Today's Liberal News

Burmese Protesters Continue to Demand Democracy as Authorities “Shoot to Kill” in Sweeping Crackdown

Martial law has been declared in more parts of Burma as the military junta intensifies its crackdown following the February 1 coup. At least 217 protesters have been killed and over 2,000 have been arrested or detained since the coup began, according to one Burmese group. Protests are continuing across the country amid a crackdown on communications, in which much of Burma is under an internet blackout and independent newspapers have stopped publishing.

Lindsey Thurmond—er, Graham—threatens a talking filibuster over voting rights

It was 1957 when Strom Thurmond took to the Senate floor to engage in the longest-standing filibuster in the history of the legislative body, doing so for just one reason: to stop black people from voting. HIs vile, over-the-top antics took to task a small step forward for civil rights under Dwight Eisenhower, a bill that was nowhere near as substantial as follow-up efforts in the 1960s.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League Is the Ultimate Fan Service

The film’s official title is Zack Snyder’s Justice League. So when Zack Snyder popped up on the video screen during an HBO Max–hosted virtual watch party last night, the fans went wild—as wild as they could in a chat box, anyway. “This movie is a masterpiece,” a commenter wrote before the film started playing. “Zack I respect you so much,” another gushed.

With full slate of terrorism, would-be far-right infiltrator of federal agency busted by polygraphs

Ethan Collins had it all figured out. Like a lot of far-right extremists, he fantasized a lot about committing various acts of terrorism—bringing down the power grid, bombing police stations, that sort of thing—and thought about ways to make them happen. The Colorado man decided his best shot was to try to infiltrate a federal law enforcement agency and pull off his crimes from within its ranks.

Fortunately, Collins is a terrible liar.

A Witness to the State’s Power to Kill

In the summer of 2020, the Trump administration followed through on a promise it had made a year earlier. It would, after a 17-year hiatus, resume federal executions. That original announcement detailed plans to execute five people on death row; by the end of the Trump presidency, the number had ballooned to 13—more executions than in the previous 67 years combined.

Our Asian Spring

My mother’s name is Tin Swe Thant. She was born just outside the former capital of Burma (now known as Myanmar), in a humid city on the delta of the Irrawaddy River called Rangoon (now known as Yangon). Names are always changing for the Burmese, and that includes our own names: My mother grew up during the sunset of British colonialism and attended English schools, where she was not allowed to be called Tin Swe Thant, but was instead required to have a Western “school name.

America Has Forgotten How to Forgive

Yesterday afternoon, Condé Nast, the publisher of Teen Vogue, announced that Alexi McCammond, a 27-year-old former reporter for Axios, would not be taking over as editor of the magazine after all. She had been done in by her own social-media posts, little time bombs she’d unwittingly armed when she tweeted them at age 17. Those posts groaned about her “stupid asian T.A.” and mocked Asians’ “swollen eyes.” She apologized for the tweets in 2019.

There’s Nothing Historic About Biden’s NASA Pick

Since the Apollo era, when every astronaut was white, and a man, NASA has worked to expand its vision of who participates in space exploration. Women used to sew spacesuits; now they wear them. Women, especially Black women, once weren’t credited for their contributions; now they serve in the agency’s upper echelons. President Joe Biden could have chosen the first woman to lead NASA in its 62-year history. Many people in the space community expected him to do exactly that.He did not.