Today's Liberal News
New Jersey’s Weed Market Is About to Explode—and Face a Crucial Test
The story of “NJWeedMan” and what will soon be the second-biggest pot market after California.
Trump administration rejects stricter advice on alcohol, added sugars
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended in June that the guidelines should urge men to cut back on alcohol.
Joseph Stiglitz on the Pandemic Economy & Why He Backs Sanders’ Filibuster for $2000 Stimulus Checks
The House of Representatives has voted to approve a measure that would increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000, sending the bill to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has said he will filibuster to delay an override on President Trump’s veto of this year’s $740 billion defense spending bill unless the Senate also holds a vote on the $2,000 checks.
Lawyer Paul Dickinson: The U.S. Promised Iraqis Justice. Trump’s Blackwater Pardons Took It Away.
President Trump’s pardon of four former Blackwater contractors has sparked outrage in Iraq and in the United States. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted in the killing of 14 Iraqis in 2007, when contractors for the mercenary firm opened fire on civilians in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square.
“Blackwater’s Youngest Victim”: 9-Year-Old Ali Kinani Was Among Victims of Trump’s Pardoned Killers
President Trump’s pardon of four former Blackwater contractors convicted for their role in a massacre in Baghdad has sparked outrage in Iraq.
Where Year Two of the Pandemic Will Take Us
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. The influenza pandemic that began in 1918 killed as many as 100 million people over two years. It was one of the deadliest disasters in history, and the one all subsequent pandemics are now compared with.At the time, The Atlantic did not cover it.
The Resistance’s Breakup With the Media Is at Hand
The day after the 2016 election, I got a phone call from an old friend. Neither of us had slept much, and we spent most of the conversation exchanging shell-shocked comments of the Can you believe this? variety. Before we hung up, his voice took on a trace of irony. “Well,” he said, “this is going to be great for your career.”I waved the remark away, but I knew he was probably right. My contentious relationship with Donald Trump was already paying professional dividends.
The Life in The Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
The most famous dysfunctional family of 1990s television enjoyed, by today’s standards, an almost dreamily secure existence that now seems out of reach for all too many Americans. I refer, of course, to the Simpsons. Homer, a high-school graduate whose union job at the nuclear-power plant required little technical skill, supported a family of five.
The Deep Story of Trumpism
As a White House resident, President Donald Trump is a goner. But his stranglehold on the GOP seems as tight as ever: Three in four Republicans say they believe their man won the 2020 election. Can the GOP channel the energy of his most fervent supporters and advance a sort of Trumpism without Trump? The answer depends on what Trumpism is—a populist prototype, a personality cult, or something stranger.To some, Trumpism marks the beginning of a new Republican Party.
Help! I’ve Realized After 20 Years That I Was Abusive to My Partner. Is It Too Late to Apologize?
Or should I leave the past where it is?
The Best Advice of 2020, From Slate’s How To! Podcast
No. 1 on this list should be mask up and social distance. But we assume you know that by now.
The Year of the Neighborhood—if You Were Lucky
Cities splintered in the pandemic, but only some Americans got to enjoy a hyperlocal utopia.
If Trump Really Wants to Kill the Relief Bill, Congress Can’t Stop Him
If he’s willing to do a coup, he’s probably willing to do this.
What the New Stimulus Bill Provides—and What’s Still Missing
Boosted unemployment insurance? Check. A continued eviction moratorium? Check. Checks? Check. But there’s still much more that we need.
The COVID Relief Bill Makes One Big, Risky Bet
It’ll only be enough if the vaccination effort doesn’t blow it.
Governors on Covid-19 policies: ‘We were all trying to figure this thing out as we went’
Larry Hogan and Gretchen Whitmer say they have few regrets about their handling of the pandemic so far.
Adm. Giroir: Not clear if Christmas travel will lead to surge in Covid cases
“It really depends on what the travelers do when they get where they’re going.
The big worry hanging over vaccination: Getting people to the clinics
Distrust isn’t the only barrier to a successful vaccination campaign.
Help! My Girlfriend Dumped Me for My Looks—They’re Too Good.
She started becoming more distant and less affectionate toward me.
Dear Care and Feeding: My Mom Keeps Blaming My Miscarriage on My Weight
Parenting advice on miscarriage, divorce, and friendship.
Trump backs down, signs stimulus package
A government shutdown was averted after the president approved the Covid relief package and annual spending bill.
Congress sends Covid package and spending measure to Trump
The president has thrown the fate of the bill into jeopardy.
Fed enters Biden era with clipped wings and a warning from Republicans
Congress curbed the central bank’s emergency lending despite the economy’s continuing struggles.
Biden adds former Obama budget official, onetime Warren aide to economic team
Biden added that the appointees have “broad viewpoints on how to build a stronger and more inclusive middle class.
Fed sees less severe recession this year but warns of tough winter
Officials said they expect the U.S. economy to shrink by 2.4 percent this year, a brighter forecast than they offered just three months ago.
John le Carré (1931-2020) on the Iraq War, Corporate Power, the Exploitation of Africa & More
The world-renowned British novelist John le Carré died on December 12 at the age of 89. Le Carré established himself as a master writer of spy novels in a career that spanned more than half a century. He worked in the British Secret Service from the late 1950s until the early ’60s, at the height of the Cold War — which was the topic of his early novels.