March 30, 2009 Issue

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

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Feature

The Afghanistan Americans Seldom Notice

When it’s all over and we finally do leave, the Afghans of Bamiyan Province will be at least as poor as they ever were in what will remain a devastated country.
Pratap Chatterjee
A Conversation with Mauricio Funes

Mauricio Funes, president-elect of El Salvador, talks of the meaning of his recent victory, aspirations for his administration and the inspiration provided by the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.
Roberto Lovato and Josue Rojas
The Dragons, Their Dragoons

We need to organize our power to make our ideas correct.
Vijay Prashad
Imagine Otherwise

If we are to build a new world out of the ashes of the old, we need to imagine and organize in the most expansive and inclusive ways.
Lisa Duggan
The Necessary Eloquence of Protest

If these are near-to-the-end times, we must be as forthright about the need for disorder as were our populist and socialist ancestors.
Mike Davis
Why Africa Doesn’t Want Foreign Aid

Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo argues that aid actually undermines the social and economic fabric of the developing world.
Sonia Shah
Tell ‘The Nation’: The Recession Hits Home

Our readers report how the recession is changing life in the workplaces, homes and schools across the nation. Let us know what’s happening in your community.
Our Readers
Pakistan in Turmoil

Pakistan’s Chief Justice is restored after protests rock Lahore, but questions remain about the stability of President Asif Ali Zardari–and new challenges for the Obama administration.
Barbara Crossette
A Post-Capitalist Future is Possible

The current economic crisis probably won’t be the magic intervention to usher in a new era, but there are opportunities to advance the socialist cause.
Doug Henwood
Rebuilding a Good Jobs Economy

In this deep economic crisis, we have an opportunity to set the bar higher. Let’s not just stimulate the economy; let’s rebuild it with good jobs.
Annette Bernhardt and Christine Owens
Obama’s Debt to New Orleans

The Democratic Party found its voice in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It owes the people of New Orleans a real recovery.
Melissa Harris-Perry and James Perry
Redefining National Security

Some military analysts are warning Obama that insurencies, revolts and economically driven instability could threaten our way of life. It’s a path fraught with hazards.
Michael T. Klare
Can America Make a Deal to Save the Planet?

Despite inaction over the past eight years, the United States still has a chance to reclaim a leading global role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Sophie Ragsdale
Philadelphia Rising

The mayor’s budget plan would close libraries. The people say, Think again.
Robert S. Eshelman
Fixing the Fed

To restore the nation’s broken financial system, Washington must reform the Federal Reserve.
William Greider
The Perfect Storm

The intensifying economic crisis slams the world of nonprofit organizations.
Eyal Press

Editorial

John C. Hyde, Journalist and Author

Remembering a journalist, biographer and head of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Rebecca Clarren
Is Our Big Change Moment Coming?

The time is ripe for another another progressive revolution: we only have to make it happen.
Michael Lux
Is the Next Defense Budget a Stimulus Package?

World War II defense spending helped pull us out of a depression, but don’t count on that happening this time.
Frida Berrigan
Falcon of Peace

Doves always lose. We need to grow claws.
Tom Engelhardt
‘Nation’ Note

Arthur C. Danto steps down as art critic of The Nation but continues as a contributing editor.
The Editors
Populists in the House

If the new Populist Caucus is to make a difference in Congress, its members must channel popular fury at Wall Street’s amen corner on Capitol Hill.
John Nichols
Noted.

Robert Dreyfuss on the assault against Charles Freeman, Edward McClelland on the right of the homeless to hold office, Barbara Crossette on Lakhdar Brahimi
The Editors
Healthcare Enemy No. 1

Hospital magnate Rick Scott, the face of GOP resistance to healthcare reform, has won the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary.
Chris Hayes
Healthcare Heats Up

Don’t listen to the fearmongers: government-run healthcare is cost-efficient, effective and far superior to the free-market mess we’re in.
The Editors
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Column

Perp Walks, Not Bonuses

Don’t reward the rogue financiers at AIG and Goldman Sachs who enriched themselves while impoverishing millions. Investigate them.
Robert Scheer
Charles Barkley and Sheriff Joe’s Special Treatment

The embattled NBA Hall of Famer is perhaps the only figure who can expose “America’s Toughest Sheriff” as the abusive bigot he is.
Dave Zirin
It Can Happen Here

Media watchdogs who slept through the Bush era now have little interest in examining just how many of our liberties were lost.
Eric Alterman
Science and Supposition

The new Obama protocols on scientific research will influence not just stem cells but climate change, genetics, sex education and food safety.
Patricia J. Williams
I’m Sorry, Rush

A musical tribute to a big fat idiot.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Lingo: What Child Is This?

This is Lingo, a new occasional column about language. Is language acquisition uncanny or orphic?
Ange Mlinko
The Half-Forgotten Prophet: C. Wright Mills

A half-century later, re-evaluating the works of C. Wright Mills, in The Politics of Truth.
Norman Birnbaum
A Tough Flower Girl: On Norman Maclean

In Norman Maclean’s stories, tragedy comes garlanded in a prose style nearly unsurpassed for its bright flashes of remembrance, its whispers out of time.
Philip Connors
Back Talk: Elaine Showalter

A conversation with the author of A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx.
Christine Smallwood
Sallow, Queer, Sagacious: Lincoln Through the Ages

A new anthology of essays captures the many faces of Lincoln over the decades.
Brenda Wineapple
Philadelphia Rising

The mayor’s budget plan would close libraries. The people say, Think again.
Robert S. Eshelman
‘Nation’ Note

Arthur C. Danto steps down as art critic of The Nation but continues as a contributing editor.
The Editors
Longing of the Accords

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

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Letters

Letters

Starve the Pentagon; Feed the Workers
Lansdowne, Pa.
Our Readers

Crossword

Puzzle No. 3162

ACROSS

1 Poverty-stricken, I tend gin mixture.(8)
Frank W. Lewis

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March 30, 2009 Issue

Feature

When it’s all over and we finally do leave, the Afghans of Bamiyan Province will be at least as poor as they ever were in what will remain a devastated country.

Mauricio Funes, president-elect of El Salvador, talks of the meaning of his recent victory, aspirations for his administration and the inspiration provided by the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.

We need to organize our power to make our ideas correct.

If we are to build a new world out of the ashes of the old, we need to imagine and organize in the most expansive and inclusive ways.

If these are near-to-the-end times, we must be as forthright about the need for disorder as were our populist and socialist ancestors.

Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo argues that aid actually undermines the social and economic fabric of the developing world.

Our readers report how the recession is changing life in the workplaces, homes and schools across the nation. Let us know what’s happening in your community.

Pakistan’s Chief Justice is restored after protests rock Lahore, but questions remain about the stability of President Asif Ali Zardari–and new challenges for the Obama administration.

The current economic crisis probably won’t be the magic intervention to usher in a new era, but there are opportunities to advance the socialist cause.

In this deep economic crisis, we have an opportunity to set the bar higher. Let’s not just stimulate the economy; let’s rebuild it with good jobs.

The Democratic Party found its voice in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It owes the people of New Orleans a real recovery.

Some military analysts are warning Obama that insurencies, revolts and economically driven instability could threaten our way of life. It’s a path fraught with hazards.

Despite inaction over the past eight years, the United States still has a chance to reclaim a leading global role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

The mayor’s budget plan would close libraries. The people say, Think again.

To restore the nation’s broken financial system, Washington must reform the Federal Reserve.

The intensifying economic crisis slams the world of nonprofit organizations.

Editorial

Remembering a journalist, biographer and head of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

The time is ripe for another another progressive revolution: we only have to make it happen.

World War II defense spending helped pull us out of a depression, but don’t count on that happening this time.

Doves always lose. We need to grow claws.

Arthur C. Danto steps down as art critic of The Nation but continues as a contributing editor.

If the new Populist Caucus is to make a difference in Congress, its members must channel popular fury at Wall Street’s amen corner on Capitol Hill.

Robert Dreyfuss on the assault against Charles Freeman, Edward McClelland on the right of the homeless to hold office, Barbara Crossette on Lakhdar Brahimi

Hospital magnate Rick Scott, the face of GOP resistance to healthcare reform, has won the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary.

Don’t listen to the fearmongers: government-run healthcare is cost-efficient, effective and far superior to the free-market mess we’re in.

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

Column

Don’t reward the rogue financiers at AIG and Goldman Sachs who enriched themselves while impoverishing millions. Investigate them.

The embattled NBA Hall of Famer is perhaps the only figure who can expose “America’s Toughest Sheriff” as the abusive bigot he is.

Media watchdogs who slept through the Bush era now have little interest in examining just how many of our liberties were lost.

The new Obama protocols on scientific research will influence not just stem cells but climate change, genetics, sex education and food safety.

A musical tribute to a big fat idiot.

Books & the Arts

This is Lingo, a new occasional column about language. Is language acquisition uncanny or orphic?

A half-century later, re-evaluating the works of C. Wright Mills, in The Politics of Truth.

In Norman Maclean’s stories, tragedy comes garlanded in a prose style nearly unsurpassed for its bright flashes of remembrance, its whispers out of time.

A conversation with the author of A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx.

A new anthology of essays captures the many faces of Lincoln over the decades.

The mayor’s budget plan would close libraries. The people say, Think again.

Arthur C. Danto steps down as art critic of The Nation but continues as a contributing editor.

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

Letters

Starve the Pentagon; Feed the Workers Lansdowne, Pa.

Crossword

ACROSS 1 Poverty-stricken, I tend gin mixture.(8)

Starve the Pentagon; Feed the Workers
Lansdowne, Pa.

ACROSS

1 Poverty-stricken, I tend gin mixture.(8)