Nation in the News

Dave Zirin: 'I Applaud Bob Costas'

Nation in the News on December 5, 2012 - 11:09 AM ET

After Bob Costas commented on gun control in the wake of Jovan Belcher’s tragic murder-suicide—which claimed the life of his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins—conservatives lashed out. “You tune in for a football game and end up listening to Bob Costas spewing sanctimonious dreck,” tweeted Herman Caine. But mainstream media’s silence on the tragedy—and the mental health problems suffered by so many NFL players—is the true outrage. Nation sports columnist Dave Zirin joined CurrentTV’s The Young Turks to applaud Costas’s much-needed commentary despite the “apolitical” NFL, and shed light on the mental burden too many athletes bear.

—Christie Thompson

John Nichols: The Filibuster Must Change

Nation in the News on December 3, 2012 - 12:49 PM ET

For too long, Republicans have been blocking vital legislation from becoming law—from health benefits for 9/11 first responders to job opportunities for Iraq veterans. In total, conservative Congress members have used 386 filibusters during the Obama administration. Americans can no longer afford to be held hostage by Republican legislators. Nation correspondent John Nichols joins MSNBC’s The Ed Show to outline the changes we need for the filibuster law, to force political blockading out of back rooms and into the open.

—Christie Thompson

James North: Congo Is One of the Greatest Humanitarian Crises Since WWII

Nation in the News on November 30, 2012 - 4:56 PM ET

Since 1998, over 5 million people have died in the conflict in Congo. Hundreds of thousands more are now fleeing their homes from the recent upswing in violence. But as Nation contributor James North points out, such fighting had been flaring long before the recent media coverage. “If this crisis were happening anywhere but central Africa, there would be an army of correspondents,” North said. He joins Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! to shed light on the long-standing, and largely invisible, crisis in Congo.

—Christie Thompson

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John Nichols: Why Papa John's and Denny's Can't Fight Obamacare

Nation in the News on November 26, 2012 - 12:54 PM ET

Heads of major food franchises are backing off on threats to protest the Affordable Care Act with retaliatory business actions. Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter wrote in The Huffington Post Tuesday that Obamacare will not force franchise owners to cut back on employee hours, backtracking on comments he made at a Florida college during the presidential election. And John Metz, owner of over 30 Denny’s restaurants, released a statement saying he will not implement a 5 percent Obamacare surcharge. John Nichols appeared on The Ed Show to talk about the implications of corporate bluffing on Obamacare, saying, ” The Affordable Care Act has been tested legislatively, judiciously, and now politically. It has passed the test.”

—Steven Hsieh

Josh Eidelson: Why Walmart Failed to Suppress Black Friday Strikes

Nation in the News on November 26, 2012 - 12:16 PM ET

Friday was a historic day for labor organizing, as workers and their supporters at 1,000 Walmarts across the country protested on the superstore’s most profitable day. Unsurprisingly, Walmart told a different story, claiming that the Black Friday actions had little impact. But the hundreds of employees who walked out—despite threats of arrest and retaliation—showed that workers are willing to stand up to the nation’s largest employer. Nation contributor Josh Eidelson, who live-blogged the protests, joined Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! to discuss Walmart’s failing attempts to suppress the strikes.

—Christie Thompson

Josh Eidelson: Walmart Is a Pioneer in Unionbusting

Nation in the News on November 21, 2012 - 3:07 PM ET

Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg has dismissed the Walmart worker strike as a fringe effort that will have no impact on the most profitable day of the year. “We are preparing to have our best Black Friday ever,” Lundberg said in a statement. But while the PR team promotes an air of indifference, mandatory meetings—in which Walmart managers imply striking employees could be fired—say otherwise. Nation contributor Josh Eidelson joined Democracy Now! to cut through Walmart’s mixed messages about Friday’s strike. The megastore has a reason to be nervous: if the strikers can win, it will send a message to low-wage, anti-labor corporations everywhere.

—Christie Thompson

Josh Eidelson: The True Power of Walmart Workers

Nation in the News on November 20, 2012 - 12:59 PM ET

As shoppers battle for discounted flat-screen TVs this Black Friday, Walmart workers will be fighting for a living wage. Employees at 1,000 Walmart stores across the country are planning to strike on one of the megastore’s most profitable days. “There’s the potential to cut into Walmart’s brand in a permanent way,” says Nation writer Josh Eidelson, who has been covering the Walmart strikes since the beginning. He stopped by MSNBC’s The Ed Show to discuss the potential power of the worker walkout, and Walmart’s illegal efforts to stop it.

—Christie Thompson

Katrina vanden Heuvel: We Must Curb Conservatives' Deficit Obsession

Nation in the News on November 19, 2012 - 5:20 PM ET

Republican shock doctors have been too successful in labeling the expiration of the Bush tax cuts as a "fiscal cliff," in hopes of gutting vital social services. But in a time of recession, why should the most vulnerable Americans—and not the richest 2 percent—pay the price of US debt? “Citizens of conscience need to reframe this debate, that it’s about jobs and growth,” said Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. She joins Nation blogger Ari Melber on MSNBC’s Now with Alex Wagner to call on progressives to fight back against the well-funded austerity agenda.

—Christie Thompson

John Nichols: On Healthcare Exchanges, GOP Governors Are Harming Their Own States

Nation in the News on November 19, 2012 - 12:16 PM ET

Several Republican governors have decided not to create state-run healthcare exchanges as prescribed by the Affordable Care Act, leaving it up to the federal government to implement a “one-size-fits-all” solution. Nation Washington correspondent John Nichols says that, by refusing to create uniquely designed healthcare exchanges, governors will harm their own states. “They are doing it for only one reason, and that is out of spite,” Nichols said on MSNBC’s The Ed Show, “They are mad at Barack Obama.”

—Steven Hsieh