MEDICARE AND THE PAUL RYAN BUDGET. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget plan was struck a deafening blow this week. As John Nichols reports, the Ryan budget’s most controversial provision—an end to Medicare as we know it—cost the GOP a House seat in a ruby red district. Democrat Kathy Hochul beat Republican nominee Jane Corwin in Tuesday’s closely watched special election. At its core, Nichols points out, was Hochul’s defense of Medicare. And Republican Senators are now also joining the ranks of opposition. The US Senate rejected the Ryan budget 57-40 in Wednesday’s bipartisan vote. John Nichols explains…

IN DEFENSE OF ED. John Nichols, long time friend of Ed Schultz and regular contributor to his radio and TV programs, explains why we shouldn’t let Ed Schultz’s sexist and inappropriate comments about radio show host Laura Ingraham overshadow everything Ed’s done to bring national attention to the struggles of working men and woman. Read that here.

A CRUCIAL VOTE ON AFGHANISTAN. DC Reporter George Zornick has the breakdown of Thursday’s House vote to expedite the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Though narrowly defeated on 204-215 vote, 26 Republicans joined 178 Democrats to send a clear message to the White House: we must accelerate the timetable for troop withdrawal. As Memorial Day approaches, be sure to read colleague Peter Rothberg’s moving post, “1,500 Reasons to End the War in Afghanistan.”

SLIDESHOW: GOT KOCH? The billionaire Koch brothers like to describe their corporate empire as “the largest company that you’ve never heard of.” This band of rightwing libertarian brothers—who have had their hand in everything from the Citizens United Supreme Court decision to funding climate change deniers—have even taken their politics to the workplace, as reported by Mark Ames and Mike Elk in a recent issue of The Nation. This week, we take a look at seven products that are fueling the Brother’ right-wing agenda. 

NO BLOOD, NO FOUL: A LOOK AT DETAINEE ABUSE. Harper’s Magazine’s Scott Horton digs into Joshua E.S. Phillips’ joint investigation with PBS’s Need to Know and The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Horton lists some of the most alarming details revealed in Phillips’ article on the Detainee Abuse Task Force including no consistent guidelines on what even defines abuse. Read that here,

PAGE ONE. This week we posted a trailer for director Andrew Rossi’s new documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times which examines the New York Times during this transitional period in American journalism. I make a brief appearance in the film and argue that this is a "dangerous moment" given the history of news institutions in uncovering stories like Watergate and Abu Ghraib abuses. Watch here.

WAYS TO READ THE NATION. At The Nation, we continue to offer new ways for subscribers to gain access to the magazine when you’re on-the-go (or just lounging about!). Go here to find out how to read The Nation on your Kindle, iPad, Nook, Sony eReader, Android, and more. We also offer a "Go Green" package for digital subscription only. Go here for more information.

SLIDESHOW: THE NATION MARKS MEMORIAL DAY. Since its founding, The Nation has been committed to reporting on every major and minor U.S. military conflict. From the brutal conditions at a Confederate prisoner war camp to the atomic bomb destruction in Hiroshima, watch this powerful slideshow of a small collection of archival articles and images of war and its victims.

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