Today's Liberal News

Winona LaDuke: Deb Haaland’s Nomination for Interior Sec. Is “Important Step” for Native Americans

President-elect Joe Biden has picked New Mexico Congressmember Deb Haaland to become secretary of the interior. If confirmed, Haaland will be the first Native American to serve in a Cabinet position. Haaland’s nomination was backed by progressives, as well as more than 120 tribal leaders, who sent a letter to Biden last month urging him to select her for the post.

Evictions Are Violence: Millions Could Lose Homes Amid COVID Pandemic If Federal Moratorium Expires

Millions across the U.S. could be forced from their homes in the middle of the pandemic if Congress does not extend the federal eviction moratorium that is due to expire at the end of December. Congress is expected to push the moratorium back by one month, to January 31, in the $900 billion stimulus bill being debated in Washington, but such an extension would only be a temporary fix to a much wider problem. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that one-third of U.S.

Saturday Night Owls: Lame duck White House occupant eager to kill Californians with Medicaid cuts

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

32 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE

Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette writes—Well This Is Just A Swell Time For Trump To Cut Healthcare Funds To California Over Abortion:

California is having a difficult time. It’s had more cases of COVID-19 than any other state in the country, and trails only New York and Texas in total deaths.

Married Texas teachers die holding hands. COVID-19 was their killer

Texas teachers Paul Blackwell and Rose Mary Blackwell were married for 30 years before they died holding each other’’s hands and that of their children Sunday. They contracted COVID-19 about a week before Thanksgiving and spent two weeks in intensive care with the virus, NBC News reported.

This is the real reason Trump is so upset

On Tuesday, I went to my local “club” store to do some pre-holiday stocking up. As I walked through the airy, warehouse-like atmosphere, I passed a table piled up with Barack Obama’s recent memoir, A Promised Land. Grabbing a copy for half the $50 list price, I then proceeded to walk around the store and pick up a few more items.

This Oregon House district was the tightest in the 2016 presidential race, but not this time

The Beaver State backed Joe Biden 57-41, which was a bit larger than Hillary Clinton’s still convincing 52-41 showing from four years ago, and he improved on Clinton’s margin in all five congressional districts. Biden, who likely benefited from a decline in third party voting, also took the same four congressional districts Clinton won, and he made important gains in the competitive 4th District. (You can find a larger version of our map here.

An Ode to Naps

Tim LahanThis article was published online on December 19, 2020.With the nap, it can go either way.It can succeed, which is to say it can perform its function of refreshment and revival. Twenty minutes or so of light, untroubled sleep, just when you need it. After lunch, perhaps; nature gently makes the suggestion. So you settle; you sink. But not too far. A delicious shallowness. You open your eyes.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and the Liberating Power of Music

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom begins with what seems at first like a harrowing journey. Netflix’s new adaptation of the late August Wilson’s play opens with a foreboding shot of the woods; the only noises are of crickets chirping, dogs barking, and young Black men gasping for air as they sprint through the trees. But then, we hear the music.

The Truth Behind Indian American Exceptionalism

Illustration by Trevor Davis; family photos courtesy of Arun Venugopal; other images by Federico Benocci / Eyeem / Getty; Tim Abramowitz / Getty; Michelle Marsan / ShutterstockThis article was published online on December 19, 2020.In 1978, several years after leaving India and coming to Texas, my parents decided to move out of our middle-class neighborhood in southwest Houston.

Why British Kids Went Back to School, and American Kids Did Not

The day I visited St. Thomas the Apostle School in Peckham, South London, a new shutdown was announced for Britain’s capital. But the comprehensive—a public high-school, in American parlance—was open. It was freezing: Doors were propped open for ventilation. Pupils chattered in the playground while wearing face coverings emblazoned with the school logo. For all that, the experience felt surprisingly normal.