From Mother Jones, a message to you, Rudy Giuliani: How the zero-tolerance policies of "America's Mayor" set us up for the Patriot Act and Guantanamo. A review of Ghost Plane: the inside story of the CIA’s secret rendition programme. Pearl's wisdom: A new film about the murder of the American journalist raises the question: why doesn't more mainstream culture delineate radical Islam?
From TNR, who's afraid of Tariq Ramadan? Paul Berman reviews To Be a European Muslim; Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity; Western Muslims and the Future of Islam; and In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad; the cult of the Washington whistle-blower: Whistle-blowing has become a full-fledged personal identity—a scene with its own specialized lawyers, therapists, 40-odd advocacy groups, a publishing imprint, swag, and even a timeless philosophy; and how energy independence threatens the environment: Bradford Plumer on how Big Coal cozied up to Democrats, and a look at how the Bushies killed the EPA's clean-up program.
Robert J. Samuelson on The Case for Gouging: Higher gas prices may be the best way to slow global warming. Even supporters of alternative energy agree that the easiest way to cut carbon emissions and air pollution is to focus more on efficiency. When it comes to energy sources, nuclear fusion used to be the wallflower. But now, scientists are working to see if it could be a safe and environmentally-friendly way of producing electricity. How to turn global warming into a tourist attraction: Celebrities are flocking to a small town in Greenland – helping to accelerate the very climate-change process they've come to witness.
From FT, Gideon Rachman on Obama and the comforting myth of political consensus. In defence of the rich, sort of: Criticising candidates who fight for the poor while enjoying a life of personal excess misses the reality of American politics. Ezra Klein on giving bigger government a chance: For too long, we've bought the idea that government has failed us. For the record, it isn’t until the fourth page of the introduction to his new memoir, No Excuses, that Robert Shrum begins making excuses. Party Unfaithful: Jeffrey Goldberg on the Republican implosion. The Conservative Mind: Peter Berkowitz on how the American right is a cauldron of debate; the left isn't. From 3:AM, The Last Revolution in Town: An interview with Christopher Hitchens on the death of that other religion: liberalism.
A review of Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers by Michael Barone. A review of Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr. A review of Blood and Thunder: An epic of the American West; Crazy Horse: A Lakota life; and Violence Over the Land: Indians and empires in the early American west. A review of Mencken: The American Iconoclast (and part 2). A review of Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. An interview with Thomas Mallon, author of Mrs. Paine’s Garage and the Murder of John F. Kennedy.
From New York, Cramer vs. Cramer: “Why does everybody hate me?” The Wall Street maniac explains his critics, the market, and himself. A review of The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. And from The Brookings Institution, an article on economic mobility: Is the American Dream alive and well?
