Today's Liberal News

How Gossip Girl Got Creepy

The late Janet Malcolm, writing about the Gossip Girl novels for The New Yorker in 2008, delighted in the heartlessness of the teenage characters—their voyeuristic cruelty and the sharp satisfaction they take in the downfall of their peers. What the series understands, Malcolm wrote, is that “children are a pleasure-seeking species, and that adolescence is a delicious last gasp (the light is most golden just before the shadows fall) of rightful selfishness and cluelessness.

Lebanon Faces Dire Crisis After the Elite Plundered the State for Decades, Exacerbating Inequality

Lebanon is days away from a “social explosion,” according to the country’s prime minister, amid what the World Bank has described as one of the worst economic depressions in modern history. The country’s currency has lost more than 90% of its value, unemployment has skyrocketed, and fuel prices have soared. Most homes and businesses, and even hospitals, only have power for a few hours each day, and pharmacies are running low on medicine. The U.N.

Eswatini, Formerly Swaziland, Sees Brutal Government Crackdown on Mass Protests over Inequality

The government of the southern African nation of Eswatini, which was known as Swaziland up until 2018, is brutally cracking down on the largest anti-government protests in the country since it became independent from Britain 53 years ago. Eswatini, bordered by Mozambique and South Africa, is currently facing an economic crisis with a shortage of gas, food and other resources.

As Texas Pushes “Worst Voter Suppression Bill in the Country,” Activists Call on Biden to Do More

As President Joe Biden met with civil rights groups this week to discuss how to fight voter suppression efforts, Texas lawmakers followed other battleground states controlled by Republicans with a new push to overhaul the state’s election laws. New restrictions would include a ban on drive-thru voting and 24-hour or late-night voting options, and election officials could be penalized for sending out unsolicited absentee applications.

“Police State Without the State”: Palestinian Authority Faces Protests over Critic’s Death in Custody

We look at growing opposition to the Palestinian Authority after the killing of a prominent activist, Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of the ruling body who died in PA custody after security forces violently arrested him at his home. Banat’s killing has sparked protests calling for President Mahmoud Abbas to step down. “The Palestinian Authority now is acting like a police state without the state,” says Palestinian writer Mariam Barghouti.

Community Spotlight: One man led an inspired response when hate hit town

When teenagers harassed a local Asian American business owner recently, the incident snagged my attention and not just due to the despicable act itself. Observers claimed the police chose to not take action because the kids were minors (and white, my critical mind added, recalling past city police abuses like this and this). I felt angry and frustrated with the kids, city officials, and my own helplessness to fix the problem.

CPAC has become the place Republicans go to sit around the campfire and scare themselves sillier

How can we be sure that we’ve drifted into the Worst Possible Timeline? Because it’s always CPAC. Not content with one event in 2021, the Conservative Political Action Conference is on again, with CPAC Part 2, Eclectic Bugaboos now underway in Dallas. 

Once upon a time, the History Channel actually had shows about history. The Science Channel had shows that tried to explain science.

Connect! Unite! Act! Show some love for our animal friends

Connect! Unite! Act! is a weekly series that seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups meet regularly to socialize, but also to get out the vote, support candidates, and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers that be.

Education that uses advocacy and social justice offers more possibilities for incarcerated students

This story was originally published at Prism.

Accessing education can be endlessly challenging for those who are currently or formerly incarcerated. For those inside, coursework is often provided through partnerships with surrounding colleges and universities, but issues ranging from constant facility transfers to ineligibility for tuition loans can make completing one’s studies unfeasible.

The Arms Race for Weather Lovers Has Begun

The weather, often derided as a mundane conversation topic of last resort, has actually been a prolific source of entertainment. Natural disasters drive big-budget blockbusters. Solar power fuels Lorde’s latest single. Double rainbows produced a lasting meme. But is the weather worthy of an entire streaming service?Fox certainly thinks so. This fall, the network is set to launch Fox Weather, a platform for meteorology programming 24/7, rain or shine.

The Rise of Anti-history

In June, Marjorie Taylor Greene visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The visit was, by her own account, revelatory. Earlier in the spring, the Georgia member of the U.S. House compared Food City, a grocery chain that identified vaccinated employees on their name tags, to the Nazis, who forced Jews to wear Stars of David. A few days later, she compared Democrats to Nazis.Now she was contrite. “When you make a mistake, you should own it.