If you bother to pay any attention to current events, there is one fact that has become abundantly and universally clear over the past three years — tRump sucks. tRump sucks so much he makes black holes seem forgiving. In the history of our country there is no one who has sucked so badly and so broadly. There is nothing that he’s touched that has not ended up the worse for his involvement.
Deception, graft and corruption are his calling card.
Increasingly open racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia are his legacy.
Kidnapping children and treason are his epitaph.
By now even tRump’s most fervent supporters know, at least subliminally, that tRump is a liar and a Russian stooge. They won’t admit it, but they know it. Unless they are invested in the racism, homophobia, misogyny and bigotry, he will lose them as Mueller et al’s shoe factory drops more loafers and flip flops. His acolyte’s cult-like blind devotion declines with distance from the orange disaster that is the epicenter. Wishful thinking, wilful ignorance and a tolerance for cognitive dissonance are necessary for non-despicables to continue supporting tRump. Each shoe breaks a few more of them out of the vortex.
He also has some support among people who pay little to no attention and just vote for whoever their alpha putz tells them to vote for. Those folks are easily reachable as they are so malleable. They’ll follow the advice of the last quasi-authoritative voice they hear before they enter the voting booth.
The tRump base is not a monolithic block of basalt impervious to erosion. It is a poorly constructed collapsing building with exits everywhere. The building doesn’t have smoke detectors, fire alarms or a sprinkler system (although there is a tinkler system) to tell the residents just how bad the tRumpster fire really is. Instead the residents are told everything is fine and that they should go about their business by the building’s in-house manure-spreading communications system (iHeart, Fox & Sinclair). That only works as long as the fire isn’t in the living room.
Other parts of their system are breaking down. Giuliani tries to spread FUD, but all he does is undercut the ludicrous defense. tRump’s chief cheerleader is tRump. That’s wearing thin with even the residents of his lower colon (his congressional majority). Never tRumpers are getting louder and more direct. The balloon-the-deficit bill (aka tax relief for the rich) is not playing particularly well in Peoria. The number of people self-identifying as republicans has shrunk by five percent since the Orange Embarrassment wasn’t elected.
Parts of the media will try to turn the midterm elections into a both sides do it, false equivalences horse race. In the face of that, remember we have the numbers, the moral highground and the enthusiasm to roll right over the opposition. If we hold to our principles, we’ve got this. When you go out to vote, make sure you drag your lazy friends along. Tell them it’s important.
Housekeeping
First off, thank you to niftywriter for sitting in last Sunday while I was off saying goodbye to a friend.
In case you are new, this is a place to leverage good news to offset the bad and to inspire ourselves to fight on. Our focus is on stories that are good for the resistance, the country and the world.
If you believe the resistance is doomed to failure, you are in the wrong place. We know your view is popular. But we aren’t you. If your intent is to disrupt this space, I’d appreciate it if you hung out at TheRussiansHaveWon.com instead of trying to hijack this space.
Grassroots this week is focused on PA-14. I’ve cross published to Pittsburgh Area Kossacks.
Don’t forget to check out oldhippiedude’s Tweets ‘o the Week later on today and tune in again tomorrow at 7AM when Jessiestaf brings us Monday’s Good News Roundup.
2thanks usually has a comment about how to get involved (and how to support the roundup)
Yosef 52 publishes a comprehensive diary of ways to get involved.
The Cold Open Summer Replacement Program
I thought Randy could have used “He is the very model of a modern public urinal.” Aside from that, this had me rolling.
Breaking Good News
Several months ago, I made the observation that tRump was putting Washington, DC in danger because he was monopolizing the entire DC Fire Department to combat his pants fires. It’s getting worse. Now it’s the whole metro area. The New Yorker: It’s True: Trump Is Lying More, and He’s Doing It on Purpose
On Thursday, the Washington Post published a remarkable story on its front page revealing a recent spike in the number of “false and misleading claims” made by President Trump. In his first year as President, Trump made 2,140 false claims, according to the Post. In just the last six months, he has nearly doubled that total to 4,229. In June and July, he averaged sixteen false claims a day. On July 5th, the Post found what appears to be Trump’s most untruthful day yet: seventy-six per cent of the ninety-eight factual assertions he made in a campaign-style rally in Great Falls, Montana, were “false, misleading or unsupported by evidence.” Trump’s rallies have become the signature events of his Presidency, and it is there that the President most often plays fast and loose with the facts, in service to his political priorities and to telling his fervent supporters what they want and expect to hear from him. At another rally this week, in Tampa, Trump made thirty-five false and misleading claims, on subjects ranging from trade with China to the size of his tax cut.
History books will likely declare the last few months a turning point in the Trump Presidency, and Kessler’s laborious work gives us metrics that confirm what is becoming more and more apparent: the recent wave of misstatements is both a reflection of Trump’s increasingly unbound Presidency and a signal attribute of it. The upsurge provides empirical evidence that Trump, in recent months, has felt more confident running his White House as he pleases, keeping his own counsel, and saying and doing what he wants when he wants to. The fact that Trump, while historically unpopular with the American public as a whole, has retained the loyalty of more than eighty per cent of Republicans—the group at which his lies seem to be aimed—means we are in for much more, as a midterm election approaches that may determine whether Trump is impeached by a newly Democratic Congress. At this point, the falsehoods are as much a part of his political identity as his floppy orange hair and the “Make America Great Again” slogan. The untruths, Kessler told me, are Trump’s political “secret sauce.”
Sunlight is good, especially for looking at dark money. Politico: Judge's ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to 'dark money' groups
A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission regulation that has allowed donors to so-called dark-money groups to remain anonymous, the latest development in a years-long legal battle that could have major implications for campaign finance.
Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled the FEC's current regulation of such groups, including 501(c) 4 non-profits, fails to uphold the standard Congress intended when it required the disclosure of politically related spending.
"The challenged regulation facilitates such financial 'routing,' blatantly undercuts the congressional goal of fully disclosing the sources of money flowing into federal political campaigns, and thereby suppresses the benefits intended to accrue from disclosure ... ," wrote Howell, an Obama appointee to the D.C district court. The decision is likely to be appealed.
Is Daddy Dumbcluck worried about Don Don? Huffington Post: Trump Privately ‘Fearful’ That Don Jr. ‘Wandered Into Legal Jeopardy’: Reports
If Donald Trump has seemed particularly energized in his recent condemnations of special counsel Robert Mueller, it’s likely because the president is worried about possible legal trouble for his eldest son, according to multiple reports.
The Washington Post and CNN both reported Saturday that Trump has privately expressed concern about Donald Trump Jr.’s possible exposure in Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The president’s son set up the controversial Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-linked attorney in June 2016 in order to obtain damaging information about Hillary Clinton. He admitted as much to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but he also told investigators that his father knew nothing about the meeting ahead of time.
However, CNN reported last month that the president’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was willing to tell Mueller that Trump did in fact know about the meeting in advance, raising the prospect that his son lied under oath.
Space Cadet Spanky “Tiny Thumbs” McBonespurs went after Lebron James late on Friday night before flying to Ohio to campaign for fellow stain on humanity’s underwear Troy Balderson. Apparently his nose dislocated because when asked what Lebron would say if the president was sitting across from him, Lebron replied, “I would never sit across from him.” He added: "I'd sit across from Barack, though."
Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike! 11:37 PM — Aug 3, 2018
There’s been a teeny bit of response. We know tRump does this kind of thing to distract us from other issues that he wants us to forget about (like children, Mueller, Manafort, Cohen, Zervos ...). But just how dumb do you have to be to pick a fight with someone who is 40 points more popular than you are in a state you are campaigning in the next day?
US Weekly: Melania Trump Sides With LeBron James After Husband Donald Trump’s Tweet Slamming Him
CNN: Michael Jordan pushes back after Trump attacks LeBron James, Don Lemon
BBC: Trump insults NBA star Lebron James
Interviewer Don Lemon criticised Mr Trump's Tweet, and responded by referring to the separation of child migrants from their parents: "Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?"
LeBron tweets back and I think this burns worse. LeBron ignored the dotard. Huffington Post: LeBron James Tweets Positive Message To Kids After Donald Trump Attacks Him
LeBron James’ first tweet after receiving a petty attack from Donald Trump had nothing to do with the president.
Early Saturday afternoon ― when public controversy over Trump’s tweet had been raging for hours ― James sent out a tweet of his own, but not one directly aimed at Trump.
Instead, the Lakers star retweeted a photo of kids at the I Promise School ― a public school for at-risk kids that LeBron recently opened ― with the comment, “Let’s get it kids!! Love you guys.”
This Is the Week That Was
The Rezident
In April, 2017 Michael Kruse at Politico wrote an article How Trump Succeeds Without Succeeding that peeked under all the cheeseburger wrappers and got a look at how tRump sells himself.
He flopped as an owner of a professional football team, effectively killing not only his own franchise but the league as a whole. He blew up his first marriage, married his mistress, and then divorced her, too. He bankrupted his casinos five times over the course of nearly 20 years. His eponymous airline existed for less than three years and ended up almost a quarter of a billion dollars in debt. And he has slapped his surname on a practically never-ending sequence of duds and scams (Trump Ice bottled water, Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, Trump magazine, Trump Mortgage, Trump University—for which he settled a class-action fraud lawsuit earlier this year for $25 million). Other risk-taking businessmen might periodically cop to falling short while pivoting to what’s next. Not Trump. He has dealt with his roster of losses largely by refusing to acknowledge them as anything other than wins.
More than a belief in the power of positive thinking or the casual audacity of a tireless salesman, Trump has perfected a narrative style in which he doesn’t merely obscure reality—he tries to change it with pronouncements that act like blaring, garish roadside billboards. Unrelenting in telling his own story, he has defined himself as a success no matter what—by talking the loudest and the longest, and by insisting on having the first word and also the last. And it’s worked. Again and again, throughout his adult life, Trump in essence has managed to succeed without actually succeeding.
Some of the blush is wearing off that rose. With tariffs, kidnappings and just plain blatant lies some of the hoodwinked are waking up each and every day.
AKALib collected some of the twitter fun after we all learned you need photo ids to shop at grocery stores. DailyKos: #TrumpGroceryStore
In some cases it’s not doubling down, it’s dummying down. Rolling Stone: Trump’s Government Shutdown Would Be a Catastrophic Self-Own
tRump wants to let the even more wacky lunatics run his asylum. Daily Beast: Trump: Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh Want Government Shutdown Before Midterms
Spanky just can’t keep his big yap shut. I will bet you aren’t surprised. Politico: NYT publisher disputes Trump's retelling of off-the-record conversation
OH-12
Bottom line: this is a tossup. Danny O’Connor has been showing momentum and as one of the articles states, liberals will crawl over class to vote on Tuesday. I’ve got my finger, toes, legs and arms crossed (typing is really hard right now). I hope there is a LeBron effect (see the breaking news about that).
Real Clear Politics: Assessing Tuesday's Special Election in Ohio
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio 12th special election: How Donald Trump turned this safe Republican seat into a toss-up
It’s gone so far past ‘You can’t make this stuff up’ as to make Dali paintings totally true to life. Two Scoops didn’t even bother to get the candidate he’s supporting in Tuesday’s special election name correct. He managed to confuse Troy Balderson and Steve Stivers. Their names are so similar; it’s an easy mistake. Talking Points Memo: Trump Endorses Wrong Guy, Who Already Won Primary Race
A Liberal group is on the air trying a reverse Pelosi on Balderson by working to tie him to pervert enabler Jordan. Daily Beast: Liberal Group Blasts GOP Candidate for Silence on Jim Jordan’s OSU Scandal
The Ongoing Horror Show
Hopefully, this perversion of child care will stop. We need to throw it out there every time some jackass tries to justify tRump’s children in cages policies. Rolling Stone: The Trump Administration Was Ordered to Stop Drugging Kids in Custody
Lame Duckitude
The puerile Ayn Randian sophist, Paul Ryan, has done all of us a disservice since he assumed the speakership. In an odd twist this week he found our he’s 3% Jewish. Rolling Stone: Stephen Colbert Offers to Circumcise ‘Slightly Jewish’ Paul Ryan on ‘Late Show’ (There wasn’t any room left in the Sunday Funnies so I found an article so I could sneak this in).
Bad Elf
Jeffy may have more than Orange Judas to worry about. His biggest campaign donors are in trouble. Mother Jones: Bribery Trial Reveals Jeff Sessions’ Role in Blocking EPA Action Targeting One of His Biggest Donors
KKKobach
World class vote suppressor and baseless conspiracy theorist, Kris Kobach, is running for governor of Kansas. He coronation is experiencing head winds. Here’s hoping they rise to CAT 4 and blow his sorry ass all the way out of the country.
CJOnline: GOP consultants say Kobach campaign has white nationalists on payroll
ProPublica: Kris Kobach’s Lucrative Trail of Courtroom Defeats
About that voter fraud commission Kobach was running. Mother Jones: New Documents Show Trump’s Election Integrity Commission Was Preparing Report on Voter Fraud Without Proof
Seems he went to a rally and nobody came. Daily Kos: Kris Kobach experiences the worst thing that can happen to you in politics
DK’s own Showercap has a spot-on profane but entertaining take on Kobach (NSFW or anywhere else for that matter) Showercap’s Blog: KKKRIS KKKOBACH
Hurricane Justice
Remember when Houston got nailed by Hurricane Harvey and all those toxins got released in the plant explosion in Crosby. The Harris County DA is taking the plant owner to court. AP: Texas chemical plant, CEO indicted for ‘reckless’ release. I hope someone gets indicted and jailed over the pathetic government response in Puerto Rico
Schitzenpantzen
niftywriter and oldhippiedude are now including Schadenfreude sections in their roundups. It’s for capturing those times when we take delight in the misfortunes of the tRumpisstas. It’s how we applaud karma come calling on criminality and smacking it down with a vengeance. It might be just a teeny bit uncivil of us. I love it. Anyhow, being fiercely jealous, I thought I’d use a different German word to introduce a new Sunday GNR section for when the distress being experienced by the criminal is so acute that the counter-reaction is one of pure bliss. Welcome to Schadenfreude on steroids.
Paul Manafort is the obvious choice to be the first of tRump’s Brownpants troopers seated in the Karmic Kauldron. So far we’ve established what he spent his money on, where the money came from, and how he lied to his accountants and on his tax forms about his undeclared foreign bank accounts. Pundits are pretty much unanimous in saying his goose is well and truly cooked.
Daily Beast: Why Paul Manafort’s ‘Blame Rick Gates’ Strategy Will Fail
USA Today: Paul Manafort trial: Accountant helped falsify tax returns for former Trump campaign manager
Slate: Manafort Trial: Who Would Just Leave Evidence Around That Makes Them Look Guilty?
Rolling Stone: The Mystery of Paul Manafort’s Foreign Bank Accounts
Roundup Redux
These reduxes are getting longer and longer with all the good news. If you don’t see something covered in this roundup, it might be found in one of these.
Monday — Jessiestaf Good news roundup Monday Edition: We got the week up and running with George Will trashing tRump (again); Don Don tripping over facts and further injuring his already non-existent credibility; the rust best shifting away from tRump; a shutdown threat pushback from the cowards in red; and Koch exhibiting buyer’s remorse.
Tuesday — niftywriter Good News Roundup Tuesday, July 31st: It was a busy roundup with: The Notorious RBG plans 5 more years; Is Flake shafting McConnell; Those Maria Butina/NRA self-inflicted gunshots are gonna sting; A families belong together update; A Dog Tag Bakery reunion; The new Lebron school in Akron; Wikileaks leaked; Asshole updates on Manafort & Kelly; Lightning round short links galore; How to get involved; R&R advice (take it); and Antonin Dvorak’s Song to the Moon to close out the festivities.
Wednesday — karij Good News Round Up August 1st, 2018: Our newest author’s first ever post gathered stories about Maria Butina, Paul Manfort, changing demographics, Durbin dissing Nielsen, taxes, ICE, California’s fuel waiver, Guy Fieri, the “Burrito” girl, John Oliver on tRump and then brought us home with Chris Cornell’s daughter singing Hallelujah.
Thursday — oldhippiedude Good News Roundup Aug 2, 2018--Good News, Good Music, And Kitties: ohd starts us off with The Beatles playing Good Day Sunshine and then segues right into a lot of good polling data from Texas; the tRump campaign dumping money into “safe(R)” congressional seats; Hilz raising money for dems; more good polling news from Wisconsin and Michigan; Obama endorsing candidates; the DCCC putting money into Hegar’s race in TX-31 (with ad); a republican strategist moaning; tRump melting down and Widespread Panic’s Driving Song to clear the palate. Ather the break we had a cat rescue operation; an update on ohd’s kittens; Disneyland workers getting $15/hour; California’s and other state’s AGs going after tRump; the libertarian study that says medicare for all would save two trillion dollars over 10 years; Leo Kottke’s Pamela Brown; tRumpanzees being shunned on dating apps; Putin taking tRump’s portrait spot in the Colorado capitol; The David Grisman Quartet’s Opus 57; Action links; and the Dead closing it out with China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider from 1990.
Friday — niftywriter (sitting in for Chloris Creater) Do They Think They Can Hide? - Good News Roundup for Friday, August 3, 2018 Back after two days off, nifty led off with tRump’s appointees publicly disagreeing with tRump’s position on Russian interference and the Senate not falling into line either. Then it’s on to a subpoena for Stone buddy Andrew Miller; a Mueller interview request for Russian Emin Agalarov; lots on Manafort; the trailer for Active Measures; primary results in Tennessee; the outlook in OH-12; the fight against gerrymandering; Paulette Jordan for governor in Idaho (yes Idaho); deep state push back from the National Archives; cities suing tRump over ACA sabotage; the nightly White House protests; the ACLU; Kelvin Droegemeier, finally a qualified nominee; never tRumpers erupt; more Manafort; Ivanka sucks; Orin Hatch; doggy stuff; the Lightning Roundup; the Action Roundup; and the Fifth Dimension’s Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in.
Saturday — Goodie You are on the RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY and your descendants will be PROUD of you: Saturday's Good News After a week off, Goodie returned with a call to arms with lots of ways to get involved; Manafort; Cohen; obstruction; Butina; Giuliani outed as an idiot; Roger Stone’s future; more on obstruction; tRump’s future as an un-indicted co-conspirator; some backlash from the media (including Fox) and the Koch Kamp; problems for the NRA; Pope Francis on the death penalty with a buy-in from Cuomo; the nightly White House protests (now with Rosie O’Donnell); Texas elections; healthcare messaging; Steyer pitching in $110.000.000; OH-12; Freedom Caucus with a dem majority; courts rule against tRump on DACA, sanctuary cities; family reunification responsibility; and Hatch Act complaints filed against tRump officials.
Musical Interlude
Inspired by some unnamed rancid muttonhead’s, ill-conceived idea to build a border wall.
Inside a Congressional Campaign — View from the Grassroots.
This week, rather than jumping in and interviewing the candidate, why not shake things up and talk to the campaign staff instead (don’t worry there’s a candidate interview coming up later).
Recently, I’ve been looking at the race in PA-14 between Bibiana Boerio and one of those republican bottom feeders. Most of PA-14 used to be PA-18 before the redistricting this past spring. PA-18 is the district Conor Lamb won by 800 votes back when it included parts of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh). After the redistricting, this is the new PA-14, which shifted about 2 points towards the Republicans. That makes this a heavy lift, but doable given the intensifying tRump backlash and the proven bigot the republicans nominated for the open seat.
Bibiana ‘Bibie’ Boerio has an impressive resume. She’s been successful in both business and politics, rising through the ranks at Ford to eventually lead Jaguar and later serving as Chief of Staff for Congressman Joe Sestak.
I’ve always found bios to be relatively dry reading material, so I suggested talking to Bibie’s staff and getting them to open up about why they are supporting Bibie. Somewhat to my surprise, the campaign agreed. So, I’ve been dragging staffers away from whatever it is that staffers do to tell me why they are high on Bibie.
In spite of the long hours on the road, chronic lack of sleep and the generally frenetic pace of campaigning for congress, I suspect Bibie’s staff are enjoying themselves. I like their job titles.
Q: Working on a congressional campaign is an all-consuming activity. What is it about Bibie that inspired you to make such a heavy commitment?
Mary: Keeper of the Holy Grail
A: At events, there are many moving pieces and sometimes, we will momentarily lose sight of Bibie. When we do, if we’re outside, we know we can find her wherever there are cars. It’s when her leadership experience in the auto industry is obvious and it’s awesome. For example, the Steelers training camp is at St. Vincent College, which is up the street from Bibie’s house. Last year she was admiring the tires on a particular car and said “Wow! Look at these wheels!” The driver was sitting in the car and was like, “Thank you!” It was Steeler linebacker, Ryan Shazier. That’s so cool and Bibie just does it naturally.
Peggy: Neighbor, Friend, Collateral Queen and The Enforcer
A: It was March 15, a dreary Thursday, I stopped at Bibie’s house regarding some homeowner’s issues (Bibie was treasurer of our association) – a beaming Bibie opens the door and greets me with, “I made a decision – I am running for Congress in the new 14th District.” I stood there somewhat dumbfounded. She said, “I need to collect petition signatures and have everything notarized by Monday night.” OK, “How many signatures do you need?” I am naively thinking maybe 100 or so. She replied, “1000.” My response was simply, “Are you crazy?!” She has the credentials and character, it’s what makes her a phenomenal candidate. But no one can mobilize forces that quickly to get 1000 signatures! Or so I thought: by Monday night at 11:00 PM, the two of us left Latrobe, Pennsylvania headed for Harrisburg so Bibie could be in line by 8:00 AM the next day. And she had her petitions, 1900 signatures, in hand. Two morals to this story: 1) this woman puts the energizer bunny to shame; and, 2) once focused on a goal, then you are safe in assuming Bibie will attain that goal.
Luke: Captain of the Varsity Parade Squad
A: What stands out about Bibie is something I noticed the first time I spoke with her. I had emailed her the day before to see if I could join her campaign. As I was sitting down at work she called and I answered right away. We each said our hellos, and right after that she asked me a question that caught me off guard. She said, "Tell me about yourself." She did not bring up one topic surrounding the campaign during the call, instead she wanted to become familiar with who I was as a person. It was a simple question, but it said a lot. As I have spent more time with Bibie, and her family, I’ve come to realize one thing. Bibie is an outstanding, dedicated person to those around her. She invests a deep and sincere interest in each person that she meets, and there is a unique authenticity that she brings to the room. It is one of her many impressive qualities. She buys into you as friend before anything else, and to me that is what makes Bibie such an impressive person to be around.
Alexander: Stealer of the Clipboard
A: At this great Veteran’s round table discussion in Washington County with former Representative Joe Sestak, I learned that when Bibie was his Chief of Staff, she got a call from the son of an African American man who had been a combat pilot during World War II, a Tuskegee Airman, and within 24 hours, Bibie arranged a flyover to honor him. She does the right thing and she does it the right way.
Trish: Circus Ringmaster
A: Bibiana Boerio is relentlessly intelligent and an unintentional badass. She justifies service as part of her faith through Matthew 25, explains the imperative of these times in terms of Truman’s unbeatable determination. She pukes if she’s not driving (she told us a story about someone who learned this the hard way). She talks to us about love and death; about dancing the Texas two-step. The song Hallelujah makes her cry. She thinks of everything; on her car she has a deer-whistle to keep them away while we travel to the rural parts of the district.
Because Bibie earned her way up from entry level accounting to the C-Suite of a multinational (she managed a $200 billion balance sheet at Ford Credit BTW), my favorite story is this one by former Congressman Joe Sestak: during the recession, business leaders and bankers would come to his office, he’d greet them, but they’d just sort of brush by, “Oh, hey Joe, yeah nice to see you, but I’m here because I want to talk to Bibie.”
We’re applying her experience to make this a winning race. In our staff meetings you’ll find Bibie pounding the table telling us how at Jaguar they had less money and fewer resources, but by working harder and smarter, competed with BMW and Mercedes.
Ultimately, I have a deep respect and gratitude to be working on this campaign: everything is possible for women in my generation because of the leadership and mentorship of women like Bibiana Boerio.
Also: she loves data, pretzels, and has a very cool way of saying Jaguar.
I had another really important question for Trish. Every time you take campaign staff away from other tasks, I think it’s important to give them a shot at getting out their critical links.
Q: How can people in PA-14 and across the country help support this campaign?
A: Donate here. Make phone calls to voters with our virtual phone bank or write postcards. There are plenty of ways to get involved. Don’t be like Homer Simpson missing the Chili Cook-Off, make this your campaign too. Sign up here: https://boerioforcongress.com
Sunday Funnies
Colbert really is a national treasure.
Poor Roy Moore gets detected.
Don Caron (Parody Project) keeps on putting out excellent anthems
Bill Maher on Hillbilly Nuremburg Rallies and Fox as the Enema of the People.
A Penzey’s Update
Bill Penzey sends out emails that aren’t just about selling spices. I wish more companies behaved like this.
One of those things is that we are working on a theme of making Penzeys your 2018 Kindness Campaign Headquarters. What does this mean? Well, we are kind of finding our way on that, but already I have much hope for where we will end up. At the heart of cooking is the understanding that when we take the time to care about others a better future is set in motion. In our experience we’ve found that what works around the dinner table works around the world as well. When you care about humans they go on to do amazing things.
For a long time our pro-kindness message was not seen as a political message at all. It was only with the decision to allow unlimited political spending that us doing what we had always done became political. Money buys anger, and as the Republican Party embraced anger, racism, greed and all the rest, it found a target in our belief in kindness. I truly believe that we never crossed the line into politics, that line crossed us. I’m not saying we haven’t embraced this new role. We are a business by Cooks for Cooks. Cooking works because it gives us the strength to care about others, the strength to be human. Now does not seem the time to back down from all this. So, “2018 Kindness Campaign Victory Headquarters” for us.
The plan is to start slow and learn along the way. Mostly for the next couple weeks that start will be right here in our home state of Wisconsin where the primary election will be held August 14. Our hope is to take what we learn here in the primaries and roll that out in our stores across the country in a get out the vote effort come this October leading into the November 6 national election. And of course 2018 is just the lead-in to 2020 and beyond. We hope to be at this for a long time.
[elided sales links because I’m not sure if they are allowed by DailyKos policy. Their website is at www.penzeys.com] … With Aleppo Pepper the story is more complex. Where this really tasty Pepper originally comes from is a town in Syria. For a long time, because of the war there, our Aleppo Pepper has come from just across the border in Turkey. Many of those who voted for an unqualified, Russia compromised, openly racist President have so far been spared the costs of their actions. The people of Syria have not been so lucky.
Many in Syria have not been able to dodge the reality of our election, and have paid an incredible cost for Americans rejecting a well qualified woman who understood diplomacy and how to rally allies to our side in favor of a candidate that has simply given the people of Syria up to the wishes of the Russian President. When this administration inevitably crashes, simply saying we’re sorry to the people of Syria won’t be enough. We have a lot of work ahead of us to pay for our responsibilities.
Aleppo Pepper is truly wonderful: a little bit of heat and a whole lot of really enjoyable flavor. Get some, use it in your cooking, share its tastiness, but please make it a reminder that voting for change this November 6 is only the first step. We are Americans; we take responsibility for our actions. We must work both at home and across the globe to make this right. It’s who we are. It’s what we do.
[permission was obtained from Bill Penzey to quote this material]
Civil Observations
It appears tRump is so afraid of water he won’t go near the press pool.
What do you get when you cross a rabid bat, a pile of guano and an overdose of Ketamine? — Sean Hannity
This just in: The White House will be entirely heated by out-of-control pants fires this winter.
When the republican members of congress where presented with the advice to be all that they could be, they chose to be complicit.
tRump has no long standing principles. Up until recently, tRump thought the right to bear arms meant it was ok to wear tank tops. Now he thinks it’s about Russian bears directing campaign funding from gun nuts.
If we ever get around to emptying out the national litter box, (R)s will become an endangered species.
In Memoriam
Last week, I got the chance to gather together with a group of old friends to say goodbye to a friend of 45 years. My friend Lee was one of those good people who cannot be properly eulogized, because the core of her was so much more than the stories we were able to share. She was kind, dependable, interested, and at times acerbic. She was calm, conscientious and wickedly competitive. Her politics were progressive and her family is delightful. One of my regrets is that the last 20 years made my opportunities to visit with Lee too few and too far between. She was my friend and I miss her.
The Required Cat Photo
Today’s Quote(s)
Part of our country has debased the concept of patriotism into blind nationalism. People can love their country and still take a knee to protest injustice. They can speak truth to power and reject racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia or any other excuse used to tear people apart. The people who object to that protest are not being patriotic or living up to the American Ideal. They are just outing themselves as a canker on the body politic. A lot of our predecessors have expressed themselves on this topic. These are my favorites:
As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. — George Washington
In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. — Mark Twain
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else. — Theodore Roosevelt
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else. — Clarence Darrow
True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth, universal brotherhood and good will, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded. — Eleanor Roosevelt
The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously. — Julian Barnes
Finale
Jerry would have turned 76 last Wednesday. If my math skill haven’t completely deserted me, around 38% of Americans have been born since Jerry died.
Disclaimer: Dearest Random Reader, It’s been a month now since the onset of the #SecondCivilWar. Here in Western Pennsyltucky we’ve seen little sign that the Donnie Redhats are willing to leave their dive bars and McMansions to engage us on the streets. We’ve started to reclaim the neighborhoods house by house, sending elements of the 14th PA Canvassers Brigade out to liberate minds one by one. Some of the Redhats are defecting and telling us their president is lying continuously now. We are encouraged by the converts and have hopes the the war will end in November. All my best. (We are having some difficulty with the supply lines. Imported prosciutto is scarce and the domestic is execrable. Please send along any you might have to spare.)