Nation Topics - Person Career | The Nation

This article offers notes related to authors associated with "The Nation." Katha Pollitt will not be writing her "Subject to Debate" column until May 2006 when she finishes her book of essays. Author Victor Navasky has won the 2006 George Polk Award for his book "A Matter of Opinion." Katrina vanden Heuvel has received the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund's 2006 Justice in Action award.

This article reflects on the National Security Agency wiretapping controversy as well as the brutal interrogation policies for prisoners held at the United States Guantánamo military base in Cuba. It argues that despite the President George W. Bush administration's insistence that it is following the Geneva Conventions, Guantánamo has become a torture camp that should be closed down. It also highlights efforts to expand the powers of the Patriot Act by incorporating wiretaps into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or by simply making them legal.

The article reflects on protests in Islamabad, Pakistan over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that were published in several European newspapers. The article suggests that the demonstrations are also a challenge to Pakistani President-General Pervez Musharraf. His main challenger is the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a parliamentary coalition of Pakistan's main Islamist parties. It insists that the large-scale protests were instigated by the Jamaat Islami, the dominant faction of the MMA, which has forged an alliance with its middle-class cadre and alienated youth.

This article reflects on David Horowitz and his book "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America." The article describes Horowitz as a right-wing political reformer who wants to muzzle liberal professors that he believes are dominating faculties and bullying conservative students. The article names several contributors to the magazine who appear as some of the "101 Most Dangerous Academics." The author suggests that Horowitz is a man of questionable accuracy.

This article reflects on the resignation of Harvard University president Larry Summers. It argues that Summers' technocratic neoliberalism does not work in the real world. The article compares Summers to Robert McNamara, who helped execute the Vietnam War and former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, who ran for president in the 1980s. The author suggests that the neoliberal model of "every man (or country) for himself" may be on the decline.

Several letters to the editor in response to "Prochoice Puritans," by Katha Pollitt in the February 13th, 2006 issue and "NSA Spying Myths," by David Cole in the February 20, 2006 issue are presented.

This article focuses on Princeton University professor Robert "Robby" George. George is an outspoken social conservative who is well-liked on campus and teaches an always over-enrolled civil liberties course. But George is also known as less-tolerant, partisan and connected to wealthy organizations known by right-wing Christian activists. He serves on the President's Council on Bioethics and helped write an amendment on behalf of the White House calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2004.

This article discusses the raising and hunting of bobwhite quails and United States Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of his friend and fellow hunter Harry Whittington while hunting the birds. Quality-of-life indicators for the little bird have been on a steady downward tangent ever since the late nineteenth century. Quail habitat in Texas is minimally improving, as ranch managers try to adapt the terrain from the needs of cattle to quail and other hunting targets.

This article looks at Haiti and the victory of presidential candidate René Garcia Préval. During the February 2006 elections, guns went underground, kidnappings stopped and Port-au-Prince streets that had been extremely violent became accessible to voters. Haiti soon dissolved into protest, confusion and angry when it looked like Préval, the leading candidate, would be denied the election. Haiti's people were concerned that his fate would be the same as Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was twice voted in and both times forced out by military coups.

The article looks at the investigation by the United States Congress into the President George W. Bush administration's post-Hurricane Katrina response. The article analyzes Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown's testimony, where he explained the problem in response as a disconnect between FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The author states the real problem is weak leadership from the White House and declares the need of an independent investigation.