Today's Liberal News

“Without Love, We Won’t Make It”: Bishop Michael Curry on Faith & What’s at Stake in November

We speak with Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first African American to lead the denomination, about systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement, the 2020 election and President Trump’s use of faith as a political prop. “The church must not be used for partisan political purposes,” Curry says. “The faith, the Christian faith, is not up for sale.

Bernie Sanders on How to Block Trump from Stealing Election & Preserve American Democracy

In an address to the country, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has issued a stark warning about the threat posed by President Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the November election. Trump, who has made spurious claims of voter fraud and election-rigging against Democrats for months, recently ramped up his efforts to discredit the election results by suggesting he will refuse to concede if he loses.

“The Election That Could Break America”: Inside How Trump & GOP Could Steal the Vote

As President Trump refuses to commit to accepting the results of the upcoming election, we speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barton Gellman, whose latest piece in The Atlantic looks at how Trump could subvert the election results and stay in power even if he loses to Joe Biden. “Trump’s strategy is never to concede. He may win, he may lose, but under no circumstances will he concede this election,” says Gellman.

“Two Systems of Justice”: Jacob Blake’s Father on Son’s Case, Breonna Taylor & Black Lives Matter

As outrage mounts over the grand jury ruling in the police killing of Breonna Taylor, we look at the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where an investigation is in its final stages. The case sparked renewed national protests in August after viral video showed Kenosha police shooting the Black father in the back seven times, paralyzing him. We speak with Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr.

Saturday Night Owls: When the future feels hopeless, we aren’t helpless to change our mindset

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

Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic writes—What to Do When the Future Feels Hopeless. Humans like to feel optimistic about and in control of where their life is headed. The pandemic has made it very hard to feel that way:

[…] Because of the pandemic, the future feels difficult and uncertain, and few of us have much control over it, beyond doing our best to keep ourselves and those around us safe.

What is sex positivity?

This explainer is part of Prism’s series on sex positivity and the arts. Read the rest of the series here.

By Bianca I. Laureano, featuring original illustrations by Zahira Kelly 

Sex positivity has become a buzzword among many sex professionals and those working in sexuality-related fields.

One family’s struggle to survive the pandemic in sanctuary

From behind the walls of Philadelphia’s First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Oneita Thompson has read articles about the importance of mutual aid during the COVID-19 crisis and watched livestreams of the nationwide uprising as part of the Movement for Black Lives. Her internet connection is her only real contact with the outside world, and relying on mutual aid—in other words, the kindness of strangers—is currently her only means of survival.

Millions in U.S. could still die from COVID-19 if we keep opening up in the face of rising disease

On Friday, the United States topped 55,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since the beginning of August. It may be incorrect to say that there has been multiple waves of disease in the United States, because in a very real sense, the failure to ever institute any national policy means we never got past the first wave—we just passed it from state to state. But in a nationwide sense, there have definitely been phases to the development of the epidemic in this country.

Wisconsin Is on the Brink of a Major Outbreak

In New York, the decisive moment came in March. In Arizona and other Sun Belt states, it struck as the spring turned to summer. In every state that has so far seen a large spike of COVID-19 cases, there has been a moment when the early signs of an uptick are detectable—but a monstrous outbreak is not yet assured. Can a state realize what’s happening, and stop a surge in time? Wisconsin is about to find out.

Large-Scale Political Unrest Is Unlikely, But Not Impossible

When a reporter recently asked Donald Trump if he would accept a peaceful transition of power, the president wouldn’t commit. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. In an apparent reference to mail-in ballots, he went on, “We’ll want to have—get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very—we’ll have a very peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.

Hong Kongers, Don’t Idolize the U.K.

During this uncertain and unstable year, I’ve learned not to take Hong Kong’s freedom for granted. Prodemocracy protests consumed the city for months starting in early 2019, but the political climate changed abruptly in the spring, when Beijing passed a wide-ranging security law that many see as a crackdown on dissent. At the end of June, a few hours before the law went into effect, I walked outside to catch the last glimpses of protest around my neighborhood in Hong Kong.

I’m Leaving the West Coast

Portland, Oregon, has its share of gloomy days, so waking up to darkness wasn’t that strange. When I looked outside, however, the sky wasn’t overcast. It was filled with smoke the color of pumpkin spice, the result of nearby fires. A soupy miasma. The most noxious air in the world. I’d had enough. I told my husband, “We need to move.”Having grown up in California’s Sonoma County, I’ve been spoiled by natural beauty and perfect weather.