Today's Liberal News

Scholar Angela Davis on Prison Abolition, Justice for Palestine, Critical Race Theory & More

World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about the prison abolition movement from her time as a Black Panther leader to today. In her tireless efforts as an abolitionist and a teacher, Davis continues to be a fierce advocate of education and the interconnected struggles of oppressed peoples. Davis talks about Indigenous genocide, Palestine, critical race theory and the role of independent media.

“People Have the Power”: Poet & Singer Patti Smith Awarded Key to New York City

Legendary poet, singer, author and activist Patti Smith has been awarded a key to New York City. Smith’s music has inspired countless bands and helped earn her the title of the queen of punk. Her song “People Have the Power” has become an anthem at protests across the globe. Patti Smith has also been a longtime activist, performing regularly at antiwar rallies and political benefits.

The Cost of Engaging With the Miserable

Every morning, I wake up and grab my doom machine. My phone is a piece of revolutionary technology that puts the entire world a scroll away, its every pixel an industrial miracle. It’s also a cataclysm-delivery device.I roll over and click the blue “f” logo to watch older friends and relatives grow angry and entrenched in their politics. I click on Twitter and drown in a torrent of terrible news delivered by shouting messengers.

How I Demolished My Life

I had wanted, I thought, soapstone counters and a farmhouse sink. I had wanted an island and a breakfast nook and two narrow, vertical cabinets on either side of the stove; one could be for cutting boards and one could be for baking sheets. I followed a cabinetry company called Plain English on Instagram and screenshotted its pantries, which came in paint colors like Kipper and Boiled Egg.

Emily in Paris Is the Last Guilty Pleasure

Right-thinking people agree: Like the burning of Notre Dame, Netflix’s Emily in Paris is a catastrophe for the culture. In mid-2020, when COVID-19 was still novel, the first season of the Sex and the City creator Darren Star’s new sitcom portrayed an American marketing professional (Emily, played by Lily Collins) Instagramming her way through the most sophisticated city on the planet (Paris, shot on location).

Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald & Chris Hedges on NSA Leaks, Assange & Protecting a Free Internet

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Glenn Greenwald and Chris Hedges discuss mass surveillance, government secrecy, internet freedom and U.S. attempts to extradite and prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. They spoke together on a panel moderated by Amy Goodman at the virtual War on Terror Film Festival after a screening of “Citizenfour” — the Oscar-winning documentary about Snowden by Laura Poitras.

Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties

The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media. The Pentagon announcement comes just two weeks before the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, where more than 80 of the 700 individuals charged with the attack had ties to the U.S. military.

“It’s a Win for Us”: Striking Kellogg’s Workers Get Raises, Improved Benefits & Avoid Two-Tier System

In a major victory for labor rights, 1,400 unionized Kellogg’s workers have ended their nearly three-month strike across four states after approving a new contract that provides a wage increase and enhanced benefits for all. The prior agreement that Kellogg’s tried to bargain only offered wage increases and improved benefits to longtime workers, whereas the new agreement ensures newer workers have a guaranteed option to receive the same improvements.

Trailblazing lawyer Sarah Weddington, who argued Roe v. Wade, dies at 76

As 2021 comes to an end, we pay tribute to and remember the lives lost. Texas lawyer Sarah Weddington, who won the landmark court case Roe v. Wade passed away “after a series of health issues” in her Austin home Sunday, former student and friend Susan Hays shared on Twitter. Weddington, who died at the age of 76, fought the historic Supreme Court case at the age of 26, only five years after she graduated from law school, CNN reported.

Oregon man calls Biden to say ‘Let’s go, Brandon’ on Christmas Eve, cries about it later

An Oregon man who took the opportunity to say “Let’s go, Brandon!” to President Joe Biden on Christmas Eve is now playing the victim, claiming he has received numerous threats since. The seemingly innocent phrase “Let’s go, Brandon!” is an offensive catchphrase commonly used by conservatives to tell Biden off.  “And now I am being attacked for utilizing my freedom of speech,” the man told reporters.

CDC shortens recommended COVID isolation period to five days for those without symptoms

In a rare bit of “good” news, as COVID-19’s omicron variant rapidly takes hold through the country and officials warn that we’re in for a bleak pandemic winter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released updated guidelines for how long those who have tested positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms should stay isolated, now cutting the recommended quarantine time from 10 days to just five.

‘I’m begging for forgiveness’: Brown truck driver sentenced to 110 years seeks lesser sentence

A call from millions of petitioners got an initial answer on Monday in their effort to have reduced a 110-year sentence imposed on a Texas truck driver. In short, that answer will wait a few weeks. During a web-based hearing, Judge Bruce Jones scheduled an in-person resentencing hearing for Jan. 13 to determine the fate of Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, who lived in Texas but was driving in Colorado when his semi-truck triggered a deadly crash.

All Hail Dead Week, the Best Week of the Year

Christmas is over and we have arrived at the most wonderful time of the year—nominally still the holidays, but also the opposite of a holiday, a blank space stretching between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when nothing makes sense and time loses its meaning. For many of us, this is the only time of year when it feels possible, and even encouraged, to do nothing. I look forward to it all year long.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) on Apartheid, War, Palestine, Guantánamo, Climate Crisis & More

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the South African anti-apartheid icon, has died at the age of 90. In 1984 Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work fighting to end white minority rule in South Africa. After the fall of apartheid, Archbishop Tutu chaired the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where he pushed for restorative justice. He was a leading voice for human rights and peace around the world.

It Keeps on Raining Too Much Too Fast

This was a year of too much rain. It rained too much in the Northeast. It rained too much in the Pacific Northwest, where, after a hazy summer of record wildfires, record rainfall temporarily rendered Vancouver impassable by road or rail. On the Gulf Coast and in the mid-Atlantic, the wettest days keep getting wetter. This is one of climate change’s twisted bits of logic: Where it was dry, it was too dry. But where it was wet, it was way too wet.