Politics
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THE WEEK IN GREED #6: To Behave Like the Fallen World
It’s no coincidence that the one man willing to lie about his savagery as an adolescent is the one running for president.
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This Is Ridiculous
Harriet, the Poetry Foundation blog, reports that poet Joshua Clover and 11 students at UC Davis are potentially facing a $1 million fine and up to 11 years each in prison. Their crime? Peaceful protest. A petition is circulating which…
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Politics in the Exam Room
In the fall of 2008 I was chatting with a woman I know about the upcoming presidential election. She was in her 60s, single, a funky dresser, world traveler, and amateur artist—what my mom would have called a “free-spirited Auntie…
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Race and Redistricting
The Nation explains how the GOP is resegregating the South with its infuriating redistricting campaign. “The GOP’s long-term goal is to enshrine a system of racially polarized voting that will make it harder for Democrats to win races on local,…
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Poverty Mapped
While a 2003 report announced progress in the reduction of poverty, a new Brookings report has found that “between 2000 and 2005-09, the population in extremely poor neighborhoods climbed by more than one-third, from 6.6 million to 8.7 million.” The…
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Novels and Politics
“When even cheese cannot be free of politics, how can literature?” So asks Ruth Franklin in this New Republic piece, which ponders whether novels and politics should mix, finding insight in the work of writers Irmgard Keun and Amos Oz.…
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Our Broken Legal System
“…Substantial wealth inequality is so embedded in American political culture that, standing alone, it would not be sufficient to trigger citizen rage of the type we are finally witnessing.” At Mother Jones, Glenn Greenwald looks back at the history of…
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Economic Mythology
“The stimulus failed.” “The deficit is our biggest problem right now.” “Lower taxes are the best way to grow the economy.” “Regulatory uncertainty is clogging the economy.” “If you unshackle the rich, they’ll rev up the economy.” According to Mother…
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British Hacking Scandal Roundup
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the British phone hacking scandal is the lack of coverage in the US press. Among the US newspapers, the NY Times is the only one I can find which has done significant reporting on…
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The Trial of Charles Guiteau
I wish I could find who posted a link to this on Twitter, because I’d like to thank them publicly. All I know of Charles Guiteau is that he’s the man who assassinated President James Garfield. I know even less…
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Leaked Mainstream Media Dictionary
Al-Jazeera has started a new project–an online dictionary of words and phrases the mainstream media (which I–though not everyone–would argue they’re a part of) uses when writing/talking about whatever the news story of the day happens to be. It’s either…