Adam Weinstein

Engagement Editor

I'm Mother Jones' engagement editor and Tumblrizer, specializing in explanatory journalism and new-media reporting. As a Navy vet and ex-Iraq contractor, I'm also committed to articulating all things martial—good, bad, and weird—to new audiences.

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Adam Weinstein is Mother Jones' engagement editor, having previously served the magazine as its national security reporter and copy editor. Before that, he worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice, and the Tallahassee Democrat. He's written for the New York Times, New York magazine, GQ, and Newsweek. A Navy veteran, two-day Jeopardy champion and ex-political scientist, he also did a recession-fueled stint as a military contractor in Iraq. For more about Adam and his writing, click here.

The Progressive's Guide to the Republican National Convention

—By Adam Weinstein

| Thu Aug. 23, 2012 8:22 AM PDT

Screenshot courtesy of Progress Florida

All storm-watching aside, if you're a non-conservative heading to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, you may feel a bit intimidated. All that red meat and cheesy tea-party pageantry in one place! What bars are safe? Which crowds are blue?

Fear not: Nonprofit Progress Florida has assembled an online "Progressive Guide to the RNC." From the "Patients Over Politics" bus-tour kickoff to a plug for Cafe Hey, "Tampa's official oasis of chill," the site offers progressives a host of activities and safe spaces during Romneypalooza. Most important: The sidebar lists a bunch of Florida-based journos and blogs that are worth including in your must-reads, for the RNC and beyond.

"Here is the definitive guide for progressives who want to stand up for the middle class, oppose the Republican Party's extremist agenda, and get the unscripted, behind the scenes play-by-play," PF writes. If you'd like to check out the guide, do so here.

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Nobody Puts Tammy Duckworth in a Corner

Her opponent in her race for Congress, Rep. Joe Walsh, calls Obama a "tyrant" and belittles her military service. Bring it on.

—By Adam Weinstein

| September/October 2012 Issue

At a summerfest with constituents. Photos by Danny Wilcox Frazier

WHEN I FIRST MEET TAMMY DUCKWORTH in her suburban Chicago campaign office, she nearly mows me over with her $4,000 titanium wheelchair as she cruises a narrow hallway festooned with military mementos. "I'm actually looking for scissors," she says cheerfully. "They don't let the candidate have scissors! They're afraid I'm gonna roll over and hurt myself."

Mission accomplished, she cuts a pair of shiny silver military insignia out of their packaging to send to a World War II vet she talked to that morning. As she fidgets with the box in her lap, her floral print dress shifts to reveal two carbon-fiber calves, one with a camo design, the other red, white, and blue. They connect to metal extensions that end in polymer-coated feet clad in black saddle shoes. A cane rests between her legs.

Whether or not Duckworth wins a seat in Congress, she'll be celebrating this November. That's because November 12 is her "alive day"—the day she and her three Black Hawk crewmates get together and remember the insurgent attack in 2004 in the skies near Baghdad that brought down their chopper and nearly killed them all. Duckworth left both legs behind.

It's a loss that gave her "a great gift of perspective," she tells me. "At the end of the day it's not about Democrats or Republicans. It's not about Obama or Romney. It's about the fact that on that day, those men carried me out when they didn't have to. They thought I was dead."

Her copilot that day, Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Milberg (who's preparing to deploy on his third overseas tour since 9/11), says if anyone is a hero it's Duckworth. "Too many people, military people included, are too willing to have a pity party," he told me. "Man, there's no time for pity parties—look at this gal."

"What else has she done?" sneered her opponent, Rep. Joe Walsh. "Female, wounded veteran…ehhhh. She is nothing more than a handpicked Washington bureaucrat."

Thirteen months after the attack, Duckworth was back on Army duty on titanium legs, and was training to fly again. By then she had also jumped into public service, advocating better treatment for vets and winning friends with her sunny disposition. (She's been known to work out in T-shirts reading "Dude, where's my leg?" and "Lucky for me he's an ass man.") Even after she became a vocal opponent of the Iraq War, lost a bid for Congress in 2006, and went to work for the Obama administration, her story drew praise from conservatives and liberals alike. "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot Chesley Sullenberger III has called it "beyond inspiring."

Now, Duckworth is running for Congress against Republican incumbent Joe Walsh, a tea party freshman noted for calling President Obama a "tyrant" and engaging in legal battle over his child support payments. Should Duckworth win, she would be the first-ever woman injured in combat to be elected to national office. But to Democrats, the 44-year-old trilingual daughter of a Marine and a Thai immigrant represents much more: the changing face of America, a potential leader for the rights of women and immigrants, and a champion of assistance to the poor, jobless, and disabled. "She could play a key role nationally like no one else," says Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), one of her political mentors. "There are few districts in the country where the choice between candidates so closely reflects the divide in our country."

[Read the full article]

Flowchart: "Can I Get Pregnant?"

Learn the biology of your body, according to conservative male lawmakers.

—By Adam Weinstein

| Wed Aug. 22, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Remember the birds and the bees? The miracle of birth? Forget everything you knew. Turns out there's a lot more to birthin' babies than you might have learned in your godless socialist public-school health class. From this weekend's assertion by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) that women can't conceive babies during a "legitimate rape" to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) saying Monday that he didn't know of any pregnancies caused by incest or statutory rape, conservative male lawmakers targeting reproductive rights have always held, shall we say, minority views on the biology of all things uterine.

Did you know about women's natural stress-induced spermicides? Have you ever seen "God's little protective shield" in a vagina? That's because they don't exist—but these legislators don't know that.

If you're of the double-X persuasion, all of this might leave you a bit flummoxed as to whether you'll conceive. Well, don't worry your pretty little head about it: We've collected the basics of reproductive biology according to conservative politicians, in a handy flowchart format. Need to determine your uterus' destiny? Just ask these men!

Want it in chart form? Click to embiggen:

Interactive production by Tasneem Raja. Want to make your own "Choose Your Own Adventure" flowchart? Check out our GitHub page to fork our code!

The Sikh Temple Shooter's Racist Tattoos, Deciphered

—By Adam Weinstein

| Mon Aug. 6, 2012 1:54 PM PDT

Wade Michael Page

Law enforcement officials in Wisconsin say that Wade Michael Page's tattoos tipped them off to the possibility that his shooting spree in a Sikh temple was domestic terrorism. But what exactly did those tattoos tell them? Using photos of Wade from his white-power band's Myspace page, it's possible to see what concerned police: Much of his body reads like a poster text for white nationalism.

In particular, a tattoo on Page's left shoulder (pictured below) suggests he was a committed devotee of white-power ideology. The tattoo consists of a large "14" in Gothic lettering superimposed on a black cross in a circle. The cross, known elsewhere as "Odin's Cross," is "one of the most popular symbols for neo-Nazis and white supremacists," according to the Anti-Defamation League. It's also used as a logo by Stormfront.org, one of the world's most-visited racist web forums.

Wade Michael Page, with a white-power tattoo visible on his shoulder Myspace

The "14" itself is particularly telling: It's a reference to "the 14 words," a racist credo first set down by David Lane, the cofounder of a white nationalist terror group known as The Order. (The Order—whose name was inspired by a similar group immortalized in William Luther Pierce's racist novel, The Turner Diaries, a favorite of Timothy McVeigh's—has been active for nearly 30 years and was implicated in the 1984 murder of Alan Berg, a liberal Jewish radio host.)

As formulated by Lane, the 14 words are reportedly inspired by a longer passage from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and form the basis for Lane's "88 Precepts" (PDF), in which he lays out The Order's founding philosophy—including its condemnation of homosexuality, abortion, and "mixing and destruction of the founding race." (88, too, has special significance for neo-Nazis and other white hate groups.)

In their entirety, the 14 words—commemorated on Page's skin—read: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

Mother Jones has also obtained a copy of a 2010 interview with Page, courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center, conducted by his band's white-power record distributor, Label 56—you can read the full text below.

In the interview, Page describes how he traveled to Southern California to play bass for a series of skinhead bands called Youngland, Celtic Warrior, Radikahl, Max Resist, Intimidation One, Aggressive Force, and Blue Eyed Devils. He also spoke openly about the frustrations with society that led him to start his own racist band, End Apathy, in 2005. "A lot of what I realized at the time was that if we could figure out how to end peoples apathetic ways it would be the start towards moving forward," he said. "Of course after that it requires discipline, strict discipline to stay the course in our sick society."

Update: For more info on Page's tats—including a 9/11 tribute and a Confederate stars and bars—check out The New Yorker and Lawyers, Guns & Money. And for a full rundown on the Sikh temple shooting, jump over to our explainer.

Wade Michael Page band interview (PDF)Wade Michael Page band interview (Text)

What We Know About the Sikh Temple Shooting in Wisconsin So Far

Seven people are reported dead, including a gunman steeped in neo-Nazi views.

—By Asawin Suebsaeng, Adam Weinstein, and Adam Serwer

| Sun Aug. 5, 2012 11:58 AM PDT

Photo by Rick Wood/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Zuma

About 30 people were inside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb just south of Milwaukee, at 11:30 a.m. Sunday when gunfire broke out and at least seven people were killed, including alleged gunman Wade Michael Page who reportedly exchanged fire with a police officer. According to police, the gunman was killed and the officer was shot, wounding him critically. At least two other people were also injured.

President Obama, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (statement), and the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, have been briefed on the situation.

Here's CNN's initial report of the shooting that took place at the Sikh gurdwara:

Here's what you need to know:

Who was the shooter?

Authorities have identified the alleged gunman as Wade Michael Page. Sources say that Page had once served in the U.S. military, according to CBS News. Police officials have described the suspect as a stocky, 40-something Caucasian male with multiple tattoos. Unspecified evidence suggests ethnicity or race may have motivated the shooting; however, police have not identified any links to extremist groups.Photo courtesy of Anti-Defamation League

An unnamed US defense official says that Page is a 40-year-old Army veteran who was ~~honorably~~ discharged in 1998 after six years of service, Bloomberg reports. Page served as a Hawk missile repairman and a "psychological operations specialist." The LA Times reports that Page's discharge was not honorable, but a lower administrative level, and that he was reduced in rank from sergeant to specialist before leaving the Army—both moves that may reflect a conduct problem at the end of his service.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified Page as "a frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band." (The frontman of the band End Apathy, named Wade, gave this interview to the white supremacist website Label 56 in 2010.) SPLC also claim to have been tracking Page ever since he tried to buy goods from the neo-Nazi National Alliance in 2000. The National Alliance was led by Dr. William Luther Pierce, the author of the infamous 1978 novel The Turner Diaries. Pierce, who died in 2002, is considered one of the ideological godfathers of the modern American white nationalist movement. Pierce promoted white power music ventures, racist video games, weekly radio addresses, and online forums to advance his organization's cause.

[Read the full article]