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It’s the middle of another week, and still no Senator from Minnesota.John Nichols has the latest onthe GOP’s Minnesota machinations here. As I’ve done the past couple ofweeks, I wanted to use this space briefly to highlight a few newfeatures at TheNation.com and a couple of our stories making waves inthe wider media landscape. Five things you may have missed:

1. Our National Correspondent William Greider caused a stir with hisreport on a new push for so-called Social Security reform. BenSmith, Michael Moore, Real ClearPolitics and Robert Borosage cited Greider’s piece as anopening argument in what could become a long and fierce debate. (DeanBaker has also writtenextensively on the issue.)

In a VideoNation feature posted Tuesday, Greider issues acall to arms for progressives, arguing that the campaign to save socialsecurity needs to start now. The video is a quick primer on thisemergingstory; you can watch it here.

2. At The Nation we’re even older than the movies. But we’ve beenfollowing film and cinema–with a progressive twist–for decades. Inadvance of Sunday’s Academy Awards, we opened up our archives for aslideshow, “The Nation‘s Oscars.” from over 70 years of film, we link toThe Nation‘s past reviews good and bad.

3. Disclosure: I’m a regular guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and I likethe hosts quite a bit. But one of our newest bloggers, Leslie Savan,took exception to the program’s recent coverage. Their reporting on the economic crisis, sheargues, exposes the program for what it really is: a 50’s sitcomreprised as political talk show.

4. If you’re not familiar with our independent media ally the UtneReader, they have a great video feature called “Shelf Life,” whichsurfaces interesting articles, books, music and video from theirextensive alternative media library. This week “Shelf Life” featuredNicholas von Hoffman and The Nation‘s “Jobless in America” coverstory. You can watch the video here.

5. We were pleased to have Representative Barney Frank of Massachusettsshare his views with Nation readers about the impending budget battle.Rep. Frank, who was at the center of the stimulus debate in Washington,made a modest proposal in our pages last week:

Those organizations,editorial boards and individuals who talk about the need for fiscalresponsibility should be challenged to begin with the area where ourspending has been the most irresponsible and has produced the least goodfor the dollars expended–our military budget.

Frank’s Comment, “Cut TheMilitary Budget–II” is our most emailed piece of the week.

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

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