John Nichols

The Nation

‘The Nation’ Celebrates Its 150 Year Anniversary in Tucson this Weekend (video)

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The Nation
‘The Nation’ celebrates its anniversary in Tucson this weekend.

The Nation magazine is 150 years old this year, and Tucson is playing a major role in the celebration.

The Blog for Arizona Calendar has a complete list of The Nation events that are connected to the Tucson Festival of Books.

Two events worth highlighting that are not connected with the Book Festival are the John Nichols presentation at the IBEW Hall tonight and the regional premiere of the award-winning documentary Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation at The Loft on Sunday night.

PDA/PALF Event March 14

John Nichols
John Nichols of ‘The Nation’ at a previous PDA Tucson event.

PDA Tucson and the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF) will be hosting their traditional evening with  John Nichols tonight, March 14, at the IBEW Hall. Often it’s difficut to get into Book Festival venues with popular speakers like Nichols. The PDA/PALF event offers a unique opportunity to hear Nichols in a relaxed atmosphere. (And there’f plenty of free parking!) Doors open at 6:30 with finger foods and mingling. Nichols presentation begins at 7 p.m. The event is free, but donations to PDA are greatly appreciated. (Facebook event here.)

Hot Type Regional Premiere March 15

Sunday, March 15 is the regional premiere of Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation with Oscar-winner Barbara Kopple and The Nation’s John Nichols in person! The screening will be preceded by a reception on The Loft patio, starting at 6 p.m. This reception is FREE with the purchase of a ticket to the film, and will feature free light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. (Buy tickets here.)

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John Nichols & The Nation Are Coming to Tucson (video)

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JohnNicholstucson
John Nichols fires up progressives at a PDA event.

Author and commentator John Nichols of The Nation will make his annual trek to Tucson for the Festival of Books, but this year, he’s bringing his colleagues. To mark it’s 150th birthday, The Nation is doing a celebration tour that includes several events in Tucson.

A tradition for the past several years, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson will host a special evening with John Nichols on Saturday, March 14 at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Hall. (Event here). Nichols is a long-time friend of PDA and the founding Executive Director the late Tim Carpenter. Consequently, when Nichols is in town, he always stops by the union hall to inspire progressive ground troupes. (This event is free, but donations are gladly accepted.)

After the jump, check out the complete list of Tucson events with Nichols and other inspirational speakers from The Nation. There also will be a regional premiere of the documentary Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation at The Loft on Sunday, March 15 (details below).

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‘The Nation’ Scolds Network TV for Denying Air Time to President Obama

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John Nichols of The Nation
John Nichols of The Nation

NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX have decided to air their usual prime time pablum tonight, instead of airing President Barack Obama’s short speech about his executive order on immigration.

It is despicable that same corporate media who pocketed billions of dollars during the election season and fanned the flames of racial hatred by airing false negative advertising now turns their Medusa head away at a time when something positive and newsworthy comes along. What show is so important that it can’t be delayed 10 minutes? NBC will be airing The Biggest Loser, a reality show about losing weight. (Here’s a hint. Since this is the 16th season of The Biggest Loser, there will be more fat people losing weight in the future.)

This corporate arrogance shows that network executives have disdain not only for the President– but also for American citizens and our democracy. (The speech will air at 6 p.m. Arizona time on PBS, Univision, Telemundo, cable channels, and live streaming from the White House, here.)

In When Networks Snub a Presidential Address, Democracy Is ‘The Biggest Loser’, John Nichols of The Nation gives corporate TV a drubbing over their decision to snub the President and the American people.

From The Nation…

… How has the American circumstance so decayed in a nation that once so well understood the wisdom of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s observation that “democracy alone, of all forms of government, enlists the full force of men’s [and women’s] enlightened will”?

There’s plenty of blame to go around. But let’s start with broadcast media that are so indefensibly irresponsible that television networks cannot take time away from their relentless profiteering to present a short address by the president of the United States—an address announcing an executive order on an issue that is universally recognized as consequential and controversial.

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John Nichols of ‘The Nation’ Returns to Tucson for Progressive Politics & Book Signing (video)

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John Nichols
John Nichols speaking in Tucson in 2013

Author, historian, and humorist John Nichols of The Nation and MSNBC returns to Tucson on Saturday, March 15, 2014. This is the third year in a row that the PDA Tucson and the Pima Area Labor Federation have hosted an evening with Nichols at the IBEW Hall.

Nichols mixes political commentary with snippets of history and calls for progressive action. Join Progressive Democrats of America’s Tucson Chapter and PALF for an inspiring evening with a national figure. I guarantee that you will come away from this event inspired, informed, and maybe just pissed off enough to fight the forces of greed who are trying to destroy our country. [Video after the jump.]

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John Nichols: US Needs 3 Constitutional Amendments to Save Our Democracy (video)

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Flag-99-862-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

One hundred years ago, at the dawn of the last American Progressive Era, the United States was a very different place– a place of inequality, discrimination, and wealth disparity, author and historian John Nichols told a gathering of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in June.

Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 (#13), the rights of citizens were established in 1868 (#14), and the right to vote for all men was established in 1870 (#15), the majority of Americans could not vote.

At the turn of the last century, women and adults 18-21 years of age were barred from voting, and because of racist, state-level machinations and poll taxes, many African Americans and poor Americans of any color also were kept from voting. In addition, citizens didn’t have representation in the US Senate, since Senators were chosen by robber barons in back room deals (not elected by the people).

This sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? Are Republicans trying to take our country back to 1900? Consider these current scenarios:

The energy and activism of the Progressive Era (1900-1929) brought many positive changes and new Constitutional Amendments; it’s up to those of us in the New Progressive Movementto fight back against new regressive and discriminatory laws to save our country. 

Videos and details after the jump.