Today's Liberal News

“Humane”: Yale Historian Samuel Moyn on “How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War”

In his new book, Yale historian Samuel Moyn explores whether the push to make U.S. wars more “humane” by banning torture and limiting civilian casualties has helped fuel more military interventions around the world. He looks in detail at the role of President Obama in expanding the use of drones even as he received the Nobel Peace Prize. “What happened after 2001 is that, in the midst of an extremely brutal war on terror, a new kind of war emerged.

“Turning Point”: Legacy of the U.S. Response to 9/11 Is Terror, Domestic Surveillance & Drones

As this week marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., we look at a new five-part documentary series on Netflix about the attacks and the response from the United States, both at home and abroad. “Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror” features a wide range of interviews with survivors of the attacks, U.S.

News Roundup: Biden administration goes on the offensive; lessons from the pandemic

It’s Friday! The Biden administration continues its work of trying to fix the last guy’s mess while moving us into a future where we don’t rely on rich benefactors to get women medical care and dead dinosaurs to power our cars. This week was also a reminder that Jeff Yang always was (and remains) most interested in helping Jeff Yang. In spooky news, another version of Scott Walker walks among us! 

Here is some of what you may have missed.

GOP’s open assault on election workers is having the intended effect

If we lose our democracy, the biggest crime will be the fact that we could see exactly what was happening and did absolutely nothing to stop it. While I’m thrilled Democrats are doing the bare minimum of governance that they should have done last year, such as COVID-19 legislation and infrastructure spending, our leadership seems to be woefully underestimating the open assault on our democracy happening in a number of Republican-controlled states.

Sean Spicer freaks out over removal from military advisory board, vows to sue

From where I stand, Sean Spicer appears qualified for nothing. He’s best known, of course, for serving as the first of four White House press secretaries under Donald Trump, for whom he brazenly lied in one of his first official acts on the job. If he’s known for anything else, it would be having Melissa McCarthy channel his demented Chucky Doll soul in an Emmy-winning guest turn on Saturday Night Live.

NY deputy mayor arrested after raid turns up ‘arsenal’ of weapons and fake IDs

The 47-year-old deputy mayor of Airmont, NY, is facing 30 state and federal criminal charges. Last week, Brian Downey was arrested on weapons charges after law enforcement found illegal weapons and fake IDs in his home. NPR reports that a raid of Downey’s home turned up “16 assault weapons and 13 silencers,” as well as “a stash of fake federal IDs, including FBI credentials.

Missouri teacher resigns after school district ordered him to remove Pride flag from classroom

There are countless valid reasons to be concerned about students, teachers, and other staff returning to in-person classrooms here in the United States. Mask mandates are all over the place, children under the age of 12 aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine, and both students and staff may be immunocompromised or live with folks who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

Don’t Believe the Salad Millionaire

Jonathan Neman really seemed to think he was onto something. Last week, in a lengthy, now-deleted post on LinkedIn, the CEO and co-founder of the upscale salad chain Sweetgreen expounded on a topic that might seem a little far afield for a restaurant executive: how to end the pandemic. “No vaccine nor mask will save us,” he wrote. (The vaccines, it should be noted, have so far proved to be near-miraculously effective at saving those who get them.

How 9/11 Changed What Americans Laugh At

A now-familiar joke that started circulating within the first year or two after September 11, 2001, goes like this:
“Knock-knock!”
“Who’s there?
“9/11.”
“9/11 who?”
“You promised you’d never forget.”
The punch line, of course, refers to the refrain that became ubiquitous in the United States following the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and shattered the country.