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


The United Nations celebrates its 50th birthday with a conference June 21-24 in San Francisco, co-sponsored by citizen groups like Rainforest Action Network, Citizens Network for Sustainable Development, and Third World Institute. The alliance is odd, given such groups’ limited influence on U.N. decision-making.

That wasn’t always the case. In 1945, several “people’s” organizations–such as the NAACP and the League of Women Voters–participated in drafting the U.N. charter and mobilized their constituencies to lobby Congress to ratify it. Since then, grassroots groups have seen their role diminish considerably.

Under fire today from all quarters for its bloated bureaucracy, impotence in world crises, and lax oversight of the agencies it ostensibly manages (the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc.), the U.N. seems to be seeking a rapprochement with its old allies. But the grassroots are wary, participating “less out of hopefulness [for change] than out of desperation,” said one activist. A good sign: One of the conference’s goals is to rewrite the rules of how citizen groups can get consultative status at the U.N.

Liberal lip

“Take Back the Airwaves!” (Jan./Feb.) spurred calls from readers wanting more information about alternatives to Rush Limbaugh. If you’re interested in a list of progressive radio talk shows, including several not mentioned in the article, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Airwaves, Mother Jones, 731 Market St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94103.

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

payment methods

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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