September/October 2008 Issue

How to Fix It: Start With the CIA

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“Allowing the private sector to be so heavily involved in the intelligence business is counterproductive for several reasons. It fosters an atmosphere of cronyism and patronage that’s unhealthy in a functioning bureaucracy. Unbalanced reliance on contractors erodes institutional knowledge and quality. And there’s the ideological question of how much of our national security collection functions we believe it prudent to outsource. To whom are the contractors ultimately loyal—their government or their corporation? Our national security depends upon that loyalty.”

Read an extended interview with Valerie Plame Wilson about the Bush legacy here.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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