amy: apple, nascar, the ncaa -- as the corporate outcry grows against -- as the backlash grows against indiana for passing an anti-lgbt, religious freedom restoration law, lawmakers in arkansas pass a similar bill despite opposition from wal-mart. we will go to indianapolis and speak with indiana senate democratic leader tim lanane. senator lanane: we need to take clear, actionable steps to repair the image of our state. we cannot drive out a single job or an individual because there is no, my's it comes to dissemination. so, let's start with a full repeal of rfra, period. repeal repeal, repeal. amy: then "the nation" magazine, the country's oldest weekly news magazine turns 150 years old. we will speak the nation's editor and publisher katrina -- >> everybody wrote for the nation. pat buchanan. langston hughes. kurt vonnegut. gore vidal. amy: we will speak the nation's editor and publisher katrina vanden heuvel. we will speak about the hundred 50 year history, to politics today, from elizabeth warren, to ted cruz, to arming ukraine. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. former military ruler muhammadu buhari has defeated incumbent goodluck jonathan in nigeria's presidential elections. jonathan conceded after results showed him losing by some 2.7 million votes. it's the first time a nigerian opposition party has risen to power through a democratic vote. a spokesperson for buhari's all progressives congress party hailed the landmark result. >> we are all happy because we are witnessing history. this is the first time in nigeria that in -- a sitting government will be voted out of power using purely democratic means. before now, when governments are not popular, they are sit tight or removed by the military. amy: buhari's democratic victory marks a return to power after 30 years. he headed nigeria for nearly two years after leading a military coup in 1983. buhari oversaw major crackdown on civil liberties that included the jailing of political opponents, among them the legendary nigerian musician fela kuti. but he campaigned against jonathan on the pledge that he has embraced democratic ideals as a changed man. jonathan leaves office amid widespread public anger over his failure to stop the boko haram insurgency, which included the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls one year ago this month. negotiators in lausanne, switzerland continue to meet over an iran nuclear deal after extending the talks for another day. in washington, white house press secretary josh earnest said enough progress had been made to continue negotiations past the u.s.-imposed tuesday deadline. secretary earnest: it also does not make sense if we are getting serious engagement from the other side to just abruptly end the talks based on this deadline, because the fact is if we are making progress toward the finish line, we should keep going. amy: russia says key aspects of a general agreement have been reached, to be finalized in a new phase aimed at a comprehensive agreement in june, but other sources have denied any deal has been struck. details of the talks have been kept under wraps. the united nations has issued dire warnings for yemen amidst a rising civilian death toll from internal violence and a saudi arabian-led military campaign. witnesses in the city of aden say clashes between houthi rebels and saudi-backed forces loyal to deposed president abd rabbo mansour hadi have left hospitals flooded with casualties. water has been cut off for days -- power only available for hours at a time. meanwhile in the town of dahle houthis and affiliated military forces have reportedly attacked three hospitals, killing an unknown number of people. the latest violence follows the saudi bombing of a camp for the displaced on monday that killed 40 people and wounded around 200, dozens seriously. u.n. spokesperson farhan haq called the strike a violation of international law that should be punished. farhan: whoever is responsible, it's a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. this account and the hospitals that have been hit, are under protected status and should not be it. whatever forces are hitting them are violating the law, there should be accountability, and all such attacks have two seats. -- have to cease. amy: in a statement, the u.n. high commissioner for human rights, zeid ra'ad called the crisis in yemen "extremely alarming," adding, quote, "the country seems to be on the verge of total collapse.” midland -- militants remain held up still under the group's control. the obama administration has fully lifted a freeze on military to aid to egypt first imposed after the country's july -- first imposed in july, 2013. the white house says president obama told president abdel fattah el-sisi he will remove holds on weapons shipments including f-16 jets and harpoon missiles, and continue the $1.3 billion dollars in annual aid. the white house had partially suspended aid to egypt but has avoided a full cutoff by refusing to deem the ouster of elected president mohamed morsi a coup. the u.s. will now lift all of its restrictions by exempting egypt from a "democracy certification" required by congress. in a statement, the white house said quote: "we will continue to engage with egypt frankly and directly on its political trajectory and to raise human rights and political reform issues at the highest levels." according to the "new york times," obama's move signaled he was done punishing cairo for toppling an elected president and that he was instead focusing on the shared goal of combating extremist elements in libya and yemen. palestine has officially become a member of the international criminal court following its bid to join earlier this year. the palestinian authority opted to join the icc after the united states and israel successfully lobbied against a u.n. security council measure calling for an end to the israeli occupation and the establishment of a palestinian state by 2017. palestinian negotiator saeb erekat said the court has already opened a prelimary inquiry into possible war crimes committed by israel in the occupied territories. saeb: the court began a preliminary investigation, and we hope that those trying to pressure palestine -- we are the victims here -- they should go to the criminals and ask them to stop committing crimes. the occupation, they are all war crimes, and israel will be held accountable. amy: israel had retaliated against the icc bid by withholding hundreds of millions in palestinian tax revenue needed to pay salaries and provide public services. but it recently released the money in a bid to ease tensions with the u.s. and avert the palestinian authority's collapse. indiana appears to be backing off its so- called "religious freedom" law just as arkansas has approved one of its own. republican arkansas governor asa hutchinson has said he plans to sign the measure, which critics say could allow business owners to refuse service to lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender customers in the name of religious freedom. the ceo of wal-mart, arkansas's largest corporation, has called for hutchinson to veto the bill. wal-mart joins a growing number of corporations and governmental bodies opposing the religious freedom bills. following an outcry in indiana governor mike pence has announced he will ask lawmakers to pass new legislation that clarifies the measure. governor pence: i believe in my heart of hearts that no one should be discriminated against for who they love, or what they believe, and i believe every hoosier bullies and that, but as i mentioned, we have a perception problem -- believes in that, but as i mentioned, we have a perception problem. we have to correct that. i would like to see by the end of this week legislation that is added to the religious freedom restoration act in indiana that makes it clear that this law does not give the right to deny service to anyone. we want to make it clear that indiana is open for business. amy: we will be speaking with an indiana legislative leader after the headlines. president obama has commuted the sentences of 22 people the white house says were serving outdated sentences for drug crimes. eight of the prisoners had been sentenced to life in prison, and all were prosecuted for intent to distribute an illegal drug. obama has commuted the sentences of a small group of prisoners since the fair sentencing act of 2010 reduced sentencing disparities between users of crack cocaine and powdered cocaine to address a racial imbalance in prison terms. but the law did not apply retroactively. last year, the justice department widened the criteria for clemency to consider nonviolent felons who have served at least 10 years behind bars and who would have received shorter terms had they not been sentenced under old laws. the obama administration has announced new cuts to carbon emissions. white house press secretary josh earnest said the measure was announced in line with a pollution reduction deal struck with china last year. secretary earnest: the fact is the kind of the agreement the president has succeeded in striking with china and is in bloomington here in the united states is one that will have a positive impact on carbon pollution, a positive impact on trying to make the air safer for americans here in this country, and it will have a positive impact on our economy. that is what the president is partly -- pursuing this so aggressively. amy: the center for biological diversity said the administration's new pledge uses deceptive accounting. the center added that global efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change depend on the united states making much more ambitious cuts to planet-warming solutions. the news comes as syracuse joins the latest -- is the latest school to join by from fossil fuels. trustees threaten to purge the endowment. the campus-led divestment movement calls for purging investment portfolios of assets that drive and profit from global warming. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: i am juan gonzalez. welcome to our viewers around the country and around the world. as the state of indiana faces increasing pressure to repeal a new religious freedom law, arkansas lawmakers have passed a similar bill that critics say could allow business owners to refuse service to lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender customers in the name of religious freedom. republican arkansas governor asa hutchinson has said he plans to sign the bill into law. on tuesday, the ceo of wal-mart, arkansas's largest corporation, called for hutchinson to veto the bill. wal-mart joins a growing number of corporations opposing the religious freedom bills. apple, angie's list and eli lilly, have asked indiana state officials to take immediate action to ensure the act will not sanction or encourage discrimination. unlike other states with similar laws, indiana and arkansas grant corporations the right to religious freedom. amy: a number of states and cities have also taken action. on tuesday, new york governor andrew cuomo banned non-essential state travel to indiana in support of lgbt members. new york city has done the same. the states of connecticut and washington had already banned official travel to the state as have the cities of san francisco, seattle and denver. at a a news conference on tuesday indiana's republican governor mike pence said he stood by the law but urged lawmakers to work on reforming the language. governor pence: this legislation was designed to ensure the vitality of religious liberty in the hoosier state. i believe hoosiers are entitled to the same protections that have been in place in our federal courts for the last 20-plus years, and is the law in 30 other states, but clearly clearly there has been misunderstanding and confusion and mischaracterization of this law. i come before you today to say how we are going to address that. i believe in my heart of hearts that no one should be harassed or mistreated because of who they are, who they love, or what they believe. i believe every hoosier shares that conviction. as i said, we have a perception problem here, because some people have a different view and we intend to correct that. juan: on the campaign trail potential republican candidates including former florida governor jeb bush, texas senator ted cruz, and florida senator marco rubio have defended governor pence and indiana's law. in a statement, cruz said, quote, "indiana is giving voice to millions of courageous conservatives across this country who are deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks upon our personal liberties." amy: to talk more about the indiana legislation, we go to indianapolis to talk to tim lanane, indiana senate democratic leader. he led democratic opposition to indiana's "religious freedom restoration act" before its passage. we welcome you to democracy now! can you start by giving us the legislative history, how did the bill get introduced, what was it in reaction to? senator lanane: that is a very good question. thank you for having me on the program today. the timing of this, one has to look at that. last year, the state of indiana basically rejected an amendment that had been proposed for a long time, a number of years, to amend its constitution to ban gay marriage, same-sex couples from marrying. then the opposition to that -- or i should say the proponents of such an amendment, are now the same people that are the proponents for the rfra law. i fully support and my caucus fully supports the idea of religious freedom, and the right to practice your religion free of interference from the government but unfortunately in response to, i feel, the rejection of the marriage amendment last year, comes this bill, which is written much broader than any of the other rfra laws, including the federal law, that was signed decades ago, and causes one to look at the language involved to see what could be the implications or ramifications of this, and this is what has caused the concern because there is a belief that the law is written in such a fashion that it could unfortunately, allow for discrimination against the lgbt community. juan: senator, the supporters say this is not much different than the federal law that was passed decades ago. what are the specific differences? senator lanane: several important differences. one is the definition of who can apply the law, and the definition of a person who is to be protected, as you might say underneath the law is so broad it includes, basically, not only a real person, but any business entity under the sun -- partnerships, limited liability corporations, all corporations basically, what have the right to bring suit if they desired underneath the act, and that is another substantial difference between the federal law because the federal law is written in such a way that it is not allowable for a private individual to bring the suit. the government could intervene and do such, but this law is written in such a fashion that we feel it would allow for lawsuits between private individuals, even. the definition of what is a religious practice is very broad, so there are some very substantial differences between the indiana rfra law and all other laws. another major substantial difference is that many of these states that have enacted their own less broad, more narrow rfra laws, also to make sure no one is discriminate against, at the same time include within their civil rights acts protection specifically for sexual orientation or the lgbt community. we do not have that in the state of indiana, and that is a major gap that exists in the state of indiana one comes to protecting members of the lgbt community. amy: speaking to abc news sunday, indiana governor pence defended the law saying there are versions of the law in 19 other states besides indiana. governor pence: the religious freedom restoration law was signed by president clinton and it lays out a framework to ensure that a high level of scrutiny is given anytime government action in pinches on the religious liberty of any american. after that, some 19 states adopted that statute, and after last year's hobby lobby case, indiana properly brought the same version that then state senator barack obama voted for in illinois to our latest aircraft -- legislature, and i was proud to sign it into law last year. amy: tim lanane, i am wondering if you can respond to the signing of the law -- and the people that were there and glad --glaad points out to this, including micah clark who refers to an lgbt license plate to a plate supporting smoking. curt smith who equates homosexuality with beastie ali. eric miller, who falsely claimed it is on par with homosexuality. senator lanane: those were the groups that were the proponents for amending our constitution last year to ban same-sex marriage, and they have had a long history of anti-gay legislation they wanted to see adopted in the state of indiana and there they stand immediately behind the governor in this picture. further, they have said, publicly, that they believe this rfra bill will allow for businesses to discriminate, if you will, against gays, to refuse service to gays. they put right on their website that this will now allow a florist or a bigger to refuse to participate in a gay marriage, a reception, if you will following the marriage even. so, this is a very dangerous type of discussion, and of course it leads to people questioning the motives or the reason for a rfra bill that is written so broadly. this is why we have said you need to do several things -- we have said repeal and protect. that would be the best thing. some the boldest message. if they do not want to do that, -- send the boldest message. if they do not want to do that you have to at least repair the rfra bill, but you must immediately moved to put protection for the lgbt community in our civil rights act. juan: the firestorm that has erupted over the past few days around this issue, especially with the eyes of the sports world being focused on indiana this weekend with the final four basketball championship in indianapolis, could you comment on the national pressure now on governor pence to make a change here. senator lanane: well, there is national pressure, and people are watching throughout the nation and around the world. what is indiana going to do in response to this? perhaps we did not see the extent of this reaction. we warned -- the senate democrats warned on the floor of the senate when we considered this bill that we thought there would be an outrage that would occur. we did not see the depth of it. nonetheless, it is here now, it is real, and we have to react to it. it is costing us money. we have conventions being canceled. we have all of these companies threatening to withhold their business in the state, or drawback on their connections with our state, and this, we do not need. indiana is a good state. we have people -- what i have heard since then is a grassroots from the people of indiana saying this is not what indiana is about. please, let's make it clear that in indiana we do not want dissemination. whatever we need to discrimination. whatever we need to do -- dissemination. whatever we need to do, we need to do that. i am confident. i am asking the republican leaders, let's take this bold action that we need to to put it our policy to say in the state of indiana we shall not discriminate against any person. amy: i want to turn to an indiana protester who is advocating for recalling the legislators who supported the law. >> we can recall this governor, the legislators that voted yes and we can take back our state from those people trying to take us back 70 years. amy: so, the protest had been massive through the weekend and continue through the week. that is people on the ground protested, but it is not just a progressive/conservative divide. it is large corporations. angie's list said they will not continue a $40 million expansion. everybody from marriott to the gap -- this is the kind of response -- have you ever seen before, and i'm wondering how it is playing out in the state senate, the general assembly. what are the republicans doing their? have you ever seen the traditional supporters attacked them like this? senator lanane: i do not think so. i do not think they have seen the depth of this type of reaction. they are, i think, in a little bit of a crisis mode, or maybe a lot of a crisis mode. they are not exactly sure what to do. we have tried to, as democrats proposed to them ways that we think we can send the message that will try to calm the storm as one of the republican leaders put it, that we need to do, but i think, right now, i am afraid that they believe a band-aid approach to this is going to be enough, and i am almost certain that is not what those corporations are looking for. they are looking for major steps to be taken to affirm the fact that in the state of indiana overwhelmingly, people are against discrimination, and we can do that. we just have to do it now, and it has to take bold action, which i am hoping republican leaders will come, and legislators will come to a realization. amy: have you introduced repeal ? senator lanane: we have had the language drafted to do that, the language drafted to add to the indiana civil rights act, as a protected class, sexual orientation. we have provided, i think, a pathway forward on this, and it is not only a pathway to alleviate the crisis immediately , but it is a pathway for the future of the state of indiana. this is where indiana needs to go. it is with the people of indiana want to go, i think, by and large. so, now is the time. this is an historic moment for the state of indiana. it is time for us to move forward. amy: senator tim lanane, thank you for being with us. tim lanane is indiana senate democratic leader. he led democratic opposition to indiana's so-called "religious freedom restoration act" or rfra before its passage. senator lanane has continued to decry the controversial initiative as indiana business leaders, universities, civil rights groups and faith leaders have joined the protest. this is democracy now. we'll be back with a hundred 50 years of "the nation magazine." stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "show you the way to go" by the jackson five, were born and raised in gary, indiana. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. along with juan gonzalez. juan: the nation magazine is celebrating 150 years this week. over the years, it has published many of the nations leading dissidents, academics, and that activists. this is from "hot type -- 150 years of the nation" about all -- >> everybody wrote for the "nation." >> tony krishna, toni morrison, langston hughes, kurt vonnegut, gore vidal. >> the first to publish james baldwin. amy: in a minute, we will be joined by katrina vanden heuvel but first this is a clip from "hot type: 150 years of the nation" in which she talks about the magazine's early history with contributing writer d.d. guttenplan. the piece ends with the reading of a story that appeared in "the nation" in 1932. katrina: this is the essay i was telling you about, about "the nation's" future. it is from 1955 -- it says the nation must change. within the last 50 years one-third of daily newspapers have ceased publication. this is 1955. we sit here and think what is "the nation" role in this media landscape. >> in 1955, they were worried about being strangled by the red scare, and mccarthyism. people were afraid to get "the nation, and if you got the nation, the fbi probably put you on a list. "the nation grew out of the civil war. it was started by republican abolitionists who were concerned about the state of the freedom. we like to gloss over the first 50 years. "the nation" was against workers right, immigrants, and it did not break free of the republican party until world war i. we think of it now as a version of the left of the democratic party. i hope it is much more than that, but you could caricature it that way and some circles. "the nation" that we know now really took off in the 1930's. that is because of the new deal. that was one of the apogee's of the influence, it's flourishing, and its power. >> we give thanks that the economic disaster that confronts us has made men and women think has made multitudes realized that our institutions are not perfect, that there is something radically wrong with the situation under which even at the height of prosperity, many are on the ragged edge of starvation, while others literally roll in wealth. we believe the republic to be in jeopardy, but we have not lost faith that it can be rescued and set upon the right path to meet the needs of the situation. amy: that was sam waterston reading a "nation" editorial. before that, katrina: speaking with -- katrina van -- speaking with d.d. we are joined now by katrina vanden heuvel, editor and publisher of "the nation," america's oldest weekly magazine. again, "the nation" is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a quintuple-length, blockbuster edition of the magazine. welcome. happy birthday. katrina: thank you, amy. this is daunting, and it is something to survive, if you think, three centuries. we were founded in this great city by abolitionists committed to and -- to end slavery, but also eric writes about the contested meaning of freedom, and the founders believed in it as a universal birthright, but boy, has it been contested, and we can see it is still a battle. the words you read from the new deal era, think about how resonant those are -- may we save the republic from despair. it is those echoes, the fact that history remains present alive. this is about the past, present and future, and another 150 years is what we are committed to. juan: in an age where a magazine is lucky to survive 10 years, or counts themselves among the big ones if it survives 20 or 30 how has "the nation --"the nation" managed to survive for 150 years? katrina: it is a writers moment. it is a magazine for voices that might otherwise be marginalized. it is for rebellious voices dissonant voices, rebel voices, and it is also because supporters have cared for more -- cared more for what it stood for than what it made. it is a community as part -- as much publication. it is the ongoing dialogue in the pages between radicals liberals progressives, that gives it a value that transcends. in 1996, "the nation" did a series about the entertainment conglomerate's asian -- conglomerate. we have been fighting for independence and never giving up on a fight is part of why "the nation" has survived. amy: can you go to john steinbeck? one of the writers. there are so many we would like to highlight from edwards i eat to i asked own -- edward saed, to dr. martin luther king. katrina: dr. martin luther king's last essay was about moving to a civil rights crisis, and he came out against the vietnam war. there was a history and a relationship there. james baldwin, as you said, wrote his first he's for the nation. what is stunning is to read from his report, "occupied territory -- harlem, not the middle east" is used of stop and frisk. the correspondence between past and present and the different motive storytelling. multimedia video exposing stop and frisk abuses in harlem. it was cited by the judge in her court decision ruling stop and frisk discriminatory and unconstitutional. amy: read james baldwin. katrina: i will read the words. this is a report from occupied territory, july, 1966. "the citizens of harlem who, as we have seen, can come to grief at any hour in the streets, and who are not safe at their windows, are forbidden the very air. they are safe only in their housesor were, until the city passed the no knock, stop and frisk laws, which permit a policeman to enter one's home without knocking and to stop anyone on the streets, at will at any hour, and search him. harlem believes, and i certainly agree, that these laws are directed against negroes. they are certainly not directed against anybody else." ... baldwin goes on to write, "i have witnessed and endured the brutality of the police many more times than oncebut, of course, i cannot prove it. i cannot prove it because the police department investigates itself, quite as though it were answerable only to itself. but it cannot be allowed to be answerable only to itself. it must be made to answer to the community which pays it, and which it is legally sworn to protect, and if american negroes are not a part of the american community, then all of the american professions are a fraud." amy: that is 1966. juan: 50 years ago. katrina: it raises the question that you grapple with at democracynow -- 50 years ago how does change come? i think it is a movement moment. again, as it was in 1966. it is a different movement for racial justice, but the same concerns. amy: can you go back to king? katrina: absolutely. amy: this is the same year james baldwin wrote in "the nation." katrina: this is "the last steep ascent. at the end of 1965, the civil rights movement was groping for new directions, and substantial compliments dealt extensively with civil rights problems, but the move had become stagnating, and embarrassment of riches. the dominant white leadership of the nation in perceiving the civil rights movement is confused, engage in political projection. the negro freedom movement has a policy and it program. white america caught between the negro upsurge and its own conscious involved a policy toward freedom. they could not live with the intolerable brutality and bruising humiliation imposed upon the negro by the society it cherished as democratic. a wholesome national consensus developed against extremist conduct toward nonwhite americans. that feeling found expression in laws, court decisions and in the alteration of long-entrenched custom. but the prohibition of barbaric behavior, while beneficial to the victim, does not constitute the attainment of equality or freedom. a man may cease beating his wife without thereby creating a wholesome marital relationship. very forcefully, king, later in that piece raised the critical importance of economic justice economic freedom, which of course he brought with him in the last days of his life to protest. juan: i wanted to ask you, much of the attention on "the nation ," has been on its lyrical role, but it has played a cultural role. talk about that. katrina: the addition brings to life, first of all, the great poets that have written to allen ginsberg, sylvia plath and it has -- over the years, critics have elevated ideas and artists. clement greenberg elevating jackson pollock. our film critic who writes in here about john houston. stewart is a great film critic today. arthur dent help, who died just a while ago was an eminent philosopher whose essays about anything from andy warhol to las vegas and art elevated that. interestingly, "the nation" -- the back of the book, as we call it, the literary section was at war with the front, politically and socially. there was an anti-communist, liberalism in the back, and in the front there was a vigorous led by the editor then, anti-fascists, unwillingness to ally with what arthur/injured called vital center cold war liberals. that battle went on culturally and politically. those brawls -- christopher did not just write about politics for us. he would engage. one of the great essays was "canon to the right of me," and she still write about cultural issues here at amy: speaking of battles, israel-palestine, edward sayegh, when did he write? katrina: his first piece was in a special issue 33 years ago. as longtime editor at the nation, a pulitzer prize way biographer has a fascinating essay in this issue. coming off of the special "myth of the middle east," coming off of the separation. i'm number at the time of the oslo accords, we published edward's essay as a cover story denouncing the accords, seeing in a prescient way that they became -- i would say that "the nation" has many readerships and part of the readership is a liberal readership, and there were many that thought it was premature that we published that essay, who found it offensive. one of the editors said the week was not full if he had not received his requisite number of cancellations. today, they come in different ways, but there is no question that one of the roles of the --"the nation" would be to lift up ideas that might be considered heretical at one time, and then later in another generation appear more commonsense. the israel-palestine issue remains contested. in 1954, the great historian of vietnam argued that maybe a negotiated solution to vietnam would be better than what came, thousands killed. i think on a number of fronts the opposition to the war on -- in a rock, which democracy now -- in a rack i --raw -- in iraq that democracynow was part of, we were called names vilified. opposing war after 9/11 was not a popular stance, but that has been the role of the nation -- the faith that can happen when you tell people the truth is something that is part of our dna. edward -- this is not the piece that i mentioned, but this was in the september 8, 1997. and he writes, the great scholar of joseph conrad, by the way that "it has taken almost four years for the oslo peace process to peel off its cosmetic wrappings to reveal the stark truth hidden at its core: there was no peace agreement. instead, palestinians entered an appalling spiral of loss and humiliation, gulled by the united states and the media into thinking that we had at last achieved some measure of respectability, bludgeoned by israel into accepting its pathological definition of security, all of which has impoverished our people, who are obliged to watch more settlements being built, more land taken, more houses destroyed, more sadistic collective punishments meted out. israel should explain why we should forget the past, remain uncompensated, our travails unacknowledged, even as all other victims of injustice have the right to reparations apologies and the like. there is no logic to that, only the cold, hard, narcissistic indifference of amoral power. amy: that was edward said in 1997. we'll take a break, and talk about what is happening today as well in electoral politics. katrina vanden heuvel is editor and publisher of "the nation," the oldest weekly magazine celebrating its 150 years. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. back in a minute. ♪ [music break] amy: that is joni mitchell, "the circle game." she was found unconscious in her home last night. she was taken to the hospital but according to her website, she is in good spirits. this is --this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. our guest is katrina vanden heuvel, editor and publisher of "the nation," celebrating not her 150th earth day but the nation is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a quintuple-length, blockbuster edition of the magazine. katrina: what this country lost as a result of mccarthyism, what was lost by voices stigmatized marginalized during the mccarthy period, he begins the peace saying someone approached him saying did you found "the nation ?" [laughter] it is a testament. juan: i wanted to ask about a giant in the confluence of literature and politics, john steinbeck, who also wrote for "the nation," and if you could talk about his role as well. katrina: this was a piece about the dust bowl and the drought which we see play out now in california, and he was part of the new deal movement. "the nation" heralded the new deal, and i hope, consistent with our role, we were always pushing roosevelt to move to the left, but john steinbeck, a great literary force, and if i could -- part of what "the nation" has tried to do over the years is bring literary voices to bear witness to the political moment. to bring to bear literary insight. let me just -- "dubious battle in california" -- this was september 1936. "let us see what the emigrants from the dust bowl find when they arrive in california. the ranks of permanent and settled labor are filled. in most cases all resources have been spent in making the trip from the dust bowl. it is quite usual for a man, his wife, and from three to eight children to arrive in california with no possessions but the rattletrap car they travel in and the ragged clothes on their bodies. they often lack bedding and cooking utensils. attempts to organize have been met with a savagery from the large growers beyond anything yet attempted. the usual repressive measures have been used against these migrants: shooting by deputy sheriffs in "self-defense," jailing without charge, refusal of trial by jury, torture and beating by night riders. but even in the short time that these american migrants have been out here there has been a change. it is understood that they are being attacked not because they want higher wages, not because they are communists, but simply because they want to organize. and to the men, since this defines the thing not to be allowed, it also defines the thing that is completely necessary to the safety of the workers." amy: that is a pulitzer prize-winning writer. katrina: you can see it in his right, and again the echoes of the assault on working people, organized labor today, met with a different kind of savagery but with a savagery. amy: can you take us to molly i vins, which will take us to texas, america talk about ted cruz, modern politics. katrina: this was 2003. molly ivins wrote many pieces for "the nation." this is called "is texas america?" "well, sheesh. i don't know whether to warn you that because george dubya bush is president the whole damn country is about to be turned into texas, a singularly horrible fate, as the country song has it "lubbock on everythang" or if i should try to stand up for us and convince the rest of the country we're not all that insane. truth is, i've spent much of my life trying, unsuccessfully, to explode the myths about texas. one attempts to explain, with all good will, historical evidence, nasty statistics and just a bow of recognition to our racism, that texas is not the alamo starring john wayne. we're not giant,. we ain't a john ford western. the first real texan i ever saw on tv was king of the hill's boomhauer, the guy who's always drinking beer and you can't understand a word he says. so, how come trying to explode myths about texas always winds up reinforcing them? after all these years, i do not think it is my fault. the fact is, it's a damned peculiar place. given all the horse bleep there's bound to be a pony in here somewhere. just by trying to be honest about it, one accidentally underlines its sheer strangeness. i have to say, before we talk ted cruz, she ended the peace by saying "as willie nelson sings if we could not laugh, we would all go insane," and if you want to segue into ted cruz on that note -- amy: ted cruz has announced for president. hillary clinton has not, and elizabeth warren says she will not. katrina: first of all, thanks to democracy now, i hope "the nation" will be on the horse race. we tried to bring the issues commencement -- commensurate with the scale of the crisis in the country. "the nation" believes this country deserves a contested primary, at least on the democratic side. on the republican side, you are right, ted cruz is the first and we will have a caravan of all kinds of clowns, thugs operators -- amy: ted cruz, jeb bush, both have endorsed the indiana so-called religious freedom law. katrina: what struck me the other day -- this is somewhat different -- we talked about this -- how far the republican party has moved from conservatism, as may be what edmund burke understood. this is an extremist party. james baker, secretary of state under george the first, spoke at the j-street conference the other day. he spoke words -- very carefully chose his words about israel and why u.s. policy needed to be tougher on israel. the republican party went the zurich. bill -- berserk. bill kristol who was over in israel, said if it was legal benjamin netanyahu would be the republican candidate for president. this is an extremist party turning against civilizing advances of this country. we have a way to go, but what has been fought for -- you see it in indiana. the delicious part, i have to say, is there has always been a struggle in the republican party were ordinary, working people republicans get shafted by the elite, establishment money primary republicans, and you see that exposed because you get corporations coming in saying we do not want any of this fake morality fake freedom stuff, but there are people supporting that -- rick santorum, mike huckabee -- there is a wing of the party that is still tied to what used to be called the christian right, the moral majority. i do believe movements make change in this country, but when the elites divide, as they are in some ways, in the republican party, that is going to be interested to watch. juan: in fairness to criticism of the other party you wrote a piece recently in "the washington post," about the transpacific partnership agreement, where you criticize president obama for his state of the union address claiming we should write the trade rules and questioned who did he mean by "we?" katrina: let me step back, because you raise a good question -- criticize the other party. one of the reasons for "the nation" survival is we have called out -- first of all, we are a poor country. we have two parties. we have called out the democrats. this is a bipartisan piece of legislation. you have corporate democrats signed up for it, but it is a broader problem that corporate america is writing the tax and trade policies for this country, and this mechanism privileges corporations, undermining the rights of ordinary people to control the, so i think it is about the biggest crisis for our country. i think elizabeth warren speaks most eloquently to this -- the rate system -- rigged system -- money, power, politics, not just at home, but it is in the transportation -- transpacific partnership rule, the global rule shafting working people. how people take back power -- you know, one of the reasons "the nation" and democracy now may stay in business, to use a crass term, i do not think there are lost causes. there are causes to be fought for, causes waiting to be won and organize people -- i think is a time they are in motion. you have black lives matter, post-occupy, the fight for 15, fast food workers, migrant rights, immigrant rights movements, the sense something is happening, and people are aching for a better america that works for people, and not just as this transportation -- transpacific partnership illuminates, only for cooperations. thank you, katrina vanden heuvel , editor and publisher of "the nation." that does it for our broadcast. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to [email protected] or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013.cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc