How the Left Plans to Shrink the Democratic Establishment ; Jobless Owe Thousands in Taxes on Their Unemployment ; and More Picks 3/5
How the Left Plans to Shrink the Democratic Establishment (Dan)
From Politico: “Washington hasn’t paid much attention to the handful of upcoming special elections in deep-blue House districts. There’s little reason to: it’s a near-certainty that the seats will elect Democrats. But progressives are keeping close tabs. And they are aggressively contesting the races in an effort to stop establishment-oriented Democrats from claiming the offices. The elections come at a critical time on the Hill, as lawmakers debate top liberal priorities such as a $15 minimum wage, student loan debt forgiveness and police reform.”
America’s Jobless Owe Thousands of Dollars in Taxes on Their Unemployment (Dana)
The author writes, “[Erika] Rose is among millions of unemployed workers facing surprise tax bills, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, and many say they just cannot pay. For tax purposes, weekly unemployment payments count as income just like wages from a job. But few people realize the money they get from the government is actually taxable. Fewer than 40 percent of the 40 million unemployed workers in 2020 had taxes withheld from their payments, according to the Century Foundation, a left-leaning think tank.”
Alex Jones on Leaked Video: ‘I Wish I Never Met Trump’ (Russ)
The author writes, “Before multimillionaire conspiracy theorist Alex Jones riled up Donald Trump’s fans with lies about a stolen election, he privately expressed revulsion over the 45th president, a video leaked to Hatewatch reveals. ‘It’s the truth and I’m just going to say it. That I wish I never would have fucking met Trump,’ Jones said on camera in January 2019, while shooting a documentary in Austin, Texas.”
Fired After Organizing, Starbucks Baristas Turned Down a Payout and Took Their Bosses to Court (Reader Steve)
From the Seattle Times: “Philadelphia baristas TJ Bussiere and Echo Nowakowska believe Starbucks illegally fired them for trying to organize a union. And after months of investigation, lawyers for the federal government thought the workers had a case. Cases such as theirs, which allege an employer has violated a worker’s legal right to organize, are rarely decided in court. Most workers avoid the risk of a long legal battle and settle. But last summer, when Starbucks offered Bussiere and Nowakowska a settlement, they didn’t think it was fair. The final offer was $50,000 each, the baristas said, more than three times the back pay they were due. It didn’t include reinstatement — the pair wanted to go back to work and keep organizing — and the settlement would have done nothing to raise the standards for other Starbucks baristas.”
Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs Silenced an Enemy of Turkey to Prevent a Hit to the Company’s Business (Bethany)
The authors write, “As Turkey launched a military offensive against Kurdish minorities in neighboring Syria in early 2018, Facebook’s top executives faced a political dilemma. Turkey was demanding the social media giant block Facebook posts from the People’s Protection Units, a mostly Kurdish militia group the Turkish government had targeted. Should Facebook ignore the request, as it has done elsewhere, and risk losing access to tens of millions of users in Turkey? Or should it silence the group, known as the YPG, even if doing so added to the perception that the company too often bends to the wishes of authoritarian governments? It wasn’t a particularly close call for the company’s leadership, newly disclosed emails show.”
This Deer With Hairy Eyeballs Is Pure Nightmare Fuel (Dana)
The author writes, “A report of a ‘sick deer’ made to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has produced a blend of awe, disgust and cringe, thanks to a Tennessee buck found with corneal dermoids — otherwise known as hairy eyeballs.”
