Today's Liberal News

“These Are Climate Fires”: Oregon Firefighter Ecologist Says Devastating Blazes Are a Wake-Up Call

President Trump has said little about the wildfires raging in California, Oregon and Washington for three weeks, other than to suggest poor forest management was primarily to blame. But the states’ governors are pushing back and directly linking the fires to the climate crisis. “These are climate fires,” says Timothy Ingalsbee, an Oregon-based wildland fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter who now directs Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology.

Pandemic, Wildfires & Heat Wave: Undocumented Farmworkers Face “Triple Threat” as West Coast Burns

As devastating fires burn across the West Coast, some of the most vulnerable people are farmworkers — many of whom are undocumented. Despite the risks of the pandemic and the climate-fueled fires, many feel they have to keep working even if that means working inside evacuation zones. The state of California has repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders putting workers at great risk.

Costs of War: After 9/11 Attacks, U.S. Wars Displaced at Least 37 Million People Around the World

As the United States marks 19 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a new report finds at least 37 million people in eight countries have been displaced since the start of the so-called global war on terrorism since 2001. The Costs of War Project at Brown University also found more than 800,000 people have been killed since U.S. forces began fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen, at a cost of $6.4 trillion to U.S. taxpayers.

“Democratic Public Health”: Big Pharma Relies on Developing World While Limiting Access to Treatment

We look at the history of clinical vaccine trials and exploitation of vulnerable people in the U.S. and India, which recently surpassed Brazil as the country with the second most infections worldwide. Kaushik Sunder Rajan, an anthropologist at the University of Chicago, says there is a documented history of “ethical lapses” and lack of accountability in vaccine studies in India.

Sunday Night Owls: Can we seize the moment and create a New Reconstruction?

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

At The Atlantic, Adam Serwer writes—The New Reconstruction. The United States has its best opportunity in 150 years to belatedly fulfill its promise as a multiracial democracy:

[…] In 1955, the images of a mutilated Emmett Till helped spark the civil-rights movement.

Watch Naomi Osaka flip the script when asked about the message she wants to send with her face masks

Since protests for justice and against police brutality have taken place across the nation (and in many places, continue), we have seen a number of individual athletes and sports teams take a stand. In fact, we’ve seen entire leagues take a stand. One powerhouse who hasn’t gotten nearly enough media coverage is tennis player Naomi Osaka. Osaka won the 2020 U.S. Open on Saturday and earned her third Grand Slam title.