Nicole Hollander is a National Treasure: Thirty Years of Sylvia Nicole Hollander is a National Treasure: Thirty Years of Sylvia
It was a sad day last year when the Chicago Tribune ignored the pleas and protests of Nicole Hollander fans and cancelled her Sylvia cartoon strip. I guess it got to be too much for the Trib to run a regular feature in which women’s humor was based on something cleverer than Does this Make Me Look Fat? and Will I Every Get Married? Sylvia, who looks like a cross between a tough-talking telephone operator from a 1940s screwball comedy and a gypsy fortuneteller, is shrewd and cynical and drily, wittily, outrageously attitudinous; she writes in the bathtub, explains Rush Limbaugh to her extraterrestrial friend, talks back to her TV (and her cat talks back to her. Even her cat is smarter than the other cartoon cats out there.) The New Press has just brought out The Sylvia Chronicles: 30 Years of Graphic misbehavior from Reagan to Obama. I can’t figure out how to put up pictures here, so take a look at Audrey Bilger”s illustrated review from the Ms. Magazine blog. Buy, read, laugh! And while you're buying Sylvia for yourself, can you help make sure some middle schoolers in Louisiana can enjoy reading too? Read on... St. Bernard Parish, three miles from downtown New Orleans, was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. All its buildings were damaged, and all its schools were destroyed. Amazingly, little by little, the district is coming back, and on August 11, the last of its public schools, Andrew Jackson Middle School, will reopen with 350 students. Just in time for the BP oil disaster, you may be thinking. Yes. This is indeed a community that has been hit by catastrophe. And that’s where you come in. ReadThis is a volunteer organization of people who love books and want to spread the joy of reading. (Truth in advertising: I’m on the board.) We collect new and gently used books for public schools and other underbooked places; we’ve sent books to a pediatric AIDS center, a homeless shelter and to troops in Iraq. This summer, we’ve taken on a big task: gathering 1400 books for the Andrew Jackson Middle School’s library, which was ruined along with everything else. Imagine a school library with no books and no money to buy books! Can you chip in by buying a book or two from the excellent and varied wishlist prepared by the school librarian? It has lots of terrific choices, from Harry Potter to Walter Dean Myers. As a bonus good deed, you’ll be helping the Garden District Book Shop, an independent book store. Find out more about ReadThis here. If you’d like to get involved—collecting books and mailing them to the school, helping out at our table at the Brooklyn Flea on July 24 , or, if by some miracle you happen to be a publisher, donating a box or two shiny new age-appropriate books -- email us at [email protected]. For latest updates, join us on Facebook.
Jul 10, 2010 / Katha Pollitt
Obama and DOMA: Will the President Do the Right Thing? Obama and DOMA: Will the President Do the Right Thing?
A court ruling rejects the Defense of Marriage Act as an affront to the Constitution. Now the question is whether the president and his justice department will defend a bad law.
Jul 9, 2010 / John Nichols
What Is Patriotism? Nation Readers Respond What Is Patriotism? Nation Readers Respond
For this year's Fourth of July, we asked Nation readers what "patriotism" means to them and how progressives can express love for one's country while forthrightly combati...
Jul 9, 2010 / The Nation
The Breakdown: Do Presidential Speeches Matter? The Breakdown: Do Presidential Speeches Matter?
Ever since his breakthrough keynote at the 2004 DNC, Barack Obama has been defined by his oratory skills. But has his rhetoric really advanced his policy goals? On this week's edit...
Jul 9, 2010 / Chris Hayes
Leslie Gelb Says Obama Kneels to Netanyahu, Should Fire His Middle East Team Leslie Gelb Says Obama Kneels to Netanyahu, Should Fire His Middle East Team
The CFR's president emeritus expresses disgust with Obama's Middle East policy.
Jul 9, 2010 / Bob Dreyfuss
Slacker Friday Slacker Friday
A recap of the week in politics and media, with Palin, Weigel and beetles.
Jul 9, 2010 / Eric Alterman
Helping in Kyrgyzstan Helping in Kyrgyzstan
Aid organizations are working furiously to respond to the desperate need for tents, food and other critical supplies in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Here's how you can help.
Jul 9, 2010 / Aaron Ross
Courting King Lebron James Courting King Lebron James
LeBron James's relocation to Miami is bad for everyone besides ESPN, Dave Zirin tells Chris Hayes on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Jul 9, 2010 / Press Room
Berlusconi’s Cronies Berlusconi’s Cronies
Corruption scandals, a threatened gag order on journalists and investigators, and persistent allegations of Mafia ties—not to mention the long recession—have weakened I...
Jul 9, 2010 / Frederika Randall
The Courtship of King James The Courtship of King James
LeBron James's relocation to Miami is bad for everyone besides ESPN, Dave Zirin tells Chris Hayes on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Jul 9, 2010 / The Rachel Maddow Show