Today's Liberal News

Cartoon: 250k and rising

Outgoing President Trump is outta here, hopefully on schedule. But the Covid-19 pandemic death rate is not going away, as it is currently at 250,000 and rising.

Think about who doesn’t get a Thanksgiving, and who’s to blame, this week in the war on workers

We’re heading into Thanksgiving week, and we’re hearing a lot of discussion of how people are—or aren’t—staying safe, from solitary living to plans for large gatherings and everything in between. We also need to be talking about how this holiday season kicks off after 35 straight weeks of a million or more people applying for unemployment insurance, and with Republicans still blocking the aid working people need in the COVID-19 economy.

Community Spotlight: There’s something fishy about this week’s rescued stories

It’s not because we have shorter attention spans than goldfish that this week’s rescued stories shifted focus from the 2020 election. The goldfish myth has been debunked—by fish themselves demonstrating to researchers that their memory is just fine. Fish recognize and learn from each other, have complex spatial maps of their habitats, and when taught to avoid a trap, they will remember that lesson for at least a year.

The Commons

The Constitution Counted My Great-Great-Grandfather as Three-Fifths of a Free PersonIn the October issue, Danielle Allen wrote about why she loves the flawed document anyway.Danielle Allen says of James Wilson, “We have nonetheless all but forgotten him.”It is true that Wilson was one of the most influential members of the Philadelphia Convention, where the Constitution was forged, and is now rarely mentioned in our history.

20 Movie Families to Spend Your Holidays With

The coming holiday season will be a particularly strange one, with family gatherings limited and travel options diminished because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of my favorite traditions as fall edges into winter is watching movies, whether that means corralling the family to catch new releases at the theater, or arguing over the best film to enjoy at home on the couch.

The Major Difference Between Black Male and Female Voters

Since the years following the New Deal, when the majority of Black voters left the Republican Party, Black men and women have turned out in spectacular numbers for Democrats in presidential elections. No other racial group has been as consistent for the Dems. This year’s contest was no different; roughly 90 percent of this bloc cast ballots for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President–elect Kamala Harris.

Why You Don’t Mess Around With Presidential Transitions

In his new memoir, Barack Obama reveals that there was a terrorist threat on his Inauguration Day. As he addressed the nation, he was prepared to interrupt himself to read evacuation instructions for the millions gathered on the National Mall. Obama had been in the job just seconds, and he was experiencing his first stomach drop—the possibility of a mass-casualty event.The presidency comes at you fast; it helps if you prepare. This would seem to be axiomatic.

Go Ahead, Forgive Student Debt

President-elect Joe Biden could conjure a sweeping financial-relief policy into existence on the first day of his presidency, without the participation of Congress, the Federal Reserve, or any other institution. That is, he could forgive student loans.On Monday, Biden said that loan forgiveness figures into his plan to rev up the American economy, citing a provision in the House’s stalled-out HEROES Act that would pay off $10,000 a person in student loans.