Today's Liberal News

This week in Fox News madness: Trucker Convoy Edition; crack pipes; and Hillary Clinton?

What is there to say about Fox News that hasn’t been scratched by the nails of demons into the toilet-stall walls of hell? Every day, every hour, every minute, Fox News is either selling its audience lies, misinformation, and disinformation about the world, or it’s selling them pillows, telling them to sell their gold, and saying that the way out of debt is to give Magnum P.I. your home in a reverse mortgage.

Ukraine’s Civilian Soldiers

Photographs by Jean-Marc Caimi and Valentina PiccinniAs the world anxiously watches Ukraine’s borders, where Russia has amassed as many as 130,000 troops, the question on the minds of many is what Vladimir Putin wants, and what he’s willing to do to get it. The answer has immediate implications for the United States, Europe, and the NATO military alliance, whose potential expansion in Ukraine and the broader post-Soviet space is regarded by Moscow as a threat.

What’s the Harm in Medical Misinformation?

Earlier this week I asked, “What should be done about medical misinformation, if anything? Why?” I noted that one faction wants to take action against it while another wants institutions to stay viewpoint-neutral and allow all perspectives to be aired.Carol argues that the stakes are high:
Medical misinformation is contributing to America’s growing death toll, now passing 900,000. It’s a matter of life and death.

​​Marry Me and the Revenge of the Old-Fashioned Rom-Com

The plot of Marry Me is hard to describe without it sounding a little addled. Kat Valdez (played by Jennifer Lopez), a world-famous singer about to marry another pop star during a joint concert, ditches her betrothed at the last second when his infidelity is revealed. To replace him for the ceremony, she invites a stranger onstage, a math teacher and charming single dad named Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), who was unwittingly holding a Marry Me sign passed to him by a friend.

What’s Standing in Elon Musk’s Way?

The thought of a three-letter government agency preventing Elon Musk, currently the richest person in the world, from doing anything he wants might seem like a bureaucrat’s fantasy. This is the guy who got approval to launch a Tesla into space, who got a street renamed Rocket Road, who disregarded coronavirus restrictions when he felt they got in the way of business.

Canada’s Trucker Blockades Are a Warning

Updated at 6:50 p.m. ET on February 11, 2022.Within a week of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrators were marching in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. The European and Asian protesters mimicked the style and symbolism of the protests in the United States: taking a knee, pulling down statues. In the social-media age, all protests are potentially global.

“American Reckoning”: 55 Years After KKK Murder of Mississippi NAACP Leader, Case Remains Unsolved

This month marks 55 years since the assassination of an NAACP leader. The new documentary “American Reckoning” seeks justice in the cold case of murdered civil rights activist and local NAACP leader Wharlest Jackson Sr. in Natchez, Mississippi. No one was ever charged with his 1967 murder, despite evidence pointing to the involvement of the inner circle of the local Ku Klux Klan. It’s one of many unsolved crimes targeting civil rights activists.

Spotify Signed Joe Rogan for $100 Million But Won’t Hold Him Accountable for Spreading Misinfo, Hate

Comedian Joe Rogan has come under fire for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, using racial slurs and other harmful rhetoric on his Spotify podcast. Musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have pulled their music from the platform in protest of his $100 million contract reportedly paid by Spotify, raising questions how responsible audio platforms should be over hateful content.

Despite new memo, advocates say Border Patrol’s shadow police units still have no legal authority

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a memo that claims to limit the power of the shadow police units that have for years worked to cover up abuses by border agents, including the brutal death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas in 2010. The Feb. 2 memo loops in the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which investigates misconduct among federal employees.

Colorado mom who faked the illness that led to her child’s death sentenced to 16 years in prison

After abusing her daughter and lying about her child’s health in order to receive gifts and payments from charities, a Colorado woman has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. The woman, identified as Kelly Turner, was given 16 years on the child abuse count, 10 years for charges of charitable fraud and theft, and three years on charges of theft. Her sentences will run concurrently.

Caribbean Matters: Remembering and honoring Stuart Hall, the ‘Godfather of Multiculturalism’

The month of February marks both the birth and passing of Stuart Hall, one of the key architects of cultural studies, explorations on race and the diaspora, and the globalization of culture. We’re facing Republican attacks on multiculturalism, as well as right-wing supremacist zealots across the U.S. foaming at the mouth around the term critical race theory (CRT)—not that they even know what it was or is.

How to Reclaim Normal Life Without Being ‘Done’

In many ways, the pandemic has never felt quite so paradoxical. In the United States, cases and hospitalizations are falling, and millions of people are as vaccinated as they can be. A rash of coastal-state mayors and governors is peeling back mask mandates—a stateside mirror of countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, where pandemic restrictions have all but disappeared. Things are definitively better than they were just a few weeks ago.

Laura Bennett to Join The Atlantic as a Senior Editor

Laura Bennett is joining the staff of The Atlantic later this month, where she will be a senior editor focusing on The Atlantic’s most ambitious feature writing. She is currently Slate’s editorial director, and was previously the culture editor at Salon and a staff writer for The New Republic.“Laura is an immensely talented and creative editor, with an infectious enthusiasm for magazine journalism.