October 10, 2005 Issue

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

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Feature

St. Pat’s Four Not Guilty of Federal Charges

Four peace advocates were acquitted of federal conspiracy charges in connection with a 2003 protest of the Iraq War.
Elizabeth Bauchner
A Devil’s Dictionary of Business

Had your fill of spin and flimflam about the greatness of corporate America? Here’s the real truth about money, high finance and low, commerce, clever tricks, globalism and globaloney.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Roberts’s Queer Reasoning on AIDS

When John G. Roberts Jr. counseled President Ronald Reagan on AIDS policies, did he willfully perpetuate the myth that AIDS can be spread by casual contact?
David W. Webber
GOP Opportunity Zone

This is a list of “Pro-Free-Market Ideas for Responding to Hurricane Katrina and High Gas Prices,” circulated by the House Republican Study
Naomi Klein
Doing the Math

Here’s how we identified more than 11,000 empty, rentable homes in New Orleans:
Naomi Klein
The FBI Fails (For Now) to Grab Subpoena Powers

The FBI–with apparent White House approval–continues to seek the authority to bypass the court system in pursuit of evidence against terror suspects.
David Corn
How to Curb Corporate Power

As corporations consolidate, they grab power from the public. Here are seven modest proposals to give power back to the public and avoid another Enron.
Ralph Nader
Purging the Poor

Why are the poorest victims of Hurricane Katrina being kept out of perfectly livable homes?
Naomi Klein
The Porn of War

What began as an amateur porn site has become a magnet for graphic images of combat and derisive comments posted by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. But military officials are loath to condemn it.
George Zornick
Blackwater Down

With military and law enforcement forces combing New Orleans in the wake of the storm, why did the federal government feel compelled to hire private security firms Blackwater USA and BATS to keep the peace?
Jeremy Scahill

Editorial

Make Levees, Not War

New Orleans was top-of-mind for more than 100,000 peace advocates in Washington who delivered a clear and unified message, protesting the Bush Administration’s war in Iraq and its callous indifference to the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Liza Featherstone
Devastation in Galveston (1900)

More than 7,000 people perished in a hurricane that swept the Texas coast on September 13, 1900. In two unsigned dispatches, The Nation described the scene. September 13 and September 20, 1900, issues.
The Nation
The Roberts Converts

The political chess match between the White House and Senate Democrats over the future of the Supreme Court took on new complexity as three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm John G. Roberts Jr.
Bruce Shapiro
Sturm und Drang

As political parties in Germany dance toward a coalition following the stalemated elections, the country is in for a turbulent month–and new elections are a serious option.
Norman Birnbaum
Talks Without End

An agreement between the United States and North Korea resolving longstanding differences on nuclear weapons and energy programs at first was cause for celebration. But in fact, no real breakthrough has occurred. There is only the appearance of an agreement.
Jonathan Schell
Pinochet’s Week In Court

Chile’s Supreme Court handed Augusto Pinochet both a victory and a blow with its recent rulings on Operation Columbo and Operation Condor.
Peter Kornbluh
The Perils of UN Reform

Long-awaited reform efforts at the United Nations have fallen far short of Kofi Annan’s original vision. But despite John Bolton’s antagonism, there has been progress.
Stephen Schlesinger
‘One Nation, Fragmented’

It took a Gulf Coast hurricane to make Americans aware of the poverty in their own backyard. Now it’s time for public policies that end racial segregation, so that the poor in this country will not continue to suffer.
Eyal Press
Prez on the Precipice

The waning political power of the Bush Administration poses a huge opportunity for Democrats to revitalize the party and challenge the President’s flawed vision of hurricane recovery and continuing involvement in Iraq.
The Editors
Revised Science Textbooks for Christians

Matt Bors
Open Letter to Laura Bush

Poet Sharon Olds writes an open letter to Laura Bush, explaining why she won’t break bread at the White House.
Sharon Olds
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Column

When ‘Connected’ means ‘Corrupted’

The hurricane-driven windfalls for GOP-connected businesses continues, and so do the scandals of widespread corruption among George Bush’s cronies. And the rest of us are played for suckers.
Robert Scheer
New Orleans Is Us

New Orleans was not an unpredictable disaster–it was a model for the incompetence of the Bush Administration. And when the next disaster comes, we will all be under water.
Eric Alterman
Government’s the Problem

As the waters rise, how about a sea chantey for the Bush Administration?
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

A Devil’s Dictionary of Business

Had your fill of spin and flimflam about the greatness of corporate America? Here’s the real truth about money, high finance and low, commerce, clever tricks, globalism and globaloney.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Anywhere But Here

Tim Burton enlivens the dark and gloomy life of corpses and aristocrats in Corpse Bride; Occupation: Dreamland offers an unsentimental view of Iraqi soldiers.
Stuart Klawans
The Blank Verses

A Rick Moody novel is generally about one thing and that is Rick Moody’s ability to write very long, occasionally graceful sentences.
Christine Smallwood
In Search of Sam Cooke

A womanizing gospel king and black-pride pop star, Sam Cooke led a short life filled with contradiction.
Robert Christgau
Readers Respond to Sharon Olds

Readers respond to poet Sharon Olds’s decision to decline Laura Bush’s invitation to dine at the White House.
Our Readers
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

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Letters

Letters

TEARS FOR NEW ORLEANS, AND US

Arlington, Mass.
Katha Pollitt , Our Readers and Steve Brodner
Readers Respond to Sharon Olds

Readers respond to poet Sharon Olds’s decision to decline Laura Bush’s invitation to dine at the White House.
Our Readers

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October 10, 2005 Issue

Feature

Four peace advocates were acquitted of federal conspiracy charges in connection with a 2003 protest of the Iraq War.

Had your fill of spin and flimflam about the greatness of corporate America? Here’s the real truth about money, high finance and low, commerce, clever tricks, globalism and globaloney.

When John G. Roberts Jr. counseled President Ronald Reagan on AIDS policies, did he willfully perpetuate the myth that AIDS can be spread by casual contact?

This is a list of “Pro-Free-Market Ideas for Responding to Hurricane Katrina and High Gas Prices,” circulated by the House Republican Study

Here’s how we identified more than 11,000 empty, rentable homes in New Orleans:

The FBI–with apparent White House approval–continues to seek the authority to bypass the court system in pursuit of evidence against terror suspects.

As corporations consolidate, they grab power from the public. Here are seven modest proposals to give power back to the public and avoid another Enron.

Why are the poorest victims of Hurricane Katrina being kept out of perfectly livable homes?

What began as an amateur porn site has become a magnet for graphic images of combat and derisive comments posted by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. But military officials are loath to condemn it.

With military and law enforcement forces combing New Orleans in the wake of the storm, why did the federal government feel compelled to hire private security firms Blackwater USA and BATS to keep the peace?

Editorial

New Orleans was top-of-mind for more than 100,000 peace advocates in Washington who delivered a clear and unified message, protesting the Bush Administration’s war in Iraq and its callous indifference to the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

More than 7,000 people perished in a hurricane that swept the Texas coast on September 13, 1900. In two unsigned dispatches, The Nation described the scene. September 13 and September 20, 1900, issues.

The political chess match between the White House and Senate Democrats over the future of the Supreme Court took on new complexity as three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm John G. Roberts Jr.

As political parties in Germany dance toward a coalition following the stalemated elections, the country is in for a turbulent month–and new elections are a serious option.

An agreement between the United States and North Korea resolving longstanding differences on nuclear weapons and energy programs at first was cause for celebration. But in fact, no real breakthrough has occurred. There is only the appearance of an agreement.

Chile’s Supreme Court handed Augusto Pinochet both a victory and a blow with its recent rulings on Operation Columbo and Operation Condor.

Long-awaited reform efforts at the United Nations have fallen far short of Kofi Annan’s original vision. But despite John Bolton’s antagonism, there has been progress.

It took a Gulf Coast hurricane to make Americans aware of the poverty in their own backyard. Now it’s time for public policies that end racial segregation, so that the poor in this country will not continue to suffer.

The waning political power of the Bush Administration poses a huge opportunity for Democrats to revitalize the party and challenge the President’s flawed vision of hurricane recovery and continuing involvement in Iraq.

Poet Sharon Olds writes an open letter to Laura Bush, explaining why she won’t break bread at the White House.

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

Column

The hurricane-driven windfalls for GOP-connected businesses continues, and so do the scandals of widespread corruption among George Bush’s cronies. And the rest of us are played for suckers.

New Orleans was not an unpredictable disaster–it was a model for the incompetence of the Bush Administration. And when the next disaster comes, we will all be under water.

As the waters rise, how about a sea chantey for the Bush Administration?

Books & the Arts

Had your fill of spin and flimflam about the greatness of corporate America? Here’s the real truth about money, high finance and low, commerce, clever tricks, globalism and globaloney.

Tim Burton enlivens the dark and gloomy life of corpses and aristocrats in Corpse Bride; Occupation: Dreamland offers an unsentimental view of Iraqi soldiers.

A Rick Moody novel is generally about one thing and that is Rick Moody’s ability to write very long, occasionally graceful sentences.

A womanizing gospel king and black-pride pop star, Sam Cooke led a short life filled with contradiction.

Readers respond to poet Sharon Olds’s decision to decline Laura Bush’s invitation to dine at the White House.

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

Letters

TEARS FOR NEW ORLEANS, AND US Arlington, Mass.

Readers respond to poet Sharon Olds’s decision to decline Laura Bush’s invitation to dine at the White House.

TEARS FOR NEW ORLEANS, AND US

Arlington, Mass.