Today's Liberal News

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.

News Roundup; Navarro subpoenaed by grand jury; Trump does a little dance for the gun crowd

The first funerals for children killed by a teenager wielding an AR-15 in Uvalde, Texas, took place Monday, but at last weekend’s annual convention of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the indifference was palpable. Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro has now been subpoenaed by a grand jury after previously refusing to testify to Congress about his knowledge of the Jan.

Reporter who first introduced Duggars to the nation ignored myriad red flags

The bill finally came due for Josh Duggar on Wednesday. More than six months after being convicted of receiving and possessing child sex abuse material, the oldest scion of America’s most infamous babymakers (and unfit parents) was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Duggar will have to register as a sex offender and will not be allowed any unsupervised contact with minors—not even members of his own family.

Government grapples with results of dumb COVID-19 relief decisions and the billions lost to fraud

More than two years into society and the economy being upended by a global pandemic, there are a lot of lessons to be learned if our government and specifically Congress is willing to pay attention. Just about every other economically advantaged country in the world gave everybody money to live off of, to keep people from falling through the cracks. Business owners got money to live on. Their employees got money to live on. Their landlords got money to live on. Basic needs were covered.