August 5, 2010

This Week in National Insecurity

DOD photo / <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_soldiers_stuck_in_sand_in_southern_Afghanistan.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Whichever side of the fence you land on, chances are you agree that America’s not a very secure nation these days: economically, electorally, and of course, physically. So we grabbed our lensatic compass, rucksack, and canteen, then mounted out across the global media landscape for a quick recon. Whether you’re scared because our military isn’t good enough—or you’re scared because it’s too good—here’s all the ammunition you need, in a handy debrief.

In this installment: Mike Hastings, martyr; dealing with Iran; what mosques and married gays have to do with homeland security, allegedly; old Iraqi enemies; new Al Qaeda enemies; soldiers on hippie drugs; WikiLeaks groveling; and Taliban gangbangers. Word.

The sitrep:

The United States government’s national threat level is Elevated, or Yellow. You’re welcome.

  • After military overseers in Afghanistan yanked his embed reporting assignment this week, Rolling Stone‘s Michael “I write everything down” Hastings went on TV. The gist of his argument: He wasn’t denied access because he got Gen. Stanley McChrystal fired, but because the war sucks, the war’s media guys know it, and the last thing they need is more bad press. All true, but depressing. Mikey needs a Bud Light Lime. (MoJo/Yahoo News)
  • WHAT! Sanctions work on Iran? Holy ayatollah! Unless…”sanctions” is a euphemism for really big frickin’ US and Israeli bombs, right? (Time)
  • Remember Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein’s old foreign minister? (You’ll recognize when you see him.) The now-imprisoned Ba’athist gave an interview cursing the US for invading Iraq in 2003…and cursing the US for wanting to leave Iraq in 2010. But apparently he’s always been a little confused: The Nation‘s Iraq war expert, Jeremy Scahill, tweeted today: “when i met tariq aziz in baghdad in 1998, he went on and on about how he loved james baker and donald rumsfeld.” Um, so…in this mutual admiration society, was there a goat sacrifice involved? (The Guardian)
  • Al Qaeda’s North African outfit has decided its mortal enemy is not the Great Kenyan-American Satan, but rather Europe’s refuge for cheese-eating surrender monkeys, the kingdom of Sarkozia. Apparently Al Qaeda is stunned that French commandos killed some members of the terrorist group in a vain attempt to rescue a Gallic aid worker. Not stunned that the French killed their colleagues, just stunned that they have commandos, ’cause hey. France. (Al Jazeera English)
  • How do you keep corn-fed, all-American flatlands soldier boys from passing out while they do their thing in Afghanistan’s high-altitude areas? Drugs. Lots of ’em. Who says Pentagon research isn’t totally hip? (Danger Room)

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate