July 17, 2006 Issue

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July 17, 2006 Issue

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

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Features

The US Military Descends on Paraguay

The US "war on terror" now extends to an unlikely frontier in Paraguay, where farmers are caught in the crossfire and human rights groups are skeptical of the threat posed by Islamic terrorists.

Benjamin Dangl
World Cup: Party On

If there is any message to be gleaned from the World Cup, it is that soccer has finally shed its freight of machismo and anguish, attracting a global audience of fans who simply want to have fun.

Simon Kuper
Mexico’s Fractured Electoral Landscape

The disputed presidential election has fractured Mexico's political landscape, pitting leftists against conservatives and the affluent against an indignant Indian and mestizo underclass.

John Ross
Watada, the War and the Law

Bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush Administration's excessive exercise of power, Lieut. Ehren Watada's pending court-martial could help restore the rule of law and energize a popular movement to end an illegal war.

Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith
Israel on the Offensive

Israel's attacks on Gaza--and now Lebanon-- to intimidate a civilian population for political ends is the very definition of state terrorism.

Marwan Bishara
Standing Against an Unjust War

A Quaker activist explains why the war in Iraq is not only illegal, but morally indefensible.

Joe Parko
New Jersey Showdown

As New Jersey government plunges into fiscal and constitutional crisis over a proposed sales tax, lawmakers must stop playing politics with the public good and get serious about producing a realistic budget.

Gov. Jon Corzine
Disputed Election Raises Tensions in Mexico

Memories of a stolen 1988 election cloud the political landscape, as voters await results of the disputed presidential election.

John Ross
Shifting Winds on Iraq

Peace sentiments are rising among the American public and even in the much-divided Democrats. What does this mean for electoral politics and for the course of a war that seems to have no end in sight?

Tom Hayden
For His Eyes Only: Bush’s Secret Crimes

By blindly accepting Bush's expansion of state secrets claims, the courts are allowing the executive branch to operate above the law, putting the core principles of our democracy at risk.

Michael Ratner
How to Create a Liberal Bestseller

Progressives can take a lesson from the success of "How Would a Patriot Act?" Mobilize the liberal blogosphere and take an obscure book for a ride on the bestseller list.

Jennifer Nix
A Killing Machine Turns 30

This summer marks a grim anniversary of a Supreme Court decision to affirm the death penalty and create a bureaucratic killing machine that puts American justice at odds with the Constitution's underlying values.

Bruce Shapiro
Mexico’s Labor Rebels

On July 2, Mexico will choose a new president. Whoever wins will face an ongoing labor movement challenging the neoliberal policies of the past.

David Bacon
Where’s the Plan, Democrats?

Elections are decided by message, money and mobilization. The Democrats' choice of tactics for the latter may determine not only the outcome of the '06 elections but the party's future.

Ari Berman
The Coming Ballot Meltdown

Ohio is the bellwether for the nation's electoral health and the prognosis is bad. Error-ridden e-voting, draconian restrictions and widespread incompetence could cause another November breakdown.

Andrew Gumbel

Editorials

A Politics of the Common Good

A movement is growing that aims to build a politics of decency and sanity, which speaks to the generosity of the American people. It's not going to be easy, but it's time to rock the boat.

Katrina vanden Heuvel
American Patriots

Here's a salute to America's true patriots: librarians on the frontlines of free inquiry, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and peace activists across the nation.

the Editors
A President Rebuked

The Supreme Court's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision is to Bush what the Pentagon Papers were to Nixon: a devastating rebuke of a President who thought he had a blank check and a clear affirmation of human rights and the rule of law.

Bruce Shapiro
Project Corpus Callosum

The winner of the first-ever Nation Student Writing Contest.

Sarah Stillman
Barbara Epstein

In 1963 a handful of distinguished literary intellectuals launched The New York Review of Books as an antidote to the lackluster prose and middlebrow sensibility of the New York Times

the Editors

Harlan County Blues

Life remains cheap in the coalfields of Appalachia because of the Bush Administration's incompetence and neglect in the face of human and environmental tragedy.

Erik Reece

Chilling the Press

Did the New York Times violate the Espionage Act by publishing reports of government secret spying program? A controversial essay in Commentary has provided intellectual ammunition to chill, censor and punish the press.

Scott Sherman

We Don’t Believe in Politics

If teenagers can't figure out how to participate meaningfully in politics, they will have lost their voice, impact and power.

Camila Domonoske

Atrophy of the Well

Few of us can now imagine a world without freshwater, but look to the future, when the scarcity of this most basic commodity will profoundly change our lives.

LiAnn Yim

Wake-up Call

By adopting the principles of natural capitalism, America can regain its sanity and reverse the reckless use, overuse, waste and destruction of our natural resources.

Brie Cubelic

A Generation of Peace

"I dream of the day that our children will turn the pages of history books and look to my generation, who said no to the horrors of war and chose nonviolence over nonexistence."

Zaid Jilani

America’s Most Trusted Source of News: Ourselves

Rather than let pundits guide our public policy debates, citizens must seize the initiative and join the conversation.

Nikolas Bowie

Donate now to support The Nation's fearless, independent journalism.

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Columns

Channeling Nixon

If Tricky Dick could tame the grizzled Mao, then certainly Bush could butter up Kim Jong Il with some of that frat boy charm. Who knows, Dearest Leader might even join Bush's shaky "coalition of the willing."

Robert Scheer

Buffet’s Billions

What Warren Buffett's gift of billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation lacks in imagination, it makes up for in safety. If only they had the guts to tackle the real problems.

Nicholas von Hoffman

Stop the Waffling

Democrats should take a page from the GOP playbook and back candidates willing to stand up for their values, rather than wasting their money, time and votes on those who won't.

Robert Scheer

Mommy Wars, Round 587

Antifeminists engage in moral discourse while feminists tend to speak in the language of personal choice. But what happens when choice is a bad idea--for yourself, other women or society?

Katha Pollitt

Temple of Mammon, Planet of Doom

As we head into Summer 2006, the world capitalist system is out of control.

Alexander Cockburn

Historical Note

For once, the President tells the truth.

Calvin Trillin

Books and the Arts

A Politics of the Common Good

A movement is growing that aims to build a politics of decency and sanity, which speaks to the generosity of the American people. It's not going to be easy, but it's time to rock the boat.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

The American Political Tradition

American foreign policy is shaped by a myth of national righteousness. In two new books, Peter Beinart abuses history to suggest liberals embrace this myth, while Stephen Kinzer uses America's history of involvement in foreign coups to reveal why we cannot.

Andrew J. Bacevich

American Patriots

Here's a salute to America's true patriots: librarians on the frontlines of free inquiry, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and peace activists across the nation.

the Editors

How to Create a Liberal Bestseller

Progressives can take a lesson from the success of "How Would a Patriot Act?" Mobilize the liberal blogosphere and take an obscure book for a ride on the bestseller list.

Jennifer Nix

Dazed and Confused

A hallucinatory mix of animation and live action creates the Orwellian world of A Scanner Darkly; substance triumphs over style in Excellent Cadavers, a Mafia-busting documentary.

Stuart Klawans

All About Eva

In the late '60's, Eva Hesse's ambitious sculptures challenged the art world. Collected in a new exhibition, her art is even greater today.

Arthur C. Danto

Shadows

George Hutchinson's new biography of the mystery woman of the Harlem Renaissance reconsiders both Nella Larsen and a key moment of black cultural history.

Darryl Pinckney

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Letters

Letters

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July 17, 2006 Issue

Features

The US "war on terror" now extends to an unlikely frontier in Paraguay, where farmers are caught in the crossfire and human rights groups are skeptical of the threat posed by Islamic terrorists.

If there is any message to be gleaned from the World Cup, it is that soccer has finally shed its freight of machismo and anguish, attracting a global audience of fans who simply want to have fun.

The disputed presidential election has fractured Mexico's political landscape, pitting leftists against conservatives and the affluent against an indignant Indian and mestizo underclass.

Bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush Administration's excessive exercise of power, Lieut. Ehren Watada's pending court-martial could help restore the rule of law and energize a popular movement to end an illegal war.

Israel's attacks on Gaza--and now Lebanon-- to intimidate a civilian population for political ends is the very definition of state terrorism.

A Quaker activist explains why the war in Iraq is not only illegal, but morally indefensible.

As New Jersey government plunges into fiscal and constitutional crisis over a proposed sales tax, lawmakers must stop playing politics with the public good and get serious about producing a realistic budget.

Memories of a stolen 1988 election cloud the political landscape, as voters await results of the disputed presidential election.

Peace sentiments are rising among the American public and even in the much-divided Democrats. What does this mean for electoral politics and for the course of a war that seems to have no end in sight?

By blindly accepting Bush's expansion of state secrets claims, the courts are allowing the executive branch to operate above the law, putting the core principles of our democracy at risk.

Progressives can take a lesson from the success of "How Would a Patriot Act?" Mobilize the liberal blogosphere and take an obscure book for a ride on the bestseller list.

This summer marks a grim anniversary of a Supreme Court decision to affirm the death penalty and create a bureaucratic killing machine that puts American justice at odds with the Constitution's underlying values.

On July 2, Mexico will choose a new president. Whoever wins will face an ongoing labor movement challenging the neoliberal policies of the past.

Elections are decided by message, money and mobilization. The Democrats' choice of tactics for the latter may determine not only the outcome of the '06 elections but the party's future.

Ohio is the bellwether for the nation's electoral health and the prognosis is bad. Error-ridden e-voting, draconian restrictions and widespread incompetence could cause another November breakdown.

Editorials

A movement is growing that aims to build a politics of decency and sanity, which speaks to the generosity of the American people. It's not going to be easy, but it's time to rock the boat.

Here's a salute to America's true patriots: librarians on the frontlines of free inquiry, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and peace activists across the nation.

The Supreme Court's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision is to Bush what the Pentagon Papers were to Nixon: a devastating rebuke of a President who thought he had a blank check and a clear affirmation of human rights and the rule of law.

The winner of the first-ever Nation Student Writing Contest.

In 1963 a handful of distinguished literary intellectuals launched The New York Review of Books as an antidote to the lackluster prose and middlebrow sensibility of the New York Times

Life remains cheap in the coalfields of Appalachia because of the Bush Administration's incompetence and neglect in the face of human and environmental tragedy.

Did the New York Times violate the Espionage Act by publishing reports of government secret spying program? A controversial essay in Commentary has provided intellectual ammunition to chill, censor and punish the press.

If teenagers can't figure out how to participate meaningfully in politics, they will have lost their voice, impact and power.

Few of us can now imagine a world without freshwater, but look to the future, when the scarcity of this most basic commodity will profoundly change our lives.

By adopting the principles of natural capitalism, America can regain its sanity and reverse the reckless use, overuse, waste and destruction of our natural resources.

"I dream of the day that our children will turn the pages of history books and look to my generation, who said no to the horrors of war and chose nonviolence over nonexistence."

Rather than let pundits guide our public policy debates, citizens must seize the initiative and join the conversation.

Donate now to support The Nation's fearless, independent journalism.

Columns

If Tricky Dick could tame the grizzled Mao, then certainly Bush could butter up Kim Jong Il with some of that frat boy charm. Who knows, Dearest Leader might even join Bush's shaky "coalition of the willing."

What Warren Buffett's gift of billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation lacks in imagination, it makes up for in safety. If only they had the guts to tackle the real problems.

Democrats should take a page from the GOP playbook and back candidates willing to stand up for their values, rather than wasting their money, time and votes on those who won't.

Antifeminists engage in moral discourse while feminists tend to speak in the language of personal choice. But what happens when choice is a bad idea--for yourself, other women or society?

As we head into Summer 2006, the world capitalist system is out of control.

For once, the President tells the truth.

Books and the Arts

A movement is growing that aims to build a politics of decency and sanity, which speaks to the generosity of the American people. It's not going to be easy, but it's time to rock the boat.

American foreign policy is shaped by a myth of national righteousness. In two new books, Peter Beinart abuses history to suggest liberals embrace this myth, while Stephen Kinzer uses America's history of involvement in foreign coups to reveal why we cannot.

Here's a salute to America's true patriots: librarians on the frontlines of free inquiry, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and peace activists across the nation.

Progressives can take a lesson from the success of "How Would a Patriot Act?" Mobilize the liberal blogosphere and take an obscure book for a ride on the bestseller list.

A hallucinatory mix of animation and live action creates the Orwellian world of A Scanner Darkly; substance triumphs over style in Excellent Cadavers, a Mafia-busting documentary.

In the late '60's, Eva Hesse's ambitious sculptures challenged the art world. Collected in a new exhibition, her art is even greater today.

George Hutchinson's new biography of the mystery woman of the Harlem Renaissance reconsiders both Nella Larsen and a key moment of black cultural history.

Donate now to support The Nation's fearless, independent journalism.

Letters

MORE DIEBOLD VOTE FIXERS Los Angeles

MORE DIEBOLD VOTE FIXERS

Los Angeles