What Does Palin Really Think of Obama?

Boston Review — Jan-Werner Müller: Making Muslim Democracies. This suggestive analogy between Christian and Muslim Democracy is not lost on Western politicians and intellectuals, but many of them have been at pains to reject it. One line of dismissal, pessimistic in its conclusions, argues that European Catholics only turned to democracy under instruction from the Vatican. Because Muslims do not have anything resembling a hierarchy or central institution of faith, the Christian Democratic example is, according to these critics, irrelevant.

The destruction of knowledge is a sign of desperation and despotism. It’s no accident that it coincides with the militarization of our police forces. OWS Library Update < Killing the Buddha. Back in November of 2011, an epic act of state occurred in New York City—the seizure and destruction of the OWS library. More seizures ensued. The library reappeared on the Brooklyn Bridge. Readers and writers all over the world spoke out against the so-called Bloomberg Bibliocide. What’s been happening with our favorite library? KtB recently caught up with People’s Librarian Betsy Fagin via email.

A Closer Look at the Term 'Islamist' – The Takeaway. Playwright, attorney and commentator Wajahat Ali joins the program to help us pinpoint how the term "Islamist" is used and misused. He's also the lead writer of a Center for American Progress report titled "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America."