The Wisconsin Idea

Feature

Creating the 21st Century Library

The Prelinger Library eschews the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress systems, and is organized instead by what Megan Shaw Prelinger calls "a map of my brain"

Aaron Sarver

Viewpoint

Offsets Aren’t Enough

Two environmental groups cave in to Big Coal in Texas.

Megan Tady

Feature

Extending Tours, Stressing Troops

Despite a growing body of medical research, the Pentagon is extending tours of duty to their longest levels since World War II, precipitating the first time in history that active-duty soldiers will spend more time in combat than at home

Sarah Olson

Viewpoint

How Does Laura Bush Sleep at Night?

The worst First Lady in recent memory has had no consistent program or agenda to changes things for the better, while at the same time providing PR cover for her husband

Susan J. Douglas

Culture

The Secret Lives of Plutocrats

In Richistan, Robert Frank offers a breezy, well-observed peek into this gated community. You too could visit if you graduate from "butler boot camp" and become a $120,000-a-year "household manager"

David Moberg

Feature

The Trial (And Errors) of Hugo Chávez

Venezuelans are debating whether Chávez is putting the windfall of revenue from oil revenues to good use or squandering it through disorganization, corruption and misplaced priorities

Steve Ellner

Viewpoint

Mining Roves Katrina Legacy

Rove was the man President Bush quietly put in charge of overseeing the administration's response plan, though he had no expertise in homeland security or disaster relief

Amanda Terkel

Feature

Farming the Concrete Jungle

In cities across the country urban farmers are growing communities, greening the landscape and revolutionizing food politics.

Phoebe Connelly and Chelsea Ross

Viewpoint

The Counterproductive War on Gangs

The conclusion of the report, "Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies," persuasively argues that punitive policies of policing that specifically target gangs increase rather than decrease gang violence

Salim Muwakkil