Democrats can’t be the party of both the working and the millionaire classes

Democrats can’t be the party of both the working and the millionaire classes

Rep. Jared Golden writes: For years, Democrats have made promises to American voters: Elect us, and we will lower the cost of prescription drugs. Elect us, and we will expand access to affordable health care. Elect us, and we will strengthen labor laws to protect the rights of workers. Elect us, and we will deliver important, common-sense reform to make life better for people in the working middle class. Last week, we found out that Democratic party leaders also have…

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GOP cements hold on legislatures in battleground states

GOP cements hold on legislatures in battleground states

The New York Times reports: Republicans are locking in newly gerrymandered maps for the legislatures in four battleground states that are set to secure the party’s control in the statehouse chambers over the next decade, fortifying the G.O.P. against even the most sweeping potential Democratic wave elections. In Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Georgia, Republican state lawmakers have either created supermajorities capable of overriding a governor’s veto or whittled down competitive districts so significantly that Republicans’ advantage is virtually impenetrable…

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Ahmaud Arbery’s murder: The system only worked because it was pushed

Ahmaud Arbery’s murder: The system only worked because it was pushed

Adam Serwer writes: The men who killed Ahmaud Arbery will not get away with it. Yet the most surprising aspect of the trial is not the verdict, but the fact that the trial happened at all. On Wednesday, a Georgia jury convicted Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and their friend William Bryan of felony offenses after the trio chased down and then shot Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, in February of last year. The men claimed that they were attempting…

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Americans need to be nudged out of the pandemic

Americans need to be nudged out of the pandemic

Juliette Kayyem writes: Perhaps you’ve figured this out already: The pandemic will not have a discrete end. The coronavirus will not raise a white flag. There will be no peace treaty, no parade, no announcement from the CDC that the United States is done worrying about COVID. You will not get closure. The signs remain too mixed. The virus continues to spread, even as widening vaccine eligibility, booster shots, and improved medical treatments limit the damage the virus can do….

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How record wildfires are harming human health

How record wildfires are harming human health

Nature reports: On a cool September morning in San Francisco, a group of firefighters packed their gear into a bright red van. The sickly sweet odour of pine resin from a distant blaze hung in the air as the crew prepared to battle the rapidly growing Dixie fire, on its way towards becoming the largest single wildfire in California’s history. Sweeping across the Sierra Nevada mountains, it would come to scorch more than 3,900 square kilometres before crews fully contained…

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When people thought the first Thanksgiving was too woke

When people thought the first Thanksgiving was too woke

Joshua Zeitz writes: In late 1863, President Abraham Lincoln unwittingly launched what would soon become a cherished American tradition. A well-wisher had sent a turkey to the White House for the first family’s holiday meal. When Lincoln’s son, Tad, begged his father to spare the bird’s life, the president — ever an indulgent parent — pulled out a piece of paper and wrote out a presidential pardon. Thus was a venerable presidential practice born. But the mood was not light…

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UAE general accused of torture appointed head of Interpol

UAE general accused of torture appointed head of Interpol

France 24 reports: An Emirati general accused of torture was elected president of Interpol Thursday, the global police agency said, despite the concerns of human rights organisations and members of the European Parliament. “Mr Ahmed Nasser AL RAISI of the United Arab Emirates has been elected to the post of President (4-yr term),” Interpol said on Twitter. General Al-Raisi, head of the United Arab Emirates’ security forces, will take on a largely ceremonial and voluntary role. [Continue reading…] Reuters reports:…

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Can Biden mobilize support in defense against the threats to democracy?

Can Biden mobilize support in defense against the threats to democracy?

Molly Jong-Fast writes: Less than a year ago, America was led by a man who governed to please the Fox News host Tucker Carlson and toyed with the idea of imposing martial law. After Donald Trump, you’d think the American people would just enjoy having a normal president who doesn’t use his Twitter account to threaten neighboring countries or corporations. But they don’t. Take one look at national polling numbers and you’ll see that Americans are unhappy with Joe Biden:…

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The Democratic brand is broken. The infrastructure bill isn’t fixing it

The Democratic brand is broken. The infrastructure bill isn’t fixing it

Politico reports: In the days after the Democratic Party’s collapse in the Virginia governor’s race, party strategists descended on the commonwealth to figure out what went wrong and understand just how bad the national outlook might be next year. What they discovered, largely through focus groups and polling, was even worse than expected. The problems cut far deeper than the failings of their gubernatorial nominee, Terry McAuliffe, or President Joe Biden’s flagging approval ratings. Rather, the Democratic Party’s entire brand…

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Jury finds rally organizers responsible for Charlottesville violence

Jury finds rally organizers responsible for Charlottesville violence

The New York Times reports: Jurors on Tuesday found the main organizers of the deadly right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. But the jury deadlocked on two federal conspiracy charges. The verdict in the civil trial, though mixed, was a rebuke for the defendants — a mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. They were found under Virginia law to have engaged in…

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Representation for taxpayers: New York moves to allow 800,000 legal permanent residents to vote in local elections

Representation for taxpayers: New York moves to allow 800,000 legal permanent residents to vote in local elections

The New York Times reports: New York City lawmakers are poised to allow more than 800,000 New Yorkers who are green card holders or have the legal right to work in the United States to vote in municipal elections and for local ballot initiatives. The bill, known as “Our City, Our Vote,” would make New York City the largest municipality in the country to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. The legislation, expected to be approved by the City…

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Pesticides harmful to bees in worse ways than previously thought

Pesticides harmful to bees in worse ways than previously thought

Science reports: Honey bees have a reputation for working hard, but carpenter bees and other bee species that don’t live in colonies might be even more industrious. For these so-called solitary bees, there is no dedicated worker class to help with rearing young and foraging. “Each female is kind of like a lone wolf,” says Clara Stuligross, a Ph.D. student at the University of California (UC), Davis. Now, a study by Stuligross and colleagues tallying the detrimental impacts of a…

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Humans didn’t invent mathematics — it’s what the world is made of

Humans didn’t invent mathematics — it’s what the world is made of

Geralt / Pixabay By Sam Baron, Australian Catholic University Many people think that mathematics is a human invention. To this way of thinking, mathematics is like a language: it may describe real things in the world, but it doesn’t “exist” outside the minds of the people who use it. But the Pythagorean school of thought in ancient Greece held a different view. Its proponents believed reality is fundamentally mathematical. More than 2,000 years later, philosophers and physicists are starting to…

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At the dawn of life, heat may have driven cell division

At the dawn of life, heat may have driven cell division

Carrie Arnold writes: An elegant ballet of proteins enables modern cells to replicate themselves. During cell division, structural proteins and enzymes coordinate the duplication of DNA, the division of a cell’s cytoplasmic contents, and the cinching of the membrane that cleaves the cell. Getting these processes right is crucial because errors can lead to daughter cells that are abnormal or unviable. Billions of years ago, the same challenge must have faced the first self-organizing membranous bundles of chemicals arising spontaneously…

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