Digs

LGBTQIA+

Year of the Queer: Hollywood and Homosexuality

Larry Gross / Truthdig Feb 27, 2006 Truthdig's Larry Gross, a pioneer in the field of gay studies, argues that for all the hoopla surrounding "Brokeback Mountain" and this year's spate of gay-themed films, there is little about them that upends Hollywood conventions or challenges popular ideas about homosexuality. "Hollywood and much of the media may be awash in liberal self-congratulation," Gross writes, "but they--and we--are also soaking in the familiar hypocrisy of homophobia." Update: Down to the WireGross argues that for all the hoopla surrounding "Brokeback Mountain" and this year's spate of gay-themed films, there is little about them that upends Hollywood conventions or challenges popular ideas about homosexuality. Dig deeper ( 22 Min. Read )

Race

In Google, Yahoo, Should We Trust?

Mark Malseed / Truthdig Feb 15, 2006 For years, we've been supplying the oracles of Google and Yahoo with the most intimate details our personal health, political leanings, and secret obsessions. The government is already combing through Internet archives.Mark Malseed, co-author of the international bestseller "The Google Story," argues that it's time we started asking better questions about our queries. For years, we've been supplying the oracles of Google and Yahoo with the most intimate details our personal health, political leanings, and secret obsessions. It's time we started asking better questions about our queries. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

President Jonah, Meet Oliver Cromwell!

Gore Vidal / Truthdig Feb 8, 2006 Building on his "President Jonah" theme, Gore Vidal offers another angle on Bush's presidency, illuminated by the recent spate of wildfires in Southern California.Updated: Internationally-acclaimed man of letters Gore Vidal issues a new conclusion to his essay about the corruption of the Bush administration: "This is what we call dictatorship. Dictatorship. Dictatorship. And it is time we objected." Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Response to Reader Comments and Criticsm

Sam Harris / Truthdig Jan 27, 2006 While "An Atheist Manifesto" received considerable support from readers of Truthdig, a variety of criticisms surfaced in the reader commentary I summarize and respond. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Race

The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq

Ron Kovic / Truthdig Jan 18, 2006 Ron Kovic, veteran of the Vietnam War and author of the reissued classic "Born on the Fourth of July," writes a compelling and empathetic piece on his personal experiences and concerns for a new generation of veterans returning from war. Ron Kovic provides a personal account of his wounding in war, a plea for peace, and expresses his concerns for a new generation of veterans returning from Iraq. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Bah Humbug to You Too!

The Rev. Madison Shockley / Truthdig Dec 21, 2005 The culture wars have clearly gotten out of hand when the front line is Christmas. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Big Blowup Over Venezuela

Marc Cooper / Truthdig Dec 14, 2005 Update: Hugo Chavez and the Latin American left picked up an important new ally when, a few weeks ago, peasant leader Evo Morales (shown at right here) was elected as president of Bolivia. What's all the fuss over Hugo Chavez? Marc Cooper examines the mercurial leader and his contentious relations with the Bush administration. Dig deeper ( 16 Min. Read )

An Atheist Manifesto

Sam Harris / Truthdig Dec 7, 2005 Sam Harris argues against irrational faith and its adherents.For Sam Harris it's simple: Atheism is not a philosophy or a view of the world; it's simply a refusal to deny the obvious. Dig deeper ( 17 Min. Read )

In Response to…

Orville Schell / Truthdig Dec 3, 2005 I would agree that things in China have gone far better than anyone predicted during the dark post-1989 days But, what explains that success? Good visionary planning? Strong leadership? A national psyche exhausted by any kind of turmoil? Good luck? The danger is that even the best economy tends to be cyclical, and it is far from clear that China has the political legitimacy, deeply enough rooted political institutions, or shared set of values to help it survive a downturn As to Wintermute and whether Taiwan is worth fighting for I personally do not believe that any functioning democracy is worth throwing over the side to keep some other sort of the peace - commercial or otherwise We Americans forget. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Asia Pacific

China: Boom or Boomerang

Orville Schell / Truthdig Dec 3, 2005 At the same time that China is recording huge increases in trade surpluses and currency reserves, deadly riots are breaking out on the outskirts of some of the country's largest cities. In this Dig, scholar Orville Schell challenges the current wisdom about China being an inevitable superpower and unstoppable economic force.Schell challenges the current wisdom that China is an inevitable superpower and unstoppable economic force. Dig deeper ( 16 Min. Read )

Belief & Religion

Righteous Opportunism

Larry Gross / Truthdig Dec 1, 2005 Speaking of religion, the current controversies over same-sex marriage are mostly derived from the hostility of religious institutions to the inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the "sacred institution" of marriage. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Belief & Religion

Inventing Sin: Religion and Homosexuality

Larry Gross / Truthdig Dec 1, 2005 No matter their own scandals, religious institutions through history have a consistent scapegoat: homosexuals. Larry Gross digs into why churches condemn gays to damnation. Religious institutions throughout history have a consistent scapegoat: homosexuals. Gross writes on why gays have been condemned to damnation. Dig deeper ( 21 Min. Read )