Why Has Obama’s Approval Rating Among Latinos Fallen 20 Points Since Election Night? Why Has Obama’s Approval Rating Among Latinos Fallen 20 Points Since Election Night?
His deportation policy isn’t just a moral failure—it’s bad politics, too.
Apr 16, 2014 / The Editors
How the Supreme Court Blowtorched Democracy and What You Can Do About It How the Supreme Court Blowtorched Democracy and What You Can Do About It
The McCutcheon campaign finance ruling is only the latest in a series of bad decisions that have sparked growing grassroots resistance.
Apr 8, 2014 / The Editors
Noted Noted
In 2011, the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel gained some unwanted notoriety when Joey DeFrancesco quit his service job with the help of his bandmates in the What Cheer? Brigade. A video of Joey’s raucous exit has 4.3 million views on YouTube. “They were stealing our tip money, paying us poverty wages, making us work double or triple shifts,” DeFrancesco told The Nation. “When I quit, I didn’t want to go quietly.” On December 4, the workers declared a boycott. The Unitarian Universalist Association, which had intended to hold its annual business meeting at the Renaissance, canceled 847 reservations. Local politicians voiced their support. On March 19, thanks to the combined efforts of students and hotel workers, the Brown University Community Council (BUCC) voted to discourage the Brown community from patronizing the Renaissance. Since the fall, members of Brown’s Student Labor Alliance had been marching with Renaissance workers on the picket lines. When the boycott started, students invited the hotel workers to attend a BUCC meeting and share their stories with administrators. “We have certain leverage at Brown,” says Mariela Martinez, a Brown senior and SLA member, “We have to use it.” Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50! When the university president cut off hotel worker Santa Brito in the midst of her testimony, the SLA went outside official channels, handing out hundreds of leaflets at Brown’s extravagant 250th anniversary events. At the next BUCC meeting, SLA members packed the room. The council voted almost unanimously to support the resolution, which “encourages the Brown community to take all appropriate measures to avoid holding any events at the Renaissance Hotel in Providence during the current labor dispute.” Martinez, who comes from a working-class family in South-Central Los Angeles, says of the Renaissance workers, “They are facing real intimidation on a daily basis…. We’re just going to class and going to meetings.” Says hotel worker Marino Cruz, “They are fighters, just like us.” Read Next: StudentNation, The Nation blog by and for student activists and journalists
Apr 8, 2014 / The Editors
Jonathan Schell, Eloquent Champion of Nonviolence Jonathan Schell, Eloquent Champion of Nonviolence
He made it clear that on matters of conscience, inaction is unacceptable.
Apr 2, 2014 / The Editors
What’s Really Behind the Koch Attacks on Democrats What’s Really Behind the Koch Attacks on Democrats
Hint: it’s not about healthcare.
Mar 27, 2014 / The Editors
Remembering Jonathan Schell: 1943-2014 Remembering Jonathan Schell: 1943-2014
The power and persuasiveness of Jonathan's work came from the enduring belief that there is no idea so powerful as a moral one.
Mar 26, 2014 / Katrina vanden Heuvel and The Editors
How to Avert a New Cold War Over Crimea How to Avert a New Cold War Over Crimea
Bellicose posturing could lead to disaster. The only way out is through diplomacy.
Mar 20, 2014 / The Editors
The Senate’s Rejection of Debo Adegbile Sets a Dangerous Precedent The Senate’s Rejection of Debo Adegbile Sets a Dangerous Precedent
The successful smear campaign against him undermined a key principle of our justice system: that everyone is entitled to legal representation.
Mar 12, 2014 / The Editors
Time for Realism and Common Sense on Ukraine Time for Realism and Common Sense on Ukraine
The international community should be pushing for compromise to prevent this fragile and bitterly divided country from breaking apart.
Mar 7, 2014 / The Editors
What’s Wrong With the Comcast/Time Warner Merger What’s Wrong With the Comcast/Time Warner Merger
If it’s not blocked, a single corporation will be able to dictate digital communications and media content for decades to come.
Feb 19, 2014 / The Editors