Larry Summers Has Some Weird Fears About the Biden Relief Plan
He doesn’t fully spell out why he thinks Congress shouldn’t spend too much, because that would undermine his weird point.
Today's Liberal News
Biden administration deploys more than 1,000 active-duty troops to aid vaccination efforts
Some of the military members will arrive for deployment in California within the next 10 days.
San Quentin Prison Built a Hospital On Top of a Dungeon To Celebrate Progress. Then COVID Hit.
While incarcerated at San Quentin, I saw firsthand how the promise of progress was empty.
The Absurd Logic of Internet Recipe Hacks
There are many points at which one’s understanding of reality could conceivably start to slip while watching a stranger on the internet construct a pie out of Spaghetti-Os. It could be when the cook, a young woman named Janelle Elise Flom, holds up her container of garlic powder to the camera in the exact same way that YouTube makeup artists introduce a lip gloss. It could be when she adds a splash of milk, to make things “juicy.
The Books Briefing: Murder, They Wrote
When there’s so much going wrong in the real world, it can feel like a relief to escape into the wrongs of another world. Why else would crime fiction be having a moment right now? The Netflix series Lupin is on track to be watched more than 70 million times, and many viewers will likely follow up their bingeing with a dive into the show’s literary origins.
‘Some Team Has to Want Me’
In Sunday’s Super Bowl, three of the four offensive and defensive coordinators—the highest-ranking assistant coaches on the field—will be Black. That their teams are competing for a championship isn’t the only thing Eric Bieniemy of the Kansas City Chiefs and Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have in common. They also are striking examples of how the National Football League continues to fail Black coaches.
Friendship and Stonework Grow More Beautiful With Time
Each installment of The Friendship Files features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.This week she talks with Mary Beth Kelly, who wanted to reclaim her family home after her husband passed away, and Jane DeWitt, the stonemason who helped her do that.
Will Biden Admin Reverse Trump’s “Dangerous” Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara?
President Donald Trump broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy in the waning days of his administration and recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory the country has occupied since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. U.S.
Yemen: Biden to End U.S. Offensive Support for Saudi-Led Assault, But Will the War Actually End?
President Joe Biden has pledged to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, supported by both the Obama and Trump administrations, describing it as a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.” The six-year war in Yemen has devastated the country, killing at least 100,000 people and pushing 80% of the country into instability requiring some form of aid or protection, according to the United Nations. Biden’s remarks on Yemen come amid a freeze of U.S.
We Can’t Just “Move On”: AOC & Rashida Tlaib Demand Accountability for Deadly Capitol Attack
As the U.S Senate prepares its impeachment trial of President Trump for inciting the January 6 insurrection, House lawmakers took to the floor Thursday to detail their experiences and demand accountability. We air excerpts from dramatic speeches by Democratic Congressmembers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
“A Moral Catastrophe”: Africa CDC Head Says Lack of Vaccines for the Continent Will Imperil World
Countries across the African continent are facing a second COVID-19 outbreak, linked to a variant first found in South Africa that has been detected in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Comoros and Zambia and more than 20 non-African countries so far. There is concern new variants, which scientists believe are more infectious, could spread the virus further before widespread vaccination begins.
So, When Are the New Stimulus Checks Coming?
There are a lot of bizarre, self-imposed congressional limits that may delay final passage until March.
Somehow WeWork—WeWork!—Is on the Cusp of Thriving
The troubled startup was primed to fail in a pandemic. Here’s how it survived.
The Dumb Obama-Era Law That Might Force Democrats to Slash Medicare, but Probably Won’t, Explained
All because they have to pass more COVID relief with just 50 votes.
Biden administration to begin shipping vaccine doses directly to pharmacies
Many pharmacies are already administering vaccine doses that have been allocated to states.
Just 5 percent of vaccinations have gone to Black Americans, despite equity efforts
A POLITICO analysis suggests disadvantaged communities are being bypassed — even in blue states fighting disparities.
I Agreed to a Threesome and Found Another Woman—but My Husband Is Furious About My One Boundary
I don’t think this is unreasonable.
Economy will return to pre-pandemic level this year, CBO predicts
Employment levels, however, will not fully recover until 2024.
Biden confronts the limits of his executive power
Without help from Congress, he has few options to turn the U.S. economy around.
Fed’s Powell warns U.S. economy ‘long way from a full recovery’
“There’s nothing more important to the economy now than people getting vaccinated,” Jerome Powell said.
Wall Street shrugs at Washington’s debt pileup
The debt poses no imminent danger to U.S. finances, economists say, so the more pressing concern should be jump-starting the economy.
U.S. jobless claims decline to a still-high 900,000
The government said that 5.1 million Americans are continuing to receive state jobless benefits, down from 5.2 million in the previous week.
Jeff Bezos to Quit as CEO, But Amazon’s “Predatory Business Model” Will Continue Unless Lawmakers Act
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced he will step down as CEO and move into a new role as executive chairman later this year, giving up the reins after nearly three decades during which he grew Amazon from an online book retailer into a sprawling business empire and became one of the world’s richest people in the process.
Immigration Advocates Welcome New “Tone” But Urge Biden Admin for More Concrete Change
Hundreds have been deported in the last week, even as President Biden signed several executive orders Tuesday to undo the Trump administration’s hard-line anti-immigration policies.
Photos of the Week: Snowy Elmo, Mogul Run, Sea Goddess
A visit with Punxsutawney Phil, preparations for the Year of the Ox in China, a funambulist in Italy, a rocket explosion in Texas, a farmers’ protest in India, flooding in France, dogs at play on a frozen lake in Turkey, a crowded beach in Brazil, and much more.
Thursday Night Owls: Washington state lawmakers ponder a 1% wealth tax
Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
Chuck Collins at Inequality.org writes—The Movement for a Wealth Tax in Washington State. A levy of just 1% on wealth over $1 billion would raise more than $2 billion per year to meet the state’s urgent social needs:
Legislators in Washington state are taking bold steps towards instituting a state-level wealth tax.
House votes to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of committee assignments
Thanks to House Republicans circling the wagons around Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her history of truly gross statements and actions, Democrats had to hold a full House vote to strip her of committee assignments. That included an assignment to the education committee despite her claims that the school massacres at Sandy Hook and Parkland were hoaxes.
Utah bill seeks to ban transgender girls from girls’ sports from grade school through college
If you hear the keywords “GOP,” “Republican,” “transgender,’” and “sports,” you might be thinking: Which state can possibly be pushing more anti-trans legislation while we’re in a global pandemic? After all, as Daily Kos has covered, Tennessee, Idaho, and South Dakota have all recently pushed these efforts. The latest state? Utah.
First, the basics of the legislation. H.B.
This Week in Statehouse Action: Whistle-pig edition
Okay, campers, rise and shine!
Groundhog Day is a smidge behind us now, but that does nothing to mitigate the general sense of deja vu pervading action in statehouses these days.
Take, for instance, Wisconsin.
I wrote in this space last week about how Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin were in a rush to pass a resolution that would eliminate Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate.
Democratic Lawmakers Give Emotional Testimony On Experiences Of Capitol Attack
Democrats in Congress spoke passionately on the House floor, some in tears, about Jan. 6, the day of the armed insurrection by pro-Trump rioters.