online archive

From TNR, Supreme Leader: Jeffrey Rosen on the arrogance of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Crisis of Confidence: The latest terror ruling suggests that the courts do pretty well in a crisis. A review of Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life by Ted Gup. An interview with Gore Vidal on Europe and why the US is not a democracy. Democracy is not just about elections. It is about living under law rather than the whim of power.

Race against history: Merlin Chowkwanyun on why genes don't determine race. From Writ, an article on the fortieth anniversary of Loving v. Virginia: The personal and cultural legacy of the case that ended legal prohibitions on interracial marriage (and more). From Democracy, Jonathan Rauch reviews The Future of Marriage by David Blankenhorn. A review of America's Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage, and a review of Queers in Court: Gay Rights Law and Public Policy by Susan Gluck Mezey. A review of The War Between the State and the Family: How Government Divides and Impoverishes by Patricia Morgan. From Slate, a series of articles on Weddings. Why do brides buy and grooms rent? Robert Frank investigates.

From Salon, Lucy Kaylin, author of a new book on mothers' complicated relationship with nannies, talks frankly about playground politics, nannycams and how the "mommy wars" play into childcare choices. Why feminists fight with each other: An interview with Deborah Siegel, author of Sisterhood Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild. A review of What Makes Women Happy by Fay Weldon. A review of Redefining Seduction: Women Initiating Sex, Courtship, Partnership, Peace by Donna Sheehan and Paul Reffell.

From Scientific American, putting a price tag on death: Economists say balancing the pain of loss with the right amount of money could lead to more rational court awards. One-Fifth of an American: How much is an immigrant's life worth, exactly? Steven Landsburg investigates. Eric Rauchway on why immigration reform should wait until 2009. Out of unenforceable laws, amnesties are born: The elephant in the room is that the existing immigration law that underlies the debate has no connection with reality. James Surowiecki on guest workers. They Came Here to Work: The punitive rage directed at illegal immigrants grows out of a larger blindness to the manual labor they perform that makes our lives possible. The Trouble With the Super-Rich: A bloated overclass can drag down a society as surely as a swelling underclass.

George Will reviews The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America’s Politics and Culture by Brink Lindsey. A review of The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South by Matthew D. Lassiter. As smart growth gains ground among academics and activists, conservatives are whipping themselves up into a frenzy over the perils of what they term "anti-sprawl policy". An article on Proposition 13, the tax revolution that gave us today’s government mess.