Today's Liberal News

Why Some Libraries Are Ending Fines

When I was a kid, the sin of returning books late to the public library populated a category of dread for me next to weekly confessions to the Catholic priest (what can an 8-year-old really have to confess?) and getting caught by the dentist with a Tootsie Roll wrapper sticking out of my pocket. So decades later, when I heard about libraries going “fine-free,” it sounded like an overdue change and a nice idea.

Colonization Fueled Ebola: Dr. Paul Farmer on “Fevers, Feuds & Diamonds” & Lessons from West Africa

We continue our conversation with medical anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer, whose new book, “Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds,” tells the story of his efforts to fight Ebola in 2014 and how the history of slavery, colonialism and violence in West Africa exacerbated the outbreak. “Care for Ebola is not rocket science,” says Dr. Farmer, who notes that doctors know how to treat sick patients.

Dr. Paul Farmer: Centuries of Inequality in the U.S. Laid Groundwork for Pandemic Devastation

As the United States sets new records for COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, we speak with one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases, Dr. Paul Farmer, who says the devastating death toll in the U.S. reflects decades of underinvestment in public health and centuries of social inequality. “All the social pathologies of our nation come to the fore during epidemics,” says Dr.

Indian Farmers Lead Historic Strike & Protests Against Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism & Inequality

As COVID rages through India, which has the second-highest number of reported cases worldwide, hundreds of thousands of farmers are converging on the capital New Delhi to demand the government repeal new laws that deregulate agricultural markets, saying the reforms give major corporations power to set crop prices far below current rates and devastate the livelihoods of farmers. Agriculture is the leading source of income for more than half of India’s 1.3 billion people.

Ethnic Cleansing Feared as Ethiopia Wages War on Tigray Region Amid Communication Blackout

The United Nations has reached a deal with Ethiopia’s government to allow humanitarian access to the northern Tigray region and start providing aid. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military action against regional forces one month ago, setting off a bloody conflict and adding to the already alarming number of displaced people and refugees in the country and neighboring nations.

Saturday Night Owls: Reporters of color are fighting against journalism seen only via white filters

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Anna Kim at The Washington Monthly writes—Reporters of Color Are Declaring Independence. A new crop of outlets is making journalism more diverse.

In 1968, a report issued by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—better known as the Kerner Commission—excoriated the national press for its role in the racial unrest that rocked America in the summer of 1967.

Ohio’s decade-old gerrymander still performed exactly as the GOP intended in 2020

Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide goes to O-H-I-O. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available.

Despite Democratic hopes, Donald Trump’s 53-45 win in Ohio matched his 52-44 performance in this one-time swing state four years ago.

Harry Styles gives Candace Owens exactly the response she deserves, a barely there one

GOP political pundit Candace Owens took aim at an unlikely source in singer-songwriter Harry Styles when the English musician became the first man to grace the cover of Vogue magazine alone this month. Styles appeared in a dress, blowing up a blue balloon, which seemed to trigger Owens as if she didn’t know she could wear dresses and blow up balloons, too. “There is no society that can survive without strong men,” Owens tweeted on Nov. 14.

Democratic economic policies are popular. Biden should act like it, this week in the war on workers

The fight is on to bring President-elect Joe Biden into office with a Democratic Senate majority to add to the Democratic House majority. But if Mitch McConnell controls the Senate and can continue to block legislation at will, no matter how popular it may be … Biden shouldn’t give up. He should keep pushing, and he should make sure voters know about it.

That’s Bryce Covert’s message in The New York Times.

Hollywood Is Preparing to Sacrifice Movie Theaters

This week, a seismic shift hit the cinema industry. WarnerMedia, one of the world’s biggest movie studios, announced that all of its 2021 films, including blockbusters such as Dune and The Matrix 4, would debut on HBO Max and in theaters at the same time. Each movie would stream for one month before leaving the platform, an unusual arrangement seemingly geared toward giving subscribers a stream of new films, while also allowing movies to play in theaters.

How a Georgia Republican Hit His Breaking Point With Trump

In Donald Trump’s America, anyone who crosses him will be famous for 15 minutes. A lifelong Republican and self-proclaimed “functionary” reached his breaking point this week. That’s Gabe Sterling, who holds the impressively bureaucratic title of Georgia’s voting-system implementation manager.

The Easy Way for Joe Biden to Save Lives

There’s an on-the-shelf policy the Biden administration could enact unilaterally that would save millions of American lives, without costing the government a single cent on net.That policy, one pushed for but never implemented by the Trump administration, is eliminating most nicotine from tobacco products. It would not render cigarettes illegal; they would still be available to adults, and the smoking experience would remain much the same. But the product would no longer be so addictive.