Today's Liberal News

Republicans are preparing another ‘Contract on America’ with the aid of … who else?

There are few people in modern political history who have done as much damage to our democracy as Newt Gingrich. As the prototypical, ideological Republican “bomb-thrower” who first came of age during the Reagan “revolution” in the 1990s, Gingrich ushered in and patented an era of hyperpartisan viciousness and crass, unrelenting political rancor that finally reached its apotheosis in a GOP now firmly under the thumb of Donald Trump.

Union membership dropped in 2021, this week in the war on workers

Union membership as a percentage of all U.S. workers dropped from 10.8% to 10.3% in 2021, returning to its 2019 level. The bump in 2020 is instructive, since it came because, in the mass job loss of the pandemic, more nonunion workers lost their jobs. But the lousy numbers for union membership are also important to understand in the context of popular opinion and U.S. labor law.

The Atlantic Daily: Six Poems to Bring You Comfort This Winter

We’re fumbling our way through another challenging January. Writers and editors from around our newsroom share the poems that they’re turning to this month. Then: Here’s what else to read, listen to, and watch this weekend.“I Could Be a Whale Shark” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
It’s been a difficult couple of pandemic years for parents of young children.

André Leon Talley Defined Style on His Own Terms

André Leon Talley, who died on Tuesday at the age of 73, made the fashion world take notice of Black design genius. In the late 1990s, he regularly championed Kevan Hall, Stephen Burrows, Willi Smith, and many others in his Vogue “StyleFax” column, firmly placing these emerging designers in the mainstream.

The Continuing Humiliation of Black NFL Coaches

Coaches such as David Culley, just fired from the Houston Texans, and Brian Flores, of the Miami Dolphins until very recently, face a major problem in the NFL. It’s not their pedigree. It’s not their experience. It’s not their ability to relate to players. It’s not their offensive or defensive schemes.It’s that they’re Black.

The Filibuster Is Still Doomed

To hear Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema tell it, they hoped to defend voting rights. They also hoped, even more fervently, to defend the Senate filibuster.In the end, they did neither.It’s true that by joining their Republican colleagues this week to reject a rules change and block a pair of voting-rights bills, the two Democrats ensured that the filibuster remains temporarily intact.

Ralph Nader: Biden’s First Year Proves He Is Still a “Corporate Socialist” Beholden to Big Business

As President Biden marks one year in office, we speak with former four-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader and The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel, who say Biden has failed so far to sell his agenda to the American people and bring about the transformative policy he campaigned on — from quelling the pandemic to passing his landmark Build Back Better legislation. The two also critique the U.S.

Meat Loaf dead at 74, reportedly had a case of severe COVID

The  singer, actor, and performer Meat Loaf passed away late Thursday night, according to a post made by his family on his Facebook page. No official cause has been given. The popular performer had a tough run of health problems over the last few years, but he was working on new material and touring since the the fall. According to an unconfirmed report from TMZ, the singer had canceled a “business dinner” earlier this week after catching COVID.

Mom didn’t want her child’s face to be national news, but anti-mask hysteria has a life of its own

At this point in the pandemic, everyone should be in agreement that face masks need to be worn when inside (at minimum) and that they need to fit well. Obviously depending on the age and needs of the person involved, that’s sometimes easier said than done. One Pennsylvania community is lashing out from both sides of the political aisle after a photo of a teacher and minor student was posted to a Facebook page called “North Penn Stronger Together.

Your Presidential Picks: Adam Silver, Tyler Cowen, Stacey Abrams

Sign up for Conor’s newsletter here.“You can appoint any American citizen to one term as president,” I wrote earlier this week, “so long as your choice has never run for president before. Who do you appoint to the White House and why?” Among politicians, Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, was mentioned most. Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and former Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams were tapped, too.