Texas Democrats to flee state in effort to block GOP-backed voting restrictions  —  With Republican-backed voting bills moving rapidly through a special session of the state Legislature, Texas Democrats are planning to make a break for it — again.  —  At least 58 Democratic members …

Despite Outbreaks Among Unvaccinated, Fox News Hosts Smear Shots  —  Months after Rupert Murdoch got a Covid-19 dose, one of his network's stars, Tucker Carlson, called a Biden vaccination proposal “the greatest scandal in my lifetime.”  —  Back in December, before the queen of England …

Newsmax host suggests vaccines are “against nature,” and some diseases are “supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people”  —  Rob Schmitt: “That's just kind of the way evolution goes.  Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that”

The latest CPAC lunacy shows why Democrats must get tougher  —  Back in the dark ages of the last century, the right-wing culture war was often described with a reference to the three Gs: “God, guns and gays.”  —  These days, the right-wing culture war is perhaps better described with three Vs …

Doug Mataconis, RIP  —  Jazz Shaw drew my attention to a post on Doug's Facebook feed from last evening: … Alas, I have no further details and have not yet found any other confirmation of the news but have no reason to doubt that it's true.  —  Despite his long association with this blog …

Advisor To Major Pro-Trump Group Runs Racist Newsletter  —  This article was co-published with The Informant, which covers hate and extremism in the U.S. It was an email so racist it might make a ku klux klansman blush.  An advisor for the influential conservative youth organization Turning …

Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on Protests in Cuba  —  We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime.

Scuffle breaks out at Rep. Katie Porter's town hall  —  A melee broke out at Rep. Katie Porter's district town hall meeting Sunday, with her supporters scuffling with supporters of former President Trump who were loudly interrupting the congresswoman as she spoke.

The Kids Are Alright Why now is the time to rethink COVID safety protocols for children —and everyone else.  —  The kids are safe.  They always have been.  —  It may sound strange, given a year of panic over school closures and reopenings, a year of masking toddlers and closing playgrounds …

Haiti's police claim American recruited mercenaries.  —  A Haitian-born doctor based in Florida has been arrested as a key suspect in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti, and the national police chief suggested at a news conference that he believed the suspect was plotting to become president.

FDA expected to announce new warning on Johnson & Johnson vaccine related to rare autoimmune disorder  —  The agency plans to cite a link to a small number of Guillain-Barré cases after vaccination but will say the shot's benefits outweigh the risk  —  The Food and Drug Administration …

Critical race theory battles are driving frustrated, exhausted educators out of their jobs  —  When Rydell Harrison started a new job as a school superintendent in southwestern Connecticut last August, he was excited to join a community that seemed committed to diversity and equity.

Trump lawyers might be penalized over Michigan election case … A federal judge is considering whether to order financial penalties or other sanctions against some of former President Donald Trump's lawyers who signed onto a lawsuit last year challenging Michigan's election results.

Most unvaccinated people have low incomes  —  More than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually, according to the latest Census Bureau data.  —  Why it matters: Making it easier for the working poor to get the COVID-19 vaccine …

China says it chased US warship out of disputed sea  —  BEIJING (AP) — China's military said it chased a U.S. warship out of a disputed area of the South China Sea on Monday after Washington warned an attack on the Philippines might activate a mutual defense treaty.

GOP's Youngkin Tries to Paint Democratic Opponent as Friend of Trump  —  Former Carlyle Group co-CEO Glenn Youngkin may have earned Donald Trump's endorsement in the Virginia governor's race, but now he's the one trying to tie the former president to his opponent.

Want to Save America?  Don't Act Like a Conservative  —  Chest-Thumpers and ‘Aw, Shucks’ Conservatives Personify the Right's Love Affair with Losing  —  Chris Rufo is doing something so spectacularly unconservative, he may need to update his political affiliation: he's winning.

Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan to step down Monday, marking a symbolic end to 20 years of war  —  Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller served as the top commander for the last three years  —  KABUL — The top U.S. general in Afghanistan will step down on Monday, marking a symbolic end to 20 years …

An American Kingdom  —  A new and rapidly growing Christian movement is openly political, wants a nation under God's authority, and is central to Donald Trump's GOP  —  FORT WORTH — The pastor was already pacing when he gave the first signal.  Then he gave another, and another …

‘Potentially a death sentence’: White House goes off on vaccine fear mongers  —  The Biden administration is casting conservative opponents of its Covid-19 vaccine campaign as dangerous and extreme, adopting a more aggressive political posture in an attempt to maneuver through the public health conundrum.

New poll shows Nina Turner's lead shrinking in Ohio special election  —  The race has drawn outsized national interest because it has split along several of the most prominent fault lines in the Democratic Party.  —  Nina Turner speaks before introducing Sen. Bernie Sanders during a campaign rally.

The Point of the Anti-CRT Fight Should Be to Take Over the Schools  —  Education is too important to be left to educators.  —  he danger in the current fight over CRT isn't that the right overreaches, but that it settles for too little.  —  To believe the critics, the anti-CRT forces …

When School Is Voluntary  —  Many parents want to continue remote learning.  It may not be so good for their children.  —  More than a century ago, U.S. states put in place laws requiring that children attend school.  The guiding principle was that school mattered too much to children's lives to be a matter of individual choice.