Today's Liberal News

Shoshana Zuboff: Facebook’s Oversight Board Is Not Enough. The Government Has to Regulate Big Tech

Former President Donald Trump will continue to stay off Facebook after the company’s Oversight Board ruled Wednesday that his ban was justified for creating “an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible.” Trump was banned shortly after the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which he helped foment by promoting baseless claims of election fraud. The Oversight Board also said Facebook should reassess its ban and make a final decision in six months.

“Nothing to Lose”: Colombians Protest “Fascist Mafia Regime” Amid Deadly Police & Military Crackdown

At least 30 people in Colombia have been reportedly killed since a nationwide uprising erupted against the government of right-wing President Iván Duque. Protesters are vowing to remain in the streets amid a deadly crackdown by police and military officers. About 800 people have been injured and 87 people are missing in the midst of the demonstrations, which were initially sparked by a now-withdrawn tax reform proposal, but they have since expanded in scope.

“Monumental Moment”: U.S. Backs Waiving COVID Vaccine Patent Rights After Months of Blocking Talks

The Biden administration has announced it now supports temporarily waiving the intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines, in what the World Trade Organization is calling a “monumental moment.” India and South Africa first proposed the waiver in October, but the United States and other wealthy nations blocked the WTO from even opening negotiations on the proposal.

CNN’s Jake Tapper takes on the GOP’s new lyin’ kings in wake of Liz Cheney dustup

In a lengthy discussion on the brewing internecine war between Republicans, Jake Tapper stood firmly on the side of truth. Appearing on Tuesday’s edition of CNN’s New Day, Tapper noted that Republicans, for the most part, simply aren’t good-faith actors anymore.

Of course, while the truth is fairly easy to suss out these days, grasping even a gossamer strand of it seems like a Sisyphean challenge for Republicans.

‘They are left to defend themselves’: San Diego approves legal help for some detained immigrants

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved a one-year, $5 million pilot program that will provide legal assistance to immigrants detained at nearby Otay Mesa Detention Facility, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Unlike in the criminal court system, people facing immigration court aren’t guaranteed legal help, no matter how vulnerable—or young—they might be.

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade acts like a third grader after being schooled by a 6th grader

Calling the Fox News channel a propaganda machine for the right wing of the country is a redundant truism. It may be true that the absolute is relative, and the relative is absolute, but relatively speaking: the on-air personalities at Fox News are about as smart as cobwebs in an attic that refuse to read. On Wednesday, Fox & Friends did their normal morning show where one guy smiles while saying stupid things, and two other people say stupid things while never cracking a smile.

Daily Kos presents calculations of the 2020 presidential race for Virginia’s state House districts

As it so often does in odd-numbered years, Virginia will host the most important elections of 2021, with voters casting ballots in races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, as well as for all 100 seats in the state House. To help better understand these key legislative races, Daily Kos Elections is pleased to release new data breaking down the results of the 2020 presidential election for each House district, including detailed calculations for every seat.

The Trump Decision Turned Content Moderation Into Shark Week

This morning, the oversight board, a putatively independent body funded by Facebook through a $130 million trust, announced a decision in its tenth case: The removal of Donald Trump from the social platform had been justified, it said, but poorly executed. The meaning of his “indefinite suspension” wasn’t very clear, nor are any of Facebook’s existing policies about world leaders. The company has been given six months to decide what to do and get back to the board.