Good Day, Gnuville!
It’s been quite the few months. Seems like 50 years since we had a sane (Biden) administration.
We know things are very precarious and some tough times are probably unavoidable, at least in the short to mid term. But there’s a change in the air and people are starting to really wake up to the seriousness of our predicament.
There’s been a lot of gloom and doom talk and in some quarters there’s been defeatism as people assume that since about half the people who voted, voted for this monstrous regime again — then we must surely be doomed.
And it’s true that ‘once could have been a fluke, but twice is a sign of a very deep sickness in our society’. However, half of half of eligible voters is not a majority of the American people. Not by a long shot.
Yes, more people could have voted. Yes, more people should have been aware of the danger. Yes, people would have voted for Kamala if they had only known...
But shoulda woulda coulda is not helpful right now.
A lot of people have been too stressed trying to make ends meet to pay much attention, sadly. Others have stopped believing that their votes even matter — as Republicans have dominated in many states and then govern in ways that hurt people. Still others have disbelieved the severity of the danger. Most are slow to arouse to protest and weirdly, that is actually a good thing in one way because it points to how stable for such a long time our society has been.
However, if this regime continues with their ruinous attacks on our government, our institutions and our economy, the people are going to surprise the naysayers and they will stand up and protest.
Americans are constitutionally unable to lie down and take tyranny. I think it’s just been hard to believe this is really happening. It is happening, though, and people are waking up to this reality.
I hate that we must deal with this, but we will stand up and stand against this regime and all its evil works.
To fortify us, we will require community and inspiration. So, let’s get into the good news. ☺️ And later, find community in the best comment section on the internet™!
📰 🇺🇸 State News 🇺🇸 🗞️
20 state attorneys general sue Trump administration to restore health agencies, Aria Bendix, NBC, May 5, 2025.
The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that the administration violated hundreds of laws and bypassed congressional authority by endeavoring to consolidate the number of HHS agencies from 28 to 15 and initiating layoffs of around 20,000 employees.
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James said in a statement. “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people, and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy — you are putting countless lives at risk.” ✂️
Monday’s lawsuit calls on HHS to halt its efforts to dismantle agencies and restore critical programs that have been lost.
The suit is not the first to challenge the federal government’s downsizing mission. A coalition of 23 attorneys general sued HHS in April over the termination of roughly $11 billion in public health grants, some which helped state health departments respond to disease outbreaks. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the cuts but hasn’t issued a final ruling yet.
🎩 to WineRev for this great story out of Texas!
Texas: Maga's Very Bad Night In Texas, Michelle H Davis, Lone Star Left, May 4, 2025.
It was a tough night for MAGA-aligned candidates in Texas. In the May 3, 2025, local elections, voters across the state decisively rejected far-right candidates, particularly in school board and city council races. From Tarrant County to Collin County, and from San Antonio to Dallas, communities chose leaders who prioritize public education, inclusivity, and pragmatic governance over culture wars and partisan agendas. This widespread shift signals a growing resistance to extremist politics at the local level.
A statewide rejection of extremism.
Last night, voters across Texas sent a message loud enough to rattle the far-right out of their echo chambers: we’re done with your culture wars, your book bans, and your crusade against public schools. Voters chose community over chaos, educators over agitators, and progress over extremism.
The local elections weren’t just a series of wins but a sweep. MAGA-backed candidates got absolutely trounced across the state. This was the result of deep organizing, years of work by local Democrats, and voters who are fed up with the far-right hijacking of school boards and city councils to push their agenda.
Texas isn’t turning blue overnight, but make no mistake: the MAGA movement had a very bad night, and the momentum is shifting.
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Texas conservatives who've championed book bans & anti-LGBT policies suffered big losses tonight in school board races.
And They seem to have lost their working majorities to pass their policies in big school boards.
I tracked these results in FOUR boards tonight. So a 🧵 on each ICYMI.
— Taniel (@taniel.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Employees at Austin Alamo Drafthouse Location Vote to Unionize, Katie Kilkenny, Hollywood Reporter, May 3, 2025.
On Friday, a majority of eligible employees at the Sony-owned theater chain’s Slaughter Lane location in Austin, Texas voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers in a National Labor Relations Board election, according to union organizers. Workers voted 52-16 to join the UAW, with 94 percent of those eligible participating in the election. The results are still pending certification from the NLRB, which would make the union official.
“This is the result of four months of hard work and outreach by organizers,” the group of organizers, which calls itself SlaughterHouse United, stated on Friday. “We look forward to the result being officially certified by the NLRB post-haste and to begin bargaining with Alamo in good faith to secure a fair contract for our workplace.”
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"On Friday, a majority of eligible employees at the Sony-owned theater chain’s Slaughter Lane location in Austin, Texas voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers in a NLRB election, according to union organizers. Workers voted 52-16 to join the UAW."
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
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— UAW (@uaw.org) May 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Ohio: Big universities joining forces to defend against regime attacks.
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The Ohio State University Faculty Council voted 35-11 on April 24, 2025 to join the Big Ten "mutual defense compact" that would support the defense of academic freedom. They join universities of IL, IN, IA, MD, MN, NE, OR, WA, WI, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC.
— Trevon Logan (@trevondlogan.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Maine: Most Mainers don’t think Susan Collins deserves another term, survey says, Staff report, Portlan Press Herald, April 24, 2025.
More than two-thirds of Mainers don’t think Sen. Susan Collins deserves to be reelected next year, including most Republicans, according to a survey conducted last week.
The data released Thursday by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center comes 18 months before the November 2026 election and a year before campaigns are expected to ramp up.✂️
Overall, 21% of Maine residents believe Collins deserves to be reelected, while 71% believe she does not, according to the survey.
Among Democrats, 84% believe she does not deserve another term, while 67% of independents and 57% of Republicans agree.
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there's a long way to go til Nov 2026, but do love this headline (and article.) Suspect it might be inducing some rage from Maine's Senior Senator who HATES bad press in Maine media:
Most Mainers don’t think Susan Collins deserves another term, survey says
www.pressherald.com?p=7449615&uu...
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— Joe Sudbay (@joesudbay.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Georgia: NGL this makes me wonder what Kemp IS planning to do next. 🤨 But for Democrats, it is great news that Ossoff is polling double digits ahead of all other comers (so far) including 54-37 over Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp passes on running for a key Democratic-held Senate seat, Bridget Bowman and Sahil Kapur, NBC, May 5, 2025.
The state is a major target for Republicans as they look to expand their three-seat Senate majority. Georgia is one of two states, along with Michigan, where Democrats are defending a seat in a state that President Donald Trump won last November. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is running for re-election in Georgia, while Sen. Gary Peters is retiring in Michigan.
Kemp, who cannot run for re-election as governor due to term limits, said in a statement posted on X that a Senate run is "not the right decision for me and my family.
"I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November," Kemp wrote, "and ultimately be a conservative voice in the US Senate who will put hardworking Georgians first." 👀
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#GAGov Brian Kemp, the GOP's top recruit to take on Jon Ossoff, is reportedly saying no to the race.
A recent @ajc.com poll showed an Ossoff-Kemp race would be close, but Ossoff had ~double-digit leads on everyone else.
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— The Downballot (@the-downballot.com) May 5, 2025 at 1:42 PM
🥰 ILLINOIS 😍
My local paper, the Chicago Sun✶Times, is not pay-walled online and is calling for more support for journalism as one of the pillars of a free society:
World Press Day, an ideal moment to back the media, Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun Times, May 2, 2025.
A credo for totalitarianism, echoing in my brain like a clanking chain after seeing the latest MAGA red hat slogan, “Trump was right about everything,” sported by President Donald Trump’s adviser, Elon Musk.
Hard to believe people pay $19.99 to brand that on their foreheads. Points for candor, because belief in the infallibility of Trump is the guiding principle of this American era. As if the flesh of modern democratic society suddenly melted away to reveal the grinning skull of 18th century monarchism that was always underneath.✂️
The only avenue open to resist what is happening is to tell the truth, as clearly and frequently and forcefully as possible.
And who is doing that?
The media, or what is left of it. Which is why World Press Day — Saturday, May 3 — is extra important. Because if unfettered and fair reporting is valuable during normal times, it is absolutely essential now, if there is to be any hope to thwart gathering authoritarianism.
First the state (thank you Gov. Pritzker!) did this and now the city of Chicago:
Chicago City Council Blocks Jan. 6 Rioters From City Jobs After Trump Pardons, Heather Cherone, WTTW (PBS), April 16, 2025.
The Chicago City Council voted 44-3 Wednesday to ban those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol from working in city jobs after most were pardoned by President Donald Trump.
“Traitors to this country should not be allowed to work for the city of Chicago,” Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) said.✂️
Gov. J.B. Pritzker directed state hiring officials to block the employment of anyone who took part in the attack that claimed the lives of five members of the U.S. Capitol Police and injured an additional 174 officers.
Mayor Brandon Johnson declined to follow the governor’s lead, prompting Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) to partner with Alds. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward) and Bill Conway (34th Ward), who are all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, to craft a ban with a city ordinance.
After the City Council meeting, Johnson endorsed the measure, saying it would ensure the city is run by people dedicated to preserving American democracy.
Democratic Governor Moves To Boycott El Salvador For Aiding Trump, Kevin Robillard, HuffPost, April 23, 2025.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is asking his state’s pension funds and procurement agencies to examine any investments or contracts they have with companies in El Salvador, the first step toward a possible boycott of the country for assisting President Donald Trump in defying court orders on the treatment of migrants.
In a statement, Pritzker indicated the moves were in response to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s willingness to help Trump deny due process to hundreds of migrants deported to El Salvador and now held in a notoriously dangerous maximum-security prison with no potential of release.
“The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” Pritzker said. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights.”
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@govpritzker.illinois.gov leading the way by adopting a state-wide boycott of El Salvador, hoping other states join. Everyone should boycott El Salvador, which is running concentration camps with our tax dollars. Boycotts such as these should be freely exercised.
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
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— Jodi Jacobson (@jljacobson.bsky.social) April 23, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Highlights of Gov. J B Pritzker’s fiery speech in NH:
Illinois AG joins 19 others to fight Election Suppression EO
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joins 19 counterparts in trying to stop Trump election order, Violet Miller, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 5, 2025.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in filing a motion to halt the implementation of an executive order regarding elections signed by President Donald Trump in March.
Trump’s order, issued March 25, demands states not count mail-in ballots received after Election Day — even those postmarked prior to the election, which Illinois and 17 other states allow — and requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply.
The attorneys general cited the Constitution’s elections clause, which allows Congress to regulate voting but designates states as the deciding power in the “time, place and manner” of holding elections.
🎶 Music Break 🎶
⚖️ Courts Continue to Hold Firm to Rule of Law ⚖️
🚨 LATE BREAKING NEWS FROM NORTH CAROLINA 🚨
Kosack CBastian reports: BREAKING: Federal Court orders certification of election of NC Justice Allison Riggs
Texas: The Courts Push Back Against Trump, James D Zirin, Washington Monthly, May 5, 2025.
In Brownsville, Texas, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, ruled against the president’s lawless use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to detain and deport Venezuelan immigrants from South Texas. Trump, by proclamation, had invoked AEA to oust Venezuelan gang members from the country without a hearing.
This ruling may end many of the administration’s questionable deportation moves, invalidating the legal basis for their actions. Unless reversed by the higher court, the commonsense decision will bar such deportations in South Texas. The ruling may also have implications for litigation pending in other districts.
Federal judges in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado have issued temporary restraining orders blocking the administration from deporting immigrants without due process under the wartime law. They have ruled that the government cannot use the act to deport immigrants without notifying them in advance of their destination and giving them a chance to challenge that in court. This is the first time a federal judge has flatly weighed in on the act’s legality.
The judge relied on the statute’s plain language to reach his decision. He rejected Trump’s claims that a Venezuelan gang was invading the United States to justify using the act to deport migrants without a hearing. He said the president’s action “exceeds the statute’s scope. He correctly reasoned that the law authorizes such deportations only during wartime or a hostile invasion and concluded that Trump’s reliance on AEA “is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.” In our history, Presidents have only reserved the AEA for use in three major wars.
Massachusetts: US appeals court rejects Trump bid to revoke 400,000 migrants' legal status, Reuters, May 5, 2025.
BOSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court rejected on Monday a request by U.S. President
Donald Trump's administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousand of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.
The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a judge's order halting U.S. Department of Homeland Security's move to cut short a two-year parole granted to the migrants under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
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A federal appeals court rejected a request by the Trump administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States reut.rs/42ZsPSH
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— Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) May 5, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Pennsylvania: A Double Win For Voters in Pennsylvania, Matt Cohen, democracy Docket, May 2, 2025.
Courts delivered wins for Pennsylvania voters Friday in two different right-wing disenfranchisement efforts.
One ruling ensured that undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots will be counted, while the other rejected a far-right bid to purge more than 277,000 from the state’s voter rolls.
Washington, DC: The ruling against Trump's law firm order shows how to respond in this moment, Chris Geidner, Lawdork, May 4, 2025.
On Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell took a stab at summarizing what it means to exist in this moment — and how courts need to respond to it — with lessons for the rest of us as well.
“[S]ettling personal vendettas by targeting a disliked business or individual for punitive government action is not a legitimate use of the powers of the U.S. government or an American President,“ Howell wrote in her decision striking down the first of President Donald Trump’s several executive orders targeting a law firm with broad reprisals due to his personal grievances with the firm.
Although Howell’s statement might have been an obvious one when she took the bench nearly 15 years ago, Trump proved why such a statement was necessary less than 48 hours after she issued it. Asked on Meet the Press whether he has to uphold the Constitution, Trump replied, “I don’t know,” later, at least, adding that his “brilliant lawyers … are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”
In a moment when the president is explicitly shoving his oath of office to the wayside without a second thought, the other branches, the states, and the people will have to step up.
😫 😡 They’re their own worst enemies — thankfully
TFG and the crooked gang who can’t shoot straight reversing cruel and stupid decisions:
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Social Security Administration has scrapped DOGE's plans to end phone services, and to change how people have to sign up to receive payments.
"The shift amounts to a wholesale retreat by Musk’s team."
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
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— Taniel (@taniel.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 9:15 AM
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NEWS: After canceling thousands of foreign students' immigration records — threatening their ability to study and live in the US — the Trump administration has reversed course and restored them all.
It follows intense pushback from courts across the country.
Details TK
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 10:22 AM
White House backtracks on Trump's confusing Hollywood movie tariff announcement, David Edwards, Raw Story, May 5, 2025.
The White House appeared to backtrack after President Donald Trumpannounced new tariffs on movies filmed in foreign locations.
On Sunday, Trump revealed that he had ordered United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer "to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands."✂️
On Monday, however, a White House statement walked back Trump's declaration by saying that "no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made."
USA Today noted that the White House statement "added more confusion to an announcement that already was drawing questions about how the tariffs would be implemented."
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Even *if* you accept Stephen Miller’s (textually, historically, and morally indefensible) claim that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to due process, you’d *still* need due process to ensure that the individuals at issue are, in fact, undocumented.
His argument fails even on its own terms.
— Steve Vladeck (@stevevladeck.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Hey, MAGA, Here's Proof Yer Boy's Not Good at This, Jonathan Larsen, The F*cking News, May 2, 2025.
Here is a superb simple explanation of “trade deficits” I found helpful:
And speaking of the economy
Why Trump's Efforts to Blame Biden for the Economy are Doomed to Fail, Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box, May 4, 2025.
The S&P 500 performed worse in Trump’s first 100 days than any president in the last 80 years. Trump’s political problem is massive — he was elected to strengthen the economy and lower prices, and now the economy is weaker than it has been in years, and prices are skyrocketing.
Trump has a two-pronged approach to deal with this problem. For Trump’s base, the first solution is just to pretend like everything is fine. This will work with his most ardent supporters and most shameless media allies. For everyone else, Trump plans to blame Joe Biden for his problems.
In an interview with Fox News's Brett Baier, Vice President Vance declared this the “Biden Economy.”
Trump is desperately trying to shift the blame away from himself. It’s not going to work this time — here’s why:
Meanwhile, the rest of the democratic world rejects trumpism
The world is now reversing course to reject Trumpism, Heather Digby Parton, Salon, May 5, 2025.
In an upset similar to Canada's recent election, Australia voted for the incumbent Labor party against the Trump-like right-winger who led the polls in the run-up to Election Day. (In both cases, the conservative candidate even lost his own seat in the parliament.) Germany, too, just a couple of months ago, managed to beat back the far-right AfD party after Elon Musk and JD Vance stuck their noses in the campaign on its behalf.
Something is happening among America's allies, and it's a tremendous relief. For some years now, we've seen the MAGA-infused global right gaining a foothold amongst western democracies, largely driven by the same demagogic, nationalist, pseudo-populism that has fueled Donald Trump's dominance on the American right. Some countries like Hungary have served as a sort of experiment for the kind of post-democratic autocracies dreamt of by the modern right wing in which government co-opts, intimidates and de-legitimizes the political opposition to create an authoritarianism that dominates the culture and the politics without a lot of overt violence. But the rise of the far right among the Western allies seems to be stalling out.
And More Americans are saying hell no to the regime’s cruelty
Some Good News: Americans Are Rejecting Trumpism, Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair, April 30, 2025.
Despair isn’t useful, but polls are: Donald Trump’s dismal recent numbers are a bright light in dark times, and point to a shifting tide.
Autocrats want you to sink into despair and immobility, to see no light at the end of the tunnel. But we can already see some slivers of light and, yes, there is reason for optimism. That’s not to say pushing back against Trump’s extreme agenda is going to be easy—and there’s still quite a long way to midterms, never mind the 2028 election. But it’s heartening to see that a majority of the American people reject what this administration is doing on a host of issues. Trump has squandered any of the postelection honeymoon that presidents typically enjoy. His approval rating, which peaked at 52% a week after inauguration, has dropped to an average of 44%, according to polling compiled by The New York Times. One poll conducted this month found that Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in the last 80 years.
Drilling down on issues, it looks even worse. A CNN poll found that 59% of the public says that “Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country,” with just “12% saying his agenda has helped to bring prices down.” Trump is now underwater on his handling of everything from immigration and border security (51% disapprove) to inflation and cost of living (60% disapprove), per an NBC News poll; it’s not pretty on foreign affairs (55% disapprove) or civil rights (53% disapprove), per a UMass poll. According to a New York Times/Siena poll, “two-thirds of voters, including 75% of independent voters, said that ‘chaotic’ was a good description of the Trump term so far.”
When Authoritarians Gift You Openings, Jared Yates Sexton, April 24, 2025.
There’s a distinct feeling that things are turning a bit. If you tune into the zeitgeist you can sense it. This is what hypervigilance during a time of crisis can reveal and it’s a sense that we must hone and perfect in these moments. Fighting authoritarianism is an endless task and requires incredible emotional awareness that allows us to brace ourselves for attacks and counterattacks while searching for openings to diminish their capacity and eventually bring them to their knees. This is a type of politics and a type of battle that most people are unfamiliar and, frankly, uncomfortable with. But it remains the truth of the matter.
We must seize on any opening and any vulnerability. The Hegseth debacle is so transparently and embarrassingly buffoonish, not to mention how it puts the country and its safety at risk, that using it as example of how MAGA and its accompanying operations are definitively destructive is a fullproof strategy. That, when coupled with the outrage over Kilmar Abrego Garcia and everyone else caught up in this criminal cruelty, the obvious wrongness of slashing social safety programs, allowing more pollutants in our drinking water, building a database of autistic Americans, and the assault on the economy, which still has supposed experts wondering what’s happening, creates an overwhelming sense that something is not right here. I know it isn’t right. You know it isn’t right. But the burgeoning awareness with some who have sat this out so far or deluded themselves is where the sense of momentum builds.✂️
Feel now how this is true. Sit for a moment, ground yourself, and ask how it feels. Notice how the currents of the time, if you pay attention to them, if you let yourself be open to feeling them, are telling you where things are, where they are going. Where the openings and opportunities lay. Moments like this are the vulnerable spots where we can take advantage and gain ground. As we continue to build movements and coalitions, as we keep amassing our strength and our hope and our determination, and as we find our guiding star that reveals where we must go, these will be the moments that will turn the tide. By the same token, there will be moments of backlash, of authoritarian creep and aggression. You will learn to anticipate these as well.
Develop these senses. Nurture them. They’ve always been there. Now, all we have to do, is listen.
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Part of the fight against authoritarians is recognizing when their actions backfire and when there’s an opportunity to gain ground and ultimately defeat them.
This is a skill we must learn. Right now they are vulnerable and we must push hard.
jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/when-autho...
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— Jared Yates Sexton (@jysexton.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Let’s push for something like this:
🎶 Always worth reprising Music 🎶
⛪︎ ✝️ Conclave Begins in Vatican City this week ✝️ ⛪︎
Although I have a complicated relationship with organized religion, I think a lot of liberals might agree that Pope Francis was a better than average religious leader during these times of rising right wing extremism and climate change. He didn’t shrink from the hard issues and he repeatedly called out cruelty, environmental abuse, gross inequality, policies that cause poverty and desperation and much more. He spoke truth to power, using his own power to try to advocate for the powerless, poor people, migrants and the earth itself.
This week the cardinals will gather to elect a new Pope and historically the church has tended to swing ack and forth between reformers and conservatives. However, there was a hopeful note in the story below:
🤞Papal conclave: All cardinals who will elect a new pope arrive in Rome, Joshua McElwee and Crispian Balmer, Reuters, May 5, 2025.
Some cardinals are looking for a new pope who will continue with Francis' push for a more transparent, welcoming Church, while others are seeking retrenchment to more traditional roots that put a premium on doctrine.
Conclaves are often spread out over several days, with multiple votes held before a contender wins the necessary three-quarters majority to become pope.✂️
German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is 92 and cannot take part in the vote, said he was sure the electors would choose someone to pursue Francis' progressive agenda.
"I believe that there is a very clear expectation. People want a pope to follow Francis. A pastor who knows the language of the heart, who does not close himself in palaces," Kasper told La Stampa newspaper.
"Of course, there are also cardinals who hope for a change of direction with respect to Francis. But my impression ... is that the majority of cardinals are in favour of continuity."
An example of Francis’ priorities which illustrates why I hope for a new Pope who is dedicated to continuing — and hopefully brining even more progress and vigor to — his work:
Popemobile to become clinic for kids in Gaza, fulfilling Pope Francis’ wish, Scripps News staff, May 5, 2025.
Pope Francis’ legacy will soon take on new life in Gaza. One of the popemobiles that once carried him as he greeted the faithful is being converted into a mobile health clinic for children in the war-torn region.
Caritas, a Catholic humanitarian organization, is outfitting the vehicle with diagnostic equipment, vaccines and other life-saving supplies. It will be staffed by doctors and medics.
“With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care — children who are injured and malnourished. This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” said Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden.
Caritas said the project was one of Pope Francis’ final wishes. In his last months, he asked the organization to transform the popemobile into a mobile clinic for children in Gaza.
🩺 🧪 Good Health Research News 💉🔬
Health Rounds: Boehringer drug delivers 'unprecedented' result in lung cancer study, Nancy Lapid, Reuters, April 30, 2025.
Among 75 patients with pretreated non-small cell lung cancer and mutations in HER2 known as tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) mutations, 71% had significant tumor shrinkage during treatment with zongertinib. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer.
“A 71% response rate is unprecedented in this cancer subtype, and not only is the data strong in showing that this treatment works, but zongertinib has the added convenience of being a once-daily oral therapy,” study leader Dr. John Heymach of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a statement.
“When you also consider the improved safety profile compared to less selective inhibitors, this suggests a promising approach for patients in need of new treatments," Heymach said. "That’s exciting because just a few years ago these patients had no effective targeted therapies.”
New gene-editing therapy shows early success in fighting advanced GI cancers, Alex Smith, University of Minnesota Medical School, May 2, 2025.
“Despite many advances in understanding the genomic drivers and other factors causing cancer, with few exceptions, stage IV colorectal cancer remains a largely incurable disease,” said Emil Lou, MD, PhD, a gastrointestinal oncologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Masonic Cancer Center and M Health Fairview, and clinical principal investigator for the trial. “This trial brings a new approach from our research labs into the clinic and shows potential for improving outcomes in patients with late-stage disease.”
In the study, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to modify a type of immune cell called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). By deactivating a gene called CISH, the researchers found that modified TILs were better able to recognize and attack cancer cells.
The treatment was tested in 12 highly metastatic, end-stage patients and found to be generally safe, with no serious side effects from the gene editing. Several patients in the trial saw the growth of their cancer halt, and one patient had a complete response, meaning that in this patient, the metastatic tumors disappeared over the course of several months and have not returned in over two years.
🐩 💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩
🦭 A Sea Lion Story
Ronan the head-bobbing sea lion proves animals can keep a beat: ‘No human was better’, AP via the Guardian, May 3, 2025.
Not many animals show a clear ability to identify and move to a beat aside from humans, parrots and some primates. But then there’s Ronan, a bright-eyed sea lion that has scientists rethinking the meaning of music.
A former rescue sea lion, she burst to fame about a decade ago after scientists reported her musical skills. From age three, she has been a resident at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, where researchers including Cook have tested and honed her ability to recognize rhythms.
Ronan joined a select group of animal movers and shakers – which also includes Snowball the famed dancing cockatoo – that together upended the long-held idea that the ability to respond to music and recognize a beat was distinctly human.
🐦 A bird story
World's greatest mimic: this bird can perfectly replicate the sounds of 20 other birds, Elizabeth Benner, CBC, February 21, 2025.
In the forests of eastern Australia, a unique annual ritual is underway.
A male superb lyrebird fans out its large tail and bobs up and down amongst the foliage. It's performing a song and dance routine in hopes of winning a potential mate.
Unfortunately, this bird isn't drawing any attention. Female lyrebirds require more complex songs to win the ability to mate.
So this male lyrebird changes its tune: listening carefully to the sounds around him, he mimics them with frightening accuracy. ✂️
The lyrebird has a well-developed vocal organ called the syrinx, similar to vocal cords in humans and other species. The syrinx sits at the bottom of the trachea and acts as a resonating chamber. The ability for more intricate calls are due to muscles around this chamber, which produce changes in loudness and pitch in their song. Many singing birds can even control the left and right sides of the syrinx separately, allowing them to sing with two independent voices.
🐘 An Elephant Joke
That last story reminds me of a joke! Did you know I can tell jokes?
I can!
Here is an Elephant Joke:
Question: How do you catch an elephant?
Answer: You hide in the grass and make a noise like a peanut!
🤣
That’s all I have for today. Thank you for reading my section! Luv, CG 💙🐾
⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️
Read
⚡️ Tyrants like Trump always fall – and we can already predict how he will be dethroned, Simon Tisdall, the Guardian, April 27, 2025.
⚡️ Get up to speed: The Democratic Party's Path Forward Primary, Todd Beeton, The Big Picture, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ Trump Is Showing Us How to Defeat Trumpism, David Rothkopf, Daily Beast, April 26, 2025.
⚡️ What Dems Can Learn from Trump's Disastrous 100 Days in Office, Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box, April 29, 2025.
⚡️ Maine’s Mills Thrills: Trump Loses in Competition Against Biological Woman, Jonathan Larsen, The F*cking News, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ Look to the Judges, Steven Beschloss, America America, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ TFG’s polling ↓ ☹️: Our Wins Of The Week, The Big Picture, May 4, 2025.
⚡️ Elon Musk Is an Evil Piece of Garbage—and an A-Level Fraud Too, Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, May 2, 2025.
⚡️ Forewarned is… A Failure of Imagination Could Do Us In, David Rothkopf, Need to Know, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ We’ve been here before: Universities, Trump, and the anti-intellectual tradition, Seth Masket, Tusk, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ The Easy Way to Uphold Birthright Citizenship, Garrett Epps, Washington Monthly, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week? Andrew Berka, the Nation, May 5, 2025.
⚡️ Are you a people pleaser? It’s time to find out what you really want, Moya Sarner, the Guardian, May 5, 2025.
Watch/Listen
🎧 Nice interview of J B Pritzker on Jimmy Kimmel
🎧 Trump’s Rage at Fox News over Bad Poll Hints at Coming Fiasco for MAGA, Greg Sargent Daily Blast podcast, TNR, May 5, 2025.
🎧 Terrific primer for the challenging US-Canada meetup today: Mulcair says that while Trump 'is not an economic genius', PM Mark Carney is, CTV News, May 5, 2025.
🎧 Russia’s massive blunder: Putin rejects US peace deal over ‘arrogance and greed’, Prof. Mykhnenko (Oxford University), Times Radio, May 5, 2025.
🎧 💪🏼🇨🇦 Mark Carney, King Charles and the Throne Speech, Dominion Report Vlog, YouTube, May 3, 2025.
🚧 🩷 ❣️ How Can You Help Build a Better World? ❣️ 🩷 🚧
I’m going to share some of the excellent links and suggestions from GoodNewsRoundup and chloris creator. Repetition is good!
🎩 GOODNEWSROUNDUP:
There are many ways to get involved. Everyone can find something that works for them.
Here are some ideas.
-
If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area.
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Join the truth brigade! Grassroots-powered lie-stopping. Person by person; mind by opened mind
- Election Response Center is a project hosted by Working Families Party, MoveOn Civic Action, Indivisible, and Public Citizen. They are organizing lots of events to get people fighting. Join one at this link
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The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.
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Get involved with the Democratic party. We aren’t perfect, but they are fucking evil.
- Get involved with the States Project They are working on turning state legislatures blue
- Get involved with Swing Left. They are working on races right now!
- People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. Get involved with them here
- Center for American Progress Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan policy institute and advocacy organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Get involved with them here
🎩 CHLORIS CREATOR:
I know it’s tough to see the path forward. And I can’t guarantee that there is a path forward. But people who are smarter and braver than I have seen ways to move ahead.
Their (the fascists’) plans really are dark, but many of them are also dumb, in the sense that they don’t make sense. So many of them cannot succeed.
Here are some quick hits.
- Stay involved. Yeah, that’s tough. I want to look away too, but by taking simple actions you can make a difference. Keep contacting your representatives, both in DC and at home.
- Support causes that will fight. Send money if you can. Also, spread their news with clicks and conversation.
- Slow them down. Oppose and block at every turn.
- Make tRump unpopular. Doing this weakens him. And it should not be that difficult. The GOP made a lot out of Biden is old and eggs cost too much. Well, tRump is older than Biden was at the beginning of his term and tRump has no policies that are going to bring down inflation. And a host of other problems, like he’s a convicted felon.
- Divide the GOP from each other. They are a coalition based on contradictory promises, so there’s plenty to work with.
- Keep telling the truth and showing love.
- Make sure to pace yourselves in this marathon and to practice self-care.
Other Actions
I alternate between PTV Etsy shop postcards (now on sale for May!) and other pretty postcards that I find on Bookshop.org like these flower ones.
📞 Call your Congress critters and register your concerns!
(202) 224-3121 is the main switchboard number for Congress. They will ask for your city and state or your zip code and connect you with your representatives. It’s easy and it does make a difference.
📪 Write postcards to help Democratic candidates and progressive judges get elected:
Postcards to Voters
3️⃣ Check out
Third Act Actions page — there might be something there that you can do.
🧵 Share your favorite news sites, podcasts or vloggers in the comments! The GNR comments section is a bonus reason to read GNR every day!!
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
That’s it from me and CG for another Tuesday.
Remember, Gnusies, take good care of your self and those you love. Do your very best to get enough rest, nutritious food and fresh air.
I am running out of time, so I will leave you with a little relaxing music.
Thanks for reading. Happy Tuesday, All!