Today's Liberal News

Thursday Night Owls: Backers of Haaland for Sec. of Interior irked she’s being called ‘unqualified’

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

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

Julia Conley at Common Dreams writes—Climate Action, Indigenous Rights Groups Among Those Championing Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary:

The national women’s rights organization UltraViolet on Wednesday became the latest group to call on President-elect Joe Biden to appoint Rep.

Firings at Fort Hood are an important step, but advocates still demand #JusticeForVanessaGuillén

In a historic move Tuesday, the Army said it fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault, and harassment. A separate probe was also ordered into the base’s Criminal Investigation Command unit that is responsible for investigating crimes at Fort Hood.

This Week in Statehouse Action: Away In A Legislature edition

Happy December to all who observe!

I confess, I’m finding it a little difficult to get into the holiday spirit this year.

On one hand, we’re about to leave this crap year behind us.

But on the other, so many lousy things are still happening, like, all the time.

… including (but in no way limited to) Trump continuing to attempt to use GOP-controlled state legislatures to help him overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

This Is Only Going to Get Worse

By nearly all measures, it has been a horrible week, a horrible month (10 days in), and a horrible year. The United States this week set records in all three metrics that gauge the pandemic’s severity, with a total of 1.4 million new cases and 15,966 deaths.

The Vaccine Is Here. Now for the Hard Part.

In a historic moment during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, an FDA advisory committee voted today in favor of authorizing the first vaccine against COVID-19. The formal implementation of this recommendation, which would allow the vaccine to be given to anyone 16 or older, is expected to follow imminently.This marks the beginning of a new and hopeful phase in a crisis that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans and caused widespread economic collapse.

The GOP Abandons Democracy

When Donald Trump was granted a coat of arms for his Scottish golf courses in 2012 (after a lengthy court battle, of course), he chose as its motto “Numquam concedere”: Never concede. He has not, even as it has become clear that he lost the presidential election by a wide margin.In the first few weeks after the election, anonymous Republicans and White House officials insisted that Trump’s lack of a concession was no reason for alarm.

2020 in Photos: Wrapping Up the Year

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to take a look at some of the most memorable events and images of 2020. Events covered in this essay (the last of a three-part photo summary of the year) include the devastating wildfires in California, the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the U.S. presidential election, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and much more.

Republicans Are Going Down a Dangerous Road

Republicans’ tolerance, if not active support, for President Donald Trump’s ongoing bid to overturn the 2020 election has crystallized a stark question: Does the GOP still qualify as a small-d democratic party—or is it morphing into something very different?

Why Biden’s Pick of Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary Is a Missed Opportunity for the USDA

Progressives and environmental and labor activists are objecting to President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Tom Vilsack to be his agriculture secretary, reprising the role he held in the Obama administration. Those opposed to Vilsack’s nomination say he has a record of supporting corporate interests over those of farmers, loosening regulations and backing genetically modified, herbicide-resistant crops.