Today's Liberal News

Pop’s Buzziest New Songwriter Knows Exactly What to Say

Great breakups aren’t just painful; they’re surreal—a space-time fissure, a smack from God, a bulletin that you’re not the world’s protagonist. Someone who was always there just vanishes. A future crumbles into a past. This is heavy stuff at any age but especially when you’re dealing with it for the first time, which means that some of the most mystic meditations on breakups have come from teen singers.

I Felt More Welcome in Combat Than I Did on Base

In 2012, I was deployed to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to serve alongside Green Berets and infantry soldiers. As a member of an all-female cultural-support team, I was trained to interact with Afghan women and children, something that is culturally inappropriate for men to do. At the border, we encountered mortar attacks, improvised explosive devices, and firefights. Even though this time was tense, we worked well with our colleagues in U.S.

What’s Safe for Kids Now?

Parents of young children have some pressing questions for the CDC.In recent guidance, the public-health agency suggested that fully vaccinated individuals can burn their masks and never wear a face covering again. (I’m exaggerating. Masks are still required on public transit and in medical facilities, among other places.) Meanwhile, unvaccinated people should continue to mask inside as well as at crowded outdoor venues.

Above the Law? Review of Police Killing of Andrew Brown Jr. Demanded After DA Calls It Justified

We speak with Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and former head of the North Carolina NAACP, who is in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to call for an expedited independent investigation into the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr., the 42-year-old Black father who was killed there last month by a bullet in the back of his head after seven deputies blocked him in his driveway while serving an arrest warrant.

“We Want Real Dignity and Freedom”: Gazans Welcome Ceasefire But Demand End of Siege & Occupation

In Gaza, thousands of people have taken to the streets to celebrate after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, ending Israel’s 11-day bombardment of the territory. At least 243 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed in the airstrikes and bombings. Rockets fired from Gaza also killed 12 people in Israel. Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, welcomes the ceasefire but stresses Palestinians demand more than just the end of bombing.

For my autistic graduate of 2021 and other disabled people, respect is due

When my son Augustus was born on Aug. 3, 1999, we chose his name in part because of the month, and in part because we had finished reading a book about Caesar Augustus, Pax Romana, and the stability that came from chaos for 200 years. Two years and a month after his birth, 9/11 hit the nation. Shortly thereafter, the extent of Augustus’ mental disability became more clear to us.

Ford’s new electric truck is a good thing. But the idea it’s going to crush Tesla is delusional

Last week, Ford Motor Co. debuted its Ford Lightning, an F-150 pickup truck that is all-electric. Many people went bananas. Now, they said, we’ll really see EVs take-off because we’ve got an automobile manufacturer that knows how to build a truck that looks like a truck, not that goofy futuristic Tesla Cybertruck.

Before I go farther, this is not about Elon Musk, certainly no paean to him.

Nuts & Bolts: Inside a Democratic campaign—Main Street isn’t Wall Street

This Sunday we are going to spend time talking about local, often non-partisan campaigning. If you’ve missed previous entries, Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns, or explain issues that impact our party.

Biden pledges big increase in funding, staffing to restore the IRS and crack down on rich tax cheats

In what is a ridiculously long overdue proposal, President Joe Biden is advocating doubling the size of the IRS, adding tens of thousands of new workers over the next decade in order to help achieve another of his goals: upping enforcement and getting tax scofflaws to pay up. That would come with an increase in funding to the IRS by $80 billion, and the return on that could be more than $700 billion in revenue in the next decade.