Around The Nation

A few quick hits from The Nation's orbit this week:

For a 144-year old magazine, we've tried hard to get up to speed on Twitter, Facebook and social networking. We were interested to see that our most read piece of the month so far is "Deadline Poet" Calvin Trillin's poem. The source of the traffic is as new as it gets: Tens of thousands of tweets, retweets and Facebook posts, with an assist from some great blogs like Jezebel and Feministing. Calvin is a treasure and we're lucky to have him each week; we're glad our twitter and facebook fans think so too.

The Nation is also trying its hand at slideshows, aiming to provide a more intimate view of critical issues. This week our latest slideshow looks at the advances made by the gay rights movement so far this year.

One great highlight from our video offerings is Wednesday's Grit TV segment with journalist Sharon Lerner and Congressman Raul Grijalva, co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus. In this conversation about what's next for healthcare reform, Lerner explains an egregious loophole in the Senate Finance Committee's bill that could leave pregnant women without healthcare:

In awards news, three new honors came over the transom:

•Four Nation contributors were part of a fantastic Utne Reader feature, "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World." Sports Correspondent Dave Zirin, and frequent contributors Raj Patel, David Bacon and Jeff Chang all made the cut.

•Frequent Nation contributor Greg Grandin was nominated for a National Book Award for his epic history of Henry Ford's 1920's South American development experiment, Fordlandia.

•Columnist Gary Younge won the prestigious James Cameron Prize in England for his on-the-ground reporting for The Guardian during the runup to the 2008 Election. The award is given each year to a journalist judged to have "combined moral vision and professional integrity" and is given in memory of the renowned British foreign correspondent James Cameron.

Congratulations to all!

Finally, I hope you saw our package this week on the evolving relationship between American Jews and Israel, and on the evolving views of a former head of AIPAC. Both are a good primer for a panel I'm moderating on the 26th in Washington, DC at J-Street's "Driving Change, Securing Peace" conference. The panel is a good one - "American Progressives and Israel: Friends, Enemies, or 'It's Complicated'?" with Michelle Goldberg, J.J. Goldberg and Ezra Klein. If you're in DC I hope you can make it to the panel and the whole conference.

Thanks for reading. This Thursday in a special issue of the magazine we're looking at Afghanistan-Pakistan: The choices President Obama faces, the right way out, and the ongoing conditions for Afghan women.

Comments (14)

1. KvH: "This Thursday in a special issue of the magazine we're looking at Afghanistan-Pakistan: The choices President Obama faces, the right way out, and the ongoing conditions for Afghan women. "

   Of course, we know that "The choices President Obama faces" can be easily expanded and redefined by The One when and however he wants.....as the Afghan `Gubber partner' is now being rated (or ratted)...Choice, Select or Prime....heheheh.....what a nice way to ADD to the deliberation process, just wait until everything settles....

   All glory to the Decider-in-Chief.....Is there a Nobel Prize for the best procrastinator or the best Controller of the (Legacy) News Media (excluding Fox News & the EIB Network of course)?

   Posted by Happy at 10/19/2009 @ 10:14am

2. KVH: Keep posting every day, and I'll make you my first morning stop instead of Andrew Sullivan. Been achong for a progressive woman to take the cyber-spotlight.....

   Posted by Chrisblue at 10/19/2009 @ 10:40am

3. KVH: Keep posting every day, and I'll make you my first morning stop instead of Andrew Sullivan. Been achong for a progressive woman to take the cyber-spotlight.....

   Posted by Chrisblue at 10/19/2009 @ 10:40am

4. some common sense out of the Obama admin, those damn life-controlling socialists!!

   From Associated Press October 19, 2009 10:59 AM EDT

   WASHINGTON - Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department.

   Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

   Posted by crabwalk at 10/19/2009 @ 10:52am

5. Posted by Chrisblue at 10/19/2009 @ 10:40am

   Perhaps she has more important things to do that be people's first stop on your RSS reader - like be the managing editor for a magazine.

   Posted by srjenkins at 10/19/2009 @ 12:24pm

6. Also, since I don't know where else to say it. I like the fact that Ari has cut off commentary.

   The vast majority of the commentary here consists of some lame conservative poster trolling the first post with some inane commentary - while laboring under delusions that they are exercising "free speech". And then the ensuing discussion between the brain damaged "left" and the brain damaged "right" makes for rather uninteresting reading.

   Four thoughts on solving this issue:

   1. Change the page structure so people have to go out of their way to read comments, by clicking a link that puts the discussion off of the main article.

   This will both reduce the size of the forum and provide some disincentive for trolls

   2. Enable an ignore comments function.

   3. Enable some kind of rating for individual comments or posters.

   4. Charge a fee.

   I'm not sure how this plays out within the context of your advertising revenue, but it would make this site more enjoyable to read.

   Now, queue all the whining about "free speech" and "hating dialogue". You people need to realize that calling people "leftists" ain't dialogue. It's just you being a jerk, and if you behaved this way in your life, you probably wouldn't make it through the day without being punched in the face. Just because it's the Internet and you're anonymous isn't a license to let your idiot flag fly.

   Posted by srjenkins at 10/19/2009 @ 12:40pm

7. Got out of bed on the short side this morning, SRJ? Or, don't have enough people taking your advice during the day?

   Posted by Happy at 10/19/2009 @ 4:33pm

8. You people need to realize that calling people "leftists" ain't dialogue. It's just you being a jerk, and if you behaved this way in your life, you probably wouldn't make it through the day without being punched in the face. Just because it's the Internet and you're anonymous isn't a license to let your idiot flag fly.

   Posted by srjenkins at 10/19/2009 @ 12:40pm

   I don't know what world you live in, but I've never had anyone yet try to hit me for calling them a leftist.

   Posted by antisocialist at 10/19/2009 @ 4:44pm

9. The panel is a good one - "American Progressives and Israel: Friends, Enemies, or 'It's Complicated'?" with Michelle Goldberg, J.J. Goldberg and Ezra Klein.

   Alternately perhaps, "American's and Israel: With Friends Like AIPAC and Co. Who Needs an Enemy?"

   Still haven't seen any movement in the so-called MSM picking up on the recent American Conservative bombsell interview, "Who's afraid of Sibel Edmonds?"

   www.amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00006/

   What a shock.

   Well, we can always hope that principled folks will eventually step up to the mic and call out the bizarre charade of US-Israeli "friendship". Where are those -- Americans and Israelis in the spotlight-- who have the brass to help out the great cause that books by Walt and Mearsheimer, and Jimmy Carter so bravely helped to kick off?

   Finally, Jenkins is correct (above). Something ought to be done to help free these spaces of some of the weeds. As Karl Popper indicated in "The Open Society and Its Enemies", we should not tolerate the intolerant. I think that we could adopt that credo, and perhaps clear a few posters off of the sight.

   Just a suggestion, but I'd like to see some other proposed options as well.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/19/2009 @ 5:54pm

10. SRJ You exhibit typical liberal thinking . Come up with an idea and shoot yoursel in the foot . By charging a fee , youre going to exclude more from the left , because us conservatives have all the money acording to you leftist LOL

    Posted by limoman at 10/19/2009 @ 9:36pm

11. You people need to realize that calling people "leftists" ain't dialogue. It's just you being a jerk, and if you behaved this way in your life, you probably wouldn't make it through the day without being punched in the face. Just because it's the Internet and you're anonymous isn't a license to let your idiot flag fly.

    Posted by srjenkins at 10/19/2009 @ 12:40pm

    I don't know what world you live in, but I've never had anyone yet try to hit me for calling them a leftist.

    Posted by antisocialist at 10/19/2009 @ 4:44pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    --srjenkins does seem rather irritable! never mind his suggestions on how to make the site better are either

    1. already in place (ignore this person),

    2. would not achieve his goal (having to click onto another page for comments is really hard work, I'm sure!...it's not like we don't all come here to talk to eachother anyway...we're certainly not here merely to read the articles...and rating each other!...haha!...check out the posts, this is done all the time, just not 'officially') or

    3. the nation would never do (charge a fee to post...that would drive traffic to this site waaaaaay down)

    Posted by urmygyro at 10/20/2009 @ 10:46am

12. OPEN LETTER TO MAX BAUCUS

    Betrayal of a constituency that has repeatedly placed you in a position of TRUST, will not be ignored in your up coming run for another term. Your Gestapo tactics and subterfuge during what have been called fact finding meetings on Health Care Reform gained national attention and are a disgrace and embarrassment to the people of Montana. Of greater concern is your campaign and ultimate vote against a Public Option, THE PEOPLES CHOICE, (two thirds to three quarters of American citizens favor a public option). Single Payer Health Care apparently is a right for elected officials underwritten by the taxpayers, but off the table for those who toil and abide by the tax codes that have benefited the wealthiest corporate interests and consequently created hardships for a majority of Americans." Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of ALL U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years, U.S. researchers report. More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but were still overwhelmed by their medical debts, the team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University reported in the "American Journal of Medicine". Mr. Baucus; your most recent assault is unconscionable, a proposed penalty on those who are unable, or choose to opt out of overpriced insurance…are you insane? Your reputation, along with that of THE TOP SIX recipients of Insurance and Big Pharma lobby dollars is legend and has only inflamed an already disastrous situation. The rising costs of health care, hundreds of billions of dollars wasted on insurance overhead and an inefficient and burgeoning bureaucracy, government subsidies, all complicated by a regulatory apparatus dismantled by Congress ( Finan

    Posted by startrev at 10/20/2009 @ 2:17pm

13. Some good news for those who need it (I know I could sure use some)....

    www.counterpunch.org/zeese10202009.html

    Excerpt:

    The leadership of the Democratic Party is on the verge of passing health insurance reform. The centerpiece of the "reform" is requiring Americans to buy overpriced insurance from private corporations. But, it is evident that many in the Democratic voting base see the insurance industry as the problem – not the solution – and are getting angry about a new law that will force people to buy from corporations they don't trust.

    Just a few weeks ago the Mobilization for Health Care for All was announced (www.MobilizeForHealthCare.org). The Mobilization focuses on the denial of doctor-recommended care by the insurance industry. Sit-ins were planned at health insurance companies with demands that insurance corporations stop the denials. The Mobilization sought 100 people willing to sit-in at insurance corporations and risk arrest as people sat in at lunch counters two generations ago.

    The response has been e, nearly 800 have signed up to risk arrest and thousands have signed up to join the protests. In the last 20 days 78 people have been arrested protesting the real panels – the private insurance industry – who according to a California study deny doctor recommended care 20% of the time.

    The Mobilization hoped to have "patients not profits sit-ins" in three cities last week, and instead it had them in nine cities. On the next Mobilization day, October 28th, there is likely to be twice as many cities protesting the insurance industry – just as Congress considers forcing Americans to buy insurance. This may be developing into the largest campaign of non-violent civil resistance since the Civil Rights era....

    End quote.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/20/2009 @ 4:06pm

14. Posted by startrev at 10/20/2009 @ 2:17pm |

    Two points if you can name someone who is running against Baucus in the next primary.

    Posted by snowball777 at 10/22/2009 @ 12:21am