Download the full issue (PDF, 1487K)

Notebook

DumbAss!

Haiku Corner – Connie Wang

The Home Front

Health Care Hypocrisy: Millions of uninsured Americans personify a moral crisis – David English

The phrases “human rights,” “protecting freedom” and “ensuring democracy” are echoed so often on radio and television that, like any word repeated too many times, they’ve begun to lose meaning. Ironically, at a time when we spend so much effort “protecting” the freedoms and rights of people in Iraq and Afghanistan – one similarly beleaguered group is neglected. These people are not foreign. They aren’t oppressed by a dictator and they aren’t forced into military service. They aren’t suffering from tsunamis, nor are they arrested without warrant – usually. They are Americans, living in virtually every city of every state, attending the same schools and walking down the same streets as the rest of us. [more]

Single-Issue Feminism: Why an obsession with Choice is hurting the fight for gender equality – Hillary Green

Recently, I’ve noticed that there seem to be two kinds of people in the world: those who think that “feminist” is a dirty word and those who think that feminism is archaic. For those of us who shudder to be placed in either category, it has become more and more difficult to communicate our message. We’ve fallen victim to a new breed of stereotyping; instead of being forced into the too-tight shoes of domestic servitude and inferiority, we have been shunted into a far more uncomfortable position: we are expected to restrict ourselves to issues that are biologically in our domain, but only scratch the surface of our core values. To put it another way, the feminist agenda has been hijacked. [more]

Broken Promises: Over a year later, too much left undone in New Orleans – Tierney Allen

I had read about the subhuman conditions in the newspaper and seen the haunting images of total destruction on the news, but no amount of superficial media coverage could change Hurricane Katrina from a politicized tragedy thousands of miles away into part of my reality or understanding. I had also heard the criticisms of Bush’s less-thanurgent response to the hurricane. But surprisingly, even as a Democrat who would have gladly joined the chorus of Bush-bashing in another situation was finding it not so easy to take the media’s word for it this time. This is why, in late July, when I left with a group of youth from Episcopal churches to do hurricane relief work for two weeks in Mississippi and New Orleans, I was ready to form my own impressions of the adequacy of the response to the hurricane. [more]

The Midterms

Reality Check: Putting the midterm elections in perspective – Albert Fang

Every second, America’s legion of political talking heads expertly spews forth slews of punchy predictions over the airwaves. Hardly anything said by any of them is of much use to us (Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are obvious exceptions that quickly come to mind). And if sifting through all the noise to make sense of the times weren’t difficult enough, the extreme right’s dominance over America’s media institutions makes it even more difficult. [more]

Diagnosis: Joementum: Ned Lamont’s compelling case for growing a spine – Brian Wantz

Ned Lamont’s primary victory over Senator Joe Lieberman last August has been rabidly analyzed by talk show hosts and pundits, most of whom are as clueless as they are annoying. CNN’s Chuck Roberts set the bar during an August 11 broadcast of Hotline, when he asked, “Is Ned Lamont the Al Qaeda candidate?” While I’ve never met Lamont (and I’m confident Roberts hasn’t either), my instinct says the answer to that hilarious question is “no.” [more]

Enemy of the State: How Governor Schwarzenegger is failing California – Miranda Yaver

On November 7, 2006, California voters will have the chance to determine the future direction of our state. We can decide to continue down the path that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken California, or we can set the state back on track toward ensuring promise and opportunity for its citizens. [more]

The Water’s Edge

Tough Love: A reality-based plan for success in Iraq – Scott Lucas

As the saying goes, the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. By that rubric, the Administration’s prosecution of the war in Iraq isn’t just dumb – it’s verifiably crazy. [more]

Ethical Environmentalism: Moral values in the climate change debate – Marshall Geck

The evidence for climate change continues to pile up, scientists have reached nearly universal consensus on the issue, and over 150 countries have recognized the threat and taken action by committing to the Kyoto Protocol. Yet the United States continues to remain idle on the issue, while simultaneously producing more greenhouse gas per capita than any other nation. Thankfully, Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” has made progress toward educating Americans on climate change, and mobilizing them against it. [more]

In Pursuit of Justice: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the limits of executive power – Nathan Schneider

Five years after the United States invaded Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11, the military is still holding captive some 490 “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo Bay. So far, none have been convicted. But in March 2002, the Defense Department announced a process intended to try Guantanamo detainees in special military courts. The controversial details of this proposal have raised serious questions about the separation of powers. In particular: Which wartime powers are inherent in the president’s role as commander-in-chief, and which require specific authorization from Congress? [more]