Today's Liberal News

We can’t afford a post-COVID recovery that helps the rich get richer and leaves behind the rest

COVID-19 punched America—and most of the world—in the gut. It has taken so many lives, and upended so many others by taking away their primary sources of income. It has altered fundamentally the way we operate and how we interact with one another, perhaps forever. The pandemic has made economic inequality—which was severe enough beforehand—even worse.

The coronavirus has heightened many different forms of inequality.

‘Go home’ and ‘white power’ spray-painted among other hateful phrases in Santa Fe Indian restaurant

Since Sept. 11, South Asian and Middle Eastern Americans have often been targeted in bias or hate crimes, including those involving everyday discrimination, harassment, profiling, and physical violence. These crimes against immigrant communities, which are often underreported, continue to rise amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Returning to his restaurant, India Palace, in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Monday, Bajit Singh was met with a shock.

Large majority of county voters say Trump’s nominating convention will be a virus-spreading event

A new University of North Florida poll of Duval County voters suggests that the locals are none too happy about the Republican Party’s decision to saddle them with the Pandemic Funtime Hitler Show, aka the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, at the end of August. The poll shows 58% of county residents “strongly or somewhat” oppose hosting the convention, compared to 42% in support.

Defunding the police: What does it mean in 2020?

Have you heard the phrase “defund the police” a lot recently? Do you support reallocating budgets from the police to community strategies?

In this new episode of  “How Did We Get Here?”  (my weekly show on our Daily Kos YouTube channel) I break down what it actually means to defund the police. 

YouTube Video

The transcript can be found below.

It All Happened In Full View

Fifty years ago, the Watergate scandal offered the country a mystery that followed the pattern of a traditional detective story. A crime had been committed. Who did it, and why? First the media, and then Congress and prosecutors, followed the clues for two years—until, at last, evidence was discovered proving that the culprit was indeed President Richard Nixon.The Trump-Russia scandal, by contrast, offers an update on the old formula, much as the innovative Columbo series did in the 1970s.

The Protests Are Already Changing Elections

Jamaal Bowman wasn’t supposed to win.The 44-year-old black progressive candidate, a former middle-school principal, challenged a New York representative who’s been in Congress since before the fall of the Berlin Wall and who had the backing of some of the most powerful players in the Democratic Party. But if the initial results in his primary yesterday hold, he could soon be a presumptive congressman.

The Atlantic Daily: Pitying America

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.The AtlanticAmerica is faltering. The coronavirus outbreak and the death of George Floyd proved to be revelatory events, exposing its rotted and racist systems.

Democrats Don’t Know How to Handle Bill Barr

House Democrats have already impeached President Donald Trump. Now they’re going after the man they call his new “fixer,” Attorney General Bill Barr.Barr, however, is proving to be a more slippery target than the president, both physically and politically.This afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the alleged “politicization” of the Justice Department featuring alarming whistleblower testimony.

Coronavirus: Thousands of Burials Across Latin America

Responses to the coronavirus pandemic have differed widely from country to country. Experts from the World Health Organization recently warned that the number of cases is now soaring in larger countries, with “worrying increases” developing in Latin America, with “a jump in cases in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Panama, Bolivia and Guatemala.” Brazil has now passed more than 1 million recorded cases, with more than 52,700 deaths attributed to the virus so far.

Outbreak at San Quentin: COVID Is Skyrocketing in CA Prisons. Why Haven’t More People Been Released?

As coronavirus rapidly spreads through California’s overcrowded prisons, 400 people have tested positive for the virus at San Quentin State Prison. Advocates and incarcerated people warn conditions behind bars make it nearly impossible to stop the virus once it enters. We speak with Adnan Khan, executive director of Re:Store Justice, an organization that advocates for policy and alternative responses to violence and life sentences.

How Black Lives Matter Protests Are Shifting Racial Justice Dialogues in Professional Sports

The Black Lives Matter protests are dramatically shifting dialogues about racial justice in sports, says former NBA player, author and activist Etan Thomas. He describes how athletes are forcing a reckoning about systemic racism in professional sports, including in NASCAR, which has rallied around the sole Black driver competing in the Cup Series, Bubba Wallace, who led a push to ban Confederate flags from races. “It’s amazing what’s happening in NASCAR,” Thomas says.

Palestinian Scholar Noura Erakat: Israeli Forces Killed My Cousin on His Sister’s Wedding Day

Israeli soldiers on Tuesday killed 27-year-old Ahmed Erekat at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank as he was on his way to pick up his sister, who was set to be married that night. Ahmed Erekat is the nephew of senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and cousin of Palestinian American legal scholar Noura Erakat, who says Israeli claims that Ahmed was attempting a car-ramming attack on soldiers are completely unfounded.

The Next AOC? Progressive Insurgent Jamaal Bowman Takes Big Lead Over Rep. Eliot Engel in NY Primary

In what could be one of the biggest progressive upsets of the year, Jamaal Bowman, an African American former middle school principal, appears headed to victory over 16-term Democratic Congressmember Eliot Engel in Tuesday’s New York primary election. The race has not been called, but Bowman has a large lead over Engel, the powerful chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee known for his support of Israel. Bowman supports a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and defunding the police.