Today's Liberal News

A Sci-fi Film With a Lighthearted, Apocalyptic Vision

The gray-haired, cloak-wearing protagonist of David Cronenberg’s new science-fiction film, Crimes of the Future, is a very particular sort of conceptual artist. Saul Tenser (played by Viggo Mortensen) sleeps in a bizarre contraption that looks like a spiky womb, speaks with the cadence of someone being strangled, and is constantly growing new organs, which his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux), surgically removes from his body for a live audience.

No, Ann Coulter, I Am Not Responsible for the ‘Great Replacement’ Theory

Ann Coulter, in so many words, thinks that I am responsible for the mass shooting in Buffalo in mid-May.Not me alone. After the shooting, Coulter wrote a column dismissing the idea that Republican politicians and commentators had popularized the “Great Replacement” theory, a conspiracy theory that the young, white Buffalo shooter cited as a motivation before killing 10 people at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

Climate Crisis, Ukraine War Worsen Food Crisis in East Africa; Someone Dies of Hunger Every 48 Secs

In a devastating new report, Oxfam says one person is likely dying from hunger every 48 seconds in drought-ravaged Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. We speak with Shannon Scribner, director of humanitarian work at Oxfam America, about how the hunger crisis has worsened since an earlier report was released 10 years ago. She says climate change and the recent war in Ukraine have worsened already dire conditions in East Africa.

Anatol Lieven on Why the U.S. Must Avoid a “Permanent Crusade Against Russia” over Ukraine

Friday marks the 100th day of the Russian war in Ukraine, and the United States warns the war could continue for many more months. We speak with Anatol Lieven, senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest piece for The Atlantic argues that the U.S. is right to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia; however, without a clear strategy for peace and ending the war, the U.S.

Colombia Election Runoff: Leftist Gustavo Petro Leads Presidential Vote But Faces Trump-Like Tycoon

Colombia’s highly anticipated presidential elections on Sunday resulted in victory for two anti-establishment candidates: leftist Gustavo Petro and Trump-like right-wing millionaire Rodolfo Hernández. The two will face off in a runoff election on June 19, the outcome of which will determine whether Colombia addresses worsening inequality under Petro or ushers in a new era of populist conservatism under Hernández.

Ukraine Update: Not enough? Here’s the challenge of moving even four HIMARS

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I both love and hate Ukrainian aid announcements from the Pentagon. Here’s the latest: 

High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
Five counter-artillery radars;
Two air surveillance radars;
1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units;
6,000 anti-armor weapons;
15,000 155mm artillery rounds;
Four Mi-17 helicopters;
15 tactical vehicles;
Spare parts and equipment.

I love them because hey, Ukraine is getting more of what they need to win this war.

News Roundup: Lawmakers prepare to introduce (or block) new gun laws; DeSantis gets an actual army

After yet another mass murder in a public school, the race is on to do something, anything, to protect Americans from America’s gun-toting aspirational terrorists—and for Republicans, the challenge is how best to stonewall reforms until that urgency again dies down. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to polish his credentials of “like Trump, but somehow worse” with a recruitment drive for a new Florida state paramilitary force.

Pillow Man thinks 2022 Georgia GOP primaries were also rigged, because results were bad for Trump

Crack reporter Mike Lindell has gotten to the bottom of yet another election conspiracy, folks, and it’s eerily similar to the old conspiracy! Georgia—which, not for nothing, recounted every single 2020 presidential paper ballot by hand—has apparently cheated Lindell’s messiah, Donald Trump, once again—this time by illegally handing some of his endorsees an embarrassing (to Trump, anyway) loss.

One way to keep books by and about LGBTQ people on the shelves? Hide them from the GOP

We’re still trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence and police brutality continue to endanger everyone (especially people of color and Black men in particular), and Republicans are gearing up for the midterm elections by … banning books. Ah yes, the Republican way: distract and enrage. 

As Daily Kos has covered at length, we know conservatives are trying to attack marginalized folks on all fronts.

Chicago curfew for teens draws concern from community members

by Sayou Cooper

This story was originally published at Prism.

The Chicago City Council has officially implemented a citywide curfew for minors. On May 17, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order that would alter the city’s 30-year-old curfew for minors. Last week, the curfew became permanent after approval from the Chicago City Council, with the measure approved by a 30-19 vote.

The Potential of a ‘Hot War’ Between the U.S. and Russia

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekRussia’s murderous invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. So is the oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps. China also has designs on subjugating the people of Hong Kong and potentially Taiwan.

The Books That Taught a Debate Champion How to Argue

Less than a year after I read my first book in English, The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl, I joined my elementary school’s debate team. I was a fifth grader and a recent immigrant to Australia, and the two milestones were closely related. As the language and culture of my new home became legible to me, I began to desire more than comprehension. I wanted to talk back and, in turn, be heard.I soon learned that reading served an urgent purpose in debate.

The Kind of Prayer That Could Make a Difference

An exhausting routine has developed in the aftermath of mass shootings: Politicians offer “thoughts and prayers” and gun-control proponents respond with justified outrage, pointing out that only political action—the kind that those politicians are blocking—can stem such tragedies. Of course we need real policy change to end gun violence.

‘This Is the Price We Pay to Live in This Kind of Society’

The sites of mass shootings have become instantly recognizable markers of tragedy in the geography of recent American history: There’s Columbine, Parkland, Aurora, the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Sandy Hook, and Virginia Tech, among many others. And now there’s the Tops market in Buffalo, and Uvalde.

Western Support for Ukraine Has Peaked

We’ve likely reached the high-water mark of the grand alliance to defeat Russia in Ukraine. In the coming months, relations between the Ukrainian leadership and its external supporters will grow strained, and the culprit will be economic pain exacerbated by the war.