The New Republic

A proposed bill in the Texas legislature known as the "Topless Tax" would tax patrons a $5 cover charge to enter strip clubs. The cover charge would then go directly into sexual-assault prevention and counseling services. This makes a certain amount of sense to me. READ MORE >>

by Darin McMahon READ MORE >>

by Linda HirshmanI had an interesting experience on the Internet last week after I opined in the Post that women are disaffected from politics. Surprise: Even serious people behave strangely in the blogosphere. Once you clear the noise away, though, sometimes important work gets done. READ MORE >>

by Eric RauchwaySomehow the combination of David's and my comments on NPR prompted Geoff to cast me in the role of Amurrica-hating Anglophile Archers-listener who prefers READ MORE >>

by Geoffrey Nunberg You can think of this as special pleading, but with all respect toEric and David, I don't think American public radio needs a whole lot of defending. On the whole, it does a terrific job of bringing news, analysis, and cultural commentary to a large and appreciative public. It has developed READ MORE >>

by Eric Rauchway I concede that few genres of question more reliably annoy than, "Why do the British do it better?", because so many things, they don't. But I wish now to ask: Why are there so many excellent program(me)s on BBC Radio 4 with no American counterpart? And specifically, why do they get so much more out of their professors and general intellectuals? Let's pick two examples, both podcast, so you can listen for yourself. READ MORE >>

A quick recap for anyone who hasn't been following this story: John Edwards recently hired two liberal bloggers--Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon and Melissa McEwan of Shakespeare's Sister--to blog for his campaign. READ MORE >>

Excuse my sparse blogging today, but I'm a bit preoccupied thinking about a certain sporting event that's taking place tonight. If you too are a bit preoccupied by said certain sporting event, you can't do much better than reading this preview by the excellent Will Blythe. READ MORE >>

While we're discussing potentially offensive Superbowl ads, what do gay rights groups with tons of money on their hands spend their time doing? Fighting against anti-gay ballot initiatives? No, condemning supposedly homophobic television commercials. READ MORE >>

Overheard at NASA Captain Lisa Marie Nowak's preliminary hearing... READ MORE >>