Ames Progressive

The following essay is an expanded version of a guest commentary that appeared in the Iowa State Daily.
To many of us, it seems that, while there may be no conscious effort on the part of the media to minimise the injustice suffered by the Palestinians, there is nonetheless a tendency to report on the Israeli […]

[Read more →]

George W. Bush’s ability to create chaos and violence has consistently trumped his capacity for diplomacy. Bush’s unique cocktail of petulance, arrogance and incompetence have produced a foreign policy characterized by the use blunt force (and borrowed money) on the one hand and a dismissive attitude toward diplomatic relations on the other. Two of the […]

[Read more →]

The Supreme Court issued an order on May 12 stating that it would not be able to hear a case involving black South Africans suing 50 of some of the worlds largest corporations because the court lacked a quorum. The suit is being brought against such corporations as British Petroleum, Exxon Mobile, IBM, 3M, Citigroup, […]

[Read more →]

As a woman, I have created two selves. Complex individuals that twist and grow together like ivy vines or like the tendons deep beneath my skin. One self that is the truest and most loving self, the other, a self that feels it must be beautiful. Beautiful as defined by a society of mini-skirts, make-up, […]

[Read more →]

[Read more →]

You are
the place of desire
the quiet
surrounding my poem
the meaning
in solitary hums
and rhythm
You are the place
of desire
the taste
on my tongue
planting small purple flowers
on plateaus
of white space
You are the place of desire
scattered leaves
on my grave
whispering me to exist
in ways
I am able, unfamiliar
and willing

[Read more →]

The following is the full text of Nick Lindsley’s three-part interview with Bill Ayers. Ayers is a former member of the Weather Underground, a radical leftist organization active in the ’60s. Today, Ayers is a Professor at the University of Illinois. The interviews originally appeared in Volume 1, Issues 2, 3 and 6 of the […]

[Read more →]

It is Monday. Nurses clinic today. Even without a physician, it is busy. Many people come by wanting prescription refills for their bottles that have been empty for days, maybe months. We have to turn them away. Come back tomorrow, the doctor will be here tomorrow. Some people check in for something as simple as […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

He mentioned it in passing. As though the idea served as anecdotal fodder to fill a halfhearted conversation. “I had an opportunity to buy tickets for the Wizards’ playoff game,” my uncle Marvin said.
Without pondering the ins and outs of the trip I stoned my uncle by imploring him to see if the tickets were […]

[Read more →]