‘Poem about My Rights’: Todd Akin, Meet June Jordan ‘Poem about My Rights’: Todd Akin, Meet June Jordan
Todd Akin, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan all have me thinking of June Jordan’s great “Poem about My Rights.”
Aug 22, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Laura Flanders
Florida’s Menacing Moves to Restrict Voting Florida’s Menacing Moves to Restrict Voting
Changes to Florida’s voting rules target people of color, and not those who have done anything wrong. Our newest community journalists reports what’s happening on the g...
Aug 22, 2012 / Voting Rights Watch
Last Chance for Peace in Syria? Last Chance for Peace in Syria?
The new UN envoy has a near impossible task. But Washington must support it—arming the rebels will only prolong the civil war.
Aug 22, 2012 / The Editors
Under Siege in Syria Under Siege in Syria
As the revolt against the Assad regime becomes more militarized, fighting in the town of Zabadani has given way to daily, indiscriminate shelling.
Aug 22, 2012 / Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Paul Ryan, Class Warrior for the Rich Paul Ryan, Class Warrior for the Rich
The jobs are gone in his hometown, but he’s sitting pretty in his mansion on the hill, a perfect metaphor for what a Romney-Ryan America would be like.
Aug 22, 2012 / John Nichols
The GOP’s Will to Fantasy The GOP’s Will to Fantasy
Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as running mate is another development in a long-term party trend: the triumph of ideology over reality.
Aug 22, 2012 / Jonathan Schell
How the Gun Industry Got Rich Stoking Fear About Obama How the Gun Industry Got Rich Stoking Fear About Obama
The NRA’s dire warnings that the president is a threat to the Second Amendment are bogus—but profitable.
Aug 22, 2012 / Feature / Jarrett Murphy
Locked Up Without a Key in New Orleans Locked Up Without a Key in New Orleans
Seven years after Katrina, poor people accused of crimes are being denied their right to counsel and left to languish behind bars.
Aug 22, 2012 / Feature / Karen Houppert
The Brawl Over Fair Trade Coffee The Brawl Over Fair Trade Coffee
Corporate sponsorship is undermining a wide network of democratic, farmer-owned co-ops.
Aug 22, 2012 / Feature / Scott Sherman
Ayn Rand Ayn Rand
(Sung to the tune of “Blue Moon”) Paul Ryan has said that the writings of Ayn Rand were what inspired him to go into public life. —News reports Ayn Rand Because of you I’m now free. Because of what you have taught, I know it’s all about me. Ayn Rand You taught we should be ambitious, And strive to be avaricious, Since money’s truly delicious. And we shouldn’t share a nickel of this money With citizens who can’t prevail. The government is not the Easter Bunny. The poor are weaklings who deserved to fail. Ayn Rand Before you I was immobile But then you taught me to know That being selfish is noble.
Aug 22, 2012 / Column / Calvin Trillin