Today's Liberal News

QAnon mascot’s lawyer blasts Trump: ‘Take care of a lot of the jackasses that you f^%@*d up’

On Wednesday, Jacob Chansley, the QAnon mascot, was sentenced to 41 months in jail. Chansley, sans painted face and buffalo headdress, told the courtroom that he was sorry for his actions: “I am not an insurrectionist. I am certainly not a domestic terrorist. I am a good man who broke the law.” U.S. District Senior Judge Royce Lamberth told Chansley during the steep sentencing: “What you did was terrible. You made yourself the epitome of the riot.

Liz Cheney on Ted Cruz’s pro-Trump mewling: ‘A real man would be defending his wife’

Standard disclaimer: Like most Republicans, Liz Cheney is simply awful. But also like most Republicans, she’s not nearly as awful as Ted Cruz, whose (mostly) tongue-in-cheek association with the Zodiac Killer gives me the barest whiff of sympathy for the now-brutally defamed Zodiac Killer.

More importantly, Cheney has stood up to the potentially republic-ending nonsense of Donald Trump, who simply can’t own up to his decisive loss in the 2020 presidential election.

When Bipartisanship Risks Undermining Democracy

Looking like a human grease fire, and burning nearly as hot, the right-wing provocateur Steve Bannon spat vitriol as he emerged from federal court on Monday afternoon. “This is the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland and Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden,” Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, insisted after appearing for the first time on contempt-of-Congress charges for his refusal to testify before the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection.

The Terrifying Future of the American Right

Rachel Bovard is one of the thousands of smart young Americans who flock to Washington each year to make a difference. She’s worked in the House and Senate for Republicans Rand Paul, Pat Toomey, and Mike Lee, was listed among the “Most Influential Women in Washington Under 35” by National Journal, did a stint at the Heritage Foundation, and is now policy director of the Conservative Partnership Institute, whose mission is to train, equip, and unify the conservative movement.

“The Dawn of Everything”: David Wengrow & the Late David Graeber On a New History of Humanity

In an extended interview, we speak with archeologist David Wengrow, who co-authored the new book “The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity” with the late anthropologist David Graeber. The book examines how Indigenous cultures contributed greatly to what we have come to understand as so-called Western ideas of democracy and equality, but argues these contributions have been erased from history.

Three White Supremacy Trials: Dahlia Lithwick on Charlottesville, Rittenhouse & Arbery Murder Case

Jurors in Charlottesville, Virginia, are hearing closing arguments today in a civil trial that seeks to hold white supremacists accountable for organizing the deadly “Unite the Right” rally there in 2017, and conspiring to commit racially motivated violence. Two of the white supremacists have been defending themselves in the courtroom: Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell.

Gosar Censured Over AOC Murder Video, As AOC Slams GOP: “What Is So Hard About Saying This Is Wrong?”

Republican Congressmember Paul Gosar is the first lawmaker to be censured in more than a decade for posting an animated video on social media where he murders Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacks President Biden. The U.S. House of Representatives also voted Tuesday to censure Gosar and strip him of committee assignments. He has refused to apologize and after the vote he retweeted the video.

The Pandemic’s Next Turn Hinges on Three Unknowns

Winter has a way of bringing out the worst of the coronavirus. Last year, the season saw a record surge that left nearly 250,000 Americans dead and hospitals overwhelmed around the country. This year, we are much better prepared, with effective vaccines—and, soon, powerful antivirals—that defang the coronavirus, but cases seem to be on the rise again, prompting fears of another big surge.

You Should Get a Booster Now

As the air gets colder and drier and people in most of the United States move indoors, a winter spike in COVID-19 cases is beginning to materialize. The drop in new infections across the Deep South after a difficult summer raised hopes that the country could get through this winter without another surge. But that no longer seems likely. With less than 60 percent of Americans fully vaccinated, the U.S. remains vulnerable to renewed winter outbreaks.

News Roundup: Gosar censured; FBI raids home of conspiracy-promoting Republican election official

In the news today: Many months after Rep. Paul Gosar spoke at an event featuring white nationalists and Holocaust deniers, the Arizona Republican was censured and removed from his House committees today after his office released an animated video edited to depict Gosar killing an enemy with the face of a Democratic colleague. Despite this being an obviously fireable offense at any other job in America, Republicans were near-unanimous in voting against the censure. And no, there is no bottom.

‘Cruel double punishment’: ACLU sues Sacramento sheriff for violating law limiting ICE collaboration

The northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the Sacramento sheriff’s department for colluding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in violation of state law. The lawsuit states Sheriff Scott Jones’ “policy and practice of transferring immigrants to ICE” after they’ve already served their time violates “landmark” laws California Values Act and TRUST Act.