February 15, 2010 Issue

Cover art by: Cover image courtesy of Public Campaign & Common Cause, design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Ten Things to Oppose the Anti-Gay Legislation in Uganda

Although homosexuality is criminalized in 80 countries, the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 is the most egregious attempt to sanction homophobia and threaten the human rights of all its citizens. Here are ten ways to oppose this legislation and stand up for human rights wherever you are.
The Nation
The Second Sex at the Super Bowl

The Tim Tebow commercial is no departure at all for viewers of the big game.
Jaclyn Friedman
Movie Favorites from the Secretary of Defense

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates chooses a movie–and it happens to be about a military coup in the US.
Tom Engelhardt
Honor Killing by Any Other Name

To consider honor killing within Muslim communities a crime unto itself overlooks the patriarchal roots of much of the intimate partner violence perpetrated in the Western world.
Anna Momigliano
General Petraeus, PhD, at the University

Gen. David Petraeus pays a visit to Georgetown, where he takes questions but doesn’t always answer them.
Norman Birnbaum
Remembering Howard Zinn

Friends of The Nation and of Howard Zinn offer recollections of the man, his work, and his impact on thinkers and activists.
Various Contributors
‘New Haiti,’ Same Corporate Interests

Foreign ministers in the “Friends of Haiti” want to “build a new Haiti.” But what will their neoliberal agenda mean for ordinary Haitians?
Isabel Macdonald
Surveillance Can’t Make Us Secure

The goal of government surveillance is to create a deliberate backdoor into secure systems. The appeal to a hacker is obvious.
Julian Sanchez
Tiller’s Killer Puts Abortion on Trial

Judge Warren Wilbert has ruled that Scott Roeder, confessed killer of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, couldn’t be considered for lesser crimes than first-degree murder. Today he was convicted.
Sharon Lerner
Understanding Massachusetts

The Bay State election results are a chapter in a story that predates Obama’s presidency.
Jonathan Schell
The Case for ‘Gray Power’

The waste energy from manufacturing plants can be recycled to create clean, green power.
Lisa Margonelli
America’s Secret Afghan Prisons

Villagers and human rights officials accuse the United States military of torturing suspects in hidden detention centers.
Anand Gopal

Editorial

Transparency Can Curb Corporate Impact on Elections

In the face of a Supreme Court decision that eliminates crucial checks on corporate political spending nationwide, we must demand greater accountability and transparency around how corporations spend money in elections across the country.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio
Death and Cover-Up at Guantánamo

Staying the hand of justice on torture has gained the Obama administration nothing from Republicans. It’s time to investigate deaths at Guantánamo.
The Editors
Political Fever

Since recent shock waves of populism, Obama has made some bigger promises.
William Greider
Noted.

Robert Gates admits that Blackwater is in Pakistan; Air America signs off.
The Editors
A Cold Day in Washington

A freeze on discretionary spending may poll well, but it endorses ignorance of how the federal government spends its money.
Chris Hayes
Democracy Inc.

The Citizens United campaign finance decision makes it possible for the nation’s most powerful economic interests to manipulate not just individual electoral contests but political discourse itself.
The Editors
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Column

Volcker Rules

Obama’s endorsement of what he calls the ‘Volcker Rule’ for once puts him squarely on the side of ordinary Americans as opposed to the banking bandits who have so thoroughly fleeced the public.
Robert Scheer
All-White Basketball League: Bringing Segregation Back

If not for the incessant backlash against NBA players, the all-white All-American Basketball Alliance would never have gotten off the ground.
Dave Zirin and David J. Leonard
Corpus Ex Machina

Citizens United raises the questions: why is speech the functional equivalent of money, and why are corporations considered persons?
Patricia J. Williams
The Games Journalists Play

Books like Game Change are more instructive for what they reveal about the community that prizes them than for the information they contain.
Eric Alterman
Vote of Confidence, Sort of

Somewhere between cranky and skanky… Sentiments about Ben Bernanke.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Remembering Howard Zinn

Friends of The Nation and of Howard Zinn offer recollections of the man, his work, and his impact on thinkers and activists.
Various Contributors
Under Siege: On Emma Williams

A poignant memoir about life in the occupied territories during the second intifada.
Charles Glass
Shelf Life

Joseph Stiglitz’s Freefall, Mark Weiss’s The Whole Island and Robert Darnton’s The Case for Books.
John Palattella
Ghostly Demarcations: On Ramon Fernandez

The novelist Dominique Fernandez struggles to understand his father’s years as a Nazi collaborator.
Alice Kaplan
Telling It Slant: On J.M. Coetzee

J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime and the fictions of self-deception.
Joanna Scott
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

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Letters

Letters

‘Untitled’
Takoma Park, Md.
Eric Alterman and Our Readers

Crossword

Puzzle No. 1997

ACROSS

1 Was nothing changed where Reagan operated? (10)
Frank W. Lewis

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February 15, 2010 Issue

Feature

Although homosexuality is criminalized in 80 countries, the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 is the most egregious attempt to sanction homophobia and threaten the human rights of all its citizens. Here are ten ways to oppose this legislation and stand up for human rights wherever you are.

The Tim Tebow commercial is no departure at all for viewers of the big game.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates chooses a movie–and it happens to be about a military coup in the US.

To consider honor killing within Muslim communities a crime unto itself overlooks the patriarchal roots of much of the intimate partner violence perpetrated in the Western world.

Gen. David Petraeus pays a visit to Georgetown, where he takes questions but doesn’t always answer them.

Friends of The Nation and of Howard Zinn offer recollections of the man, his work, and his impact on thinkers and activists.

Foreign ministers in the “Friends of Haiti” want to “build a new Haiti.” But what will their neoliberal agenda mean for ordinary Haitians?

The goal of government surveillance is to create a deliberate backdoor into secure systems. The appeal to a hacker is obvious.

Judge Warren Wilbert has ruled that Scott Roeder, confessed killer of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, couldn’t be considered for lesser crimes than first-degree murder. Today he was convicted.

The Bay State election results are a chapter in a story that predates Obama’s presidency.

The waste energy from manufacturing plants can be recycled to create clean, green power.

Villagers and human rights officials accuse the United States military of torturing suspects in hidden detention centers.

Editorial

In the face of a Supreme Court decision that eliminates crucial checks on corporate political spending nationwide, we must demand greater accountability and transparency around how corporations spend money in elections across the country.

Staying the hand of justice on torture has gained the Obama administration nothing from Republicans. It’s time to investigate deaths at Guantánamo.

Since recent shock waves of populism, Obama has made some bigger promises.

Robert Gates admits that Blackwater is in Pakistan; Air America signs off.

A freeze on discretionary spending may poll well, but it endorses ignorance of how the federal government spends its money.

The Citizens United campaign finance decision makes it possible for the nation’s most powerful economic interests to manipulate not just individual electoral contests but political discourse itself.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

Obama’s endorsement of what he calls the ‘Volcker Rule’ for once puts him squarely on the side of ordinary Americans as opposed to the banking bandits who have so thoroughly fleeced the public.

If not for the incessant backlash against NBA players, the all-white All-American Basketball Alliance would never have gotten off the ground.

Citizens United raises the questions: why is speech the functional equivalent of money, and why are corporations considered persons?

Books like Game Change are more instructive for what they reveal about the community that prizes them than for the information they contain.

Somewhere between cranky and skanky… Sentiments about Ben Bernanke.

Books & the Arts

Friends of The Nation and of Howard Zinn offer recollections of the man, his work, and his impact on thinkers and activists.

A poignant memoir about life in the occupied territories during the second intifada.

Joseph Stiglitz’s Freefall, Mark Weiss’s The Whole Island and Robert Darnton’s The Case for Books.

The novelist Dominique Fernandez struggles to understand his father’s years as a Nazi collaborator.

J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime and the fictions of self-deception.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

‘Untitled’ Takoma Park, Md.

Crossword

ACROSS 1 Was nothing changed where Reagan operated? (10)

‘Untitled’
Takoma Park, Md.

ACROSS

1 Was nothing changed where Reagan operated? (10)