November 23, 2009 Issue

Cover art by: Cover photograph by Lucas Jackson/Reuters, design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Saving Homes With Mandatory Mediation

Mandatory mediation programs are preventing foreclosures across the country. Congress should do more to support them.
Pat Garofalo
Drone Race to a Known Future

Armed drone aircraft in Afghanistan and Pakistan are only the latest wonder weapon to promise us the world.
Tom Engelhardt
Blackwater Attempted to Bribe Iraqi Officials

Top Blackwater staff authorized attempted bribes of Iraqi officials in the wake of the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, the New York Times has reported.
Jeremy Scahill
Letter From Berlin: Twenty Years After

The commemorations marking the fall of the Wall were joyous. But divisions still plague unified Germany.
Paul Hockenos
Preparing Undeployables for the Afghan Front

Under the Ft. Hood headlines, a stressed-out Army pushes stressed-out soldiers back into the war zones.
Dahr Jamail and Sarah Lazare
Detroit Elects Openly Gay City Council President

Charles Pugh’s sexual orientation took a back seat to Detroit voters’ concerns about the economy and unemployment.
Matthew Wolfe
Fixing Too Big To Fail

How well will Representative Barney Frank's proposed regulatory reform legislation address the "too big to fail" problem?

Mike Konczal
Save the Children, in Zimbabwe and at Home

What is poverty? One volunteer’s perspective shows us it’s all relative. A finalist in The Nation‘s Student Writing Contest 2009.
Ophelia Hu
Conscience of a Young Conservative

Can the Republican Party survive without the enthusiasm of its young supporters?
Alana Levinson
The New Okies: Brain Drain in Class of ’09

Going abroad is no longer just a school-time pleasure cruise. It’s an employment opportunity.
Jeanette Blalock-Davis
Graduating in the Recession

A struggling young journalist is forced to take up a job on the side delivering pizza, but with tips dwindling, he wonders if it’s really worth it.
Michael Cohen
The Weight of Our Problems

The looming presence of debt collectors makes high school an even harder.
Aleena Durrani
Battered But Never Broken

After fifteen years as a production manager, one man is now forced to haul trash out of abandoned public housing. Instead of panicking, he is turning the crisis into an opportunity to do good.
Jacob Stokes
Economic Adaptation

The recession has been a rite of passage for Generation Y, who are now more than prepared for the struggles of adulthood.
Christine Chang
The Recession Epidemic

There is no better way to teach someone the value of a dollar or about financial responsibility than a recession.
Eric Siguenza
Boston Bound

Everything’s a gamble. The American Dream is about waiting to get lucky now.
Christopher Criswell
Tales of the Great Recession

The winners of the fourth annual Nation Student Writing Competition addressed how the recession has affected them.
The Nation
Stonewall 2.0

Since California’s Prop 8, gay activists of a new generation have jumped into the fray.
Christopher Lisotta
The State of Youth Organizing

The Nation asked leading youth organizers to suggest specific ways the Obama administration could help them mobilize the most diverse and socially progressive generation.
Kristina Rizga
Generation Recession

Young people have lost 2.5 million jobs to the crisis, making them the hardest-hit age group.
Lizzy Ratner
Back to the USSA

The country’s oldest student association has its eyes on the prize–student aid reform.
Te-Ping Chen
Obama for America’s Gallup Pol

Nadine Padilla organized for Obama in Native American communities. Now she’s passing her skills on to others.
Elizabeth Méndez Berry
DC’s New Green Shoots

Some hardcore Obama campaign volunteers find rewarding jobs outside the administration.
Elizabeth Méndez Berry
The Obama Generation, Revisited

The 2008 election galvanized young voters and organizers. One year later, where are they?
Elizabeth Méndez Berry
The Domino Effect

A group of twentysomethings from San Francisco took an unlikely path to jobs within the Obama administration.
Elizabeth Méndez Berry

Editorial

Legislation Watch: A Nation of Immigrants

For the first time, family reunification for same-sex binational couples is being included in broader immigration reform.
Greg Kaufmann
The Google Settlement

The Google Books settlement is a forward-looking commercial joint venture that far exceeds the scope of the class-action lawsuit.
Pamela Samuelson
What Ails the Senate

The filibuster has become a cancer growing inside the world’s greatest deliberative body.
Chris Hayes
Election Tea Leaves

What did we learn from the off-year elections?
John Nichols
Doctorow’s Newspaper

Why do we need newspapers? They help make humans of us.
The Editors
Stalling Justice

Would Illinois rather keep an innocent man behind bars than admit a mistake?
The Editors
Obama, One Year On

Building a new political order will take more than one election.
Katrina vanden Heuvel
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Column

Gorbachev’s Sermon on the Mount

“Blessed are the peacemakers” certainly applies to Mikhail Gorbachev, a man not honored enough for the example he set.
Robert Scheer
LA Clippers Owner Pays Out for Race-Based Housing Discrimination

Donald Sterling was just obligated to pay out the largest settlement ever obtained by the government in a housing discrimination case involving apartment rentals.
Dave Zirin
Europe’s Left: Not Dead Yet

Europeans haven’t stopped looking for alternatives to capitalism.
Gary Younge
Sarah, Smile

The next generation of right-wing journalists are largely apparatchiks.
Eric Alterman
‘G.O.P. Candidate, Pushed By Right, Ends Upstate Bid’

Dede Scozzafava, high achiever, was not a zealous true believer.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Survivors

Lee Daniels’s Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Alexander Sokurov’s The Sun
Stuart Klawans
Gladwell for Dummies

Malcolm Gladwell’s success as a brand-name thinker rests on the assumption that the unexamined life is the only sort his readers could be living.
Maureen Tkacik
Early Capitalism

Joe Wenderoth
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

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Letters

Letters

Understanding Afghanistan
Holts Summit, Mo.
Our Readers and Ta-Nehisi Coates

Crossword

Puzzle No. 3192

ACROSS

1 A living thing about to have almost what any type of actor is doing. (One hopes the kids are!) (8)
Frank W. Lewis

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November 23, 2009 Issue

Feature

Mandatory mediation programs are preventing foreclosures across the country. Congress should do more to support them.

Armed drone aircraft in Afghanistan and Pakistan are only the latest wonder weapon to promise us the world.

Top Blackwater staff authorized attempted bribes of Iraqi officials in the wake of the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, the New York Times has reported.

The commemorations marking the fall of the Wall were joyous. But divisions still plague unified Germany.

Under the Ft. Hood headlines, a stressed-out Army pushes stressed-out soldiers back into the war zones.

Charles Pugh’s sexual orientation took a back seat to Detroit voters’ concerns about the economy and unemployment.

How well will Representative Barney Frank's proposed regulatory reform legislation address the "too big to fail" problem?

What is poverty? One volunteer’s perspective shows us it’s all relative. A finalist in The Nation‘s Student Writing Contest 2009.

Can the Republican Party survive without the enthusiasm of its young supporters?

Going abroad is no longer just a school-time pleasure cruise. It’s an employment opportunity.

A struggling young journalist is forced to take up a job on the side delivering pizza, but with tips dwindling, he wonders if it’s really worth it.

The looming presence of debt collectors makes high school an even harder.

After fifteen years as a production manager, one man is now forced to haul trash out of abandoned public housing. Instead of panicking, he is turning the crisis into an opportunity to do good.

The recession has been a rite of passage for Generation Y, who are now more than prepared for the struggles of adulthood.

There is no better way to teach someone the value of a dollar or about financial responsibility than a recession.

Everything’s a gamble. The American Dream is about waiting to get lucky now.

The winners of the fourth annual Nation Student Writing Competition addressed how the recession has affected them.

Since California’s Prop 8, gay activists of a new generation have jumped into the fray.

The Nation asked leading youth organizers to suggest specific ways the Obama administration could help them mobilize the most diverse and socially progressive generation.

Young people have lost 2.5 million jobs to the crisis, making them the hardest-hit age group.

The country’s oldest student association has its eyes on the prize–student aid reform.

Nadine Padilla organized for Obama in Native American communities. Now she’s passing her skills on to others.

Some hardcore Obama campaign volunteers find rewarding jobs outside the administration.

The 2008 election galvanized young voters and organizers. One year later, where are they?

A group of twentysomethings from San Francisco took an unlikely path to jobs within the Obama administration.

Editorial

For the first time, family reunification for same-sex binational couples is being included in broader immigration reform.

The Google Books settlement is a forward-looking commercial joint venture that far exceeds the scope of the class-action lawsuit.

The filibuster has become a cancer growing inside the world’s greatest deliberative body.

What did we learn from the off-year elections?

Why do we need newspapers? They help make humans of us.

Would Illinois rather keep an innocent man behind bars than admit a mistake?

Building a new political order will take more than one election.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

“Blessed are the peacemakers” certainly applies to Mikhail Gorbachev, a man not honored enough for the example he set.

Donald Sterling was just obligated to pay out the largest settlement ever obtained by the government in a housing discrimination case involving apartment rentals.

Europeans haven’t stopped looking for alternatives to capitalism.

The next generation of right-wing journalists are largely apparatchiks.

Dede Scozzafava, high achiever, was not a zealous true believer.

Books & the Arts

Lee Daniels’s Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Alexander Sokurov’s The Sun

Malcolm Gladwell’s success as a brand-name thinker rests on the assumption that the unexamined life is the only sort his readers could be living.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

Understanding Afghanistan Holts Summit, Mo.

Crossword

ACROSS 1 A living thing about to have almost what any type of actor is doing. (One hopes the kids are!) (8)

Understanding Afghanistan
Holts Summit, Mo.

ACROSS

1 A living thing about to have almost what any type of actor is doing. (One hopes the kids are!) (8)