ALEC'S SCHEME TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION APRIL 2016 Bernie, the anti- greedy geezer U.N. calls for reparations IS YOUR WATER SAFE? Radical solutions to our nation's water crisis BY LAURA ORLANDO PLUS Rick Perlstein on Trump, Sady Doyle on Clinton and Joel Bleifuss on Sanders letters THE COOLEST POPULIST IN AMERICA • FLINT LIVES MATTER Interesting analysis that public servants are unable and his venture capitalist MARCH 2016 Post-doomsday scenario the unifying force of the or unwilling to achieve. confidants “too big to fail”? The miners we abandoned “Christian Right” isn’t The “Rick Snyder model” Enrique Gentzsch Christianity itself, but a proved just the opposite in Minneapolis type of addiction to the Michigan, and so would a Democratic barriers prophetic style of storytell- “Donald Trump model” for to change ing. This makes a lot of this country. sense—I’ve long thought The catastrophe in Flint This is a well-written that Christianity should was a wholesale poison- article and makes some align more closely to ing of the water supply of great points (“Out of Jail, WHY EVANGELICALS FLOCK TO TRUMP socialism than fascism. a city of 100,000 people. It Sentenced to Life,” March). PLUS But it hugely depends occurred for over a year, However, things will not Chantal Flores on digging up the disappeared in Iguala, Mexico on your definition. and it was done on purpose. change in the United States Brian Reindel Residents will suffer long- for sex offenders unless it Trump’s true believers Via InTheseTimes.com term, irreversible harm. comes from the Supreme Shouldn’t the U.S. govern- Court. The democratic pro- Theo Anderson’s article This article helps explain so ment remove Gov. Snyder cess will never produce any “Why Evangelicals Flock much that those of us in the from office and place him significant loosening of sex to Trump” (March) is a reality-based world find so and those who helped per- offender requirements. fine analysis, exactly the baffling and appalling about petuate this heinous crime Owen Michaels sort of thing that makes Trump’s intense level of in prison for life? Or are he Via InTheseTimes.com In These Times such a support among his follow- salutary antidote to cor- ers. But even after reading it We encourage readers’ thoughts. Send your letters to porate media crapola. several times, I still cannot [email protected]. Please include your city and state. But to label Trump’s fathom why so many “good” paranoid rhetoric as “the Christians would support prophetic style” is a rather a man whose vile behavior grave insult to Amos, Micah, and foul words they would Jeremiah et al. They are still never countenance from read and revered thousands their own family members. of years later exactly be- I suppose Trump’s support- cause their message is one ers will stand behind him of regeneration through as long as they are satis- self-examination and moral fied that he continues to be accountability, a spiritually “their” bully. IN THESE TIMES.COM—Hillary Clinton over- humbling insight 180 degrees Mike Fitzgerald whelmingly won the African-American vote on removed from the fear-mon- Via InTheseTimes.com Super Tuesday. David Moberg interviews political gering of the Republicans. Flint justice scientist Adolph Reed about how the “limited What is needed is a hopes and growing fears” of black Americans prophetic, spirit-stirring Susan J. Douglas’ article helped her beat Bernie Sanders. call from the Left attacking (“Trump, Flint and Black not just the symptoms of Lives Matter,” March) Billionaire property developer-turned-philanthro- bigotry and inequality, but examined the impact of pist Eli Broad styles himself an advocate for poor the fundamental evil and in- the transfer of govern- black and brown children. So why did he pour mil- justice woven into our dog- ment to “wealthy venture lions into a Koch brothers’ plan to block funding eat-dog system. Fire must be capitalists” because they of Los Angeles schools? Ignacio Thomas reports. fought with fire. self-describe as people Hugh Iglarsh “who get things done” Skokie, Ill. and solve problems that 2 APRIL 2016 IN THESE TIMES contents VOLUME 40 – NUMBER 4 ACT LOCALLY 8 ROUNDTABLE Break up banks, end racism and sexism? 11 ELECTORAL JUSTICE FOR LAQUAN MCDONALD BY DANETTE FREDERIQUE 13 WORKER CO-OPS? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT 19 24 BY TOM LADENDORF VIEWS 16 PRESENT PAST Goosestepping all the way to the White House BY RICK PERLSTEIN 17 BACK TALK Bernie Sanders: The anti-greedy geezer BY SUSAN J. DOUGLAS 53 18 18 VIEWPOINT No, we can’t—without a revolution BY DARLENA CUNHA 19 THE THIRD COAST U.N. to U.S.: Reparations now FEATURES BY SALIM MUWAKKIL 20 VIEWPOINT A progressive case for Clinton BY SADY DOYLE 24 IS YOUR WATER WORSE THAN FLINT’S? 22 THE FIRST STONE Our nation’s water crisis requires radical solutions The morning after the nomination BY LAURA ORLANDO BY JOEL BLEIFUSS CULTURE 32 ALEC’S SCHEME TO 50 THE SECRET HISTORY OF COAL REWRITE THE CONSTITUTION BY DAYTON MARTINDALE Corporate America is seven states short 53 TAKE TWO of a constitutional convention Not coming to a theater near you BY SIMON DAVIS-COHEN BY MICHAEL ATKINSON 55 EXIT SIGNS The GOP gets its Trump-uppance 34 IN PERSON BY CHRIS LEHMANN Rebecca Solnit explains things to us 56 THE GREEDY MONKEY THEORY OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BY DAYTON MARTINDALE BY EILEEN JONES 58 FROM THE OLD COUNTRY CARTOONS To Brexit or not to Brexit BY JANE MILLER 36 FEATURING 60 DONALD TRUMP SENDS TERRY LABAN, JEFF DANZIGER, A CHILL THROUGH MY BRIAN MCFADDEN, JEN SORENSEN MUSLIM-AMERICAN BODY BY SAQIB BHATTI IN THESE TIMES APRIL 2016 3 contributors WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL... The work of the following writers is supported by the Puffin Foundation. FOUNDING EDITOR & PUBLISHER James Weinstein (1926–2005) EDITOR & PUBLISHER Joel Bleifuss EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jessica Stites SAQIB BHATTI (1) is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute ASSOCIATE EDITORS and Director of the ReFund America Project. Rebecca Burns, Micah Uetricht COMMUNITY EDITOR Miles Kampf-Lassin SIMON DAVIS-COHEN is a New York City-based writer FACT-CHECKER Branko Marcetic examining the powers of local governments and corpora- COPY EDITORS Bob Miller, Lindsay Muscato tions in the United States. PROOFREADERS (VOLUNTEER) 1 Alan Kimmel, Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin SENIOR EDITORS Terry J. Allen, SADY DOYLE (2) is an In These Times staff writer. Patricia Aufderheide, Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim Muwakkil, David DANETTE FREDERIQUE is a journalism student at Sirota, Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) Northwestern University and a current In These STAFF WRITERS Theo Anderson, Times editorial intern. Lindsay Beyerstein, Sady Doyle CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Atkinson, 2 Dean Baker, Frida Berrigan, Will Boisvert, RICK PERLSTEIN (3) is national correspondent at the Roger Bybee, Michelle Chen, Brian Cook, Washington Spectator and the author most recently of The Barbara Ehrenreich, Jeremy Gantz, Leonard C. Goodman, Joel Handley, George Hodak, Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan. Hans Johnson, Pete Karman, Chris Lehmann, Kari Lydersen, Naomi Klein, Jane Miller, EILEEN JONES is a film critic at Jacobin and author of the John Nichols, James North, Achy Obejas, Ken Rapoza, Laura S. Washington, Fred book Filmsuck, USA. 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