Today's Liberal News

The Silencing of Black & Queer Voices: George M. Johnson on 15-State Ban of “All Boys Aren’t Blue”

School districts and Republican-controlled state legislatures are rapidly intensifying efforts to ban certain books about race, colonialism, sex and gender identity from public classrooms and libraries. The wave of book bans — with more than 70 educational gag order bills being introduced in legislatures over the past month alone — have been largely led by right-wing groups funded by Charles Koch. We’re joined by author George M.

Missouri proposes new Castle Doctrine law. Critics dub it the ‘Make Murder Legal Act’

So what do you do if “too many” Black people vote in an election? You pass laws to frustrate and discourage them, of course! But why rest on your ugly racist laurels when there are still so many pesky murder laws standing in the way of regress? What if “too many” white people are being prosecuted for murdering Black joggers who obviously shouldn’t be jogging and certainly shouldn’t be Black while doing it?

Eric Adams is the latest Democrat to choose increased policing over real safety

by Reina Sultan

This article was originally published at Prism

Eric Adams began his tenure as New York City’s mayor making explicitly pro-policing and -incarceration promises, with a so-called tough-on-crime approach that he argued was what voters wanted when they elected him. Historically low voter turnout—the lowest New York City had seen since 1953—suggests otherwise. Still, he has remained steadfast in his desire to be the law and order mayor.

The U.S. media are making a deadly mistake with Trump

The U.S. media are still flummoxed by the question of how to cover Donald Trump’s actions, even a full year after his ejection from the Oval Office. That ambivalence is understandable; never before in the history of this country has someone so thoroughly brazen and insouciant in his raw criminality occupied a position now enjoyed by Trump, whose every utterance now smacks of outright, seditious intent.

‘Requests have been simply ignored’: ACLU sues ICE for refusing to boost detained immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have tried to push back on very legitimate criticisms that they’ve completely failed on pandemic safety response by claiming that if detained people want to be vaccinated or boosted against the virus, all they have to do is ask.

But a group of medically vulnerable immigrants says they have asked to be protected, and have been denied.

This Is Your Brain on Heartbreak

We all know that when love is good, it’s really good. Research shows that romantic attachments, when they’re healthy and supportive, can be immensely beneficial for our health. Married people tend to live longer than single people and seem to fare better when seriously sick. But as poets and pop singers have long told us, when love goes awry, it hurts like nothing else.

Should We Go All In on Omicron Vaccines?

Two years into the pandemic, and two months into Omicron’s globe-crushing surge, our COVID-19 vaccines are finally on the cusp of a federally sanctioned update. To counter the new variant’s uncanny knack for slipping past antibodies roused by our first-generation shots, Moderna and Pfizer have both kick-started clinical trials to see how Omicron-specific vaccines fare in people.

Read the Books That Schools Want to Ban

Book banning is back. Texas State Representative Matt Krause recently put more than 800 books on a watch list, many of them dealing with race and LGBTQ issues. Then an Oklahoma state senator filed a bill to ban books that address “sexual perversion,” among other things, from school libraries. The school board of McMinn County, Tennessee, just banned Maus, Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic memoir about the Holocaust.

Atlantic Brand Partners Releases “Forces of Influence”

Today Atlantic Brand Partners, The Atlantic’s business services group, is releasing Forces of Influence 2.0, a study into how ongoing cultural unpredictability is affecting consumer perspectives. Most surprising for business leaders: despite industry-wide emphasis to address individual consumer needs, there is still a vast gulf between what consumers expect from brands and their perceived realities.

“It’s Not About Security”: Belgian Peace Activist Says NATO Has Outlived Its Purpose

To speak about the key role NATO is playing in the Ukraine crisis, we speak with Ludo De Brabander, spokesperson of the peace organization Vrede vzw in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered. De Brabander says NATO has outlived its purpose, and touches on how activists in NATO countries like Belgium are pushing against narratives in the media that war with Russia is necessary.

Germany Refuses to Send Arms to Ukraine Despite Pressure from U.S. & NATO

Germany’s new coalition government is refusing to send lethal weapons to Ukraine but has offered to send over 5,000 combat helmets to protect Ukrainian soldiers in case of a Russian attack. The move has been ridiculed as the U.S. and other NATO countries continue to send military support to Ukraine. In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised his country will stay in tune with European Union and NATO policies toward Russia.

Ukrainians Doubt a Russian Invasion Is Imminent as U.S. Peace Groups Urge Biden to Halt Escalation

The United States and Russia sparred on Monday over the crisis in Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council. Meanwhile, U.S. senators are preparing to unveil a bill that would target Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian banks and other entities with sanctions. To discuss the Ukraine crisis, we’re joined by the co-founder of CodePink, Medea Benjamin, who says “we need the voice of the American people” to oppose U.S. escalation and also calls on U.S.