The Happiness Index
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Justin Miller was an associate editor at The Atlantic from 2009 to 2011. He is now the homepage editor at New York magazine. More
Times were tough in 2009, but, according to a cool Facebook app, people were happier.
Why it's better for the administration if Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stays in place More »
Next year is shaping up to be the year of the e-reader as Kindles, Nooks, and other devices land under Christmas trees and rumors circulate of an Apple e-reader debut in the spring. If e-readers explode in 2010, then the next year may also be the beginning of the end of a lot of free media on the Web. As millions of people around the world become devotees of e-readers, they will download millions, perhaps billions, of book titles, magazines, and newspapers --… More »
A reclusive, unpopular, electorally unambitious former VP has become the face of the last administration, and, sometimes, the GOP More »
A contrast in populism: Lou Dobbs doesn't blame is old employer or blast the president. Perhaps they should switch places. More »
We don't just have an unemployment crisis. We have a livelihood crisis too. As Washington begins to take on unemployment it needs to realize that the larger economic problem is that the demand for labor is too low. This lack of demand is not manifest in unemployment alone, but also in fewer hours worked, stagnant or falling wages, and the lack of job mobility. These are important economic problems, but they're also psychological troubles because work is a defining… More »
With less money coming in, are Democrats facing a revolt among the faithful? More »
You're probably going to hear what Sarah Palin has to say behind closed doors in China this week.The ex-governor of Alaska is slated to give a speech to a prominent investors club in Hong Kong on Wednesday and is catching grief for barring press coverage of the address. You can safely bet that some or all of Palin's speech will almost surely be revealed by someone's cell phone or digital recorder. Palin is too big, too controversial a figure to have her speech… More »
Could it be that the White House needs to watch more hockey and less boxing?Boxing terms have been mostly used to describe President Obama's tactics in dealing with punches from the right: "rope-a-dope" and "counterpunching" namely. But reading a Washington Post report that said the administration has mostly tried to get above conflict reveals that they're treating Obama like a hockey center instead of a heavyweight. More »
Glenn Beck's recent successes in getting Van Jones to leave the White House, a member of the National Endowment for the Arts reassigned, and pushing ACORN out of next year's census are more examples that the "right-wing noise machine" is no more. It is now part and parcel of the mainstream media. More »
America may leave Afghanistan, but Afghanistan may not leave America. As influential commentators push for immediate withdrawal, they need to answer a question about what may follow if their wishes become reality. Under what conditions should the United States ever return to fight on the ground in Afghanistan after leaving? After all, recent converts to the position that America should get out of Afghanistan haven't become pacifists. Instead they see our… More »
You could be forgiven for not realizing America is a monarchy after listening to debates over which president wrecked the country's balance sheet. The topic du jour is how much George W. Bush's fiscal policies contributed to the estimated $9 trillion federal deficit predicted for the next ten years. In the past several months right-wing critics of President Obama have also slammed him for profligate spending that will make serfs of the next generation. In their… More »
In about two weeks the country will experience its first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks with Barack Obama as president. How will the distant but indelible memory affect the new commander in chief's efforts to undo some of his predecessor's national security policies? The anniversary could roil Attorney General Eric Holder's first steps toward potential prosecution of Central Intelligence Agency employees for allegedly torturing terrorists. This… More »
Until a media spree on Thursday Mitt Romney has been nowhere to be seen. This is surprising given the past few weeks' focus on health care should be the perfect moment for Romney to speak out.The former Massachusetts governor is the only Republican to deliver universal health insurance coverage. Romney's status as a once-and-possibly-future presidential candidate keeps him relevant to the press. Not to mention he's well suited for TV because he's good looking and… More »
Why has health care reform's public support fallen despite its push among a popular president and significant Democratic majorities in Congress?It would have been hard to believe several months ago that the high flying president and the liberals in Congress would have had multiple provisions in different bills stripped out and that the public insurance option would be seemingly on the ropes.Given the particular trouble the health care agenda is in, now is a good… More »
Despite the attention paid to "Birthers," their lasting legacy on the Republican Party has probably been overlooked: the mass alienation of voters from the GOP.Two main thoughts have circulated about the finding that most Republicans deny or are unsure about President Obama's birthright citizenship. First, these people show how insane and insular the GOP is. Second, the more this is talked about, the fewer Democrats have to defend their agenda and the crazier… More »
