June 12, 2006 Issue

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

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Feature

Galbraith Remembered

At a memorial service for John Kenneth Galbraith at Harvard University’s Memorial Church, economist and biographer Richard Parker eulogized an extraordinary man.
Richard Parker
Road to Perdition

A nearly forgotten criminal conspiracy by GM, Firestone and Chevron shut down the nation’s municipal railways, replacing them with gas-guzzling bus lines, paving the way for global warming and for our energy crisis.
Morton Mintz
Leap into the Fray

The new generation of academics and scholars is challenged to join, elevate and improve the national conversation, and persuade the public to come back to politics.
Victor Navasky
The Political Power of Words

The X factor in the midterm elections may well be the English language–specifically, the biased terminology that seeps unchallenged into mainstream media political coverage.
Dean Powers
Ricky Williams Dreams of Canada

Former Heisman trophy winner and ganja-smoking peacenik Ricky Williams is contemplating the sweet life in the Canadian Football League. Here’s hoping he finds it.
Dave Zirin
Sorel’s People

In Literary Lives, caricaturist Edward Sorel tells all and then some about giants like Yeats, Proust, Hellman and Jung within the humble frame of a comic strip.
Richard Lingeman
MySpace, MyPolitics

The massive immigrant rights protests drew participants via technology-driven organizing, from text messaging to social networks like MySpace. Is this the shape of political campaigns to come?
Ari Melber
Big Brother Bugs Portland

Why does the FBI find it necessary to spy on Portand’s City Council?
Simon Maxwell Apter
Colombia’s Deep Divide

Colombia’s subtly demagogic President Uribe gained the advantage in the upcoming election by leveraging the strength of anti-left paramilitaries, drug trafficking and a culture of violence.
Christian Parenti
Cindy Sheehan: Mother of a Movement?

Cindy Sheehan is more a symbol of the peace movement than its leader, a unifying force who seeks to bridge divisions among those who seek an end to war.
Karen Houppert
Teamsters: Changing to Win?

A strong Teamsters union is a powerful weapon in the fight for all working people. But the Teamsters need to rebuild their own house before they can rebuild labor’s.
William Johnson

Editorial

Drug War Flunks Out

Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the ACLU are challenging a draconian Education Department rule that blocks student drug offenders from receiving federal aid.
Hasdai Westbrook
Why Mine Deaths Are Up

The May 20 mine disaster presents more evidence that the Bush Administration places miners in peril with budget cuts, regulatory rollbacks and industry-friendly appointees.
Peter Dreier
Gore Warms Up

Al Gore is trying to save the world by stirring a nation in denial over global warming to meaningful action. The pity is that this is a job for a former politician, not a current one.
David Corn
Status Quo Gitmo

Progressives have sparked courtroom litigation and social protest to focus public attention on Guantánamo. Now the Bush Administration should shut it down.
The Editors
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Column

Kenny Boy’s Connections

Despite the President’s denials, connections between Enron’s corporate criminals and the Bush family inner circle are are deeply embedded in the policies of two Administrations.
Robert Scheer
Mexico’s Exodus: Blip on the Radar?

Declining birthrates in Mexico give the lie to American fears of an influx of immigrants. As birthrates plummet around the world, America’s real problem may be a shortage, not a surfeit, of guest workers.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Time Is on Their Side

Time magazine’s new managing editor has inherited an editorial model that’s under siege and a pundit lineup that tilts squarely to the right.
Eric Alterman
Felonious Intent

The prosecution of an 8-year-old in New York for wrongful homicide in a school bus accident invokes the “wild child” hysteria of the Central Park jogger case.
Patricia J. Williams
On John McCain’s Willingness to Speak at Jerry Falwell’s University

What it takes to make him change his mind.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Road to Perdition

A nearly forgotten criminal conspiracy by GM, Firestone and Chevron shut down the nation’s municipal railways, replacing them with gas-guzzling bus lines, paving the way for global warming and for our energy crisis.
Morton Mintz
Sorel’s People

In Literary Lives, caricaturist Edward Sorel tells all and then some about giants like Yeats, Proust, Hellman and Jung within the humble frame of a comic strip.
Richard Lingeman
Keeping It Real

In Songs of Experience, Martin Jay examines modern debates over the relationship between theory and the lived world.
Jackson Lears
Anatomy of a Murder

Cynthia Carr’s Our Town seeks to uncover hidden truths about a 1930 lynching in small-town Indiana. But Carr fails to break the code of silence that many of the town’s inhabitants, including her grandparents, took to the grave.
David Bradley
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Letters

Letters

April brought downpours of mail on two subjects: “Can the Left Get Right With God?” (April 24), articles on religion by Dan Wakefield, Fr
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June 12, 2006 Issue

Feature

At a memorial service for John Kenneth Galbraith at Harvard University’s Memorial Church, economist and biographer Richard Parker eulogized an extraordinary man.

A nearly forgotten criminal conspiracy by GM, Firestone and Chevron shut down the nation’s municipal railways, replacing them with gas-guzzling bus lines, paving the way for global warming and for our energy crisis.

The new generation of academics and scholars is challenged to join, elevate and improve the national conversation, and persuade the public to come back to politics.

The X factor in the midterm elections may well be the English language–specifically, the biased terminology that seeps unchallenged into mainstream media political coverage.

Former Heisman trophy winner and ganja-smoking peacenik Ricky Williams is contemplating the sweet life in the Canadian Football League. Here’s hoping he finds it.

In Literary Lives, caricaturist Edward Sorel tells all and then some about giants like Yeats, Proust, Hellman and Jung within the humble frame of a comic strip.

The massive immigrant rights protests drew participants via technology-driven organizing, from text messaging to social networks like MySpace. Is this the shape of political campaigns to come?

Why does the FBI find it necessary to spy on Portand’s City Council?

Colombia’s subtly demagogic President Uribe gained the advantage in the upcoming election by leveraging the strength of anti-left paramilitaries, drug trafficking and a culture of violence.

Cindy Sheehan is more a symbol of the peace movement than its leader, a unifying force who seeks to bridge divisions among those who seek an end to war.

A strong Teamsters union is a powerful weapon in the fight for all working people. But the Teamsters need to rebuild their own house before they can rebuild labor’s.

Editorial

Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the ACLU are challenging a draconian Education Department rule that blocks student drug offenders from receiving federal aid.

The May 20 mine disaster presents more evidence that the Bush Administration places miners in peril with budget cuts, regulatory rollbacks and industry-friendly appointees.

Al Gore is trying to save the world by stirring a nation in denial over global warming to meaningful action. The pity is that this is a job for a former politician, not a current one.

Progressives have sparked courtroom litigation and social protest to focus public attention on Guantánamo. Now the Bush Administration should shut it down.

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

Column

Despite the President’s denials, connections between Enron’s corporate criminals and the Bush family inner circle are are deeply embedded in the policies of two Administrations.

Declining birthrates in Mexico give the lie to American fears of an influx of immigrants. As birthrates plummet around the world, America’s real problem may be a shortage, not a surfeit, of guest workers.

Time magazine’s new managing editor has inherited an editorial model that’s under siege and a pundit lineup that tilts squarely to the right.

The prosecution of an 8-year-old in New York for wrongful homicide in a school bus accident invokes the “wild child” hysteria of the Central Park jogger case.

What it takes to make him change his mind.

Books & the Arts

A nearly forgotten criminal conspiracy by GM, Firestone and Chevron shut down the nation’s municipal railways, replacing them with gas-guzzling bus lines, paving the way for global warming and for our energy crisis.

In Literary Lives, caricaturist Edward Sorel tells all and then some about giants like Yeats, Proust, Hellman and Jung within the humble frame of a comic strip.

In Songs of Experience, Martin Jay examines modern debates over the relationship between theory and the lived world.

Cynthia Carr’s Our Town seeks to uncover hidden truths about a 1930 lynching in small-town Indiana. But Carr fails to break the code of silence that many of the town’s inhabitants, including her grandparents, took to the grave.

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

Letters

April brought downpours of mail on two subjects: “Can the Left Get Right With God?” (April 24), articles on religion by Dan Wakefield, Fr