Today's Liberal News

An Ode to Agony Aunts

Tim LahanWhat will it be, the thing that finally makes me write to an advice columnist?A quandary of the heart? An out-of-control kink? A high-stakes issue involving wedding invitations? Deeply schooled as I am in the lore of the problem page, I still don’t know which of the standard cries for help I’ll end up emitting.Because they’re all standard—that’s the point. The problems are the same, now and forever. The same dilemmas, the same misunderstandings.

Texas: Images of the Lone Star State

Texas is an enormous place—the second-largest state in the U.S., and larger than the entire country of France. About 29 million people live there, mostly in metropolitan areas in the eastern half of the state, around Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. From the streets of El Paso to the hills of East Texas, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Texas, and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

New Orleans’s Football Stadium Reflects the State of the City

It sounded like thunder; it felt like heaven.This is what I remember of Sundays at the Superdome in New Orleans after the Saints scored a touchdown. An endless sea of black and gold. Fleur-de-lis paraphernalia that glistened under the stadium lights. More than 60,000 people on their feet, stomping, screaming, and singing; awash in one another’s delirium.

The Commons

Anatomy of an American FailureIn September, Ed Yong reported on how the virus won.Yong’s report hits all of the crucial points with the exception of the president’s self-centered, myopic focus on his reelection, which hampered America’s response from day one.

Preserving Roe: West Virginia Mom Tells Abortion Story in Heartfelt Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights.

Deeply Troubling: Kristen Clarke on How Rush to Confirm Barrett Endangers Voting & Civil Rights

The Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ended Thursday with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee scheduling a vote on her nomination for October 22, with a full Senate vote to follow shortly thereafter — less than two weeks before the presidential election, in which the Supreme Court could play a decisive role.

Amy Coney Barrett Won’t Say Climate Change Is Real; Forgets 1st Amendment Protects Right to Protest

We air highlights from the second day of questioning of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who faced eight hours of questions on Wednesday about her views on issues ranging from climate change to voting rights to gay marriage and abortion, as Republicans race to confirm her ahead of the election and secure a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court for conservatives.

Saturday Night Owls: Millionaire Kudlow extols gains from wrecked economy, ignores damage to people

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

Jake Johnson at Common Dreams writes—Trump’s Millionaire Economic Adviser Celebrates ‘Gales of Creative Destruction’ as Millions Lose Their Jobs and Go Hungry:

With millions of Americans out of work, struggling to afford food for themselves and their children, and facing the possibility of losing their homes, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser on Friday celebrated wh