Today's Liberal News

Heather McGhee: Winning message for Democrats on racism highlights harm to Americans of all races

The most important result of the 2020 elections is that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump. Second-most important is that Democrats took back the Senate. These were tremendous victories that, along with keeping the House, have given our party a chance to make real, lasting change that will improve the lives of every American.

But (you knew a “but” was coming) we didn’t do as well as we thought we might.

The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Awful

Illustrations by Yoshi SodeokaThis article was published online on March 8, 2021.To read the diary of Gustave de Beaumont, the traveling companion of Alexis de Tocqueville, is to understand just how primitive the American wilderness once seemed to visiting Frenchmen.

‘They said you stole’: Rochester police pepper-spray Black woman after accusing her of theft

Despite calls for reform and better accountability, police violence continues nationwide. One police department in New York specifically has consistently been questioned for its officer’s use of excessive force. In the most recent incident caught on camera, Rochester police officials pepper-sprayed a woman while she held the hand of her 3-year-old, The New York Times reported.

While the incident occurred on Feb. 22, the video detailing it was released Friday.

‘They said you stole’: Rochester police pepper-spray Black woman after accusing her of theft

Despite calls for reform and better accountability, police violence continues nationwide. One police department in New York specifically has consistently been questioned for its officer’s use of excessive force. In the most recent incident caught on camera, Rochester police officials pepper-sprayed a woman while she held the hand of her 3-year-old, The New York Times reported.

While the incident occurred on Feb. 22, the video detailing it was released Friday.

While the push to end family detention takes a major step forward, the fight is not yet over

The end of the inhumane detention of asylum-seeking families could be a step closer to becoming reality. NBC News reports that the Biden administration said that the migrant family jail in Pennsylvania will no longer detain parents and children, while the two migrant family jails in Texas will not detain families past 72 hours. There had been reports on both of these changes within the past several days. The administration officially announced it in court documents on Friday.

While the push to end family detention takes a major step forward, the fight is not yet over

The end of the inhumane detention of asylum-seeking families could be a step closer to becoming reality. NBC News reports that the Biden administration said that the migrant family jail in Pennsylvania will no longer detain parents and children, while the two migrant family jails in Texas will not detain families past 72 hours. There had been reports on both of these changes within the past several days. The administration officially announced it in court documents on Friday.

Will Kyrsten Sinema Change Her Mind?

Every other January, the 435 members of the House of Representatives convene in the Capitol and determine, as their first order of business, who will lead them for the next two years. The roll is taken, and one by one, each member says aloud their choice for speaker. In 2015, nearly every Democrat cast their vote for Nancy Pelosi, the longtime party leader. Not Kyrsten Sinema.

Meghan and Harry Go to War

After the trial separation, here comes the messy divorce. And a vital question: Who gets custody of the narrative?It has been less than a month since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finalized their split from the British Royal Family, renouncing their patronages and honorary appointments as well as their income. The fallout between the couple and Buckingham Palace has been painful and public.

We Already Got Rid of the Filibuster Once Before

Last week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, a bill that would make voter registration automatic, end partisan gerrymandering, strengthen campaign-finance law, and bolster oversight of lobbyists. It’s the most sweeping package of democracy reforms in generations. Yet the mood among most democracy reformers was not giddy excitement but resigned dismay: Although H.R.

Guns Are a Threat to the Body Politic

Updated at 1:03 p.m. ET on March 8, 2021.Why regulate guns? The standard answer is that gun laws can prevent needless deaths and physical injury. But this is not a complete accounting. As gun-brandishing protesters and armed invasions of legislatures demonstrate, guns inflict more than physical injuries—they transform the public sphere on which a constitutional democracy depends.

“The Mauritanian”: Film Tells Story of Innocent Man Held at Guantánamo for 14 Years Without Charge

A new feature film, “The Mauritanian,” tells the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was held without charge for 14 years at the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo and repeatedly tortured. We speak with Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who says the film is not just about his struggle. “This is not my movie. This is the movie of so many people,” he says. “Some of the people who were kidnapped after 9/11 were tortured to death.