From National Journal, In Praise Of Imperfect Democracy: America's system of government labors under colossal inefficiencies. But what it never does, even at its worst, is express naked contempt for the opinions of its citizens. Patriotism's Secret History: Our most cherished national symbols—from the Pledge of Allegiance to "America the Beautiful" to Lady Liberty's poetry—are rooted in liberal ideals. Government by the worst, kakistocracy, is that wrong track this country is on. Mass political withdrawal: People have felt less and less interested in politics as government retreated from the quality and quantity of basic services it had provided them.
From TAP, The Most Activist Court: How progressives should think about and respond to the assaults of the Roberts Court; and Scalia and Thomas, originalist sinners: How Thursday's ruling on school integration gives the lie to the two justices' supposedly devout "originalism". Under John Roberts, Court Re-Rights Itself: This term at the Supreme Court was a nearly unmitigated disaster for progressives. Can neuroscience save the Democrats? More and more of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.
Drew Westen on The Rise and Fall of Immigration Reform: Speaking the right language about people who don't speak our language. From American, an article on how Mexican immigration will solve itself. What are we going to do if an American state speaks Spanish as their primary language? It's a question worth thinking about ahead of time. American by Choice: We must all learn what it means to be an American. How immigrants improve the curve: In the clash of civilizations, newcomers may deserve to come out on top. The Founding Immigrants: Anti-immigrant sentiment is older than America itself. Use Social Security to Seal the Border: The Social Security database, combined with laws already on the books, provides a way to catch unauthorized workers almost as soon as they are hired.
From The Nation, the superrich are buying up all the beautiful places in America, Barbara Ehrenreich writes, squeezing out the middle class and the poor. What's left for you and me? On MLS.ca, a million bucks ain't what it was: The new benchmark of envy is $10 million in a market gone mad. In Defense of the Sellout: A review of The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America by Daniel Brook.
From Business Week, The Europeans Do It Right: A whole continent shutting down for a month. The only way we can really shut down and enjoy time off is with our colleagues' help. Determining Who’s Gotten Satisfaction: In the case of the $54 million pants, just what did “satisfaction guaranteed” really mean? Michael Moore's newest film Sicko is less partisan, less outrageous—but more real—than anything he's done before. Lenin, Brecht and Michael Moore: Moore's new movie Sicko has opened across America. It's a given that the right hates him. But why do some allies fear he might do more harm than good? Death-wish granny: A lifelong member of the Hemlock Society, an 87-year-old grandmother is frail, housebound, nearly blind — and ready to die. Why won't anyone let her?
