It is hard to imagine the world without Nelson Mandela, prisoner No. 46664, true man of peace and freedom. A moment: He came to Boston in the spring of 1990, newly free from "the long, lonely, wasted years." He was hours late. The massive crowd waited, huddled, patient as Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang for us. Finally Mandela appeared, radiant, and took the stage. The crowd grew thunderous. And the great man danced, gleeful, just a bit. The people roared. The hero grinned. It was perfect, the most electrifying moment ever - except, maybe, when he  appeared at the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg, one of his last, great, public moments. One man did so much; one man cannot do everything. South Africa still confronts huge problems. May Mandela's work, grace, strength and legacy live on; may his people abide; may he have peace. From his several foundations: "It is in our hands now."

Even as the corporate lobbyists of ALEC meet in D.C. this week to discuss how best to undermine democracy, The Guardian got its enterprising hands on internal documents charting ALEC's financial troubles since Trayvon Martin's impolitic death and the ensuing unpleasant publicity. Having lost the support of 400 state legislators and over 60 corporations, ALEC plans to make up a huge budget shortfall by plotting to coax back companies under two new projects - Prodigal Son and Jeffersonian - that will help them avoid the pesky legal, ethical and tax challenges that keep arising when they do the frequent lobbying they even more frequently say they're not doing.

With the approach of the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shootings, the planning of vigils and the release of 911 recordings from that grisly day - "They're still shooting! They're still running!" - the group Moms Demand Action has produced a chilling video to demand action on common-sense gun reform. Noting there have been 26 school shootings since Newtown, its No More Silence campaign vows "never to be silent again about the epidemic of gun violence."