Gabriel Arana

(Courtesy of NASA) A view from space of the Gulf Coast oil spill. An Oil Spill Commission report released today harshly criticized the Obama administration for downplaying the extent of the spill.

(Courtesy of the World Economic Forum) George Soros, a major funder of progressive causes, criticized President Obama today for giving in to deficit hawks amid an economic recession. “To cut government spending at a time of large-scale unemployment would be to ignore the lessons of history,” he said.

(Courtesy of Park51/Soma) An architectural rendering of the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in Manhattan.

http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject In the wake of several high-profile incidents of anti-gay bullying — including one that involved the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi — Dan Savage has started the “It Gets Better Project” — a YouTube channel featuring videos from members of the gay community reaching out to teens.

On this week’s podcast from The American Prospect: Now that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel seems headed out the door, TAP Executive Editor Mark Schmitt and staff writers Adam Serwer and Tim Fernholz talk about his role in the White House and his working relationship with the president. Listen Now: To download the […]

(Flickr/presidenciaecuador) Former President Jimmy Carter spent a second day in the hospital after being admitted with an upset stomach. Doctors expect Carter to recover, and the former president said he would continue his book tour.

(Flickr/afagen) [Eds note: Caption has been corrected; no departure has been formally announced.]Washington chatter is focused on the possible departure of Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff in order to run for mayor of Chicago. Rumors of his planned departure had been circulating since June this year; friends had said he had planned to leave […]

(Flickr/Mike Browne) Comedian Stephen Colbert, who testified before Congress today about illegal immigration. “America’s farms are presently far too dependent on immigrant labor to pick our fruits and vegetables,” Colbert said. “Now the obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating fruits and vegetables, and if you look at the recent obesity statistics, […]

Mark Schmitt says the 1970s were a decade of lost opportunities to reconstruct the New Deal order. The short postwar miracle was built on a “great compression” of broadly shared economic gains, a “liberal consensus,” around the idea of a supportive government committed to expanding rights and opportunity, and a loose social compact between industry […]