September 28, 2009 Issue

Cover art by: Cover design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels (portraits are of Edmund Burke, top, and, from left, Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman and Rush Limbaugh)

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Feature

Why Is Obama Still Using Blackwater?

Two years to the day after the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater remains in Iraq, armed and dangerous.
Jeremy Scahill
The Right’s Fringe Festival

The racist, antigay, pro-gun, antichoice, Christian nationalist march on Washington that conservatives don’t want you to see.
Sebastian Jones
Legislation Watch: Fighting Hunger in Schools

As the economy continues to hemorrhage jobs, Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota is introducing legislation to increase eligibility for free school lunches.
Greg Kaufmann
Three R’s and a Why

Civics education in schools creates young people who turn into the citizens that our democracy requires.
Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Harry Reid: Investigate Iraq Electrocutions

The Senate majority leader calls on Gates and Clinton to find out if shoddy electrical work by contractors killed Adam Hermanson.
Jeremy Scahill
Scientific Integrity Lost on America’s Parks

Though Ken Salazar has vowed to clean up the mess at the Interior Department, his selection for director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis, only compounds it.
Tess Elliott
Factoring People Into Climate Change

More and more experts now say that climate change and population increase should be viewed together. Local politicians in developing countries often try to heat up the issue.
Barbara Crossette
EPA Turns the Lights on Mountaintop Removal

An important announcement suggests that environmental justice may be coming to the Appalachian coalfields.
Jeff Biggers
Palestine’s Peaceful Struggle

The growing nonviolent mass movement against Israel’s annexation wall is now meeting with stepped-up–and lethal–repression.
Mohammed Khatib
The Death of Adam Hermanson

The family of a military contractor electrocuted in Baghdad is alleging his employer, Triple Canopy misled them about how he died.
Jeremy Scahill
Obama’s CIA-on-Campus Program

Shrouded in secrecy, “intelligence officer training” conflicts with universities’ commitment to openness and free inquiry.
Jon Wiener
The American Leviathan

The Pentagon has all but eclipsed the State Department in setting US foreign policy.
Stephen Glain
People, Let’s Get Our Carbon Down

From soul to hip-hop: the new environmental movement has a street beat.
Bill McKibben and Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.
The New Domestic Order

Passage of a “Bill of Rights” in New York would be a promising win for a growing movement.
Lizzy Ratner

Editorial

How 9/11 Should Be Remembered

For the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2001, a full-scale reappraisal of the real meaning of that day in New York for ordinary Americans.
Rebecca Solnit
Sexual Healing

“Female sexual dysfunction” is a case in point of a runaway medical system that requires huge profits, hence new sicknesses, pills and procedures.
JoAnn Wypijewski
For Competitive Primaries

Yes, primaries can be divisive and expensive. But the Democratic Party is usually at its best when it trusts grassroots activists and voters to make choices.
John Nichols
Noted.

Zelaya talks to Tom Hayden.
The Editors
The Ambush of Van Jones

It’s bizarre and more than a little infuriating that a champion of social justice has become the latest right-wing bogeyman.
The Editors
Tackling the Titans

If Obama leads, the people will rally to his side. A good way to remind voters of the bold change they voted for last fall: ordering a hard cap on executive pay.
The Editors
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Column

Obama’s Presidency Isn’t Too Big to Fail

A president has only so much capital to expend, and Barack Obama is dangerously overdrawn.
Robert Scheer
Double Standard for Serena Williams

Why is Roger Federer’s on-the-court meltdown acceptable while Serena Williams’s outburst is cause for a national apology tour?
Dave Zirin
Stop the Sex Scare in Sports

The salacious sports media and the puritanical zealots that run international track and field have joined forces to hit a new low.
Dave Zirin and Sherry Wolf
A Method to Their Madness

It takes considerable skill to convince people that something that is clearly good for them–like universal healthcare–is not.
Gary Younge
The Tel Aviv Party Stops Here

The glittering “spotlight” at a Toronto film festival is a reflection of Israel’s desire to avoid scrutiny for its actions in Gaza.
Naomi Klein
Harvard, Heal Thyself (Why Journalism Matters)

A monthlong investigation finds plenty of fire to go with the smoke surrounding the university’s incredibly vague conflict-of-interest policies.
Eric Alterman
The Network Evening News Anchors Will Be Majority Women

This just in…
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Right On

Traditionalists are at war with free-marketers, and the far right’s resentment is deepening. Is conservatism dead?
Kim Phillips-Fein
Speak as Little as Possible: On Clarice Lispector

Novelist Clarice Lispector idealized animals and idiots because they were free of the desire to translate experience into words.
Rachel Aviv
The Tel Aviv Party Stops Here

The glittering “spotlight” at a Toronto film festival is a reflection of Israel’s desire to avoid scrutiny for its actions in Gaza.
Naomi Klein
People, Let’s Get Our Carbon Down

From soul to hip-hop: the new environmental movement has a street beat.
Bill McKibben and Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.
Trade Deficit

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

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Letters

The Gates Foundation and Africa’s Hunger

We hear from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation regarding our September 21 “Ending Africa’s Hunger,” and our authors reply.
Raj Patel , Eric Holt-Gimenez , Annie Shattuck and Mark Suzman
Science Writing: Long May It Wave!

Boston
Our Readers , Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum

Crossword

Puzzle No. 3184

ACROSS
Frank W. Lewis

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September 28, 2009 Issue

Feature

Two years to the day after the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater remains in Iraq, armed and dangerous.

The racist, antigay, pro-gun, antichoice, Christian nationalist march on Washington that conservatives don’t want you to see.

As the economy continues to hemorrhage jobs, Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota is introducing legislation to increase eligibility for free school lunches.

Civics education in schools creates young people who turn into the citizens that our democracy requires.

The Senate majority leader calls on Gates and Clinton to find out if shoddy electrical work by contractors killed Adam Hermanson.

Though Ken Salazar has vowed to clean up the mess at the Interior Department, his selection for director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis, only compounds it.

More and more experts now say that climate change and population increase should be viewed together. Local politicians in developing countries often try to heat up the issue.

An important announcement suggests that environmental justice may be coming to the Appalachian coalfields.

The growing nonviolent mass movement against Israel’s annexation wall is now meeting with stepped-up–and lethal–repression.

The family of a military contractor electrocuted in Baghdad is alleging his employer, Triple Canopy misled them about how he died.

Shrouded in secrecy, “intelligence officer training” conflicts with universities’ commitment to openness and free inquiry.

The Pentagon has all but eclipsed the State Department in setting US foreign policy.

From soul to hip-hop: the new environmental movement has a street beat.

Passage of a “Bill of Rights” in New York would be a promising win for a growing movement.

Editorial

For the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2001, a full-scale reappraisal of the real meaning of that day in New York for ordinary Americans.

“Female sexual dysfunction” is a case in point of a runaway medical system that requires huge profits, hence new sicknesses, pills and procedures.

Yes, primaries can be divisive and expensive. But the Democratic Party is usually at its best when it trusts grassroots activists and voters to make choices.

Zelaya talks to Tom Hayden.

It’s bizarre and more than a little infuriating that a champion of social justice has become the latest right-wing bogeyman.

If Obama leads, the people will rally to his side. A good way to remind voters of the bold change they voted for last fall: ordering a hard cap on executive pay.

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

Column

A president has only so much capital to expend, and Barack Obama is dangerously overdrawn.

Why is Roger Federer’s on-the-court meltdown acceptable while Serena Williams’s outburst is cause for a national apology tour?

The salacious sports media and the puritanical zealots that run international track and field have joined forces to hit a new low.

It takes considerable skill to convince people that something that is clearly good for them–like universal healthcare–is not.

The glittering “spotlight” at a Toronto film festival is a reflection of Israel’s desire to avoid scrutiny for its actions in Gaza.

A monthlong investigation finds plenty of fire to go with the smoke surrounding the university’s incredibly vague conflict-of-interest policies.

This just in…

Books & the Arts

Traditionalists are at war with free-marketers, and the far right’s resentment is deepening. Is conservatism dead?

Novelist Clarice Lispector idealized animals and idiots because they were free of the desire to translate experience into words.

The glittering “spotlight” at a Toronto film festival is a reflection of Israel’s desire to avoid scrutiny for its actions in Gaza.

From soul to hip-hop: the new environmental movement has a street beat.

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

Letters

We hear from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation regarding our September 21 “Ending Africa’s Hunger,” and our authors reply.

Boston

Crossword

ACROSS