Obama orders closure of Guantanamo, new ethics rules, revisions to CIA's torture playbook. The Bush team's record with Pyongyang these past eight years is a nearly unbroken string of defeats and retreats. Comparing Obama and Bill Clinton as though it's a Harvard-Yale football
Obama takes the oath again--just to be sure. It's now possible to get a fairly exact head count--without a magnifying glass. How to measure the size of a huge crowd. In Iran, only those with satellite TV watched the inauguration; the streets were filled with students
That Obama is considering George Mitchell fills us with excitement, same for Lederman. Op: Palestinians and Hamas could learn a lot from King's example. Notes on how China probably watched Obama's address. Jenna and Barbara's open letter to Sasha and Malia. He feels a
Obama calls immediate halt to Guantanamo Bay trials. Several constitutional lawyers recommend Obama take the oath again, just to be sure. We've gradually become so in sync with this transfiguration of America that we'd collectively, silently, fill in any poetry he might have missed. Reviews of
Barack Hussein Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States of America. Text of President Obama's inaugural speech. Two million visitors fill the National Mall; how much longer before Warren shows his tattoo? The new (virtual) White House has a blog. Adam Levine's aunt texts
To mark the end of the Bush era, selections from eight years of presidential spoofery on TMN: Using a special chemical process, the library is able to keep this section of the World Trade Center burning and producing thick, acrid smoke forever. Paul Ford tours the Presidential Library. There are
Bush spends last full day commuting sentences, placing long-distance calls. What it's like to conduct Obama (see video). The Meridian Star apologizes for "acting with gross neglect" concerning segregation and civil rights. Round-up of varying blog responses to Goldberg's "Why Israel
Ceasefire called in Gaza; death toll rises to 1,300--a third of whom are children. As long as Hamas holds to the ceasefire, says Israel, we'll pull troops from Gaza before Obama's inauguration. "I think a weekly magazine is a standing dinner date...Sometimes
Exclusive, secret Wall Street fraternity hosts black-tie dinner, sings "Bye, bye to my piece of the pie." Consider the trope: Linguistic history of a science-writing cliche. If the war on science is over, we're now entering the postwar phase of reconstruction. Ways for ex-
Judge orders White House to retain emails, reminds that Napoleon wanted to control history, not laws. Harvard law professor, philosopher advises an "instinctively pacifist" Brazil on what role a modern-day army should play. Theatre is slow to respond to crises like Gaza, but it can reveal our
