Harper's Magazine: February 2009

Archive > 2009 > Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct

February 2009

CONTENTS
THUMBNAILS
WEB ONLY

	Art/illustration [Cover art] By Christopher Serra SEE ALSO: Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical care, Cost of PDF IMAGES
4-6	Letters/Department Letters On Willows village, from September 2008: Letter By Chinatown Frankie P. On Obama's Jews, from October 2008: Letter By David A. Harris Letter By Bernard Avishai On Beat her like a lady, from November 2008: Letter By A.R. Goyal On Justice after Bush, from December 2008: Letter By Mary McCarthy Letter By Michael Ratner Letter By Scott Horton On A really big show, from December 2008: Letter By James David Jacobs PDF TEXT IMAGES
9-11	Notebook/Article A quibble By Mark Slouka SEE ALSO: Obama, Barack; Campaign for U.S. president, 2008; Ignorance (Theory of knowledge); 2008; Political culture; Voting PDF TEXT IMAGES
13	Harper's index/Department Harper’s Index PDF TEXT IMAGES
15-19	Readings/Article God is my shelter SEE ALSO: Iraq; Militia movements; Political violence; Shiah; Young men PDF FREE TEXT IMAGES
16	Readings/Article Tool time By John Kurtz SEE ALSO: Correspondence; Moonves, Leslie; Safety goggles; Safety measures; Freston, Tom PDF TEXT IMAGES
17	Readings/Art/illustration Dream studio By Olive Madora Ayhens SEE ALSO: Artists' studios; Imaginary places PDF IMAGES
19	Readings/Photography Ill Niño/Irving Plaza By Georgi Tushev (Photog.) PDF IMAGES Readings/Article The war on telephone poles By Eula Biss SEE ALSO: Bell, Alexander Graham; Crimes against; Knowledge—Telephone; Lynching; Telephone; Vandalism PDF TEXT IMAGES
20	Readings/Poetry By chance, of course By Wendell Berry PDF TEXT IMAGES
22	Readings/Art/illustration Plaza By Linden Frederick SEE ALSO: Interchanges and intersections; Roads PDF IMAGES
23-24	Readings/Article You didn't have to shoot the kid SEE ALSO: Career as juror; Death and burial; Giuliano, Doreen; Family; Allo, Jason; Giuca, John; Jury selection; Fisher, Mark S.; Trials, litigation, etc.; Trials (Murder) PDF TEXT IMAGES Readings/Article Hard labor SEE ALSO: Zaborowski, Catherine; Class actions (Civil procedure); Complications; Cook County; Detention of persons; Imprisonment; Labor (Obstetrics); Pregnant women; Sheriffs; Jackson, Simone; Women prisoners PDF TEXT IMAGES
24-26	Readings/Article The estrangement By Jamaica Kincaid SEE ALSO: Antigua; Biography; Family relationships; Kincaid, Jamaica; Women authors, American PDF TEXT IMAGES
27-28	Readings/Article Smooth operator SEE ALSO: Childbirth at home; Emergency reporting systems; Knowledge—Childbirth at home; Leismeier, Sarah; Telephone; Telephone operators; Wales PDF TEXT IMAGES Readings/Fiction Otherwhere By Claire Bateman PDF TEXT IMAGES
28	Readings/Photography Krisuvik geothermal field, Iceland By Joan Myers (Photog.) SEE ALSO: Iceland PDF IMAGES
29-30	Readings/Article Wow, fiction works! By Colson Whitehead SEE ALSO: American literature; Criticism and interpretation—Humor; Carver, Raymond; Reading; Bellow, Saul PDF FREE TEXT IMAGES Readings/Article Briefly noted SEE ALSO: Miami and the siege of Chicago (Book); 1963-1969; Mailer, Norman; Political and social views; Politics and literature; Records and correspondence; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation PDF TEXT IMAGES
31	Readings/Art/illustration Study for memory lane By Martin Mull SEE ALSO: Memory; Suburban life PDF IMAGES
33-44	Article Sick in the head: Why America won't get the health-care system it needs By Luke Mitchell SEE ALSO: Automation; Obama, Barack; Health care reform; Information storage and retrieval systems; Insurance, Health; Hammergren, John; Medical care; Medical economics; National health insurance; Zarr, Robert; Views on health care reform; Tsou, Walter PDF FREE TEXT IMAGES
45-53	Article The murder of Leo Tolstoy: A forensic investigation By Elif Batuman SEE ALSO: Authors, Russian; Congresses; Criticism and interpretation; Death and burial; Batuman NV, Elif; Homes and haunts; Travel—Russia; Tolstoy, Leo, graf PDF TEXT IMAGES
54-60	Article Bearing arms: The serious boy at war By Benjamin Busch SEE ALSO: Busch, Benjamin; Biography; Firearms; Iraq War, 2003-; Personal narratives, American; United States. Marine Corps PDF TEXT IMAGES
61-68	Fiction The world of cheese By Joseph O'Neill PDF TEXT IMAGES
69-74	Review Unbeliever in the impossible: The poetry of Mahmoud Darwish By Robyn Creswell SEE ALSO: Udhari, Abdullah; Adunis; El-Zein, Amira; Caricatures and cartoons; Forché, Carolyn; Burt, Clarissa; Moore, Daniel; Joudah, Fady; Ghazoul, Ferial Jabouri; Haddawy, Husain; Muhawi, Ibrahim; Sacks, Jeffrey; Darwish, Mahmud; Memory for forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 (Book); Engen, Mona; Akash, Munir; Abdulahad, Noel; Qasim, Samih; Boulos, Sargon; Antun, Sinan; Abdulnasser, Tahia Khaled; The Adam of two Edens (Book); The butterfly's burden (Book); Unfortunately, it was paradise (Book); Victims of a map: a bilingual anthology of Arabic poetry (Book); Why did you leave the horse alone? (Book) PDF TEXT IMAGES
75-82	Review Art is: The audacity of still life By Benjamin Moser SEE ALSO: Coorte, Adriaen; Criticism and interpretation; Buvelot, Quentin; The still lifes of Adriaen Coorte (Book) PDF TEXT IMAGES
83	Puzzle/Department Upgrades By Richard Maltby PDF IMAGES
84	Findings/Article Findings By Rafil Kroll-Zaidi PDF TEXT IMAGES

WEEKLY REVIEW
WASHINGTON BABYLON
SENTENCES
NO COMMENT
MR. FISH
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
COMMENTARY

Weekly Review By Sam Stark	Feb 24
Weekly Review By Genevieve Smith	Feb 3
Weekly Review By Claire Gutierrez	Feb 10
Weekly Review By Christopher R. Beha	Feb 17

By Ken Silverstein

Former High Times Publisher on the Phelps-Bong “Scandal”	8:53 AM Feb 6
A Positive Spin on Tom Daschle: “The second-biggest whore for the health care industry in American politics”	3:12 PM Feb 2
Feds Raid Another Firm Linked to Congressman Murtha	11:15 PM Feb 9
WellCare’s National Health Care Plan	9:54 AM Feb 17
Senator Jim Bunning: Stupid — the kind you don’t get better from	8:14 AM Feb 23
Senator Coleman’s Finances: Does anyone see a pattern here?	2:39 PM Feb 5
General Zinni Gets Shafted	7:30 PM Feb 4
Dusty Foggo to the Slammer	1:33 PM Feb 26
Government Details Case Against Former CIA Official	8:14 AM Feb 25
Note to Taxpayers: You just lost 30 percent on the federal bailout	8:39 AM Feb 6
Rocky Mountain News, Farewell Edition	2:36 PM Feb 26
Tom Daschle: Secretary of Health and Public Speaking Fees	9:01 AM Feb 2
Charity For Poor Funnels Money to GOP	9:41 AM Feb 17
New EPA Official’s Law Firm Lends Industry Helping Hand	4:24 PM Feb 25
Climate Change: There’s money to be made	9:12 AM Feb 25
DeLayed Reaction: House majority whip’s foundation has that old-time aroma	7:27 AM Feb 3
A Real Vetting Problem: Japanese minister quits after “drunken appearance” at news conference	9:10 AM Feb 17
Tom Daschle and the Old Boys’ Club	10:51 AM Feb 1
Lobby Firm Raided by Feds Has Deep Links to Democrats	9:38 AM Feb 10
Did Murtha’s Favorite Lobby Firm Use Straw Donors?	8:47 AM Feb 14
Spin, Spin: From Diplomat to Bechtel	9:34 AM Feb 20
Daschle Watch	8:49 AM Feb 3
Did Secret Payments Secure Kyrgyz Military Base?	3:57 PM Feb 9
CIA Under Obama: Not much change?	10:43 AM Feb 26
So Who Did He Pay Off?	3:58 PM Feb 5
Congressman Austria’s History Lesson	3:28 PM Feb 11
Warren Buffett: Floating on $2.8 Billion	3:25 PM Feb 28
Bush’s Plutocrat Assistance Program	9:09 AM Feb 2
Homeland Security TV: Be Very Afraid	2:56 PM Feb 11
Obama Strategy for Managing G.O.P. Opposition: Cookies	12:43 PM Feb 4
Joe Lieberman, Stand-up Comic: So did you hear the one about waterboarding?	10:57 AM Feb 1
More Donors to Congressman James Clyburn’s Personal Charity	8:55 AM Feb 4
What to Expect at Panetta’s Confirmation Hearing	12:32 PM Feb 5
Will Former Congressman Weldon Walk?	9:06 AM Feb 18
Senator David Vitter and the Inevitability of STDs	8:35 AM Feb 6
Murders in Iraq: Not fit for prime time	6:48 PM Feb 25
Back to the Beach for Congressman Waters’s Husband?	11:20 AM Feb 18
Daschle’s Pontiac: When Tom was a penny pincher	11:03 AM Feb 3
Clean Energy? A profile of oilman Ely Calil	10:40 AM Feb 18
Why No Attacks on U.S. Since 9/11?	3:59 PM Feb 25
Turkmen Dictator Finds Help in United States	9:20 AM Feb 20
The Daschle Affair and the Washington Bubble	8:34 AM Feb 4
Congressman Rangel Buys and Sells and Doesn’t Tell	11:17 AM Feb 4
Is Phil Gramm Involved in UBS Case?	7:42 AM Feb 20
A Brief Guide to the Foggo Case Johns and Janes	9:38 AM Feb 27
Joliet Jackhammer: New job for Blago?	8:14 AM Feb 12
Local Media Barred From Plouffe Speech in Azerbaijan	3:52 PM Feb 9
Religion, Politics and Porn	9:07 AM Feb 28
How Tom Daschle Scrambles to Make Ends Meet	8:22 AM Feb 3
American Arms Sales to Iraq: Signs of a long stay?	9:02 AM Feb 11
Former CIA Official on Engagement With Hamas and Middle East Peace	8:14 AM Feb 11
Obama Nominee’s Past Includes Botched Privatization of Uranium Company	9:00 AM Feb 17
Obama Mulling Radical Tax Plan	5:20 PM Feb 3
An Australian Reporter’s Take on the Middle East	3:02 PM Feb 11
What’s That in His Pocket?	12:51 PM Feb 13
Controversial Lobby Firm Still Winning Earmarks: Congressional sponsors identified	9:18 PM Feb 23
Former CIA Official on Gitmo, Iraqi Elections and Iran Policy	7:15 AM Feb 10
Will Defense Get Cut?	7:42 AM Feb 9
David Plouffe and the Call of Oil	9:33 AM Feb 8
Six Questions for Deborah Nelson on Vietnam War Crimes, and Why They Matter Now	8:51 AM Feb 2
Budget, High and Low	8:36 AM Feb 27
Plouffing the Press	7:49 AM Feb 13
That Was Fast: Obama staffer lands on his feet in private sector	5:47 PM Feb 2

By Wyatt Mason

The Same Line of Inquiry	5:11 PM Feb 25
Netherland; or, the Fishy Artificial Starfish	2:52 PM Feb 9
Beings, Things, Landscapes	3:32 PM Feb 19
Have Another Biscuit With Your Tea	5:21 PM Feb 23
A Timeless Story, Beautifully Told	4:29 PM Feb 16
Stars to Wish On	3:08 PM Feb 11
Holiday Weekend Double-barrel Weekend Read: “The skies of Genesis are watery,” & “I still liked to think of myself as approachable”	2:20 PM Feb 13
A Quiet Pealing of Bells	12:56 PM Feb 20
Weekend Read: “The upside-down carcass of a wolf”	2:18 PM Feb 27

Einstein’s Human Cosmos	8:59 AM Feb 28
Ann Coulter Again Faces Voting Fraud Allegations	4:02 PM Feb 9
Leonardo’s Human Microcosm	9:50 AM Feb 21
Vives’s Fable of Humankind	6:49 AM Feb 14
When “The Stupid Party” Had Brains	10:45 AM Feb 24
Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!”	8:43 AM Feb 15
Halliburton Settlement Leaves Unsettling Questions	12:49 PM Feb 15
Why Are Justice Department Lawyers Defending John Yoo?	7:57 PM Feb 11
Rod and Norm and Eliot and David	4:36 PM Feb 1
Talks in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara	8:53 PM Feb 17
Will Prosecutorial Misconduct Lead to Reversal of the Stevens Conviction?	5:27 PM Feb 6
Momentum Builds for Bush Crimes Inquiry as Pelosi Criticizes Immunity Suggestion	7:42 AM Feb 26
Obama’s Lincoln Day Speech	1:48 PM Feb 14
Tortured to Death	11:17 PM Feb 11
Leahy: Create a Truth Commission Now	4:08 PM Feb 9
Secret Crimes	8:52 AM Feb 10
Our Voyage to Brobdingnag	12:50 PM Feb 20
Goethe’s Quiet Sea	7:57 AM Feb 1
“The Stupid Party”	8:36 AM Feb 24
The Absentee School Teacher	4:43 PM Feb 25
Cooperation, Rove Style	2:27 PM Feb 4
Lingering Questions About Renditions Plague the U.S.–U.K. Relationship	6:21 PM Feb 28
The Enemy Combatant Canard	7:26 AM Feb 18
Scalia Blasts Public Corruption Cases	7:47 PM Feb 23
Bring the Torture Team to Justice	10:57 AM Feb 13
Remembering the Real War President	1:16 PM Feb 12
Bush Administration Threatened Britain Over Torture Disclosures	11:05 AM Feb 4
Did the White House Dictate the Torture Memos?	9:48 AM Feb 17
Human Rights and Military Bases	10:31 AM Feb 28
Former Gitmo Guard Tells All	1:07 PM Feb 15
Crimes and Secrets, and Foggo	8:04 AM Feb 26
Pentagon Targeted and Mistreated Journalists, AP Head Charges	11:52 AM Feb 7
Lieberman’s Sense of Humor	11:49 AM Feb 1
Heine/Mendelssohn: Upon the Wings of Song	6:50 AM Feb 8
The Mess at Manas	10:51 AM Feb 4
Six Questions for Karen Greenberg, Author of The Least Worst Place	2:28 PM Feb 19
A Party of Natural Comedians	10:41 PM Feb 15
Rove in Contempt of Congress, Again	2:11 PM Feb 23
British Court Reopens U.S. Torture Case as Obama is Lobbied to Change Course	1:15 PM Feb 12
Transitions	11:36 PM Feb 13
Reversing Course at Justice	9:02 AM Feb 2
Renditions Buffoonery	8:44 AM Feb 2
Department of Bigotry Masquerading as Reporting	8:05 PM Feb 21
Gain a Base, Lose a Friend	12:45 PM Feb 20
The Liberal’s Lament	12:48 PM Feb 20
UK Acknowledges Complicity in Renditions Program	12:16 PM Feb 26
Dr. Phibes Rises Again	11:46 AM Feb 5
Internal Justice Probe Lambasts Yoo and Bradbury over Memos	10:47 PM Feb 14
More on the Renditions Hoopla	11:56 PM Feb 2
Injudicious Justice	11:21 AM Feb 6
Mendelssohn at 200	3:47 PM Feb 3
Starr Charts Republican Strategy on Obama Judicial Nominees	1:57 PM Feb 16
“Pallin’ Around With Sarah and Bill”	7:06 PM Feb 11
Thucydides on the Meaning of History	8:46 AM Feb 7
From Petrarcha’s Trionfo del Tempo	8:06 AM Feb 22
Jurists: War on Terror Tactics Have Undermined Basic Values	9:59 AM Feb 17
Lincoln–The Eternal Struggle	8:53 AM Feb 12
The Crumbling State Secrets Ploy	10:19 AM Feb 28