A Conviction Would Puncture Trump’s Personality Cult, Predicts Authoritarian Expert
Trump has changed the entire nature of the GOP into an “authoritarian far-right party” that’s as hard on its own members as on foes, said historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
Today's Liberal News
InfoWars’ Alex Jones Reportedly Weighing Bankruptcy To Dodge Sandy Hook Damages
The far-right conspiracist has also been accused by Sandy Hook parents of shifting millions to an “alphabet soup” of holding companies to duck paying up for lies.
Ukraine update: Zelenskyy says Ukraine won’t give up land; sanctions against Russia likely permanent
In a Kyiv interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again vowed that Ukraine wouldn’t be negotiating away territory in exchange for a Russian end to the war. Zelenskyy dismissed the idea not out of bluster, but for a more fundamental reason: There’s no evidence that Russia would abide by any such agreement.
“I don’t trust the Russian military and Russian leadership.
For disabled women of color, telehealth has been a pandemic lifeline
by Vilissa Thompson
This story was originally published at Prism.
Over the past two years of the pandemic, we have witnessed the rise of telehealth services, but now that popularity is waning in the cultural push to “return to normal,” threatening to leave behind many for whom telehealth has become a lifeline.
Kerry Eleveld on The Michelangelo Signorile Show: Rick Scott sets his sights on the White House
Daily Kos senior political writer Kerry Eleveld joined Michelangelo Signorile on his show this week. The pair discussed Rick Scott’s “Rescue America” plan—an 11-point scheme that would raise taxes on low- and moderate-income Americans—and Joe Biden’s steady leadership as Ukraine faces a continued assault from Russia.
Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: There are some days you do not campaign
Welcome back to the weekly Nuts & Bolts Guide to small campaigns! Midterm elections are stressful. Democratic Party candidates and infrastructure feel the stress of holding on to majorities in the U.S. Senate and House in order to keep Joe Biden’s agenda moving forward and especially to make sure that President Biden’s court and administration nominations are successfully approved.
SNL Really Wants to Say Something About TikTok
Each month, the average TikTok user watches about 24 hours of video. Considering that videos now top out at 10 minutes, that’s a bewildering amount of content and reach. TikTok hit 3 billion downloads in July 2021, becoming the first non-Facebook app to do so. As a global vehicle for a wellspring of DIY creators, it has saturated the cultural moment. Saturday Night Live knows this, and it keeps wanting to say something about the platform. But it doesn’t quite know what.
Biden Covid chief dismisses utility of lockdowns like China’s
Ashish Jha casts doubt on China’s zero-Covid strategy.
Lawsuit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate
The suit accuses city health officials of having “usurped the power and authority” of state officials.
First Poem After Parting
This is what I wanted, isn’t it? This house, quiet
as sunlight, grass on the other side of these windowsfading from gold to green like a woman taking
off her makeup. I have waited and waited to hold my grief. Tied her up in garbage bags under clothes
I intend to donate, slipped her in the side pockets of suitcases and empty slots between cigarettes
in packs I carry always in multiples. I trained her to stand behind doors, to exit as laughter from my
throat.
GOP Candidates Clamor For The Approval Of The Man Who Tried To End Our Democracy
Would-be governors, senators and House members have collectively put close to a million dollars in Trump’s cash registers as they seek his endorsement.
How to Seek Justice for Rape in the War on Ukraine
On March 13, a Russian soldier broke into a school in Malaya Rohan, a village near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which had been relentlessly attacked by Vladimir Putin’s forces for weeks. Locals had congregated in the school’s basement for shelter from the violence. What followed, according to an account from a survivor published by Human Rights Watch, is horrifying but bears detailing.
A Stanford Psychologist Says He’s Cracked the Code of One-Hit Wonders
Sign up for Derek’s newsletter here.In September 1992, the band Blind Melon released their self-titled debut album. The record was mostly ignored until a music video for the song “No Rain,” featuring a girl in glasses dressed as a bumblebee, went berserk on MTV. The song rocketed up the Billboard Hot 100 charts. But that was the last time the band ever struck gold. Two decades later, Rolling Stone named “No Rain” one of the biggest one-hit wonders of all time.
U.S. global vaccination program employees look to leave over lack of funding
The agency’s upheaval marks another challenge in the already-difficult work of boosting vaccinations around the world.
STDs are surging. The funding to fight them is not.
The latest figures follow Congress’ decision last month to provide far less funding to sexual health clinics that provide free and subsidized testing.
Philadelphia moves to reinstate indoor mask mandate, first major U.S. city to do so
The move to tighten restrictions could be a sign that leaders across the country will reimpose mask mandates if cases continue to rise.
Field mice seek refuge in FDA’s Maryland headquarters
The FDA’s rodent problem worsened during the pandemic, forcing the agency to assign some employees returning to the campus after two years to temporary desks and ask others to continue to telework.
Gay Missouri Lawmaker Tears Down Colleague Over Anti-Trans Amendment
“I was afraid of people like you growing up,” state Rep. Ian Mackey told state Rep. Chuck Basye.
Texas Gov. Makes Deal With 2 More Mexican Leaders On Supply Chain Crisis He Created
The GOP governor, Greg Abbott, has raised eyebrows for the deals he’s made with Mexican state governors.
Patrick Lyoya’s Family Demands Answers After Fatal Police Shooting
After video showed a Grand Rapids officer fatally shooting Lyoya, an unarmed Black man, questions arose about the missing details.
Dianne Feinstein Is the Future of the Senate
Look, it’s right there in the name: Senate, borrowed from the Romans and meaning a “council of elders.” More than ever, the label fits. This is the oldest Senate, by average age, in American history, at 64 years. Jim Inhofe and Richard Shelby, both 87, have announced plans to retire. Chuck Grassley, 88, is running for reelection this fall. But even he is a shade younger than Dianne Feinstein, also 88.
Keeping a Diary at the End of the World
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the writer and photographer Yevgenia Belorusets began to journal about her experience living in Kyiv. The resulting account, which she published online in real time, provides insight into the conflict that more straightforward news coverage has failed to capture. It is, as she put it in an interview with my colleague Gal Beckerman, “a very complex picture of reality at a moment when war has turned everything incredibly awful.
What could go wrong with Biden’s booming economy? Here are the big risks.
The Fed’s campaign to raise interest rates — designed to reduce spending and curb inflation — will slow growth, which will have consequences for American workers.
U.S. inflation jumped 8.5 percent in past year, highest since 1981
Prices have been driven up by bottlenecked supply chains, robust consumer demand and disruptions to global food and energy markets worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Psaki: Student loan borrowers likely to have to pay debt ‘sometime’
The Biden administration recently extended a Covid-related pause on repayments.
Biden’s mounting midterm threat: Inflation angst outweighing historic job growth
White House officials deny any sense of panic over the economy or their midterm chances.
Democrats want to crack down on Wall Street. Guess who’s getting in the way.
The administration’s difficulties in getting bank cop nominees through a Democratic-controlled Senate underscore the fault lines within the party over how to approach financial regulation.
“Trigger Points”: Author Mark Follman on How the U.S. Can Prevent More Mass Shootings
As the United States reels from an epidemic of mass shootings in schools, trains and other public places, we speak with Mark Follman, national affairs editor at Mother Jones, where he covers gun violence. Follman says mass shootings are typically planned over a period of time and follow a “robust trail of behavioral warning signs” that offer opportunities in community-based violence prevention to stop the crime before it happens.
Vijay Prashad on the War in Ukraine & the West’s “Open, Rank Hypocrisy” in Condemning War Crimes
As the Russian invasion in Ukraine enters its 50th day, we look at the war’s impact around the world with Vijay Prashad, author and director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. “When food prices go up, the political crisis is almost immediate,” says Prashad, who calls the U.S. pressure on Global South countries to cut off essential imports from Russia after a 30-year globalization campaign a double standard. He says if the U.S.
Russia Warns U.S. About Arms Sales to Ukraine as Weapon Makers Reap “Bonanza” from War
This week the Pentagon met with leading U.S. weapons manufacturers as Russia warned the Biden administration to stop arming Ukraine, claiming it was “adding fuel” to the conflict. This comes as a Russian warship sank in the Black Sea hours after Ukraine claimed to have attacked it with cruise missiles, and as Sweden and Finland say they may join NATO, which would require more weapons spending.