The Coming Ballot Meltdown
Andrew Gumbel : Ohio is the bellwether for the nation's electoral health and the prognosis is bad. Error-ridden e-voting, draconian restrictions and widespread incompetence could cause another November breakdown.
Alexander Cockburn diagnoses global capitalism, David Bacon analyzes the Mexican presidential race, Stuart Klawans reviews two new films.
Articles
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Where's the Plan, Democrats?
Ari Berman : Elections are decided by message, money and mobilization. The Democrats' choice of tactics for the latter may determine not only the outcome of the '06 elections but the party's future.
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Mexico's Labor Rebels
David Bacon : On July 2, Mexico will choose a new president. Whoever wins will face an ongoing labor movement challenging the neoliberal policies of the past.
Letters
Editorials & Comment
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American Patriots
: Here's a salute to America's true patriots: librarians on the frontlines of free inquiry, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and peace activists across the nation.
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Press Watch
Chilling the Press
Scott Sherman : Did the New York Times violate the Espionage Act by publishing reports of government secret spying program? A controversial essay in Commentary has provided intellectual ammunition to chill, censor and punish the press.
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Harlan County Blues
Erik Reece : Life remains cheap in the coalfields of Appalachia because of the Bush Administration's incompetence and neglect in the face of human and environmental tragedy.
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Project Corpus Callosum
Sarah Stillman : The winner of the first-ever Nation Student Writing Contest.
Reviews
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book
The American Political Tradition
Andrew J. Bacevich : American foreign policy is shaped by a myth of national righteousness. In two new books, Peter Beinart abuses history to suggest liberals embrace this myth, while Stephen Kinzer uses America's history of involvement in foreign coups to reveal why we cannot.
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book
Shadows
Darryl Pinckney : George Hutchinson's new biography of the mystery woman of the Harlem Renaissance reconsiders both Nella Larsen and a key moment of black cultural history.
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art
All About Eva
Arthur C. Danto : In the late '60's, Eva Hesse's ambitious sculptures challenged the art world. Collected in a new exhibition, her art is even greater today.
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film
Dazed and Confused
Stuart Klawans : A hallucinatory mix of animation and live action creates the Orwellian world of A Scanner Darkly; substance triumphs over style in Excellent Cadavers, a Mafia-busting documentary.
Columns
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BEAT THE DEVIL
Temple of Mammon, Planet of Doom
Alexander Cockburn : As we head into Summer 2006, the world capitalist system is out of control.
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SUBJECT TO DEBATE
Mommy Wars, Round 587
Katha Pollitt : Antifeminists engage in moral discourse while feminists tend to speak in the language of personal choice. But what happens when choice is a bad idea--for yourself, other women or society?
Web
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Moral Compass
A Politics of the Common Good
Katrina vanden Heuvel : A movement is growing that aims to build a politics of decency and sanity, which speaks to the generosity of the American people. It's not going to be easy, but it's time to rock the boat.
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The US Military Descends on Paraguay
Benjamin Dangl : The US "war on terror" now extends to an unlikely frontier in Paraguay, where farmers are caught in the crossfire and human rights groups are skeptical of the threat posed by Islamic terrorists.
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TruthDig
Channeling Nixon
Robert Scheer : If Tricky Dick could tame the grizzled Mao, then certainly Bush could butter up Kim Jong Il with some of that frat boy charm. Who knows, Dearest Leader might even join Bush's shaky "coalition of the willing."
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World Cup: Party On
Simon Kuper : If there is any message to be gleaned from the World Cup, it is that soccer has finally shed its freight of machismo and anguish, attracting a global audience of fans who simply want to have fun.
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Mexico's Fractured Electoral Landscape
John Ross : The disputed presidential election has fractured Mexico's political landscape, pitting leftists against conservatives and the affluent against an indignant Indian and mestizo underclass.
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Howl
Buffet's Billions
Nicholas von Hoffman : What Warren Buffett's gift of billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation lacks in imagination, it makes up for in safety. If only they had the guts to tackle the real problems.
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Watada, the War and the Law
Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : Bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush Administration's excessive exercise of power, Lieut. Ehren Watada's pending court-martial could help restore the rule of law and energize a popular movement to end an illegal war.
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Israel on the Offensive
Marwan Bishara : Israel's attacks on Gaza--and now Lebanon-- to intimidate a civilian population for political ends is the very definition of state terrorism.
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Moral Compass
Standing Against an Unjust War
Joe Parko : A Quaker activist explains why the war in Iraq is not only illegal, but morally indefensible.
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TruthDig
Stop the Waffling
Robert Scheer : Democrats should take a page from the GOP playbook and back candidates willing to stand up for their values, rather than wasting their money, time and votes on those who won't.
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Moral Compass
New Jersey Showdown
Gov. Jon Corzine : As New Jersey government plunges into fiscal and constitutional crisis over a proposed sales tax, lawmakers must stop playing politics with the public good and get serious about producing a realistic budget.
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Disputed Election Raises Tensions in Mexico
John Ross : Memories of a stolen 1988 election cloud the political landscape, as voters await results of the disputed presidential election.
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Shifting Winds on Iraq
Tom Hayden : Peace sentiments are rising among the American public and even in the much-divided Democrats. What does this mean for electoral politics and for the course of a war that seems to have no end in sight?
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For His Eyes Only: Bush's Secret Crimes
Michael Ratner : By blindly accepting Bush's expansion of state secrets claims, the courts are allowing the executive branch to operate above the law, putting the core principles of our democracy at risk.
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A President Rebuked
Bruce Shapiro : The Supreme Court's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision is to Bush what the Pentagon Papers were to Nixon: a devastating rebuke of a President who thought he had a blank check and a clear affirmation of human rights and the rule of law.
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How to Create a Liberal Bestseller
Jennifer Nix : Progressives can take a lesson from the success of "How Would a Patriot Act?" Mobilize the liberal blogosphere and take an obscure book for a ride on the bestseller list.
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A Killing Machine Turns 30
Bruce Shapiro : This summer marks a grim anniversary of a Supreme Court decision to affirm the death penalty and create a bureaucratic killing machine that puts American justice at odds with the Constitution's underlying values.
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Emerging Writers
We Don't Believe in Politics
Camila Domonoske : If teenagers can't figure out how to participate meaningfully in politics, they will have lost their voice, impact and power.
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Emerging Writers
Atrophy of the Well
LiAnn Yim : Few of us can now imagine a world without freshwater, but look to the future, when the scarcity of this most basic commodity will profoundly change our lives.
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Emerging Writers
Wake-up Call
Brie Cubelic : By adopting the principles of natural capitalism, America can regain its sanity and reverse the reckless use, overuse, waste and destruction of our natural resources.
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Emerging Writers
A Generation of Peace
Zaid Jilani : "I dream of the day that our children will turn the pages of history books and look to my generation, who said no to the horrors of war and chose nonviolence over nonexistence."
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Emerging Writers
America's Most Trusted Source of News: Ourselves
Nikolas Bowie : Rather than let pundits guide our public policy debates, citizens must seize the initiative and join the conversation.
Cover by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels
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