online archive
1:00PM
JUL 9 2007
The war on terror, Americana and political economy
Paul C. Light on The Homeland Security Hash: The Department of Homeland Security gets little credit for the fact that terrorists have not staged an attack on American soil since 2001, and it is an open question whether it deserves much. Conceived in haste and crippled by its design, the newest addition to the cabinet desperately needs an overhaul. Why Big Things Fail: Crispin Sartwell on gigantism and the U.S. government. A review of Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror by Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr. and Aziz Z. Huq. From Law and Politics Book Review, a review of The Constitution of Law: Legality in a Time of Emergency by David Dyzenhaus; a review of Against Prediction: Profiling, Policing, and Punishing in an Actuarial Age by Bernard E. Harcourt.
The United States of America is the only country in the world that doesn’t have a name: the first two words define its political organization, the last the continent it sits on. Creation myth: A review of The Fourth of July and the Founding of America by Peter de Bolla (and more and more). A review of American Connections: The Founding Fathers, Networked by James Burke. From American Heritage, Face-off: The Fourth of July vs. Bastille Day.
A look at a grassroots movement, dedicated to breaking the US into smaller, more functional nations. It provides some extra information on each of the new, smaller American nations, and a fresh map so that anyone can submit a new proposal. A review of Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists by Bill Kauffman. A review of Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott.
From Monthly Review, an article on Wage Stagnation, Growing Insecurity, and the Future of the U.S. Working Class. Correcting the Guards: Why the shaky relationship between organized labor and correctional officers is doubly harmful to the American left. In an excerpt from the new book, Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: The New Liberal Menace in America, Stephen Marshall takes on liberals like Thomas Friedman, who would have you believe that our capitalist system is inherently just and self-regulating when, in reality, it is anything but. A review of The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America by Daniel Brook.
