The Ballad of Harvey Pitt

The Ballad of Harvey Pitt

(With apologies, once again, to Stephen Sondheim and his demon barber)

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

(With apologies, once again, to Stephen Sondheim and his demon barber)

Attend the tale of Harvey Pitt,
Who many thought was quite unfit
To choose who’ll be the referees
For people who paid him those fabulous fees.
It didn’t seem a perfect fit
For Harvey Pitt,

The fox who guarded the henhouse.

John Biggs was set to head the board.
But big accounting firms abhorred
The thought of someone so severe.
So little birds whispered in Harvey Pitt’s ear:
“Hi, Harvey.
Yes. Harvey Pitt,
Our fox who’s guarding the henhouse:

Rid yourself of Biggs, Harvey,
Biggs might know too much.
What we need’s a guy who’s just a bit out of touch.”

But who instead would Pitt recruit?
He’d need a man of high repute,
A man whose reputation’s grand–
Distinguished except for the matter at hand.
“Judge Webster’s it,”
Said Harvey Pitt,
The fox who guarded the henhouse.

The judge was hardly a CPA.
Pitt, though, managed to win the day.
He had the votes. He didn’t tell:
Webster’s boards also emitted a smell.
Harvey’d shot himself in the foot.
This meant Harvey was done–kaput.
Saying the truth wouldn’t have been brainy:
“Webster is cleaner than Bush or than Cheney.”
Harvey, Harvey, Harvey, Harvey, Harvey.

Attend the tale of Harvey Pitt,
Who thought he needn’t be legit
To regulate the SEC
For people as fond of the foxes as he.
Bye Harvey,
Poor Harvey Pitt,
The fox who guarded the henhouse.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x