Today's Liberal News

Colombia Election Runoff: Leftist Gustavo Petro Leads Presidential Vote But Faces Trump-Like Tycoon

Colombia’s highly anticipated presidential elections on Sunday resulted in victory for two anti-establishment candidates: leftist Gustavo Petro and Trump-like right-wing millionaire Rodolfo Hernández. The two will face off in a runoff election on June 19, the outcome of which will determine whether Colombia addresses worsening inequality under Petro or ushers in a new era of populist conservatism under Hernández.

Ukraine Update: Not enough? Here’s the challenge of moving even four HIMARS

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I both love and hate Ukrainian aid announcements from the Pentagon. Here’s the latest: 

High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
Five counter-artillery radars;
Two air surveillance radars;
1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units;
6,000 anti-armor weapons;
15,000 155mm artillery rounds;
Four Mi-17 helicopters;
15 tactical vehicles;
Spare parts and equipment.

I love them because hey, Ukraine is getting more of what they need to win this war.

News Roundup: Lawmakers prepare to introduce (or block) new gun laws; DeSantis gets an actual army

After yet another mass murder in a public school, the race is on to do something, anything, to protect Americans from America’s gun-toting aspirational terrorists—and for Republicans, the challenge is how best to stonewall reforms until that urgency again dies down. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to polish his credentials of “like Trump, but somehow worse” with a recruitment drive for a new Florida state paramilitary force.

Pillow Man thinks 2022 Georgia GOP primaries were also rigged, because results were bad for Trump

Crack reporter Mike Lindell has gotten to the bottom of yet another election conspiracy, folks, and it’s eerily similar to the old conspiracy! Georgia—which, not for nothing, recounted every single 2020 presidential paper ballot by hand—has apparently cheated Lindell’s messiah, Donald Trump, once again—this time by illegally handing some of his endorsees an embarrassing (to Trump, anyway) loss.

One way to keep books by and about LGBTQ people on the shelves? Hide them from the GOP

We’re still trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence and police brutality continue to endanger everyone (especially people of color and Black men in particular), and Republicans are gearing up for the midterm elections by … banning books. Ah yes, the Republican way: distract and enrage. 

As Daily Kos has covered at length, we know conservatives are trying to attack marginalized folks on all fronts.

Chicago curfew for teens draws concern from community members

by Sayou Cooper

This story was originally published at Prism.

The Chicago City Council has officially implemented a citywide curfew for minors. On May 17, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order that would alter the city’s 30-year-old curfew for minors. Last week, the curfew became permanent after approval from the Chicago City Council, with the measure approved by a 30-19 vote.

The Potential of a ‘Hot War’ Between the U.S. and Russia

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekRussia’s murderous invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. So is the oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps. China also has designs on subjugating the people of Hong Kong and potentially Taiwan.

The Books That Taught a Debate Champion How to Argue

Less than a year after I read my first book in English, The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl, I joined my elementary school’s debate team. I was a fifth grader and a recent immigrant to Australia, and the two milestones were closely related. As the language and culture of my new home became legible to me, I began to desire more than comprehension. I wanted to talk back and, in turn, be heard.I soon learned that reading served an urgent purpose in debate.

The Kind of Prayer That Could Make a Difference

An exhausting routine has developed in the aftermath of mass shootings: Politicians offer “thoughts and prayers” and gun-control proponents respond with justified outrage, pointing out that only political action—the kind that those politicians are blocking—can stem such tragedies. Of course we need real policy change to end gun violence.

‘This Is the Price We Pay to Live in This Kind of Society’

The sites of mass shootings have become instantly recognizable markers of tragedy in the geography of recent American history: There’s Columbine, Parkland, Aurora, the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Sandy Hook, and Virginia Tech, among many others. And now there’s the Tops market in Buffalo, and Uvalde.

Western Support for Ukraine Has Peaked

We’ve likely reached the high-water mark of the grand alliance to defeat Russia in Ukraine. In the coming months, relations between the Ukrainian leadership and its external supporters will grow strained, and the culprit will be economic pain exacerbated by the war.

Yemeni Man Maimed in U.S. Drone Strike Raises Funds Online for His Surgery as Pentagon Refuses Help

Calls are growing for the Pentagon to acknowledge that a U.S. drone strike on March 29, 2018, in Yemen mistakenly struck civilians. Adel Al Manthari was the only survivor of the drone strike, which killed his four cousins as they were driving a car across the village of Al Uqla. The Pentagon refuses to admit the men were civilians and it made a mistake. Now supporters are demanding the U.S. pay for the devastating injuries Al Manthari sustained and fund the surgery he urgently needs.