Today's Liberal News

The CDC’s Big Mask Surprise Came Out of Nowhere

Yesterday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated Americans can stop wearing masks in most indoor and outdoor places. The new guidelines still advise the fully vaccinated to mask up when entering certain public areas, such as doctor’s offices.This is a moment to celebrate. It is not quite the pandemic’s equivalent of V-E Day; after all, thousands of people are still dying around the world each day from a virus that, far from surrendering, may be endemic.

Schools Must Open This Fall. In Person. Five Days a Week.

Melissa Ann Pinney
Schools must open this fall. In person. Five days a week. With the space and and health safeguards to do so. The American Federation of Teachers, which I lead, is committed to making this happen.School is where children learn best, where they play together and form relationships and acquire resilience. It’s where many children who otherwise might go hungry eat breakfast and lunch. Parents rely on schools, not only to educate their kids, but so they can work.

No One Actually Knows If You’re Vaccinated

If you have been fortunate enough to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, you also possess an essential, high-tech tool for proving your immunity to others.Just kidding, it’s a piece of cardstock. On the flimsy rectangle that all Americans get with their shots, doctors and pharmacists record dates of administration, vaccine type, and lot number. Some scrawl the information by hand with a pen; others apply a preprinted sticker.

How FDR Changed Political Communication

The renowned filmmaker Ken Burns has a new project called UNUM, about the sources of connection rather than separation in American life.His latest segment involves “Communication” in all its aspects, and it combines historical footage with current commentary. Some of the modern commenters are Yamiche Alcindor, Jane Mayer, Megan Twohey, Kara Swisher, and Will Sommer. You can see their clips here.

Republicans Oppose Kristen Clarke for Top Civil Rights Job at DOJ in Latest Attack on Voting Rights

Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke’s nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote.

Watch Rep. Rashida Tlaib Blast U.S. Aid for Israel & Attack on Gaza in Dramatic House Floor Speech

As the death toll in Gaza reaches at least 119 amid Israel’s escalation of its aerial assault, Congressmember Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress, delivered a powerful speech on the House floor Thursday to denounce the violence and attempted erasure of the Palestinian people. “I am the only Palestinian American member of Congress now,” Tlaib said. “I am a reminder to colleagues that Palestinians do indeed exist.

Philly Health Commissioner Resigns After Mayor Reveals MOVE Bombing Victims’ Remains Cremated in 2017

As MOVE family members and hundreds of supporters held a memorial Thursday to mark the deadly May 13, 1985, police bombing of their home in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney announced the resignation of the city’s top health official over stunning new revelations he cremated some of the bombing victims’ remains, including bone fragments, without the knowledge or permission of the families.

This Week in Statehouse Action: Don’t Mask Don’t Tell edition

Big news today for the fully vaxxed: You can ditch your mask (in most circumstances)!

(As an erudite consumer of this missive, you are no doubt well on your way to or already at full vaccination activation, health/personal circumstances permitting.)

As someone whose face is basically its own emoji, I’m extremely excited about this (though I’m kissing my professional poker playing dreams goodbye).

New fundraising agreement helps ensure Democrats in GOP-majority states won’t get left behind

Here at Daily Kos, we have a strong and consistent focus on state and local elections. Midterm elections are huge, but as we know, don’t tend to get the same attention from national media outlets (or voters) as the presidential election does. Why does this matter now? As reported by the Associated Press, Democratic officials at both the state and national level have reached a fundraising agreement in order to get more aid to state parties.

Podcast: Share the Vaccine ‘Recipe’

When the Biden administration announced support for waiving COVID-19 vaccine patents last week, it was met with praise, relief, skepticism, and alarm by different groups—but surprise all around. Pharmaceutical giants have long fought efforts to have their intellectual property released to meet international needs. And they’ve backed it up with immense political muscle.

Is This the End?

The announcement seemed to catch everyone off guard: Early Thursday afternoon, the government told Americans that if they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, they did not need to wear a mask—indoors or outside, in groups small or large.People who have gotten their shots, Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House press briefing, “can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.