November 16, 2009 | The Nation

Washington, D.C.

There are the things the president is doing that he said he would do. These actions can draw plenty of criticism, but not genuine shock. Then there are the things he is not doing which he said he would do.

Why do America's leaders always opt for "more" in counterinsurgency disasters rather than cutting their losses?

Nation writer Shane Bauer and his friends have been detained by Iran for almost 100 days. A fourth member of their party appeals directly to Iran's president for their release.

Another complication in healthcare reform legislation has emerged: so far, it fails to require insurers to cover basic preventive services for women, including contraception.

The NFL is only the highest-profile example of the economic crisis pervading the world of sports.

States sound off for instant runoff voting; activists unite for the International Day of Climate Action; and we remember an American radical who fought the "good fight" against fascism in Spain.

The time to pay down the deficit will come only after the economy recovers.

To reform the financial sector, we must break up "too big to fail" conglomerates and reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act.

Come out of the closet about your drug use; hire a formerly incarcerated person; vote for politicians who are smart on crime.

The most idiotic thing being said about America's involvement in
Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 US troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm's way.

First feminism was dead because it was a "failure"; now it's dead because it was such a success.

Obsessions over sex have little to do with sexual behavior and everything to do with policing.

The Wall Street types consider this unfair--they say they earned their money fair and square.

Thanks to Big Pharma, your child may not get a flu shot as soon as they should.

Phoenix has allegedly broken the law by tying recruiters' pay to enrollment numbers, creating pressure to sign up unqualified students.

The final House health reform bill has a public option all right, but not the robust version progressives were hoping for.

Is the campaign to fight female genital mutilation meeting new resistance not only in traditional societies but among Western anthropologists?

Accepting the International Women's Media Foundation lifetime achievement award, Amira Hass decries the "official language" that allows her fellow Israelis to avoid reality.

On November 3, Mainers will decide whether to keep a law that made Maine the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Polls predict a nail-biting finish.

Roberto Micheletti has agreed to a plan to end the country's political impasse. But the coup government is already looking for loopholes.

It's undeniable that pay czar Kenneth Feinberg has had an impact on compensation at bailed-out firms. But it's equally clear that the casino culture that created this mess remains untouched.

Why Russia and China will sink Washington's Iran policy.

The new progressive Jewish organization J Street has benefited from the blogosphere's interest. But will exposure turn into political mobilization?

The economic meltdown has Latvians reconsidering decades of neoliberal policies.

Yugoslavs were unprepared for the surge of nationalism that followed Tito's communist rule.

A wide-ranging Nation interview with the former Soviet president.

Archie Brown's account of the high politics of communism's collapse is Kremlinology without the guesswork.

When Yugoslavia disintegrated, so too did the film career of Dusan Makavejev.

The story of communism's rise and fall in Eastern Europe is a tale of two revolutions.

ACROSS

 8 Said to be a dangerous thing, but is a small tilt right inside. (1,6,8)