Today's Liberal News

Astra Taylor: Biden Can Cancel Student Debt on Day One. Movements Must Make Him Do It.

The incoming Biden administration is facing increasing pressure to cancel federal student loan debt, something Joe Biden is reportedly considering through executive action, which would not require Congress to pass legislation. Astra Taylor, a member of the Debt Collective, says canceling student debt would be a boon to debtors and the wider economy, and could be part of a larger wave of progressive action from the Biden administration.

Biden Be Bold: AOC & Cori Bush Join Climate Protest Outside DNC Urging Activists to “Bring the Heat”

Indigenous, racial justice and climate activists staged an occupation outside the Democratic National Convention in Washington Thursday, calling on President-elect Joe Biden to take immediate climate action and to approve the Green New Deal. Advocates are also calling for a Cabinet free of lobbyists and others with close industry ties. A number of lawmakers spoke at the protest, including Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush from Missouri and Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

He may have lost, but Donald Trump does not intend to go quietly

As Donald Trump’s “legal” team loses flimsy lawsuit after flimsy lawsuit and (ahem) that team’s top spokescreatures begin to turn increasingly feral, in front of the television cameras, Donald Trump himself appears to be genuinely pondering what to do with himself after being turned out of office in January.

Nuts & Bolts: Inside the Democratic Party: Reorganization

It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing 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.

Sen. Ed Markey wins internet with silent dismissal of Texas Republican’s lame attack

Sen. Ed Markey is the Massachusetts Democrat who has continued to move towards the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and the voters have rewarded him, first by defeating the strange Pelosi-supported primary bid by Rep. Joe Kennedy III and then by winning reelection to his Senate seat with a commanding 66.5% of the vote.

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas is what passes for young blood in the Republican Party these days.

Trump campaign now says lady who lied with Giuliani for 2 hours at presser not really on legal team

The Trump Administration’s attempts to overthrow the government and sow confusion around the elections have been going so badly that it has been difficult to take what is a very serious attack on our democracy seriously. On Thursday the Trump legal squad of cartoon-keystone-kops, Rudolph Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis held an almost two-hour press conference that can only be called bizarre.

The election may be over, but only Republicans own the damage coming this winter

With the 2020 election now history, the political pundit class is already treating the two months leading up to Jan. 20 as if they don’t really exist. Donald Trump’s “I wuz robbed” shtick has already worn thin in just the span of a week, and the dark, apocalyptic projections of a coup instituted in some fashion by electoral shenanigans have already been doused with cold water.

Kansas: Images of the Sunflower State

Kansas is the 15th-largest state in the U.S. by area, and home to almost 3 million residents. Nearly 90 percent of the state’s land is dedicated to agricultural use, carried out on some 59,500 farms. Here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Kansas, and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

An Ode to Flight Attendants

Tim LahanIt’s time to be grateful.For the courtesy, even when (especially when) it is feigned or forced. For the big, brassy hellos as we all file onto the plane, and the smaller, lines-around-the-eyes goodbyes as we all file off again, having gotten to know one another a little better.

Mao’s Lesson for Trump’s America

In the summer of 1966, Mao Zedong—the father of the Chinese revolution, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, and leader of the People’s Republic of China—called upon Chinese citizens to rise up in revolt against the very government and party he had been so personally responsible for establishing. “Bombard the headquarters!” he implored.

To Die in the Time of Pestilence

My wife, Rudaina, died at 9:30 p.m. on July 20. I was holding her hand.I have lost my parents and two siblings, but this is the first time I saw death come into a room and felt a life slip from my hand, ravaged by cancer. Minutes after, I kissed her forehead and was seized with fright and rage. “She is COLD,” I shrieked and collapsed on my knees with my head against her side. A nurse in her mid-20s knelt beside me, making the sounds mothers do to console a troubled child.

The Return of Eddie Murphy

Illustrations by Louise Pomeroy“Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!” Standing before a bank of potted poinsettias in Studio 8H of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Eddie Murphy, the returning comedy hero, smiled serenely and took a few seconds to bask in the chant that had broken out. Then he spoke. “It’s great to be back here finally, hosting Saturday Night Live for Christmas,” he said. “This is the last episode of 2019.