Columns

We liberals have a lot on our consciences. Who taught the right wing how to use religion for social causes during the Martin Luther King era? Who showed them that discrimination on the basis of race or sex was not something most Americans see as part of the generous bounty of this country? It was […]

Let me begin by admitting that if fortune decrees that the next president of the United States must be another conservative Republican, I’d certainly rather it be John McCain than George Allen, Tom Tancredo, Newt Gingrich, or most of the other current right-wing heartthrobs. But have no illusions: McCain is a very conservative Republican who […]

When historians review this era, they will point to the striking failure of our political system to engage, much less remedy, the most pressing national problems. Consider a few key examples: The most notable economic fact is a 25-year decline in living standards of ordinary Americans during a period of rising productivity. As Paul Krugman […]

Repeatedly through our history, the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution have been threatened in war by an overreacting government and then reaffirmed in peace by calmer leadership. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus, the suppression of free speech during and after World War I, the internment of Japanese Americans […]

The following is the transcript of a recent White House meeting of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove. The Justice Department is probing this leak. HASTERT and FRIST (hereafter, H&F): Thanks for seeing us, Mr. President. POTUS: Hastie! Billie! […]

I am struggling with a moral and intellectual dilemma. I am a progressive, African American academic committed to battling racial inequality and I do not want my public voice deployed against struggling communities. So I have been reluctant to admit that I am ambivalent about racialized demands to rebuild New Orleans. Displaced black citizens are […]

The following is the transcript of a recent White House meeting of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove. The Justice Department is probing this leak. HASTERT and FRIST (hereafter, H&F): Thanks for seeing us, Mr. President. POTUS: Hastie! Billie! […]

I’m writing this while enjoying one of the most satisfying moments of my day, one of the most satisfying moments known to humanity. It’s morning. I prefer to take a sip, even two, from my favorite old oversized coffee cup, with a glazed blue-checker band, before firing up. My lighter has been acting up lately, […]

It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native criminal class except Congress,” Mark Twain once observed. Computations remain to be performed; investigations have not been completed. But with GOP heavyweights jettisoning Jack Abramoff’s contributions faster than you can say “cooperating with prosecutors,” history may prove Twain right. Again. […]

Not long ago, i attended a meeting of 20 or so progressive advocates and experts on a major policy issue. I looked around the room and realized that I was, I’m quite sure, the youngest person there. And that’s happened before. But I’m 43 years old. It’s fun to feel like a prodigy, but I’m […]