Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld And, Alas, Powell Talk To the American People

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld And, Alas, Powell Talk To the American People

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld And, Alas, Powell Talk To the American People

They pushed the CIA to say
That nukes could quickly come our way–
Saddam might, with a finger snap,
Remove Chicago from the map.

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They pushed the CIA to say
That nukes could quickly come our way–
Saddam might, with a finger snap,
Remove Chicago from the map.
They took a lack of proof in stride.
They simply lied.

Intelligence? The Pentagon’s
Came straight from dorkish neocons
Employed to find Iraq in back
Of every terrorist attack.
With facts that failed to serve their side,
They simply lied.

The war’s opponents they’d deride
As wimps who’d like to run and hide
From threats we simply can’t abide.
The Gulf of Tonkin was their guide:
They simply lied, and lied, and lied.

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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