Letters Letters
May Todd Akin Rot in Hell—Legitimately New York City Katha Pollitt has nailed it again with “Women Who Love Republicans Who Hate Them” [“Subject to Debate,” Sept. 17]. I would just add that Todd Akin’s gag-inducing belief about the spermicidal capacity of women who have been “legitimately” raped goes back a lot further than 1988. According to The Guardian: “One of the earliest British legal texts, Fleta…[says]: ‘If, however, the woman should have conceived at the time alleged in the appeal, it abates, for without a woman’s consent she could not conceive.’” Fleta dates to approximately 1290. Yes, folks, the Republican Party, working to take us back to that golden age, the thirteenth century. NORA FREEMAN His Nose Just Grows and Grows Madison, N.J. Pinocchio! Your ad on page 16 of the September 17 issue is the best picture of Governor Christie! I sent it to him and recommended he subscribe to The Nation. LOIS VUONO Still a Difficult Woman Hayward, Calif. Victor Navasky’s review of a biography of Lillian Hellman by Alice Kessler-Harris [“The Antagonist,” Sept. 17] was interesting but uninformative—interesting in retelling some incidents in Hellman’s life, uninformative by avoiding others. The good: Hellman’s defiance of HUAC is still an inspiration. She stood foursquare for the “simple rules of human decency and Christian honor.” The reference to Christian honor puzzles me, though, since Hellman was not Christian and since, in light of fascism and vile McCarthyism, “Christian honor” seems to be an oxymoron. As for the bad: Mary McCarthy attacked Hellman’s autobiographical books as lies. I remember reading those books with admiration for their literary and political style. If the books were in fact a confabulation, my opinion fundamentally changes. So the question is: Were the assertions in those books true (or sort of true) or were they false? I don’t know whether Kessler-Harris gives an answer. Navasky certainly does not. I’d like to know. At least, I’d like to know the opinions of Kessler-Harris and Navasky. JOHN PLOTZ Navasky Replies New York City Which facts is Mr. Plotz talking about? Hellman’s three memoirs were filled with thousands of facts and undoubtedly some factoids. If it helps, I’d add that I don’t agree with Mary McCarthy that “every word” Hellman wrote was a lie. VICTOR NAVASKY The Highest Caliber Tucson Paula Findlen’s review of Brad Gregory’s The Unintended Reformation [“Scissor Work,” Sept. 17] is excellent—learned and subtle, and she comes to the right conclusion, the same negative one as everybody else, but in a very thoughtful way. SUSAN KARANT-NUNN, director Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies University of Arizona Corrections: August in Paris… Thomas Meaney’s “The Generalist” [Oct. 1] refers to the liberation of Paris in May 1944. Paris was liberated in August 1944. It also described de Gaulle’s laissez-faire economic policies as beginning in 1948; they began in 1945. Finally, a clarification: the piece stated that de Gaulle’s crowning economic achievement was establishing the European Economic Community in 1957. While de Gaulle was not in power in 1957, he retailored the Treaty of Rome, which established the EEC, to suit Franco-German needs in the late 1950s.
Sep 25, 2012 / Our Readers
US Special Forces Deployed in Iraq, Again US Special Forces Deployed in Iraq, Again
The return of US Special Forces is not likely to restore Iraqi stability, and they may become trapped in crossfire as sectarian tensions deepen.
Sep 25, 2012 / Tom Hayden
Mitt Romney Embraces Campaign Finance Reform Mitt Romney Embraces Campaign Finance Reform
Today at the Education Nation forum, Mitt Romney finally admitted that money distorts our democracy by improperly influencing politicians, and causing them to ignore their constituents in favor of powerful donors. He even called for action to end this problem, saying it’s “the wrong way for us to go.” Alas, the “powerful donors” that distressed Romney were teachers. His remarks, via Raw Story: “We simply can’t have a setup where the teachers unions can contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then those politicians, when elected, stand across from them at the bargaining table, supposedly to represent the interests of the kids. I think it’s a mistake. I think we’ve got to get the money out of the teachers unions going into campaigns. It’s the wrong way for us to go. We’ve got to separate that.” By saying massive donations can skew political priorities, and saying “we’ve got to get the money out,” Romney is essentially endorsing the intellectual framework of opposition to Citizens United, which allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts influencing elections. Strange, because he has called Citizens United the “correct decision,” and even thinks corporations should be able to write unlimited checks to his campaign instead of bothering with outside groups. Apparently, it’s just the pernicious influence of educators Romney is worried about—not corporations. (Note that the AFT and NEA engage in relatively paltry outside spending, and also disclose their donors). For more on Mitt Romney’s disingenuity, read Ben Adler’s check on the candidate’s miserly donations to charity.
Sep 25, 2012 / George Zornick
Jeff Biggers: The Fight Against ‘Show Me Your Papers’ Jeff Biggers: The Fight Against ‘Show Me Your Papers’
As anti-immigration policymakers legalize racial profiling, a coalition of progressive Arizonans refuse to stand down.
Sep 25, 2012 / Press Room
Boykinism is the New McCarthyism Boykinism is the New McCarthyism
Despite the White House’s statements against Islamophobia, their failure to fire a hatemongering lieutenant tells a different story.
Sep 25, 2012 / Andrew J. Bacevich
Where Crazy Conservative Memes Are Invented Where Crazy Conservative Memes Are Invented
The parallel universe of right-wing conspiracy e-mail smears.
Sep 25, 2012 / Ben Adler
Being Young at the DNC Being Young at the DNC
If the Democrats are serious about helping youth, then they can’t just listen because it’s a nice thing to do and it looks good, but because young people can contribute...
Sep 25, 2012 / StudentNation / Zachary A. Bell
Greg Kaufmann: ‘Some See Poverty as a Character Flaw, I See an Absence of Money’ Greg Kaufmann: ‘Some See Poverty as a Character Flaw, I See an Absence of Money’
Forty-six million Americans remain in poverty, but our presidential candidates only want to talk about the middle class.
Sep 25, 2012 / Press Room
The Better Bargain: Transaction Tax, Not Austerity The Better Bargain: Transaction Tax, Not Austerity
The Inclusive Prosperity Tax would increase revenue for social services Americans need the most.
Sep 25, 2012 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
A Gaffe Is When a Republican Tells the Truth A Gaffe Is When a Republican Tells the Truth
This campaign season has been extremely instructional—about what the Republican Party really thinks.
Sep 25, 2012 / Bryce Covert