Why Congress Must Impose Limits on the Use of Force in Iraq Why Congress Must Impose Limits on the Use of Force in Iraq

If we don’t act now, constitutional restraints on presidential warmaking will be eviscerated.

Sep 3, 2014 / Robert Naiman

The Republican Playbook for Cutting Anti-Poverty Programs The Republican Playbook for Cutting Anti-Poverty Programs

Paul Ryan’s poverty plan uses old tricks to make deep cuts.

Sep 3, 2014 / Mike Konczal and Bryce Covert

Will Scotland Choose Independence? Will Scotland Choose Independence?

Fed up with Thatcherite and New Labour politics, Scots have grown farther apart from their southern neighbors.

Sep 3, 2014 / D.D. Guttenplan

‘Unhiring’ Steven Salaita ‘Unhiring’ Steven Salaita

In early August, the website Inside Higher Ed reported that at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), an official offer of a tenured professorial appointment had been rescinded by a top administrative officer. That alone would have been unusual, but concerns grew after sources close to the decision-making process reported that Chancellor Phyllis Wise was responding to calls and e-mails about Professor Steven Salaita’s acerbic and emphatic anti-Israel tweets. Once scholars heard of this, protests erupted: 17,000 signatures have been gathered criticizing the decision, and 3,000 professors are boycotting UIUC. The American Association of University Professors issued a statement declaring that social media expression is private and protected speech, and that the use of “civility” as a litmus test—which the university now admits in rescinding the hire of Salaita—is unacceptable. Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50! The University of Illinois board of trustees insists that “speech that promotes malice is not an acceptable form of civil argument if we wish to ensure that students, faculty and staff are comfortable in a place of scholarship.” However, the US Department of Education has determined that students’ “comfort” is not as important as free debate. There are three important issues here. First, universities are increasingly being asked to shut down criticism of Israel. Second, a review of Salaita’s teaching evaluations at his former college, Virginia Tech, shows enthusiastic appreciation of his teaching and interactions with students. Hence, the trustees’ decision is based entirely on a hypothetical potential harm to students caused by his allegedly offensive tweets. Third, the chancellor and trustees at UIUC have broken a covenant with their faculty. Faculty governance is the mainstay of the educational process. Many trustees, on the other hand, have no background in higher education; they are there primarily to safeguard and grow the endowment. What is startling about the Salaita case is that the board let its protection of the bottom line completely overshadow the university’s educational mission and hid these financial motives behind the notion of “civility.” Read Next: Noam Chomsky on the BDS movement

Sep 3, 2014 / David Palumbo-Liu

Comix Nation Comix Nation

Sep 3, 2014 / Matt Bors

Snapshot: Desperate Crossing Snapshot: Desperate Crossing

The US-Mexico border is only one of many places in the world where people risk death in search of a better life. Below, the Italian navy recovers the bodies of African refugees who drowned while crossing the Mediterranean.

Sep 3, 2014 / Antonio Parrinello

Renewing the Struggle for Racial Justice, Post-Ferguson Renewing the Struggle for Racial Justice, Post-Ferguson

We must face the true causes of the chasm between white and black America.

Aug 27, 2014 / The Editors

Zephyr Teachout for Governor of New York Zephyr Teachout for Governor of New York

A vote for Teachout is a demand for a more progressive, ideas-driven politics.

Aug 27, 2014 / The Editors

A Q&A With Angela Davis on Black Power, Feminism and the Prison-Industrial Complex A Q&A With Angela Davis on Black Power, Feminism and the Prison-Industrial Complex

“Like Nelson Mandela, we must be willing to embrace the long walk toward freedom.”

Aug 27, 2014 / Frank Barat

RIP, Robert Sherrill: A Man Who Never Kissed Ass RIP, Robert Sherrill: A Man Who Never Kissed Ass

He was a passionate purist in his prose, his populist politics and his expectations of others and himself.

Aug 27, 2014 / Victor Navasky