Today's Liberal News
Dear Care and Feeding: I Know I’d Be Happier if I Left My Marriage
Parenting advice on divorce, newborns, and manners.
Stop Worrying About Budget Deficits
Ten years ago, the United States was clawing its way out of a miserable recession. Washington was running an annual deficit of $1.3 trillion, and the national debt had reached $9 trillion, roughly 60 percent of GDP. Those figures were frightening enough to spur the Obama White House and Congress to create a panel of experts to address the long-term budget and to kick-start several rounds of government austerity, making cuts to the defense budget and a wide range of domestic programs.
I’m Sorry, but We Shouldn’t Just Send Everyone Relief Checks
Congress should help Americans who really need it before helping those who don’t.
The Dark Side of GoFundMe
Critics say the platform enables fraud and exploits holes in the social safety net.
We’ll Be Stuck With Trump’s Postmaster General for a While
Louis DeJoy is likely to last well into the Biden administration.
FDA authorizes first Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use
The Pfizer vaccine proved 95 percent effective in a massive clinical trial.
U.S. government buys another 100 million doses of Moderna vaccine
The expanded order would ensure continuous vaccine delivery through the end of June 2021, at a total cost of $3.2 billion, the Trump administration said.
The Atlantic Daily: Welcome to Vaccine Purgatory
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.KATIE MARTIN / THE ATLANTICWelcome to vaccine purgatory.“We’ve spent 2020 adjusting to a pandemic normal, and now a strange, new period is upon us,” my colleague Sarah Zhang, who covers vaccines, notes in her latest.Thus the waiting begins.
Dear Care and Feeding: My MIL Recklessly Gave Us COVID, and Now She’s Banning Me From Christmas
Parenting advice on reckless MILs, religious disagreements, and toy shaming.
Go Absolutely Wild Decorating for the Holidays This Year
Banish the gloom of 2020 with as many trees, treats, and twinkles as you can manage.
Colonel Sanders Was, in Fact, Very Horny
Lifetime’s new “mini-movie” about the KFC founder isn’t making that part up.
Help! My Husband Has No Idea How Often I Get High.
He’s been emotionally abusive for most of our relationship, and he hasn’t always been nice about my cannabis use.
Biden top economic adviser facing accusations of mismanagement, verbal abuse
A former high-level employee at Heather Boushey’s think tank publicly aired the accusations on Tuesday night.
Biden backs up Tanden as Republicans attack her tweets
“That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90 percent of the administration,” the president-elect said of GOP criticism.
How climate change could spark the next home mortgage disaster
Taxpayers are backing more than a trillion dollars in home mortgages, but the agencies buying them are neglecting to consider climate risks.
Deese to be Biden’s top White House economic adviser
Brian Deese is an executive at investment giant BlackRock.
Biden unveils diverse economic team as challenges to economy grow
The president-elect intends to name Cecilia Rouse, Neera Tanden and Wally Adeyemo to senior roles in his administration.
Andrew Bacevich on Why Retired General and Raytheon Official Lloyd Austin Should Not Head Pentagon
Joe Biden’s nominee for defense secretary, retired four-star Army General Lloyd Austin, would make history as the first African American to lead the Pentagon if confirmed by the Senate. But Austin can only be confirmed if he secures a waiver from Congress due to laws designed to preserve the civilian control of the military, and several leading Democratic senators have indicated they would oppose granting a waiver.
U.S. Recognizes Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara in Latest Betrayal of Sahrawi People
We continue to examine the U.S.-brokered deal between Morocco and Israel to normalize relations. As part of the deal, the U.S. will become the first country in the world to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied since 1975 in defiance of the international community.
Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi: Trump’s Morocco-Israel Deal Legitimizes Land Theft & Occupation
In a deal brokered by the Trump administration, Morocco and Israel have agreed to establish diplomatic relations. The United States has also agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over occupied Western Sahara, the first country in the world to do so. Morocco has occupied much of the resource-rich territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community.
Ethiopia’s PM Won the Nobel Peace Prize A Year Ago; Now He Is Leading Nation Into Possible Civil War
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending the two-decade “state of war” between Ethiopia and Eritrea, with many hailing a new era of peace in the region. Just one year later, Ahmed’s military has displaced tens of thousands of civilians in an ongoing military campaign in the northern Tigray region.
GOP Congressman-Elect Praises Maskless Trump Supporters: ‘This Is A Phony Pandemic’
Bob Good, who is slated to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, praised a crowd of maskless pro-Trump rally-goers as a “group of people that gets it.
Saturday Night Owls: The source of the next pandemic could be an industrial farm here or abroad
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
39 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE
At Vice, Valerie Kipnis and Joe Hill write—The Next Pandemic Could Come From an American Factory Farm:
In the dead of night, four animal rights activists prepare to break into an industrial-scale pig farm in central California.
Pro-Trump Protests Decry Trump’s Election Loss At Tense Protest In Washington
Tensions rose after dark as scores of pro-Trump “Proud Boys” protesters and “Antifa” counterprotesters faced off, separated by police in riot gear and on bicycles.
Joe Biden improved in a key district in the Seattle suburbs that House Democrats flipped in 2018
Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide heads to Washington. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available.
Joe Biden carried Washington 58-39, which was an improvement over Hillary Clinton’s 54-38 showing four years ago, due at least in part to fewer voters choosing third-party options.
‘Our bad’: Orlando Sentinel apologizes for endorsing congressman who signed on to Trump coup attempt
Rep. Michael Waltz received the Orlando Sentinel’s endorsement in the 2020 general election for Congress. On Thursday, Waltz joined onto the traitorous Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results in four states because they didn’t break for Donald Trump. On Friday, the paper’s Editorial Board formally apologized to their readers.
We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy.
Three things unemployed people should know right now, this week in the war on workers
Unemployment claims just hit their highest level in months, Republicans are still refusing to negotiate a stimulus package that does half what the country needs, and people who have been unemployed for months are increasingly desperate. Only the government can truly help unemployed people, but the National Employment Law Project’s Michele Evermore has three pieces of advice for unemployed workers in the coming weeks. It’s not cheerful news, but it’s worth knowing.