Today's Liberal News

Trump Calls Howard Zinn’s Work “Propaganda.” Hear the Legendary Historian in His Own Words.

This week President Trump described the work of the legendary historian Howard Zinn, who died in 2010, as “propaganda” meant to “make students ashamed of their own history.” But Zinn believed the opposite, that teaching the unvarnished truth about history was the best way to combat propaganda and unexamined received wisdom. We air excerpts from a 2009 interview with Zinn in which he explained his approach to education.

As Fires Rage Across the West, Trump Bails Out Big Oil & Picks Climate Denier for Top Role at NOAA

As climate-fueled wildfires continue to ravage the West, the Trump administration has tapped a well-known climate change denier for a top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. University of Delaware professor David Legates has written papers calling for more fossil fuel emissions and has had his work supported by the Robert Mercer-funded Heartland Institute and Koch Industries, as well as major gas companies.

Trump vs. Masks: Attacks on CDC, Doctors & Scientists Undermine a “Pillar of Pandemic Control”

As the official United States death toll from COVID-19 approaches 200,000 people, we speak with infectious disease expert Dr. Monica Gandhi, who says President Trump’s refusal to promote face masks has made the pandemic much worse. “Masks are a pillar of pandemic control. They are incredibly important,” says Dr. Gandhi, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a division head at San Francisco General Hospital.

Daniel Ellsberg Warns U.S. Press Freedom Under Attack in WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Extradition Case

Legendary Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg says Julian Assange’s extradition hearing in London could have far-reaching consequences for press freedoms. The WikiLeaks founder faces an ever-evolving array of espionage and hacking charges related to the release of diplomatic cables that revealed war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange faces almost certain conviction, if extradited, and 175 years in prison.

Saturday Night Owls: The coronavirus pandemic is widening the racial wealth gap

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

Rhitu Chatterjee at NPR reports: How The Pandemic Is Widening The Racial Wealth Gap:

[…] Sixty percent of Black households are facing serious financial problems since the pandemic began, according to a national poll released this week by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Trump and GOP rush on replacing RBG out of weakness and fear

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To Republicans, the rush to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a simple proposition: If they don’t replace her right now with a conservative jurist, they’ll lose their chance to replace her. 

In other words, they think they’re going to lose in November.

Their behavior makes this obvious.

Community Spotlight: Rescuing your excellent stories for over 12 years

Every day, a team of Daily Kos members reviews all stories published by the community. When awesome work doesn’t receive the attention it deserves, we rescue that story to the Community Spotlight group blog. Today, I am turning the spotlight on the collection of stories we rescued in the past week and telling you how to find them.

From newly joined members to a 14-year veteran member, these stories show off the talents and interests of the Daily Kos community.

Congress’ new THRIVE agenda aims to help reset America’s values

Introduced last week, the THRIVE agenda proposes a set of economic policy prescriptions that shift the American imagination of what is possible in legislation. Demanding a bold economic agenda, members of Congress joined a grassroots coalition and labor unions in setting forth the THRIVE agenda in response to the current economic crisis.

What Republican Senators Say in Private

Updated on September 19, 2020, at 6:08 p.m. ET.Nearly every reporter in Washington has experienced it: A Republican member of Congress says “off the record,” shifts into a quieter voice, and expresses how much he or she doesn’t like President Donald Trump. Soon after, you watch this same elected official speak up in favor of the president—or, more often, avoid saying anything meaningful at all.

RBG’s Life, in Her Own Words

Just days ago, on Thursday evening, the National Constitution Center awarded the 2020 Liberty Medal to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the justice’s request, we recorded her favorite opera singers and special friends offering personal tributes in words and music. The tribute video is a moving, inspiring, and now heartbreaking celebration of her achievements as one of the most influential figures for constitutional change in American history.

4 Reasons to Doubt Mitch McConnell’s Power

To use power, you must have it.On the night of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that a Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg would receive a vote on the floor of the Senate.That announcement promised a use of power without hesitation or compunction, an abrupt reversal of the supposed rule that blocked an Obama nomination nine months before the 2016 election. This supposed rule would seem much better justified in 2020 than 2016.

Howie Hawkins Is No Kanye West

Howie Hawkins may be the Green Party’s presidential nominee, but he isn’t Jill Stein—or at least, he can’t be, because he’s not on the ballot in as many swing states as Stein was in 2016. Courts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania decided this week to keep his party’s ticket off of the 2020 ballots. But Hawkins told me he’s not Kanye West either, even though Republican operatives have been helping both the Green Party and West’s “Birthday Party.

Antebellum Isn’t Just Bad—It’s Vile

This story contains spoilers for the film Antebellum.Antebellum is the kind of film that requires true storytelling daring to pull off. A horror movie that blurs history, fantasy, and darkest nightmare, it would only work with the cleverest calibration, striking a balance between thrills and social commentary that recalls the films of Jordan Peele or the best episodes of Black Mirror.