January 30, 2006 Issue

Cover art by: Cover by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Bachelet’s Big Win

Michelle Bachelet’s election as Chile’s first female president represents many things for her fellow citizens: the certainty of political continuity, the possibility of change and a commitment to the past.
Laila Weir
Monetary Zombies

We’re on our way to being a society of economic zombies, half dead and half alive, buried in debt but prevented by credit card companies from declaring bankruptcy.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Confirmation and Crisis

If the Alito confirmation hearings were a test of Democratic strategy, the Alito vote to come is a test of moderate Republican integrity and mettle.
Bruce Shapiro
Unequipped to Cure

Vaccine production in the United States is in an alarming condition–with drug-makers wedded to outmoded techniques and government more focused on terror than pandemics.
Dr. Marc Siegel
Everyone’s a Reformer

For a long time on Capitol Hill, no one was interested in lobbying reform. Now everybody wants to get in on the act.
Ari Berman
Adrift in Egypt

A brutal raid on an encampment of refugees in Cairo has focused the world’s attention on the netherworld Sudanese occupy in Egypt.
Negar Azimi
Compromised and Corrupted

Samuel Alito and his handlers have crafted a disingenuous campaign that reeks of ethical compromise, bending Senate rules, bending the truth and compromising the confirmation process.
Bruce Shapiro
Right-Wing Revelation

Samuel Alito’s blunt testimony on international law revealed the extremity of his judicial philosophy and carried profound implications for rulings he might make.
Bruce Shapiro
Working-Class Hero

While the edges continue to be smoothed off Martin Luther King Jr.’s bracing challenges to racism, war and free-market exploitation, the holiday is a time to remember a leader who believed civil rights and labor rights are tightly intertwined.
William P. Jones
Green Power

The Green Party fell from power in recent German elections, but Greens continue to be the party to watch, a progressive influence on the world’s third-largest economy.
Mark Hertsgaard
Part D From Outer Space

The Bush Administration’s ill-advised new prescription drug program could destroy Medicare as a benefit for all Americans.
Trudy Lieberman
The Impeachment of George W. Bush

The time has come to call for the impeachment of President Bush. Any President who maintains he is above the law–and acts repeatedly on that belief–seriously endangers our consitutional system of government.
Elizabeth Holtzman

Editorial

In Fact…

Remembering Frank Wilkinson, American hero; full disclosure on Jack Abramoff; Dave Letterman confronts Bill O’Reilly; a new baby for Nation contributing editors Liza Featherstone and Doug Henwood.
The Editors
Palestinian Dilemmas

Will Palestinians be compelled to live by Ariel Sharon’s repressive vision or will they compel Israel to accept genuine self-determination for the Palestinian people?
Mouin Rabbani
Israel After Sharon

Suddenly, the Sharon era is over. And Sharon’s centrist Kadima Party may emerge as the dominant force after the March 28 elections.
Hillel Schenker
Newt’s New Con

No voice rings as hollow as Newt Gingrich’s on the GOP culture of corruption. Incredibly, the media are swallowing his story.
David Sirota
Kickback Mountain

Cleaning up Congress after the Abramoff scandal involves far more than limits on gifts and perks. It requires barring the ‘legalized bribery’ of major campaign contributions.
The Editors
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Column

Meanwhile, Back in Afghanistan

It’s appalingly clear Team Bush is unwilling to do the hard work it takes to make Afghanistan the functioning nation it was before cold war games tore it apart.
Robert Scheer
Girls Against Boys?

Women now outnumber men at colleges and universities, but higher education has not become the fluffy pink playpen of feminism that some conservatives envision.
Katha Pollitt
The FBI and Edward Said

The FBI was probably tapping Edward Said’s phone right up until the day he died. Details are emerging of a surveillance effort that extended for nearly thirty years.
Alexander Cockburn
A Member of Congress Tries to Recall Jack Abramoff

Testing a Congressman’s memory of the former super-lobbyist: Good old what’s-his-name…but me? I hardly knew him.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Michael Haneke’s Caché is a stylish thriller that scrapes away at the surface of polite European affluence to lay bare the moral rot beneath.
Stuart Klawans
In Her Mind’s Eye

Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism is a political classic trapped in the era in which it was written.
Jonathan Rée
Easier Said Than Done

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism explores the middle ground between the universal laws of liberalism and relativism’s blind respect for all differences.
John Gray
Working-Class Hero

While the edges continue to be smoothed off Martin Luther King Jr.’s bracing challenges to racism, war and free-market exploitation, the holiday is a time to remember a leader who believed civil rights and labor rights are tightly intertwined.
William P. Jones
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Letters

Letters

MCCAIN TORTURE BILL A BUST

Washington, DC
Mark Weisbrot , Our Readers and Lila Azam Zanganeh

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January 30, 2006 Issue

Feature

Michelle Bachelet’s election as Chile’s first female president represents many things for her fellow citizens: the certainty of political continuity, the possibility of change and a commitment to the past.

We’re on our way to being a society of economic zombies, half dead and half alive, buried in debt but prevented by credit card companies from declaring bankruptcy.

If the Alito confirmation hearings were a test of Democratic strategy, the Alito vote to come is a test of moderate Republican integrity and mettle.

Vaccine production in the United States is in an alarming condition–with drug-makers wedded to outmoded techniques and government more focused on terror than pandemics.

For a long time on Capitol Hill, no one was interested in lobbying reform. Now everybody wants to get in on the act.

A brutal raid on an encampment of refugees in Cairo has focused the world’s attention on the netherworld Sudanese occupy in Egypt.

Samuel Alito and his handlers have crafted a disingenuous campaign that reeks of ethical compromise, bending Senate rules, bending the truth and compromising the confirmation process.

Samuel Alito’s blunt testimony on international law revealed the extremity of his judicial philosophy and carried profound implications for rulings he might make.

While the edges continue to be smoothed off Martin Luther King Jr.’s bracing challenges to racism, war and free-market exploitation, the holiday is a time to remember a leader who believed civil rights and labor rights are tightly intertwined.

The Green Party fell from power in recent German elections, but Greens continue to be the party to watch, a progressive influence on the world’s third-largest economy.

The Bush Administration’s ill-advised new prescription drug program could destroy Medicare as a benefit for all Americans.

The time has come to call for the impeachment of President Bush. Any President who maintains he is above the law–and acts repeatedly on that belief–seriously endangers our consitutional system of government.

Editorial

Remembering Frank Wilkinson, American hero; full disclosure on Jack Abramoff; Dave Letterman confronts Bill O’Reilly; a new baby for Nation contributing editors Liza Featherstone and Doug Henwood.

Will Palestinians be compelled to live by Ariel Sharon’s repressive vision or will they compel Israel to accept genuine self-determination for the Palestinian people?

Suddenly, the Sharon era is over. And Sharon’s centrist Kadima Party may emerge as the dominant force after the March 28 elections.

No voice rings as hollow as Newt Gingrich’s on the GOP culture of corruption. Incredibly, the media are swallowing his story.

Cleaning up Congress after the Abramoff scandal involves far more than limits on gifts and perks. It requires barring the ‘legalized bribery’ of major campaign contributions.

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

Column

It’s appalingly clear Team Bush is unwilling to do the hard work it takes to make Afghanistan the functioning nation it was before cold war games tore it apart.

Women now outnumber men at colleges and universities, but higher education has not become the fluffy pink playpen of feminism that some conservatives envision.

The FBI was probably tapping Edward Said’s phone right up until the day he died. Details are emerging of a surveillance effort that extended for nearly thirty years.

Testing a Congressman’s memory of the former super-lobbyist: Good old what’s-his-name…but me? I hardly knew him.

Books & the Arts

Michael Haneke’s Caché is a stylish thriller that scrapes away at the surface of polite European affluence to lay bare the moral rot beneath.

Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism is a political classic trapped in the era in which it was written.

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism explores the middle ground between the universal laws of liberalism and relativism’s blind respect for all differences.

While the edges continue to be smoothed off Martin Luther King Jr.’s bracing challenges to racism, war and free-market exploitation, the holiday is a time to remember a leader who believed civil rights and labor rights are tightly intertwined.

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

Letters

MCCAIN TORTURE BILL A BUST Washington, DC

MCCAIN TORTURE BILL A BUST

Washington, DC