Today's Liberal News

David Nir on the Michelangelo Signorile Show: Democrats must fight fire with fire on gerrymandering

Daily Kos Elections Editor David Nir joined Michelangelo Signorile on his show earlier this week to discuss gerrymandering and offer updates on how map-drawing is going in several states, including updates on court cases Democrats have filed to prevent GOP interference in state maps.

The Democratic Party as a whole, Nir explained, has taken a very strong and clear stance against partisan political gerrymandering.

Workers are being forced back into their jobs despite growing health risks

by Sakshi Udavant

This article was originally published at Prism

When a 35-year-old server from Pittsburgh tried to organize around COVID-19 safety at her job in early January, she was fired for sending “negative texts” to her coworkers. Nicole, who has asked to withhold her last name to protect her identity, had worked at the restaurant for four months and was increasingly frustrated by management’s lack of health considerations for staff.

Needing the Dragon

A woman sits in my armchair and speaks:
We have slain the many gods
they were unreal
the one god in whom we say we believe
is also unbelievable
Humanism keeps the dragon
as a kind of toy
no
as a maskThis poem appears in the March 2022 print edition. When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

The Joe Rogan Controversy Has a Deeper Cause

When Neil Young said he’d take his music off Spotify if it kept streaming the podcaster Joe Rogan, I doubted he was trying to deplatform Rogan. I assumed he was just telling the company, “I don’t need this. I’m out of here.” I support Young’s stance. He has the moral right to get off Spotify, the largest music-streaming service, to protest Rogan’s comments about COVID-19 vaccines. But, notably, Young himself did not in fact have the legal right to leave.

The Sliding-Doors Approach to the Russia Crisis

The prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine creates a set of problems not encountered since the early Cold War period. These problems do not lend themselves to a typical diplomatic negotiation to find a compromise, nor are they a good fit for the traditional tools of deterrence.

Ex-Chicago Cop Jason Van Dyke Freed Early over Murdering Laquan McDonald; Activists Seek Fed Charges

We go to Chicago, where protests erupted Thursday over the early release of the white ex-police officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of killing a Black 17-year-old named Laquan McDonald in 2014. Van Dyke — who was the first police officer in the United States to be charged with murder for an on-duty shooting — was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison but was freed early for “good behavior” after only serving a little over three years of his sentence.

GOP Grill Fed Nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin over Climate Views; Her Husband Rep. Jamie Raskin Responds

We speak with Rep. Jamie Raskin about his wife Sarah Bloom Raskin’s grilling by a Senate panel Thursday over her qualifications to be President Biden’s nominee for the top bank regulator, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Republicans argue her past comments on climate change show she could use her position to discourage banks from lending to fossil fuel companies. Raskin said if she was confirmed, she would not be able to take such actions.

Daily Kos Week in Action: Fighting for representation and equality

Hello, Daily Kos Community, and welcome back to Daily Kos Week in Action! This series from the Daily Kos Activism team shares the issues we’re tackling each week and gets your feedback on where we might focus our future efforts.

This week, we’re highlighting the postal service’s efforts to deliver COVID-19 tests to the American people. We continue our commemoration of Black History Month by advocating for D.

As conservatorship abuse gains more attention, more activists speak out against it

by Sravya Tadepalli

This article was originally published at Prism

Disability advocates in California have given their blessing to proposed legislation that would curb the power of conservators and promote less restrictive alternatives to conservatorships. Conservatorship abuse gained a national spotlight when singer-songwriter Britney Spears fought to be released from a 13-year conservatorship that allowed her father to have full control over her person and assets.

I’ve decided it’s time for me to build a little free library of banned books

Let me explain something about my carpentry skills: As a young kid, I was required in eighth grade to go through “Shop” class, where we worked with power tools and learned everything there was to know about being a good “young man.” Girls took Home Economics and boys, Shop. We were not given a choice in the matter. My goodness do I wish I could have swapped, because I had no ability, at all, to work a power tool.

The possibility of first Black woman SCOTUS nominee prompts misogynoirist pushback

by Natasha Ishak

This article was originally published at Prism

Last week, Justice Stephen Breyer surprised the public by announcing his retirement, paving a path for President Joe Biden to pick a liberal replacement to fill the retiring jurist’s seat on the Supreme Court. The president had repeatedly stated he would nominate a Black woman to the court during his presidential campaign and reaffirmed his pledge to do so.