Today's Liberal News

The Silence of the Never Facebookers

Updated at 1:14 p.m. ET on June 10, 2020.To commemorate the company’s initial public offering in 2011, LinkedIn gave some of its employees a lucite cube emblazoned with the stock ticker, LNKD, on one side and “Next Play” on the reverse. That phrase encapsulates the business philosophy of Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s CEO at the time.

What the World Could Teach America About Policing

In the weeks since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, nationwide anti-racism protests have called for, among other things, defunding the police. But the members of the Minneapolis City Council decided to go further, announcing their intent to dismantle their police department altogether.Such a promise might have been deemed radical only a few weeks ago.

Buffalo Police Assaulted a 75-Year-Old Longtime Peace Activist, Now Trump Is Attacking Him Too

We look at the story of peace activist Martin Gugino, who was hospitalized in critical condition after being pushed to the ground by a police officer in Buffalo last week — an attack captured on video that has been viewed millions of times. On Tuesday, President Trump attacked the 75-year-old activist on Twitter, suggesting he staged his fall and was “an ANTIFA provocateur,” echoing baseless claims from a segment on the far-right channel One America News Network.

“Out of Options in Terms of Reform”: Khalil Gibran Muhammad on the Racist History of Police in U.S.

Protests in defense of Black lives and calls to defund the police continue across the U.S., from Los Angeles to Minneapolis and New York. We speak with Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a professor of history, race and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Suzanne Young Murray professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, about the significance of this moment and the history of policing in the U.S.

“Justice Will Be Served”: Family Pays Tribute to George Floyd and Demands Change at Houston Funeral

A private funeral was held in Houston Tuesday for George Floyd, two weeks after a Minneapolis police officer killed him by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd’s death has sparked protests against police brutality and racism across the United States and around the world. We play excerpts from the funeral service and hear from Floyd’s family and dignitaries.

Amid Protests & Pandemic, 200+ Unhoused People Sheltering in Minneapolis Hotel Now Face Eviction

We go to Minneapolis, where the community has taken over a Sheraton hotel to provide shelter to more than 200 unhoused people amid protests and the pandemic. Now they face eviction. “Using hotels for emergency housing is an obvious answer,” says Rosemary Fister, community organizer. “They are largely vacant as we enter an economic depression in the midst of a global pandemic.

“Essential Labor, Expendable Lives”: Mass Transit Workers Worry About Safety as NYC Begins to Reopen

As New York City begins to partially reopen, we look at what it means for the nation’s largest public transportation system. “It’s a very stressful and dangerous situation,” says Seth Rosenberg, a subway operator, shop steward with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and a member of a small coalition of transit workers called Local 100 Fightback. “The safety measures are not in place to protect transit workers or riders.

Tuesday Night Owls: Debt collectors aren’t letting up just because of Pandemic Recession

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

Paul Kiel and Jeff Ernsthausen at Pro-Publica write—Capital One and Other Debt Collectors Are Still Coming for Millions of Americans:

Federal, state and local officials have all taken some steps to protect Americans from the ravages of the economic crash due to COVID-19. Congress halted a substantial portion of evictions, foreclosures and collection on student loans.

DACA Recipients “Want to Be in the Streets Building Solidarity” But ICE Arrests 3 at Phoenix Protest

Immigration agents are facing accusations of targeting protesters who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Police in Phoenix, Arizona, arrested community activist Máxima Guerrero as she was leaving a protest on May 30 with a group of legal observers. She was one of three DACA recipients arrested over that weekend in Phoenix.

Immigration Agents Target People at Police Brutality Protests, Including a U.S. Citizen Military Vet

As protests against police brutality continue nationwide, immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at some of the demonstrations. A viral video showed a group of ICE agents working with the New York City Police Department to detain a protester at a George Floyd rally in New York City last week, and advocates say agents held the man on the ground as they pointed three guns at him and handcuffed and searched him.

Authors get real about book advances, highlighting enormous pay disparity for writers of color

As people are slowly starting to discuss pay disparities based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disabilities more openly, one subject that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is the matter of what monetary advances writers receive for their books. At first, that sounds like a pretty niche topic, but as has become evident via viral Twitter hashtag #PublishingPaidMe, even people without a connection to the publishing world are taking an interest.