Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
25 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE
Erik Gunn at The Progressive writes—A People’s Agenda for a Better Nation.
Ideally, if Democrats do their job up to and on Jan. 5, we will win both of Georgia’s Senate seats, and secure a bare majority in both chambers of Congress. Coupled with President-elect Joe Biden, this small trifecta means, at the very least, that our government can still function. This is a big deal, since certain Republican senators have indicated that they plan on indefinitely blocking every single one of Biden’s Cabinet nominees.
Republicans are patiently playing “political Candyland” as they “continue to coddle and help encourage Donald Trump’s delusion,” complains Elise Jordan.
Perched at Mar-a-Lago for the holidays, Donald Trump rage-tweeted more garbage Saturday about having the election stolen from him, but said not a single word about the thousands of Americans dying daily in jam-packed intensive care units at the nation’s hospitals because of the coronavirus. He also tweeted another complaint about getting rid of government “pork” and a too small $600 “stimulus” check that are included in the $2.
The children’s book author and former NFL star Martellus Bennett recently offered his very strong take on Black characters in children’s books and shows to The Atlantic, explaining the motivation behind the books he has written and illustrated about a character named after his daughter: He wants Black kids to see themselves and their possibilities in fiction as much as white kids do.
Have some fun enjoying the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, using Twitter for the purposes of spreading joy. Because some people are lucky enough to have political leaders who are trying to use social media to make the world a better place. And also, the dancing queen of Pollokshields, Kate Deeming, is the epitome of dancing like no one is watching for a good cause.
“A young military man working in Afghanistan told me that elections in Afghanistan are … much better run than the USA’s 2020 Election,” the president tweeted.
“Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, Ty Jordan,” Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham said.
This year’s 50 Best came together a little differently than before. Just five years ago we could address a fledgling podcastsphere with the 50 best episodes of the year—not shows. Now, something like 1.5 million podcasts exist. Even if only half of those were active in 2020 we still couldn’t possibly hear them all, no matter how pathological our dedication to listening.
I want to support him through this breakup, but the things he’s said make me ill.
Health experts worry that the public could balk if offered a shot that’s only moderately effective.
BTS has spent enough time in the pop-music stratosphere that it can be easy to forget, or surprising to learn, about the years they spent at the basement level. Back in 2014, for the first anniversary of their debut, the group’s seven members celebrated by cleaning the tiny dorm they shared and cooking a nice meal. They recorded a video of themselves for fans, soaking seaweed for a traditional Korean birthday soup, blowing up balloons, vacuuming the living room, and decorating a cake.
After 10 months of witnessing the coronavirus’s destructive capacity, on December 16 I joined thousands of health-care workers across the country and received my initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. I felt hope for the first time since March, when COVID-19 patients started streaming into my emergency room. My colleagues and I would now have one more layer of protection in our fight against the virus.My relief was short-lived.
Jonathan TwingleyIf 2020 were a person, what sort of punishment would they deserve? And given the sensible prohibitions against torture in human-rights law, what would be the next best option?The conceit of personifying a year dates back to at least the ancient Greeks and, in American newspaper culture, to the early 20th century, when the cartoonist J. C. Leyendecker established a tradition of drawing New Year’s babies on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
If he’s willing to do a coup, he’s probably willing to do this.
Boosted unemployment insurance? Check. A continued eviction moratorium? Check. Checks? Check. But there’s still much more that we need.
It’ll only be enough if the vaccination effort doesn’t blow it.
The holiday takes on a surreal feel in some places.
“It’s not as easy as the census,” said one CEO of a Chicago nonprofit. “It’s a deeper conversation.
America’s most populous state has become one of the nation’s worst epicenters for the coronavirus.
“Doesn’t Congress know that communism starts when a private corporation flags my s**ty tweets?” one Twitter user joked.
“If you want to make something happen, go to Jared,” a source told Yahoo! News about how the Trump administration managed an avalanche of clemency requests.
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.In a slog of a year, new releases brought structure to the calendar. (Remember the Tiger King phase of quarantine? Or the Folklore one?)But what projects stood out the most? The critics on our Culture team are busy recapping 2020’s best works.
We make compromises, then she moves the goal posts.
The only way my son does his schoolwork is if I sit by his side.
Even his therapist believes him!
I am getting depressed at the thought of being alone for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The president has thrown the fate of the bill into jeopardy.
