All 169 articles by Brian Cook

• 20 Feb 09

• Culture

  Watching The Watchers

  Mass Observation returns for the Obama inauguration. MORE »

• 13 Feb 09

• Culture

  Won’t Get Fooled Again

  (Well … maybe just one more time.) MORE »

• 21 Jan 09

• The ITT List

  Compare and Contrast

  Okay, they're only procedural, goo-goo (good government) initiatives (as opposed to more meaty, "substantive" reforms)... but this is ... MORE »

• 06 Jan 09

• The ITT List

  Tom Geoghegan Seeks the Fifth

  Chicago labor lawyer and renowned author Tom Geoghegan officially announced today that he will be running for the... MORE »

• 17 Dec 08

• The ITT List

  Ron Carey: 1936-2008

  Boy, was I horribly, stupidly wrong last week: Any week that sees the death of a union-hero like... MORE »

• 16 Dec 08

• The ITT List

  The Dope on Duncan

  Totally out of my league in assessing Obama's choice of Chicago Public School CEO Arne Duncan for Secretary... MORE »

• 15 Dec 08

• The ITT List

  Stupidity Without End

  I swear, this whole Blago scandal is starting to feel like staring into an abyss. Check this from ... MORE »

• 12 Dec 08

• The ITT List

  Er…Maybe a Mixed Week for Labor?

  My last post was a bit too caught up in the happy news from North Carolina; obviously in... MORE »

• 12 Dec 08

• The ITT List

  A Good Week For Labor

  First the Republic Windows workers of Chicago win their benefits, and now this: After 16 years, the United Food ... MORE »

• 01 Dec 08

• Act Locally

  Ban the Cluster Bomb

  More than 100 countries have agreed to stop using them. Guess which one hasn't MORE »

• 12 Nov 08

• The ITT List

  On the Healthcare Front

  As you may have heard, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) unveiled a policy paper today that outlines the broad... MORE »

• 06 Nov 08

• The ITT List

  Possibly the Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Seen

  This series of four photographs. So, so awesome. MORE »

• 31 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Studs Terkel Will Not Be Undone

  In These Times lost a long-time supporter, frequent contributor and dear friend today, when oral historian, radio DJ,... MORE »

• 30 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Totally Despicable

  Even for the McCain campaign--the sorriest crew of knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers on the planet--the attacks on renown Middle East... MORE »

• 27 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Greider on Nader

  Over at The Nation, Bill Greider has a good piece on Ralph Nader, examining his latest run for... MORE »

• 24 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Executive of Fox News: “Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over”

  At least, that's what he wrote yesterday: If the [McCain-campaign-worker-attacked-by-crazed-black-Zorro-loving-Obamaniac] incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator... MORE »

• 22 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Wednesday Morning Links

  1) Tom Frank plumbs 'Joe' and the murky depths of the GOP's blue-collar authenticity. 2) McCain wins the coveted Al... MORE »

• 20 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  A Modest Proposal

  Via Ezra, I really wish I had been as smart as this guy: A hedge fund manager who... MORE »

• 20 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Monday Afternoon Link Dump

  A few more for ya: 1) "The fucking most ridiculous thing I've ever heard": Perhaps the best gem (uttered... MORE »

• 17 Oct 08

• The ITT List

  Pigs Fly, Hell Freezing Over, Trib Endorses Obama

  For the first time in its 161-year history, the Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democrat for president of... MORE »

• 26 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  What’s Old (and Vile) Is New

  Chris Hayes writes on the resurgence of the (Andrew) Mellon Caucus, noting how some wingers are quoting (with... MORE »

• 25 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  Be Afraid…

  be very, very afraid. Scott McLemee thinks--not without reason---this woman (or someone much like her) will one day... MORE »

• 22 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  Bailing Out of the Bailout

  If for some reason you haven't done so already, you need to read David Sirota's "The $700 Billion Questions." ... MORE »

• 19 Sep 08

• Culture

  Sleepwalking Through Seattle

  Battle in Seattle is a well-intentioned effort that ultimately misses the mark MORE »

• 16 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  You Will Not Read Anything Funnier Today…

  ...than George Saunders cold crushin' it: Do you know the difference between me and a Hockey Mom who... MORE »

• 16 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  Help Bitch Out

  Bitch Magazine is in trouble. This is very bad news, unless you think this country could somehow benefit... MORE »

• 12 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  “In What Respect, Charlie?”

  Never one to pass up a chance to say "I told you so" (I can be pretty insufferable... MORE »

• 10 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  God Bless The Poor Man Institute

  For preachin' it like they feelin' it: My first reaction [to McCain's latest vile smear against Obama] was... MORE »

• 02 Sep 08

• The ITT List

  Ready To Secede From Day One

  I hate to interrupt reports about our new Department of Pre-Crime, but for connoisseurs of the politically surreal,... MORE »

• 29 Aug 08

• The ITT List

  A Record Shorter Than A Funk ‘45

  So there's a meme going around that it might not be smart for the Obama campaign to attack... MORE »

• 27 Aug 08

• The ITT List

  Look Back In Anger

  To piggyback on Jarrett's post about fear, there's another emotion that, while watching the DNC, I wish Democrats... MORE »

• 12 Aug 08

• Culture

  Unholy Allies

  In March 2007, Al Gore triumphantly returned to the Senate to testify before the Environmental Committee about the imperative... MORE »

• 17 Jul 08

• The ITT List

  End The Prison Industrial Complex. End It Now.

  (Via Doster), In light of this: Unnecessary deaths and amputation, grossly inadequate medical care, systematic prisoner beatings. These... MORE »

• 09 Jul 08

• The ITT List

  Late Day Links

  1) The big news out of the Senate today is that Ted Kennedy showed up to cast what was... MORE »

• 09 Jul 08

• The ITT List

  MId Day Links

  1) From his hospital bed, Brian Beutler interviews Sen. Russ Feingold over the Dems' cave-in on immunity for spying... MORE »

• 07 Jul 08

• Act Locally

  Five Years on the Hotel Picket Line

  Directly west of Chicago's iconic Buckingham Fountain sits the Congress Hotel. Itself an icon during its heyday of... MORE »

• 02 Jul 08

• The ITT List

  Get Better Soon, Brian!

  First, the bad news: Brian Beutler, the Media Consortium's Washington Correspondent (and hence regular ITT contributor), was shot... MORE »

• 28 Jun 08

• The ITT List

  Q: Why Is Chris Hayes Like The Wu Tang Clan?

  A: Well, yes, I'm sure he too has admired the Hudson while he's dustin', but more to the... MORE »

• 24 Jun 08

• The ITT List

  Truly Unadulterated Good News

  This New York Times article leaves me speechless: In a deal that environmental groups said would be the... MORE »

• 16 Jun 08

• The ITT List

  The Progressive Book Club

  The long-awaited Progressive Book Club finally launched today. It looks very, very cool. MORE »

• 05 Jun 08

• The ITT List

  Imperialism’s Face

  Your must-read article of the day, courtesy of The Independent's Patrick Cockburn: A secret deal being negotiated in... MORE »

• 19 May 08

• The ITT List

  Late Day Links

  1) Clinton campaign surrogates allegedly offer $1 million in bribe money for the two superdelegate votes of the Young Democrats... MORE »

• 15 May 08

• The ITT List

  Late Day Links

  1) Obama and the Cynic. Charlie Pierce hits one out of the park...again. 2) Blue Dog Democrats fight Sen.... MORE »

• 15 May 08

• The ITT List

  It’s All Wrong; It’s Alright

  Two months ago, Jessica Pupovac wrote a piece for us about the Department of the Interior's auctioning off... MORE »

• 30 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  (Black) Flags of Our Fathers

  Scott McLemee has a great post up at Crooked Timber in celebration of May Day and, what's more, ... MORE »

• 28 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  Ballin’ We Can (Maybe) Believe In

  If you can ignore the sycophantic announcing--that dude is worse than Johnny "Red" Kerr going on about the ... MORE »

• 23 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  Carbuncles on the Face of Humanity

  Wow. This essay by Rebecca Solnit is probably the best thing I've read this year. A forceful reminder... MORE »

• 23 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  ‘The Demon of Anal Fissures’

  Matt Taibbi goes on an evangelical retreat at John Hagee's church. Hilarity ensues (as do some moments of... MORE »

• 18 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  A Response To The Moronic Inferno

  A Who's Who of progressive journalists and media analysts--including ITT's Joel Bleifuss and Lakshmi Chaudhry, and past alumni... MORE »

• 18 Apr 08

• The ITT List

  Interview with Todorov

  Folks should check out my friend Danny Postel's interview with the Bulgarian-French philosopher Tzvetan Todorov. It's a wide-ranging... MORE »