The Bikini Car Wash: One Sexist Tradition

Kimberly Gadette, Women's eNews

Reproductive Justice and Gender: Bikini car washes, inexplicably sanctioned by many parents, teach girls the best way to turn a buck is by stripping down for men.

What 15,000 Reporters Are Doing at the DNC

Justin Peters, Columbia Journalism Review

Election 2008: Drinking, complaining and getting massages are just a few of reporters' preferred convention activities.

Dems Nominate Obama, Unify and Transform the Party

John Nichols, TheNation.com

Election 2008: A hundred years ago, Dems questioned whether to take a stand against lynching. Today, Obama's nomination completes a long process of transformation.

Should Uncle Sam Be Helping CEOs Get Richer?

Sam Pizzigati, Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: America's overpaid corporate execs have plenty of people to thank for their good fortune, including average American taxpayers.

Immigration: Too Hot for the Dems?

Roberto Lovato, New America Media

Immigration: America's brutal immigration detention network is getting little attention from Democratic reformers and their institutional allies in Denver.

Bush Is Pouring Gas on Afghanistan's Bonfire

Chris Hedges, Truthdig

ForeignPolicy: Mounting NATO bombing raids and widespread detentions of Afghans are rapidly turning the country into the mirror image of Iraq.

Hillary Electrifies: "Nothing Less Than the Fate of Our Nation ... Hangs in the Balance"

Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

Election 2008: In a speech to a roaring crowd at the DNC, Hillary Clinton gave full support to Barack Obama, promising to fight for health care and the environment.

The Villains of the Housing Crisis Are Denying All Responsibility

Dean Baker, TruthOut.org

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The housing crisis is a result of reckless deregulation by specific individuals.

John McCain: Running for War President at Any Cost

Robert Scheer, Truthdig

In order to win, McCain needs a new Cold War. Lucky for him that Republicans are so good at whipping up false international threats.

The Christian Right's Got a New Stealth Tactic to Smuggle Creationism into Science Class

Sandhya Bathija, Church & State Magazine

Rights and Liberties: A new law in Louisiana allows teachers to bring in "supplemental textbooks" about evolution, the origins of life and global warming to science class.

Does McCain Really Need Another Mansion? Giving Him White House Is One Too Many

Jared Bernstein, Huffington Post

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: McCain's got eight houses and a level of wealth that insulates him from the real lives of 99% of Americans. That's dangerous for a president.

Women Film Critics: An Endangered Species?

Jennifer Merin, The Women's Media Center

Reproductive Justice and Gender: The lack of female voices in film criticism is a manifestation of an industry that favors male-oriented movies and audiences.

Dispatch from Denver: Making Climate Change the Issue

Jeffrey Allen, OneWorld.net

Environment: Why we need to make "global warming" the most important issue of the convention.

Michelle Obama Moves First Lady Role into 21st Century

Adele Stan, Huffington Post

Reproductive Justice and Gender: Michelle Obama's appearance last night conveyed an admirable unwillingness to diminish herself and her gifts to fit a sexist ideal.

10 Ways Obama Should Not Imitate the John Kerry Campaign

Drew Westen, Huffington Post

Election 2008: Dems have used the same playbook to guide themselves to losing presidential campaigns for decades. Here are the techniques Obama should avoid.

Michelle Introduces Who the Obamas Really Are: Just Like All of Us

Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

Election 2008: Michelle Obama gives an inspiring and intimate introduction to her family's all-American success story. And: Ted Kennedy passes the torch.

Half of Americans Believe GOP Spin on Obama's Tax Plan

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Election 2008: Even though Obama says he'll cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, Gallup records 53 percent thinking he'll raise them.

Police Trap Peaceful Protesters in Denver

Davin Hutchins, American News Project

Video: Not everything is warm and fuzzy at the DNC.

The Pinched Middle Class Is Ditching Target for Wal-Mart

Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Money is on the mind of voters as they see their paychecks shrink from inflation, their jobs threatened and their middle-class dreams diminished.

Looking Back at Five Years of Bush's Wreckage in Iraq

Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com

War on Iraq: Bush's supporters see the global war on terrorism as a "clash of civilizations" -- yet the civilization we are destroying in Iraq is part of our own.

Priced Out of Prescription Drugs

Isaiah J. Poole, Campaign for America's Future

Health and Wellness: Reducing drug industry influence is critical to bringing skyrocketing prescription drug and health care costs under control.

Will Thirsty States Get Great Lakes Water?

Dave Dempsey, AlterNet

Water: A new compact protecting the Great Lakes is set to pass Congress, but there are a few green critics with serious concerns.

Unplug and Recharge: Can Arianna Huffington Really Make Politicos More Self-Aware?

Don Hazen, AlterNet

In a stark contrast to the endless talk and politics, Arianna Huffington launches campaign for more self-awareness at the Democratic Convention.

Afghan President Pardons Men Convicted of Gang Rape

Kate Clark, Independent UK

Rights and Liberties: President Hamid Karzai has pardoned three men who were found guilty of brutally raping a woman in the northern province of Samangan.

The Three Dumbest Neocon Predictions Since the Disaster in Iraq

John Dolan, AlterNet

ForeignPolicy: Nothing seems to keep the Neocons from losing respectability. Here are three contenders for the dumbest Neocon predictions post-Iraq.

Outrageous CEO Salaries Are a Nationwide Scandal -- Where Are the Politicians?

Sarah Anderson, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Obama and McCain are both taking whacks at overpaid CEOs, but their solutions fall short.

Joe Biden Is a Key Fighter in Dissolving Bush's 'Terror' Myths

Andy Worthington, AlterNet

Election 2008: Biden doesn't have clean hands when it comes to Iraq, but he's been a leader in re-establishing the rule-of-law in Bush's terror war.

Welcome to the Food Revolution

Kerry Trueman, AlterNet

Environment: The Slow Food Nation gathering promises to be a Woodstock for food lovers and enviros concerned with our food system.

Unplug and Recharge: Can Arianna Huffington Really Make Politicos More Self-Aware?

Don Hazen, AlterNet

In a stark contrast to the endless talk and politics, Arianna Huffington launches campaign for more self-awareness at the Democratic Convention.

Obama and McCain: The Stakes Are Too Huge for 'Civil' Politics

Frank Rich, The New York Times

Election 2008: R.I.P., 'Change We Can Believe in.' The fierce urgency of the 21st century demands Change Before It's Too Late.

Almost Half of Iraqi Adults Are Unemployed

Anna Badkhen, Truthdig

War on Iraq: "If you don't have money to pay bribes, you can't get a job," says one mechanical engineer. "I'd drive a garbage truck; I'd do anything,"

American Legion Immigration Report Replete With Falsehoods

Sonia Scherr, Southern Poverty Law Center

Immigration: America's largest veterans organization has launched a hard-line attack on undocumented immigrants that's at odds with its mainstream image.

Media Sees Biden Pick as Big Plus for Dem Ticket

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Election 2008: But his overall record is a mixed-bag for progressives.

Joe Biden Is a Key Fighter in Dissolving Bush's 'Terror' Myths

Andy Worthington, AlterNet

Election 2008: Biden doesn't have clean hands when it comes to Iraq, but he's been a leader in re-establishing the rule-of-law in Bush's terror war.

Jerome Corsi: How a Racist, Conspiratorial Crank Became a Top GOP Anti-Obama Point Man

Max Blumenthal, The Nation

Election 2008: Corsi's success represents the apotheosis of a long, strange trip from the furthest shores of the right into the national spotlight.

Same Sex Marriage Affects the Whole Country

Suzi Steffen, AlterNet

Sex and Relationships: How same-sex marriage in California affects the country -- and the election.

For the Next 10 Weeks, Obama Should Hammer McCain on the Economy

Bob Herbert, The New York Times

Election 2008: A populist message and a willingness to take the fight to his opponent is Barack Obama's ticket to the White House.

What Will the Green Economy Look Like?

Adele M. Stan, Media Consortium

Environment: We all say we want to go green, but do we all see the same kinds of change when we imagine an eco-friendly economy?

Did McCain Just Lose Colorado?

Joseph Romm, Climate Progress

Water: McCain might have just lost Colorado after saying he wanted to renegotiate a 1922 water deal and take water from Colorado and New Mexico.

Who Will Crash the Democratic and Republican Conventions?

Michael Gould-Wartofsky, The Nation

Rights and Liberties: As a new generation of activists gears up to take to the streets in Denver and the Twin Cities, can they create democracy from outside?

Bush's Bureaucratic Dark Arts: Why the Federal Register Is the Most Important Publication in America Right Now

Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive

Bush has vowed to sprint through his final five months, and is pushing through a vast plan to alter countless federal programs.