Today's Liberal News

‘I Am a Writer Because of bell hooks’

listen little sister
angels make their hope here
in these hills
follow me
I will guide you
(From Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place, by bell hooks)
For all the things that bell hooks was—one of the foremost Black intellectuals in the world, renowned feminist, author of more than 40 books, revolutionary cultural critic—and all the places she lived, she was still Gloria Jean Watkins from Hopkinsville, daughter of Rosa Bell and Veotis.

The Beloved Filipino Tradition That Started as a Government Policy

My mother and I spent an afternoon unfurling my lola’s apartment a few days after she died, back in 2017. In her closet, my grandmother had stored a big cardboard box with an address in Manila written on the side in thick marker. Inside the box were neatly arranged cans of food, bags of rice, drugstore makeup, and clothes she had bought on sale.

The Surreal TV Show That Rewrote Emily Dickinson’s Story

In Dickinson’s third and final season, the titular poet (played by Hailee Steinfeld) travels forward in time and meets the author Sylvia Plath (Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman). Sylvia, it turns out, has a deep knowledge of her predecessor’s legacy. Apparently, Emily Dickinson lived a “miserable life,” should be considered “the original sad girl,” and, Sylvia whispers scandalously, “was a lesbian.

Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald & Chris Hedges on NSA Leaks, Assange & Protecting a Free Internet

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Glenn Greenwald and Chris Hedges discuss mass surveillance, government secrecy, internet freedom and U.S. attempts to extradite and prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. They spoke together on a panel moderated by Amy Goodman at the virtual War on Terror Film Festival after a screening of “Citizenfour” — the Oscar-winning documentary about Snowden by Laura Poitras.

Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties

The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media. The Pentagon announcement comes just two weeks before the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, where more than 80 of the 700 individuals charged with the attack had ties to the U.S. military.

“It’s a Win for Us”: Striking Kellogg’s Workers Get Raises, Improved Benefits & Avoid Two-Tier System

In a major victory for labor rights, 1,400 unionized Kellogg’s workers have ended their nearly three-month strike across four states after approving a new contract that provides a wage increase and enhanced benefits for all. The prior agreement that Kellogg’s tried to bargain only offered wage increases and improved benefits to longtime workers, whereas the new agreement ensures newer workers have a guaranteed option to receive the same improvements.

Tea Party Redux: How the Koch Network Funds and Fuels the Anti-Lockdown Movement

A new report titled “How The Koch Network Hijacked The War On COVID” reveals how a right-wing network linked to billionaire Charles Koch has played a key role in fighting public health measures during the pandemic, including mask and vaccine mandates, contact tracing and lockdowns. The groups include the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), Donors Trust, the Hoover Institution and Hillsdale College.

No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe: Oxfam on Vaccine Equity & Taking On Moderna

Oxfam America has accused Moderna of misleading its investors about an ongoing dispute over whether it needs to share vaccine patent rights with the U.S. government. Oxfam filed a shareholders complaint against Moderna with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company’s resistance to recognizing the role played by three scientists with the National Institutes of Health in developing the vaccine.

You need to leave your Christmas tree up until the infamous date of Jan. 6. It’s not what you think

It’s high time we stop judging people who leave their Christmas trees up long after Jan. 1. In fact, if you’re a traditionalist, you’ll leave that tree up for nearly two weeks after Christmas Day. 

In fact, you don’t have to take it down until Jan. 6.—not the day you’re thinking of, but Feast of Epiphany or Dia de Los Reyes Magos. 

Just think about the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.

Meet Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to New York City Council

Asian Americans have made history by being elected in record numbers in major cities nationwide. “Firsts” have made headlines across the nation, including in cities as diverse as New York. This year, marking the highest percentage of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) representation the council has ever had, the New York City Council welcomed not one but five Asian Americans.

Among the five elected was Shahana Hanif.

Two books that teach kids how to start changing the world

Animals are a very popular subject with young children—which offers a great opportunity to raise environmentalists, by emphasizing how the survival of animal species is very much in the hands of human beings, and how habitat destruction and climate change threaten animals. And there are a lot of books about what’s wrong.

This holiday season, I’m grateful for antidepressants

In many ways, I’m extremely privileged when it comes to surviving the COVID-19 pandemic—I work remotely, have excellent employer-provided health insurance, and I don’t live with any chronic health conditions. From the time people started staying home and staying safe, I was socializing less, sure, but in many ways, my life was the same: work, read, get a (solo) walk in, cook, bake, write, repeat. One thing that didn’t stay the same, however, was my mental health.

This is my Christmas playlist. What’s yours?

I don’t listen to a lot of Christmas music, but when I do, this is it.

What are your Christmas music favorites, be they standards or off the beaten path? 

(Here’s where I confess that while I generally dislike Mariah Carey, I can tolerate “All I Want for Christmas.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry! No, Really.

Christmas, they say, is the most wonderful time of the year. We take time off of work, gather with friends, and indulge in eating, drinking, music, and merriment. For a brief period, the pleasures we ration through the rest of the year take center stage.And then, each January, the newspapers fill up with advice on dieting, teetotalism, and the return to work.

The Wait Was Worth It

KOUROU, French Guiana—More than 25 years ago, the Next Generation Space Telescope was mostly a dream, an idea for a complex instrument meant to see farther than Hubble ever could, which no one had ever attempted to build. A few years ago, the dream was ready to be assembled into a real observatory—gold-covered mirrors, sensitive instruments, a sophisticated sun shield.