Today's Liberal News

Biden Calls U.S. Gun Violence an “International Embarrassment.” Will Congress Finally Act?

President Joe Biden has ordered a series of executive actions on gun control in the wake of mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado and elsewhere, calling gun violence in the U.S. an “epidemic” and an “international embarrassment.” The most significant executive order aims to crack down on so-called ghost guns — easily assembled firearms bought over the internet without serial numbers, which account for about a third of guns recovered at crime scenes.

How Cuba Beat the Pandemic: From Developing New Vaccines to Sending Doctors Overseas to Help Others

Since last year, approximately 440 Cubans have died from COVID-19, giving Cuba one of the lowest death rates per capita in the world. Cuba is also developing five COVID-19 vaccines, including two which have entered stage 3 trials. Cuba has heavily invested in its medical and pharmaceutical system for decades, in part because of the six-decade U.S. embargo that has made it harder for Cuba to import equipment and raw materials from other countries.

“Vaccine Passports”: ACLU Warns of Privacy Nightmare That Could Create “Two-Tiered Society”

As people try to find a safe way to gather and travel during the pandemic, there is growing interest in documenting who has been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19. The World Health Organization has warned so-called vaccine passports may not be an effective way to reopen, and healthcare professionals argue vaccine certificates may further exacerbate vaccine inequality.

Major criminal justice reformer faces big test in next month’s primary for Philly district attorney

Larry Krasner’s 2017 victory in the race for Philadelphia district attorney gave criminal justice reformers an early high-profile win, but he faces a competitive May 18 Democratic primary fight to hold onto his office. Krasner’s opponent is former prosecutor Carlos Vega, who has argued that the incumbent has been running “an experiment that is costing the lives of our children.

Nuts & Bolts: Inside a Democratic Campaign: Keeping your own data without being a silo

It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to another discussion of the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up any time: Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns, or explain issues that impact our party.

The Beautiful Things

As long as one knows the appeal of the qin,
what is the need for the sound of the strings?
      — Attributed to Tao Yuanming, 365–427In the museum, I looked at
the beautiful things, one after another,
so many I could not take them all in.
Then I sat in the inner pavilion, clouds
moving overhead, the pages of my book blank.Because I could not see as I wanted to see.
I was beyond beauty. I was beyond seeing.

Beach Photos Give People the Wrong Idea

During a pandemic, public-health messaging is essential to saving lives. Media organizations have played a major role in that messaging over the past year, and not always for the better.Across the English-speaking world, many news stories about the spread of COVID-19 have been accompanied by photographs of people in outdoor settings, particularly beaches.

How Authoritarians Turn Rural Areas Into Their Strongholds

Development economists typically tell a compelling story about land reform: Countries can supercharge their development by leveling inequality and radically reallocating assets. In East Asia, nations that followed this simple formula transformed themselves into economic powerhouses.So why haven’t more countries adopted this well-established blueprint? The governments that have the will and capacity to adopt major land reforms are typically authoritarian.