Greetings, Daily Kos readers! We are introducing (maybe bringing back? Daily Kos has such a long and colorful history, who is to say) a weekend round-up of some stories that the Daily Kos staff wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss. These stories can be anything from stories that just KILLED on our site to ones that maybe flew a little bit under the radar, but the writers are just so gosh-darn proud of.
Stick to the end where I shamelessly plug my story of the week! Self-promotion? Who doesn’t love that!
Veterans groups sound alarm over Russian trolling, say Trump administration isn't responding
By Joan McCarter
It’s almost as if veterans are saying they are being targeted … maybe we should listen.
Most of the disinformation is pro-Trump and attacks people of color and liberals. The "persistent, aggressive targeting of veterans" is coming from as many as 32 countries, including Russia.
Why Trump revealing that the United States is developing hypersonic missiles is a very big deal
By Mark Sumner
Y’all, I am not a weapons specialist but yikes—this sounds like a bad time.
What’s being created is a class of weapons that reduces the time between a possible launch and the impact of a warhead from minutes down to seconds. It creates a heightened possibility of triggering a worldwide cataclysm on the basis of fear and error.
Chef José Andrés’ relief workers team with local group to assist asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico
By Gabe Ortiz
A story about great people being called to action because the current administration is made up of monsters.
While these families ultimately need is the Trump administration to stop denying them a fair chance at asylum, the work of these humanitarian workers is bringing some relief to their lives.
Check out our demographics guide for every 2020 general election candidate for Congress and governor
By Stephen Wolf
The Elections Team at Daily Kos never ceases to impress. This resource is so awesome and every elections/political/policy wonk is going to want to check it out.
With deadlines to run for office in 2020 having begun to pass in several states, Daily Kos Elections is unveiling our 2020 general election candidate guide for every election for Senate, House, and governor. For every major-party candidate who is an incumbent seeking re-election or the presumptive nominee, or a prominent third-party challenger, the guide contains a number of different demographic statistics that we will be updating once new information becomes available as more filing deadlines pass and primaries take place.
The tale of UW's College Republicans: How an alliance with the alt-right went sideways badly
By David Neiwert
Young college students being groomed by older alt-right groups: greeaaaaaaaat. Also: terrifying.
Campus conservatives have been splitting into pro-Trump and establishment factions for a while now, but the emergence of the alt-right faction as a campus phenomenon has intensified over the past year. In the case of UW’s College Republicans, moreover, the rising influence of the alt-right has created problems since the Trump election.
Eight senators pressured by home state billboards, digital/field campaigns to hold Trump accountable
By Carolyn Fiddler
An inspiring bit of activism brought to you by Daily Kos, MoveOn, Need to Impeach, and Public Citizen.
The billboards, digital ads, and organizers call on these senators to conduct a fair impeachment trial and vote to remove Trump from office. The billboards and ads are slated to run through Saturday, Jan. 11, but may be continued as the Senate impeachment proceedings continue to take shape. The four organizations are spending more than $400,000 on these efforts.
Dispatches from the Warren-Castro rally and why this Latina is so inspired by these two
By Cara Zelaya
I wrote this on a Greyhound bus while my computer battery was dying and I had a stomach virus so maybe you should read it. No pressure.
At the risk of sounding dramatic, I needed to be in the same space as the two people who I admired so much stood side by side to tell me that their vision of America is possible. I needed to be told that all the madness of the current news cycle could someday end and that if we worked hard and elected the right people, there would be hope for us as a country again.
Annnnnnnnnd that’s all for this week, folks. Let’s talk in the comments: What news stories stuck with you this week? What are you reading during your downtime? How’s the New Year news cycle treating ya? Sound off below!