Taking the Pulse: America's Heart Beats Faster As Election Day Approaches
by Morris Sullivan
With the presidential campaign moving into full swing, there is already a good deal of "crap" out there. Between now and November, American voters will be fed a steady diet of truths, half-truths, and flat-out falsehoods before we go to the polls to elect–or re-elect–a president. Both Democrats and Republicans will count on American voters to digest much of it in the coming months. But what are people thinking now, with the election less than five months away?

From the Editor:
by Craig Mazer
Organic Inconsistencies–"When I'm spending $8 per pound for a red pepper, I damn well better be getting a pesticide-free vegetable. But, under the changes ... passed ... in April, the organic vegetables I ate might not be as clean as I had thought."

Notes From the Cultural Wasteland
by Morris Sullivan
These days, almost everyone from government to Rush Limbaugh and MoveOn wants to control the information available. Morris has a suggestion for those who want to restrict the exchange of ideas.

Comic Relief: The Muddlemarch
by Neal Skorpen
Choose: Missed Opportunities | Pre-Election Angst

Activism Unleashed
by Heather Moore
People of all ages and walks of life are taking on industries that abuse and exploit animals and raising awareness about animal rights issues.

Debbie Doesn't Do Dallas
by Adam Finley
The porn industry was stymied recently when several stars were diagnosed with HIV. The industry may be in jeopardy unless it can convince the public that its stars aren't spreading diseases around like candy at a parade.

Climbing the White Escalator
by Betsy Leondar-Wright
Historically, for people of color, the escalator has been broken. Sometimes they have had to hike up a fast-moving down escalator. No matter how hard they worked, they rarely got the same rewards as white people.

Quickies
by various writers
A little bit on a whole heck of a hell of a lot of CDs.

Advertiser Index: The businesses that make this magazine possible; includes lots of cool music-label links.

This issue's quotes:

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."