Today's Liberal News

A Novel That Captures the Allure of the Scam

MICHELLE MISHINA KUNZ / New York Times / ReduxIf you’ve ever been lured into a mediocre dining establishment by the promise of unlimited food, you’re not alone. In 2017, TGI Fridays made endless appetizers a permanent part of its menu because they had, in the words of the chain’s CEO, become such a “pop-culture phenomenon, as evidenced by the outcry we heard every time the limited-time offer expired.

Ultra-fast Fashion Is Eating the World

This article was published online on February 6, 2021.Last February, on a sunny afternoon in West Hollywood, two girls with precise eye makeup paused on Melrose Avenue and peered in the windows of a building whose interior was painted a bright, happy pink. Two pink, winged unicorns flanked racks of clothes: ribbed crop tops, snakeskin-print pants, white sleeveless bodysuits. One of the girls tugged on the door, then frowned. It was locked, which was weird. She tugged again.

Iowans Were Scared Into Taking the Virus Seriously

Updated at 10:28 a.m. ET on February 6, 2021.Public-health experts predicted a tsunami of COVID-19 infections in Iowa this winter. Doctors and researchers told me in November that they expected thousands of Iowans to travel to visit family over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How One Supreme Court Decision Increased Discrimination Against LGBTQ Couples

Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has been sketching the outline of a broad compromise on LGBTQ rights. Civil-rights protections will shield people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. At the same time, religious objectors will have their own set of robust rights. For example, the Court recently clarified that Title IX, the federal antidiscrimination employment law, covers LGBTQ employees.

The Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ Is a Myth

China, we are told, inveigles poorer countries into taking out loan after loan to build expensive infrastructure that they can’t afford and that will yield few benefits, all with the end goal of Beijing eventually taking control of these assets from its struggling borrowers. As states around the world pile on debt to combat the coronavirus pandemic and bolster flagging economies, fears of such possible seizures have only amplified.

Friday Night Owls: Summers does it again, worrying about too much stimulus instead of not enough

Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.

Josh Bivens at the Economic Policy Institute writes—The Biden rescue plan is neither risky nor a distraction from structural issues:

Economist Larry Summers raised fears today that the Biden administration’s economic rescue plan might go too far, leading to economic overheating or squandering political and economic space for long-run reforms down the road.

‘Why is the president going to Delaware?’ Oh, noes! They have Biden cornered now!

I get it. The media have a job to do. And for the first time in four years, the government doesn’t have a cabinet-level Department of Gaslighting.

But this is a question this reporter already knows the answer to, right? 

Right?

I believe this is AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller, but he’s wearing a mask, so I don’t know for sure. For all I know this is what Carrot Top looks like when he’s not on stage.

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg identifies the biggest challenge facing students: teachers unions

Billionaire former self-appointed Emperor of New York City Michael Bloomberg was on MSNBC the other day and told the world that what our country needs now is union-busting. According to Bloomberg, the issues facing schools and students and income inequality and social inequality in our education system, which is exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, will only be solved when the teachers unions across the country bow to state and federal pressures to reopen schools.

Meet Saima Mohsin, the first woman, immigrant, and Muslim U.S. attorney in American history

Shortly after Joe Biden was sworn into office as president of the United States, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider submitted his resignation letter. In his letter, he noted that his position would be given to “one of the finest federal prosecutors I’ve ever known,” Saima Mohsin. “As the first woman, immigrant, Muslim United States Attorney in American history, her service is truly historic,” he continued.

Lou Dobbs’ show is canceled, and he didn’t even get to do a farewell episode

It looks like Fox News finally discovered the secret Howdy Doody talisman that their now-former host Lou Dobbs kept, because according to the Los Angeles Times, they are canceling his show on Fox Business. News of the cancellation comes one day after voting software company Smartmatic filed a lawsuit against Fox News and hosts Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro for $2.