From NYRB, perhaps it should come as no surprise that turning around the huge secret empire built by the National Security State is a hard, perhaps impossible, task; and David Cole on the torture memos and the case against the lawyers. From The Atlantic Monthly, Andrew Sullivan on how the best way to confront the crimes of the past is for the man who authorized torture to take full responsibility — an open letter to President George W. Bush. Me Talk Presidential One Day: An excerpt from Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor by Matt Latimer. Madison Weeps: How healthcare revealed the sickness of our political system. Why is reform so tough? Machiavelli would have counselled the president to tweak his "change" mantra. From Salon, uninsured like me: Diversity is healthcare reform's worst enemy — White America has never liked social insurance for people of color; and meet the knuckleheads of the U.S. Senate. The Gangs of D.C.: In the Senate, small states wield outsize power — is this what the Founders had in mind? Across the country, “Read the bill!” has become a rallying cry of the health care debate, but reading actual legislative text is often the least productive way to learn what’s actually in a bill. An interview with David Schleicher on why voters don't know much about politics. Parties once served a purpose, but they have degenerated into a system that discourages independent thought and undermines representative government. Politics can be a cruel mistress — but things change, and parties revive.
