The Nation June 20-27, 2016

@thenation.com For if Dreams Die… Many thanks to The Nation for publishing Debbie Nathan’s insightful article “What Happened to Sandra Bland?” as the cover story of your May 9/16 issue. I applaud Nathan for the extensive research that made it possible for her to answer that question, and for her desire to share her findings with your readers. As I worked my way through the story of Bland’s life, from one painful episode to the next, I remembered the lines of Langston Hughes’s famous poem “Harlem,” which also began with a question: “What happens to a dream deferred?” Hughes wrote his poem in 1951, before the civil-rights movement had reawakened the hopes that Martin Luther King Jr. described in his “I Have a Dream” speech. But that dream of dreams…

A year ago, Bernie Sanders launched his presidential campaign with an expression of outrageous faith in American democracy. At a point when the pundits said that the race for the Democratic nomination would be an afterthought, Sanders argued that a campaign “paid for by the people, not the billionaires” could upset expectations and begin a political revolution. By many measures, he has succeeded wildly: attracting huge crowds to rallies; drawing millions of young people and disenchanted voters to the polls; driving critical issues into the campaign; and winning 20 contests, 10 million votes, and about 1,500 pledged delegates by mid-May. Those numbers will rise substantially by the time the primary season comes to a close in mid-June. When it does, however, the challenge for the Sanders campaign will be to…

60 Democratic and Republican nominating conventions between 1868 and 1984 (the last year a nomination seemed somewhat uncertain) 18 Candidates whose nominations required multiple ballots 16 Number of days the 1924 Democratic “Klanbake” convention lasted, with a record 103 ballots 64 Years since the last multiple-ballot nominating process (won by Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1952) “This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun.” California Governor Jerry Brown, in his endorsement of Hillary Clinton…

On May 12, Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s twice-elected president, was removed from office, the culmination of a soft coup long in the making. For months, opponents of Rousseff and her Workers’ Party (PT) prepared the ground for an impeachment vote, trying to convince the international community that they were acting constitutionally and disinterestedly. This is a lie. The man who replaced Rousseff, the venal Michel Temer, has aggressively moved to roll back the gains that the PT achieved and restore the class power of Brazil’s political and economic elites. An all-white, all-male cabinet is pushing a radical austerity budget and other “market-friendly” reforms, including cutting the PT’s signature Bolsa Família, a cash-transfer program that lifted hundreds of thousands out of destitution. The new government, which is conspiring with the military to…

We’re pleased to announce that Erin O’Mara has joined The Nation as our new president. Erin brings to the role a great breadth and depth of experience in print and digital publishing, most recently in leading the consulting firm Shain+Oringer, where she placed a particular emphasis on audience development and strategic planning for titles at Johnson Publishing, Taunton Press, Lonely Planet, and other companies. Erin has a comprehensive understanding of the pressures facing publishing and independent journalism, and a proven ability to balance financial concerns with the mission-based priorities that define an enterprise as unique as The Nation. She shares our deep commitment to developing innovative business avenues that will sustain and enhance The Nation’s mission, its tireless advocacy of progressive ideals, and its fearless investigative journalism. We are excited…

Dear Liza, I am considering the drastic step of fleeing the country as a healthcare refugee. I have a medical condition that requires expensive medications, frequent doctor’s visits, and regular blood work, which costs me considerably more than my monthly rent. I live alone, and I am penniless and constantly stressed about money. I work full-time, but if I want to keep this medical condition in check, I desperately need to cut back on my hours. I met someone online, a longtime friend of trusted friends who lives in a European country that still has national healthcare. He has been romancing me now for five months; I went to visit him, and the sparks flew. I am very much in love with him, but I recognize that it’s early days…