From Dissent, sand castles and snake pits: An article on homelessness, public policy, and the law of unintended consequences. The American Dream is alive and well... in Finland. A review of The Unaffordable Nation: Searching for a Decent Life in America by Jeffrey Jones. A review of Outsourcing Sovereignty: Why Privatization of Government Functions Threatens Democracy and What We Can Do about It by Paul R. Verkuil. A review of How the Republican Party and its Corporate Allies Are Taking Away Your Right to Sue by Stephanie Mencimer (and an excerpt). As the Bush administration turns a blind eye to consumer crises, state attorneys general are picking up the slack—and making powerful enemies in the process. From Democracy, twentieth-century government was all about public goods —this century will be all about public bads; and wiki-government: How open-source technology can make government decision-making more expert and more democratic. These days you can Google just about anything, from your favorite celebrity's pet to your boss's middle name, but using the biggest search engine to get information about the government often falls short.
