January/February 2004

\| January/February 2004 Cover Story: The Lie Factory By Robert Dreyfuss & Jason Vest A Mother Jones special report on the secret Pentagon unit of neoconservative hawks who cherry-picked the Bush administration's case for invading Iraq

FEATURES The Soul of the New Machine By Michael Scherer Grover Norquist is out to gut the federal government—to chop it in half and "drown it in the bathtub." He couldn't be more serious, and as leader of the most influential coalition in Washington, he has a knack for getting his way. Gods and Monsters By Mark Dowie Genetically mix a human with a monkey? With a sheep? With a rat? Dr. Stuart Newman says such technology already exists—and he's fighting for a U.S. patent to make sure it's never used.				Soldiers in a Forgotten War Photographs by Tim Hetherington Text By Daniel Bergner When rebel troops drove dictator Charles Taylor into exile, Liberia briefly hit the nightly news. But what happens next in a country the world would just as soon forget? Anatomy of a Whistleblower By Laurie Abraham Jesselyn Radack's tale of being persecuted by the Justice Department is a lesson in what happens to people who feel compelled to "commit the truth." Against All Odds By Adam Hochschild The extraordinary legacy of the hopelessly idealistic, "absolutely unprecedented" campaign to abolish slavery in the British Empire

DEPARTMENTS Editor's Note Masthead Contributors Backtalk OUTFRONT Two years and counting on Guantanamo; New Mexico's nuclear pit stop; an all-American tax dodger; still hormone free and not cowed by Monsanto; plus librarian Trina Magi's patriot acts EXHIBIT They were what they ate. PUBLIC DOMAIN Battling Bush: The Fight Plan By George Packer How to hit Bush early and often: a political memo ripe for the leaking THE SLANT Besting the Best-Sellers By Ian Frazier No, wait! I've got it. This is gonna be the best best-seller—ever. EXPOSURE Lords of the Ring Photograph By Sye Williams Chips off "The Rock" MEDIA JONES Douglas Brinkley on Kevin Phillips' stark portrait of the Bush dynasty; Coldplay's Chris Martin on fair trade and the perils of rock-star activism; plus more book, music, and film reviews REACTION Resources for getting involved P.S. Next Season's Reality TV Shows Cartoon by David Fullarton