Today's Liberal News
U.S. still falling short on basic tools to fight the virus
A year into the pandemic, the nation faces new challenges and new variants but could fall into an old replay.
Biden admin asks SCOTUS to uphold Obamacare, reversing Trump support for lawsuit
The move will likely have little impact on the outcome of the case, which the justices heard one week after Election Day and could decide on soon.
‘The Democratic version of John McCain’
As the critical swing vote in a 50-50 Senate, Joe Manchin has emerged as the most powerful man in Washington.
U.S. backs Okonjo-Iweala, first woman and African, to head WTO
The decision breaks with the Trump administration’s opposition to Okonjo-Iweala and brings the U.S. in line with much of the rest of the world.
Economy will return to pre-pandemic level this year, CBO predicts
Employment levels, however, will not fully recover until 2024.
Biden confronts the limits of his executive power
Without help from Congress, he has few options to turn the U.S. economy around.
Photos of the Week: Horse Breath, Incense Cat, Swan Companion
Protests against police violence in Chile, COVID-19 patient care in Portugal, wintry weather in northern Europe, Fashion Week in Kyrgyzstan, scenes from Super Bowl LV, an ice cave in Alaska, Skywhale and Skywhalepapa in Australia, Zoom goats in England, and much more.
Rep. Jim Jordan Shoots Himself In The Foot With ‘Monumentally Dumb’ Defense Of Trump
The Ohio Republican argued Trump didn’t incite the riot because it was planned before the day it occurred.
Thursday Night Owls: Some media seem to have forgotten that first impeachment was cut and dried, too
Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
Alex Shephard at The New Republic writes—The Press’s Strange Memory-Holing of Trump’s First Impeachment. His second impeachment trial is being presented as a cut-and-dried case, in contrast to its predecessor.
Trump’s army of misogynists had special plans for any women they found
I’m ashamed to admit that this didn’t register the first time I saw video of Donald Trump’s supporters marching through the Capitol, methodically hunting door-to-door for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, smashing down doors and chanting her name.
Thanks to Monica Hesse, writing for The Washington Post, I get it now.
As rioters made their way through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, some went looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Progressive patriots won’t let Republicans claim a monopoly on American pride
“We’re proud to be Americans again,” Norma Luna told a New York Times reporter on Inauguration Day. For some progressives—in particular but not only those who are Americans of color—it’s easier to feel proud of being American and feel a connection to the country than it has been for the last four years. Having President Joe Biden instead of President Charlottesville sitting in the Oval Office makes a big difference.
This Week in Statehouse Action: Nightmares and Statescapes edition
Greetings from Impeachlandia, where everything feels somehow like a bad dream AND deja vu.
Also, the weather sucks.
But as we wait for most Republicans in the U.S. Senate to let Trump off the hook for inciting a murderous riot at the U.S.
After dramatic vote, Democratic-led alliance will continue to run Alaska’s state House
More than three months after the election, a deadlock in the Alaska House of Representatives finally broke when a Democratic-led alliance elected moderate Republican Louise Stutes as the chamber’s new speaker by a 21-19 margin.
For the prior four years, deep divisions in the GOP caucus had allowed Democrats to assemble what they called the Majority Coalition, which included independents and a handful Republican pragmatists.
Trumpism Is Violence
On the second day of the impeachment trial, the House managers laid the case that violence was integral from the very start of the political career of Donald Trump. From his first days as a candidate in 2015, Trump incited, invited, glorified, and condoned violence by his supporters. As the coronavirus pandemic weighed upon the country—and his own reelection hopes dwindled—Trump’s turn to violence became more extreme.
Chuck Todd Schools GOP Rep On Her Invalid Impeachment Arguments
“You keep saying that. Congresswoman, that is not the fact of the case,” the MSNBC host told South Carolina lawmaker Nancy Mace.
An Oath Keeper Extremist Who Stormed The Capitol Kept A ‘Death List’
Prosecutors say Thomas Caldwell researched weapons, kept a “death list” of his enemies, and talked about mutilating the corpses of his political opponents.
The Pandemic’s Deadly Winter Surge Is Rapidly Easing
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection suggests that nursing homes with the highest proportions of nonwhite residents experienced COVID-19 death counts that were more than three times higher than those of facilities with the highest proportions of white residents.
Trump’s COVID-19 Struggle Was Worse Than The White House Said At The Time: Report
Trump’s condition deteriorated to the point where officials reportedly believed he would need to be put on a ventilator.
Biden administration finalizes purchase of 200M additional vaccine doses
The 200 million doses just purchased will be available by May, rather than June as originally predicted.
Biden moving to withdraw Trump-approved Medicaid work rules
Democrats long complained the rules were illegal and aimed at shrinking health coverage for poor adults.
The Most Important Revelations So Far From Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial
Donald Trump knew Mike Pence was in danger when he attacked the vice president on Twitter during the Capitol riot.
Why This Book on Understanding Your Sexual Desires Has Been Slate’s Bestseller for Two Years
Stoya and Rich Juzwiak on the book that has changed a lot of readers’ lives—their sex lives, in particular.
How Dementia Locks People Inside Their Pain
A young Denise Maso stands on the balcony of an apartment in Le Pont-de-Claix, France, where she spent most of her adult life. (Courtesy of Marion Renault)On her first night home from the hospital, between bouts of writhing in pain, my grandmother stopped to ask me, over and over, “Qu’est-ce que j’ai fait?”: “What did I do?”My grandmother, Denise, is 82 and in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which means she can no longer form new memories.
The Lady Gaga Anthem That Previewed a Decade of Culture Wars
Updated at 5:45 p.m. on February 11, 2021.The social-media celebrity JoJo Siwa has built an empire by dressing in sparkly rainbow outfits while chattering about individuality and self-acceptance. But when she wanted the world to know that she was queer, she let Lady Gaga do the talking. In a TikTok last month, the 17-year-old Siwa filmed herself grinning and lip-synching to Gaga’s 2011 hit “Born This Way.
“You Guys Are Not Immune”: Modi Government Cracks Down on Independent Media Amid Farmer Protests
Indian farmworkers are continuing to take to the streets to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeal three highly contested agricultural laws. Farmworkers say the laws, which seek to deregulate markets and allow large corporations to set prices, threaten their livelihoods. Dozens have died since the start of the protests, with many deaths caused by the harsh winter as tens of thousands of farmers have camped out in the cold on the outskirts of New Delhi and other parts of the country.
RIP Anne Feeney, Legendary Labor Songwriter, Whose Favorite Place to Sing Was on a Picket Line
Anne Feeney, the legendary Pittsburgh folk singer-songwriter and self-described rabble-rouser, has died of COVID at age 69. Her death comes a decade after she joined in the Wisconsin uprising against a draconian anti-union bill and “sang its solidarity song,” remembers The Nation’s John Nichols, who covered the protests and is based in Madison.
“Dangerous to the Republic”: John Nichols Says Trump’s Senate Trial Is Most Important in U.S. History
Democratic House impeachment managers laid out their case against former President Donald Trump on the second day of the Senate trial, releasing shocking video from inside the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. The footage shows violent Trump supporters were just 58 steps away from lawmakers’ offices.
Capitol Attack: Impeachment Managers Build Case vs. Trump with Chilling New Video of Mob’s Violence
On the second day of former President Trump’s second impeachment trial, House impeachment managers presented detailed documentation of the events leading up to the January 6 insurrection and shared dramatic new footage of the violence as it unfolded.