Ames Progressive

I once read a quote that said if you wanted to avoid a nuclear catastrophe during the Cold War, then you should move to Bolivia. Indeed, this quiet Andean nation has been historically associated with little excitement beyond its coca production, its concentration of indigenous peoples, and its unpredictable politics. As Howard Zinn notes in […]

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Manipulated intelligence leading to devastation in the Middle East; a carefully crafted environment of perpetual fear; and extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial torture, and kangaroo courts, habeas corpus and international treaties be damned – such is the tragic legacy of the Bush administration’s “war on terror.”
But after years of tortured logic by Republican lawmakers and administration officials […]

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As a vegetarian of two years, I’ve always thrown around the idea of being vegan. Veganism, or the elimination of all animal products, including eggs and dairy, from one’s diet and lifestyle, isn’t exactly a familiar concept in small town Iowa. Living in a largely agricultural state, most people wouldn’t know how to live their […]

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April 11, 2005. The day seemed like any ordinary Monday as a senior at Ankeny High School. I stumbled half-asleep through the crowded halls from class to class on autopilot, Pavlovian-conditioned to the muffled chimes of the artificial bell heard all-too infrequently over the PA. There was that inescapable fog of mild depression hovering about […]

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“Let’s get the journalist up here!”
The girls giggle as I climb onto the quiet stage. Of course, I’m wearing my reindeer sweater and argyle socks. It soon becomes apparent that pole dancing isn’t my forte. As instructed by the platinum blonde manager, Alex*, I wrap my right leg around the pole and brace myself with […]

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It’s more than a month into the Writers Guild of America strike now. More than a month, consequently, without the barbs of late night stand-ups and Jon Stewart’s insights into the “Clusterf@#k to the White House,” save for a stockroom of old tapes. Television is sorely lacking fresh comic relief from the absurdities […]

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[Editor’s note: Revised and updated for the Web.]
Since the twin towers collapsed in flames on the 11th of September, 2001, a state of fear and unease has inundated America’s psyche as the nation has turned its ear to Washington’s power players and the national news media for the latest on the fight against terror, tragically […]

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