Sunday Night Owls: Excerpts from the March edition of the Harper’s Index. (And a vaccine poll)
Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
Today's Liberal News
In acquitting Trump, Republicans formalize their embrace of American fascism
The full malevolence of this new Republican Party nullification of consequences for political corruption—this time, in the form of a president sending a mob to block the certification of the U.S.
Pfizer Supply Exec Says Company Hopes To Ship 2 Billion Vaccine Doses This Year
More than 38 million people in the U.S. have now received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine or another made by Moderna.
In show of unbelievable inhumanity, cops reportedly caught with George Floyd Valentine’s Day ‘joke’
Los Angeles police are investigating an officer’s complaint that a photo of George Floyd is being passed around with the words “You take my breath away” in a Valentine’s Day message that is beyond saddening. “Our investigation is to determine the accuracy of the allegations while also reinforcing our zero tolerance for anything with racist views,” Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday.
Trump slipped in many key New York districts, but Democrats couldn’t capitalize in any
Start spreading the news: Daily Kos Elections has released the 2020 presidential results for each of New York’s 27 House districts! You can find our detailed calculations here, a large-size map of the results here, and our permanent, bookmarkable link for all 435 districts here.
Before we start, please note that there are a few issues with New York’s vote tallies, including the results in the 22nd Congressional District, which were the subject of an extended legal dispute.
Nuts & Bolts: What If … Black farm ownership returned? The impact on elections considered
It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to another discussion of the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up any time: Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns, or explain issues that impact our party.
Legislators Call For 9/11-Style Commission To Investigate Jan. 6 Attack On U.S. Capitol
Multiple lawmakers publicly supported some kind of investigation into the deadly Capitol riot, a day after the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial.
Trump Attorney Likens Impeachment Trial To Capitol Riot Before Storming Off Camera
Michael van der Veen also did a crude impersonation of CBS News anchor Lana Zak while accusing her of downplaying his claim that trial evidence against Trump was “doctored.
Impeachment Isn’t The Final Word On Capitol Riot For Trump
As a private citizen, former President Donald Trump does not have protection from legal liability that his presidency once gave him.
CDC director: Too early for states to roll back mask mandates
“It’s encouraging to see these trends coming down but they’re coming down from an extraordinarily high place,” Rochelle Walensky said.
The Countercultural Sound of the 2020s
This article was published online on February 14, 2021.In music and on roller coasters, speediness makes for the fun kind of scariness. When young punk rockers raised on the Ramones began to play their own music in the early 1980s, the rat-a-tat rumble of “Blitzkrieg Bop” accelerated into something called the blast beat: an all-out rhythmic carpet-bombing over which vocalists would groan about Satan, Ronald Reagan, and the resemblance between the two.
Dear Care and Feeding: I’m Worried My MIL Will Never Fully Embrace Her Nonbiological Grandchild
Parenting advice on favoritism, transgender teens, and estranged relatives.
Biden’s economic point man draws praise — and pushback
Allies laud Brian Deese’s leadership on the stimulus negotiations, but he’s rubbed some the wrong way.
Eric Metaxas Believes America Is Creeping Toward Nazi Germany
The PR pitch was brazen: Eric Metaxas, it declared, is “America’s #1 Bad Christian.” The Christian writer and radio host has been promoting doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, including at a prayer rally he emceed on the National Mall in December. Metaxas has tweeted “martial rhetoric” in defense of former President Donald Trump, his publicist wrote cheerfully. He even appeared in a New York Times article about Christian extremism.
The Problem With Mandatory Patriotism in Sports
Playing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events has become an empty gesture of patriotism—so empty that, when the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks quietly began skipping the ritual, 13 preseason and regular-season games passed before anyone noticed.On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that the Mavericks had abandoned the national anthem, making them the first team in the recent history of major professional sports to take such a stance.
Biden Wants to Give States $350 Billion. Do They Still Need It?
It turns out the pandemic may not have been the budget wrecker everyone feared.
If Rush Hour Dies, Does Mass Transit Die With It?
Downtowns won’t recover from the pandemic anytime soon. Public transportation must look elsewhere.
Even a Conservative Analysis Shows the $15 Minimum Wage Does More Good Than Harm
The Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the proposed wage hike looks bad—because it was designed to be.
Forget Warm Weather and Low Taxes. Americans Are Moving to Be Near Family.
What happens if a pandemic-era trend sticks around?
When Piggly Wiggly Tried to Stick It to Wall Street
A century before GameStop, a stock market outsider took on short sellers. It was a spectacle and a disaster.
Moderna in talks with FDA to increase vaccine doses per vial
Doing so could alleviate limits on the final step of vaccine production.
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.
Lawmakers, local health officials decry California’s confusing Covid vaccination rules
Gov. Gavin Newsom last month abruptly announced the state would play a bigger role in California’s vaccination drive.
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.
I Have to Be Perfectly Honest About Jill Biden’s Garish Valentine’s Day Display
These hearts, I do not like them.
Dear Care and Feeding: I’m Working Overtime to Repair Finances My Husband Ruined, but Our Kids Hate Me
Parenting advice on financial strife, helicopter parents, and stubborn friends.
‘Clearly not healthy’: Markets are giddy about reopening — and that’s the problem
Investors are pumping up bubbles across markets, with excitement growing about more stimulus and widespread vaccinations.
‘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.