. Also, people from New Orleans dance unlike people from anywhere else. So far, this “feels” right. Before we go any further, […]

Dia Rasinariu talks to an award-winning historian who made her name highlighting history’s forgotten: Natalie Zemon Davis will be awarded the 2010 Holberg International Memorial Prize on June 9 for the way in which her work “shows how particular events can be narrated and analyzed so as to reveal deeper historical tendencies and underlying patterns […]

Adam Serwer reviews Whistling Vivaldi: Two explanations for the persistence of racial inequality predominate in America’s ideological battles. The left blames racism, while the right pins the responsibility on minority groups’ own culture and behavior. Some on the right insist that racial minorities face no impediments. Just the opposite, they say — white people now […]

Tim Fernholz asks why the administration is shying away from giving firm guidelines on prudential standards: While members of Congress take their spring break, the debate over financial reform and, most relevantly, Sen. Chris Dodd‘s omnibus bill simmer here in Washington. Dodd’s bill has raised any number of questions — starting, most fundamentally, with “Are […]

Nancy Scola on the FCC’s ability to regulate the Internet: Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court dropped a major decision that calls into question the Federal Communications Commission’s jurisdiction over the Internet. The case in question had to do with the FCC’s 2008 reprimand of Comcast when the cable company throttled its customers’ use of the […]

Spencer Ackerman on the administration’s effort to transform American foreign policy: Several weeks before President Barack Obama announced an escalation of the Afghanistan War at West Point, a group of journalists and think-tankers met for dinner at the Washington, D.C., embassy of a NATO ally to debate war strategy. Chatham House rules apply to the […]

Paul Waldman on the difficulty of making an ideological assessment on the Obama presidency: Say this about President Barack Obama: He can keep ’em guessing. One day, he signs the most momentous piece of progressive social legislation in nearly half a century. Just a week later, he announces a plan to open up coastal areas […]

Courtney Martin on birth control’s effect: This year — the year I turned 30 — the birth-control pill is turning 50. As Elaine Tyler May points out in her new book, America and the Pill, that little technology promised a whole lot of change — feminist liberation, angst-free sex, world peace — that it hasn’t […]