Democratic Underground: Forums for U.S. Liberals and Democrats

Letter From A Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King

"I think I should indicate why I am here In Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in."...more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here...I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Rhiannon12866

President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Ceasefire and Hostage Deal

Bennet Kelley

Joe Biden's Bittersweet Farewell

It is a bitter irony that one of the last public acts of the Biden administration was to eulogize President Jimmy Carter, the last one-term Democratic President. The parallels do not end there. Two men of deep faith with significant and even landmark accomplishments, who left office in defeat partly due to economic forces beyond their control and conflict in the Middle East.

BumRushDaShow

Harris and Emhoff headed back to California after inauguration

(CBS News) Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are heading back to California after the inauguration, a senior administration official confirmed Sunday. Harris, the official said, will take time to decide her next move. She is expected to write books about her time in politics and her interest in food and cooking, according to multiple sources. There have been discussions among her allies about a possible run for California's open gubernatorial seat in 2026. Harris has yet to say whether she'll run.

KS Toronado

Monday carTOONS

BumRushDaShow

Biden pardons Fauci and Milley in an effort to guard against potential 'revenge'

(AP) President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration.

BumRushDaShow

DOGE already cracking at the seams? Vivek Ramaswamy reportedly plans to step aside after 'friction' with staff

(The Independent) Former presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly expected to leave his post at the Department of Government Efficiency. President-elect Donald Trump appointed Ramaswamy to co-lead the agency — which will operate outside of government — alongside the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Trump and the co-chairs have promised to slash the federal budget, primarily through drastic cuts to agencies and mass firings.

Dulcinea

AP-NORC poll shows no mandate

(AP) Donald Trump will start implementing a far-reaching agenda when he takes office for the second time on Monday, but a poll finds that despite his claims of an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” the incoming Republican president lacks broad support for some of his top priorities.

BlueWaveNeverEnd

Americans favor deporting undocumented immigrants, until they're asked how

(Axios) Most U.S. adults (9 in 10 Republicans and close to half of Democrats) say they support mass deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally — but that enthusiasm quickly erodes when presented with options over how to carry them out, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll. Just 38% of Americans support using active-duty military to find and detain undocumented immigrants in U.S. cities and towns; and only 28% want to use money allocated for the military to pay for deportations. Just one in three endorse separating families or sending people to countries other than their country of origin in the interest of speed. And just one in three support deporting those who came to the U.S. as children.

SouthBayDem

Economists: Inflation Outlook Higher

(Wall Street Journal) Economists are starting to model the effects of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to raise tariffs, cut taxes and restrict immigration. The upshot: Inflation and interest rates are likely to be higher for at least the next two years than forecasters anticipated before the election. The consumer-price index is now expected to rise 2.7% in December 2025 from a year earlier, according to the average forecast of 73 economists who answered The Wall Street Journal’s quarterly survey. In October, the panel saw consumer prices rising 2.3% in 2025.

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Latest Breaking News

Trump not expected to carry through on Day 1 tariff threats

23 min ago - Jan. 20, 2025, 1:03 PM EST President Donald Trump isn’t expected to carry through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on the first day of his presidency, a move that economists have warned could lead to higher prices for Americans and hurt ... (NBC News/CNBC)

Trump two-gender edict would upend 'X' identity on passports

25 min ago - The federal government is set to only recognize two sexes, male and female, under an executive order that President Donald Trump is soon expected to sign. The order would reverse efforts by the Biden administration to broaden gender identity designat ... (CNN)

Senate Armed Services Committee advances Pete Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon

29 min ago - CONGRESS Senate Armed Services Committee advances Pete Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon A cloud of controversy has hung over Hegseth, but he now appears to be on track to be confirmed as Trump's defense secretary. -------- Pete Hegseth is no ... (CNBC)

Alexander Vindman's wife says 'no pardons were offered or discussed'

46 min ago - The wife of retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman said “no pardons were offered or discussed” only a few hours before President Trump’s official return to the White House. “Whatever happens to my family, know this: No pardons we ... (The Hill)

CBP One app goes offline as Trump returns to power

51 min ago - Posted 1 hour and 6 minutes ago and last updated 46 minutes ago The CBP One app, which facilitated appointments for about 1 million immigrants to legally present themselves at U.S. ports of entry under the Biden administration, was taken offline as ... (Scripps News)

Trump planning to pardon nonviolent January 6 defendants, commute the sentences of others

1 hr ago - Updated 4:13 PM EST, Mon January 20, 2025 CNN — President Donald Trump is planning to pardon people convicted of nonviolent offenses related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and to commute the sentences of others convicted of more ser ... (CNN Politics)

Texas could join Louisiana with a law to require the Ten Commandments in classrooms

1 hr ago - January 20, 2025 2:00 PM ET Key Texas legislators say they intend to pass a law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The move would add some big-state momentum to a trend started by Louisiana last year with a law th ... (NPR)

Death of Democratic lawmaker leaves Pennsylvania House deadlocked at 101-101

2 hrs ago - Updated on: January 20, 2025 / 6:10 AM EST HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Democrat in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives has died, the House Democratic caucus said Sunday night, leaving the chamber deadlocked at a 101-101 partisan divide. R ... (CBS News/AP)

Pentagon removes portrait of Mark Milley, former top US general

2 hrs ago - The Pentagon on Monday removed the portrait of Mark Milley, the retired Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to two Reuters witnesses, in a move that happened within two hours of President Donald Trump's inaugurati ... (Reuters)

Sen. John Fetterman wears shorts and a hoodie to Trump inauguration

2 hrs ago - While the presidential inauguration was moved inside Monday due to the bitter cold outside, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) didn't let the cold bother him. Fetterman arrived to the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony in a pair of grey shorts, a bla ... (NBC News)

GOP Governors Booted From Trump Inauguration, Making Room For Billionaire CEOs and Fox News Hosts

3 hrs ago - Jan 20th, 2025, 1:26 pm President Donald Trump was inaugurated inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday surrounded by former presidents, mega-donors, tech billionaires, and Fox News hosts, but noticeably kept out of the room were some of the country ... (MEDIAite)

Speaker Johnson's historically narrow House majority shrinks even further

4 hrs ago - Updated 1:36 PM EST, Mon January 20, 2025 Washington CNN — Speaker Mike Johnson’s historically narrow majority just shrunk even further, creating a major challenge for congressional Republicans as they seek to enact President Donald Trump ... (CNN Politics)

Trump Sued Over Musk Cost-Cutting Effort by US Government Worker Union

5 hrs ago - --snip-- The lawsuit from the American Federation of Government Employees and government watchdog groups Public Citizen and State Democracy Defenders Fund was one of three cases filed as Trump was being sworn in on Monday challenging the “Depart ... (Bloomberg)

Jan. 6 rioter who got green light to attend Trump inauguration must stay away from Capitol as ceremony moves indoors

5 hrs ago - Jan 20th, 2025, 8:53 am Less than a month after getting the green light to attend Donald Trump‘s inauguration, Eric Lee Peterson — a military vet from Missouri who “knowingly and unlawfully” participated in the Jan. 6 attack whil ... (Law & Crime)

Trump to withdraw from Paris climate agreement

5 hrs ago - WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, according to a White House document released on Monday. ... (Reuters)

President Biden pardons brother James, other relatives for unspecified crimes before leaving office

5 hrs ago - WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden pardoned his brother James Biden and other relatives Monday for unspecified crimes, a similar last-minute move to protect his family from potential investigation as when he pardoned his son Hunter Biden for gun a ... (USA Today)

Joe Biden Grants Clemency To Leonard Peltier

6 hrs ago - WASHINGTON ― With literally minutes left in his presidency, Joe Biden on Monday granted clemency to Leonard Peltier, the ailing Native American rights activist whom the U.S. government put in prison nearly 50 years ago after a trial riddled wit ... (Huffington Post)

Trump executive order will attempt to end birthright citizenship

6 hrs ago - The U.S. government will no longer recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States to immigrants who lack legal status, one of 10 immigration-related executive orders President-elect Donald Trump plans to sign Monday, an incoming admi ... (Washington Post)

Trump to sign executive orders proclaiming there are only two biological sexes, halting diversity programs

6 hrs ago - Jan. 20, 2025, 10:31 AM EST President-elect Donald Trump on Monday plans to sign executive orders proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and i ... (NBC News)

EU plans ban on 'forever chemicals' in consumer products

7 hrs ago - January 20, 2025 6:03 AM EST Updated 37 min ago BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The European Commission intends to propose a ban on the use of PFAS, or "forever chemicals", in consumer products, with exemptions for essential industrial uses, the EU's en ... (Reuters)