Eight Ways That We Have Power! GNR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 24, 2025 · 4:40 AM PDT

2025/05/24 · 04:40

It is easy to feel powerless against trump and his band of sycophants, but one lesson of the past few months is that we actually have power.

I know this is exhausting. I know none of us want to be doing this. I get it. I am 100% with you.

But keep in mind that you are not alone. We are not alone.

And collectively we have power.

Look at all the ways:

1. We have Democrats who are working hard

It is easy to trash the democrats for not doing enough. But for a party out of power, they are actually doing a lot.

And mostly that is due to US!! when you call their offices to ask them to do more (or thank them for what they did) it WORKS!

For example, Democrats on the House Rules committee made them debate 500 amendments to the awful budget to keep the debate going for 24 hours so that people had time to call their reps about the awful bill.

And in bringing attention to the bill they actually were able to amend it in ways that made it better.

and here are just a few amazing Dems speaking out about the bill. They are fighting so hard because of our calls! keep at it.

Frost: Tonight the people stealing are not folks with tattoos and hoodies but people wearing suits and ties and congressional pins sitting in the capitol now, not in some alley wrapped in darkness but the United States congress wrapped in the flag. It is disgusting and we will never forget this.
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T04:05:11.640Z

Jeffries: We will stand up today, stand up tomorrow, stand up this week, stand up next week, stand up this month, stand up next month, stand up this year, stand up next year, stand up at all times until we end this national nightmare and restore the American dream for every single person
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T10:15:34.880Z

Boyle: We just verified with the congressional budget office and of 13.7 million Americans who will lose their health care because of their bill, exactly zero are undocumented immigrants
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T07:31:32.886Z

AOC: When you wake up in the morning, you will realize that you voted to defund planned parenthood and take away health care from 13.7 million Americans and when this country wakes up there will be consequences to pay for this
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T06:06:13.719Z

Foxx: We’re interested in delivering… fiscal certainty for our future. McGovern: You know what gives people fiscal certainty? Food in their refrigerators
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T05:20:55.775Z

Hayes: Every provision in this program is cruel and they know it. That's why none of them spoke on it in committee. That's why they have no response. That's why they don't hold town halls. That's why they don't answer questions. All they do is tweet, repeat, and hide in the back until they vote yes
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T04:45:08.269Z

2. The courts are doing a lot

This isn’t a “we the people” kind of power, but this is a national power against trump. And despite what you have heard it is one that is (mostly) working really well.

There’s still a major check on Trump’s power

Trump is still largely complying with the courts

On the other hand, there are examples of Trump at least pretending to fall in line with public opinion. Take, for example, Trump’s delicate dance when it comes to how the administration handles court rulings.

Defying the judicial branch is a red line for many voters. A Pew poll found that 78 percent of Americans believe that Trump should obey federal courts, and 88 percent believe that Trump should abide by Supreme Court rulings. A New York Times/Siena poll similarly showed that only 6 percent of Americans believe that Trump should ignore Supreme Court rulings. And a Fox News poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe that the president must follow the Supreme Court.

Trump has clashed with the courts and even defied some of their orders. But despite all of his complaining about the courts, Trump hasn’t gone so far as to be openly defiant. His administration, for example, still publicly states that it’s complying with the courts even when it’s not, knowing that explicitly rejecting court orders will likely prompt some backlash. And while there have been a few standout cases, as in the case of Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has, for the most part, gone through the court process and abided by the rulings.

They paused federal layoffs, for example, restored student visas, and released detained immigrants per court orders. Even as his administration finds ways to slow-walk court orders, Trump has said that he would “never defy” the Supreme Court. “I wouldn’t do that,” he told Time magazine in a recent interview. “I’m a big believer in the Supreme Court, and have a lot of respect for the justices.”

Deadlocked Supreme Court Rejects Bid for Religious Charter School in Oklahoma

An evenly divided Supreme Court rejected a plan on Thursday to allow Oklahoma to use government money to run the nation’s first religious charter school, which would teach a curriculum infused by Catholic doctrine.

In a tie, the court split 4 to 4 over the Oklahoma plan, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, and the decision provided no reasoning.

That deadlock means that an earlier ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court will be allowed to stand. The state court blocked a proposal for the Oklahoma school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which was to be operated by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, and aimed to incorporate Catholic teachings into every aspect of its activities.

A judge strikes down Trump’s firings of board members of a civil liberties watchdog group.

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that President Trump broke the law when he fired members of an independent civil liberties watchdog without cause in January, ordering the reinstatement of those challenging their removals in court.

In a 71-page opinion, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia said that Mr. Trump’s dismissal of Democratic-selected members to the five-person Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was illegal.

Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Dismantling Education Department

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department and ordered officials to reinstate thousands of fired employees in a ruling that was at least a temporary setback for the president and his plans.

and as distressing (and it is distressing) the recent move against Harvard is, they are suing to stop it and we have every reason to think that will work

and he is giving them what they need to win:

Y’all LITERALLY as I was writing this, this happened:

Judge blocks Trump admin effort to terminate Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students

A federal judge on Friday granted Harvard University’s emergency motion to block the Trump administration from revoking its ability to enroll international students, as litigation on the matter continues.

In her order, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said Harvard showed “it will sustain immediate and irreparable injury” if the Trump administration is allowed to implement its revocation notice before “there is an opportunity to hear from all parties.”

3. He cares about being popular

and that is a lever that has worked to stop some of his actions — his narcissistic desire to be loved. we can (and have) used that to our advantage

Trump walks back tariffs

Perhaps the ultimate example of Trump heeding public opinion comes from one of his most chaotic policies. When he came into office, Trump promised to impose taxes on imports from allies and foes alike. And since then, his plan can best be described as on again, off again.

A lot of Americans who oppose Trump might feel helpless during this second term, seeing little reason to protest or express their discontent. But just because Trump is term-limited and doesn’t have to win another election doesn’t mean that public anger won’t influence his administration.

One of the fears of a second Trump term was that Trump would be emboldened and even more reckless than he was in his first. But there still seems to be evidence that despite governing in a deeply polarizing and unpopular way, Trump is probably swayed by the polls. That’s not to say that protests would stop the administration from implementing its agenda, but it is to say that if there’s enough discontent, Trump has shown that he might adjust his priorities. And with enough public outcry, Trump, like other presidents, sometimes scales back some of his more controversial policies to make them more palatable.

Trump's approval rating ticks lower

Trump's approval at 42%, matching lowest of new term

Only 39% approve of his economic stewardship

when they see things are unpopular, they often walk them back. Like this: Kristi Noem Flat-Out Denies That DHS Is Considering Citizenship Reality Show Pitch

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday denied that her department is considering sponsoring a reality show in which immigrants would compete for U.S. citizenship, seeming to contradict the department spokesperson’s comments that the pitch was “in the very beginning states” of the vetting process.

“We have no knowledge of a reality show,” Noem said during a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “There may have been something submitted to the department, but I did not know anything about this reality show until the reporter reached out.”

The pitch submitted by Rob Worsoff, a Canadian-born writer, producer and director, for a show titled “The American,” was first reported on Thursday by The Daily Mail, which claimed Noem was a fan of the concept.

and this — Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn

All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves after the newest Pentagon-ordered review — the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Mocking and calling out awful things matters. It works.

4. We have economic power — and it really works!

You might think boycotting companies that capitulate to Trump is just a way for us to feel better about ourselves but we actually have a huge amount of economic power so this is a strategy that actually works.

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Target CEO's Pay Cut In Half After Going Full MAGA

Target CEO Brian Cornell thought he was playing the game. He donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, axed Target’s DEI programs, and figured the MAGA morons would make him a hero and start shopping at Target.

Instead, he got boycotts, sales dropped off a cliff, and so he watched his salary fall by 45% since last year alone. For comparison, his compensation fell from $77 million in 2020 to just $9.9 million last year. That’s still a ton of money per year for anyone. But for a CEO? He is definitely feeling the heat. Target’s shoppers have decided never to return because of his MAGA idiocy.

Good job, everyone! Keep boycotting Target until he’s gone.

The 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings

By the numbers: Elon Musk-owned companies, Tesla and SpaceX are among those that have seen the sharpest declines, with both ranking in the bottom 10% for character, trust and citizenship.

Boeing's reputation score has seen a 13-point decline since 2019, coming in at No. 90 for trust and ethics and No. 93 for vision and growth.

Companies recently entangled in culture wars — like the Walt Disney Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Hobby Lobby — have also taken a hit.

Elon Musk's Humiliating Exile

If I’m remembered for nothing else—and there’s a nonzero chance I won’t be—it will be for a single ironclad political law that holds across time, space, and every variable in politics: Everything Trump touches dies.

And now, the latest name added to the long, sad ledger of MAGA roadkill is none other than former Co-President and Viceroy of DOGE: Elon Musk.

(Bloomberg) - BYD Co. sold more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla Inc. for the first time, overtaking the American brand that’s long led the continent’s EV segment.$TSLA www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T10:19:19.704Z

and those idiots don’t realize it so they are actually going to make it EASIER for us to figure out who to support by naming them. Yikes. Morons.

Trump’s “weaponization czar” proposed a new way to go after the president’s foes who cannot be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.

“If they can be charged, we’ll charge them,” said Martin, whose term as interim U.S. attorney for D.C. came to an end recently. “But if they can’t be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.”

5. The world isn’t following trump’s lead

By keeping our voices loud about how this isn’t good, we are teaching the rest of the world. The better other countries keep things, the easier it will be to right our own ship.

Maybe Trump isn’t actually leading a global populist revolt.

based on the probably-at-least-partly Trump-inspired drubbing inflicted on right-wing parties in Canada and Australia in recent elections, it’s not clear that being known as the “Trump of” your country really gets you all that much. Whatever his ultimate legacy for the United States and the world, he doesn’t seem likely to be remembered as the man who made global far-right populism great again.

6. Even some of his asshole friends are calling him out from time to time

this isn’t exactly our action, but I do think that people being willing to engage with assholes like Carlson and Rogan does help to force them to admit to other side that trump is flawed

Tucker Carlson Rips Trump’s Middle East Moves: ‘Seems Like Corruption’

Tucker Carlson admitted that President Donald Trump’s business dealings in the Middle East reek of “corruption.”

The MAGA pundit offered the criticism after a guest on his podcast, ex-Navy SEAL and right-wing influencer Shawn Ryan, aired his own disappointment with the administration Tuesday.

“Well, it seems like corruption, yeah,” Carlson admitted.

The visit was controversial, in part because of Trump’s business interests in the region but also because news had just broke that he planned to accept a $400 million jet gifted to him by Qatari royalty. He intends to use it as Air Force One.

The decision stoked outcry—from critics and supporters alike. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer wrote on X that the news was a “stain on the admin,” despite affirming that she would “take a bullet for Trump.”

7. We are smart

We are trying very well tested and proven ways to fight this.

Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat

The funny thing is that there’s a playbook for overturning autocrats. It was written here in America, by a rumpled political scientist I knew named Gene Sharp.

“Dictators are never as strong as they tell you they are,” he once said, “and people are never as weak as they think they are.”

The first is mockery and humor — preferably salacious.

A second approach that has often succeeded is emphasizing not democracy as such but rather highlighting the leaders’ corruption, hypocrisy and economic mismanagement.

The third approach that has often succeeded is focusing on the power of one — an individual tragedy rather than a sea of oppression. Protesters against apartheid used to employ the slogan, “Free South African political prisoners,” but that never got much traction. Then they switched to “Free Nelson Mandela,” and we know the rest.

Don’t let them intimidate us! We should welcome the fight!

As everyone knows, Trump's strategy is to intimidate and exhaust us. The only appropriate response is to refuse to be intimidated or exhausted. To the contrary, we should welcome the fight—because Trump's bluster and imaginary grievances will evaporate under the harsh light of judicial scrutiny and the common sense of jurors.

Trump's threats of political, criminal, and civil sanctions are nearly always based on groundless legal theories and baseless “factual” assertions that simply will not hold up in court.

The sooner we can force Trump to “put up or shut up” in court, the better off the nation will be. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that his bull-in-a-china-shop mentality is not successful before judges or juries. See, e.g., his 34 felony convictions and multi-million-dollar judgments for defamation against E. Jean Carroll.

8. We are using our voices to teach people about his awful policies

I keep seeing people on social media post about the awful bill and I am so glad for that. It is important. Keep sharing how they are hurting people. Your voices matter and they are working!

Did Republicans Just Lose the Majority?

Early Thursday morning, after weeks of horse-trading, the House of Representatives passed Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” to cut taxes for the rich and pay for it by taking food and health care from the poorest Americans.

The bill is both a policy disaster and a moral monstrosity. It adds trillions to the deficit, defunds Planned Parenthood, guts Medicaid, slashes food stamps, raises costs on millions of families, and gives the richest Americans a massive tax cut.

After the bill passed (even though most Republicans hadn’t had time to read the latest version), Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared: “This is the day that the Republicans lost the majority.”

A recent Navigator Research poll illustrates the danger:

Just 36% of Americans support the bill.

75% of Americans—including 62% of Republicans—have a favorable view of Medicaid.

Modeling by Data for Progress shows that less than 15% of voters in any congressional district support cutting Medicaid.

Not exactly the foundation for holding a fragile majority.

and sharing info about them is working — This is a district that went for trump by 77%!

What can you do to save democracy?

Remember, the good news happens BECAUSE we fight! So let’s do this. What can you do?

You can sign up for Chop wood, carry water. She’ll send you emails a few times a week that are inspirational, honest, and give you super easy action items so you can be involved without letting it ruin your life.

Go here → chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com

Consider joining some peaceful protests! They are making a big difference!

Here are some ideas.

If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area. One way to find a local group is through indivisible: indivisibleproject.formstack.com/…
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
The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.
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

Also, continue to find joy in your life! Don’t let that fuckface live rent free in your mind! This is your life!!!!!

Looking for something more specific?

Want to focus on the ENVIRONMENT:

Want to focus on CIVIL RIGHTS:

HUMAN RIGHTS - GENERALLY:

Physicians for Human Rights https://phr.org/...
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org
The Leadership Coalition on Civil and Human Rights https://civilrights.org

LGBTQ+:

WOMEN:

National Women’s Law Center https://nwlc.org
National Organization for Woman now.org/…

Huge thanks to DKos user dabug for help with this list.

Don’t let the options overwhelm you! Try to pick one thing and see if it calls to you. If it doesn’t find something else.

There are so many ways to get involved and help!

Some inspiration before I say goodbye

“Whatever happens, stay alive.

Don't die before you're dead.

Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction.

Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell of your body, with every fiber of your skin.

Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design.

Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope.

Stay alive with joy.

Element removed

There is only one thing you should not waste in life,

and that's life itself..."

by Joy

At Albany Bulb with Elaine

By Alison Luterman

Side by side on a log by the bay.

Sunlight. Unleashed dogs,

prancing through surf, almost exploding

out of their skins with perfect happiness.

Dogs who don't know about fired park rangers,

or canceled health research, or tariff wars,

or the suicide hotline for veterans getting defunded,

or or or. We've listed horror upon horror

to each other for weeks now, and it does no good,

so instead I tell her how I held a two-day old baby

in my arms, inhaling him like a fresh-baked loaf of bread,

then watched as a sneeze erupted through his body

like a tiny volcano. It was the look of pure

astonishment on his face, as if he were Adam

in the garden of Eden making his debut achoo,

as if it were the first sneeze that ever blew,

that got me. She tells me how her dog

once farted so loudly he startled himself

and fell off the bed where he'd been lolling,

and then the two of us start to laugh so hard

we almost fall off our own log. And this

is our resistance for today; remembering

original innocence. And they can't

take it away from us, though they ban

our very existence, though they slash

our rights to ribbons, we will have

our mirth and our birthright gladness.

Long after every unsold Tesla

has vaporized, and earth has closed over

even the names of these temporary tyrants,

somewhere some women like us

will be sitting side by side, facing the water,

telling human stories and laughing still.

I am so proud and so lucky to be in this with all of you. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 💙❤️💛💚✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

GNR for Friday, May 23, 2025: Sunlight will break through

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 23, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/23 · 04:00

Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!

Sometimes, life just sucks. And it’s going to suck for a while.

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still have power. That we don’t have agency.

And sometimes, even when the world out there is dark and somber, sometimes when you least expect it, sunlight breaks through. Earlier this week I was reluctant to meet with the son of a family friend, because the father is completely maga, who wouldn’t even believe me when I tried to explain that illegal border crossings always drop during the summer because it’s over 100°F and people die. But I had to participate in the get-together, and discovered that the son — who is like a nephew to my husband — is not maga at all! As Timothy Snyder says, it’s important to go out and meet people in person — “to make eye contact and small talk” - even if you’re an introvert. Do it! It’s good for you, and good for the planet.

Everyone here knows we are under siege, but please, keep on working and pushing back. If you can only bear to do ten minutes of resisting a week, then do that.

Peaceful protests can make a difference. Sometimes we won’t see the positive results immediately, but trust that they are making a difference. So protest. Put up signs. Support real journalism. Hector your elected officials. Do the next right thing.

And do something nice for yourself as well.

Every now and then, sunlight will break through. Make sure you enjoy it.

Come on in, dear gnusies, and see what some of the good guys — at home and abroad — are doing to fight the evils of our time.

Technical note: when I got up on Friday morning to complete this, I discovered that the bluesky flutters had all become invisible. Most of them reappeared later, after I had done lots of editing.

Regular Scheduled Programming

No one here is naïve; we are aware of the many who are fighting to destroy our country. Some of us expected it: the cheating, the lying, and the chaos. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country and the planet from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know.

Remember:

💜Although they lie all the time, reality matters. And our goals — based on reality — are more popular.

💙 They want us to be demoralized. The best way to keep up your spirits is to fight. So, take the time to recharge your batteries, make sure to protect yourself, your family and your friends, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.

🗽 Reports on Resisters 🗽

People are protesting! Maddow reports on what people are doing during her Monday nights, so that’s always worth a watch and a listen.

11 Peaceful Protests and their impact Oliver Noble Mental Floss

Let’s look through the past 200 years of peaceful protests—from tragic to triumphant to just plain weird—and remember their historic impacts.

Cherokee Resistance to Forced Relocation // 1838

Salt March // 1930

White Rose Resistance // 1942–1943

Montgomery Bus Boycott // 1955–1956

Kent State Demonstrations // 1970

Pureora Forest Protest // 1978

The Singing Revolution // 1987-1991

Tiananmen Square Protest // 1989

Lusty Lady Strike // 1997

Nurse-In at Applebee’s // 2007

Wisconsin Public Employees’ Strike // 2011

They don’t always give immediate results, but they do make a difference. Maddow reported how the protests in Belgrade, Serbia, made the local government admit that a document was forged.

Hands across Chicagoland: literally 30 miles of protests! Michelle Gallardo ABC 7 Chicago

LA GRANGE, Ill. (WLS) -- People protested new policies from President Donald Trump on Sunday in a rally called "Hands Across Chicagoland."

The protestors lined streets while wearing black.

From the Chicago to Aurora and everywhere in between, the protest was billed as a 30-mile long human chain that began in Aurora and ended in Chicago's Little Village. While the turnout may have fallen short of the tens of thousands of protestors organizers were predicting, it was still significant.

"It's going to take everyone all the time to make a difference," protestor Teri Lee Nordstedt said.

And especially Tesla and ICE

Protests against Tesla and ICE, town halls, Bono and Pedro Pascal speak out, and more…
— The Democratic Coalition (@thedemcoalition.bsky.social) 2025-05-18T14:06:15.518Z

In the middle of the night!

Scooted to the US Capitol at 1 am in the rain to let Congress know the people are watching. It does not matter what time they call their votes. We’ll be out here working to protect Medicaid. #ProtectMedicaid
— Maria Town (@mariatown.bsky.social) 2025-05-21T06:41:14.399Z

Not just rallies. A billboard campaign, here’s an example

The billboard featuring the Arch reads “Greetings from Gateway Arch National Park. Now with reduced staff. Made possible by $ D.O.G.E.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday.com) 2025-05-13T13:31:04.109Z

🎩 Maru. A special shoutout to Bruce Springsteen The Farce

Just the sound of the phone ringing from the White House has been enough to make most law firms, universities, and major media conglomerates crumble like month-old bread.

Bruce is doing the opposite.

After only seeing the headlines, I finally watched the video. It’s stirring and relatable in a way that only an artist of Bruce’s caliber and mass appeal can be.

But it's not only that. After the first few beats, Bruce's words offer a model for the kind of speech that every “normie” Democrat should be getting whenever they can get in front of a crowd, especially a crowd that just isn’t filled with normie Resistance-type Democrats, whom I love but already get what’s going on.

Bruce is modeling fearlessness for his millions and millions of fans.

And as he’s doing it, he’s using his platform to do what most elected Democrats have too reluctant to do: He’s making the case for mass mobilization as the ultimate check on Trump by informing America about the “very weird, strange and dangerous shit” being done in the names and possibly will be done to them.

Trump gets that. Bruce is one of the few Americans resourced and brave enough to stand up to a rogue president. That’s why Trump is trying to sic his Department of Justice on Bruce, as a warning to any celebrity who might speak out against this regime.

Another entertainer standing up: Jimmy Kimmel cancels Jake Tapper Angelica Cheyenne, MSNBC

CNN star anchor Jake Tapper won't be making an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight.

While Jake was scheduled to appear on the late-night talk show on May 19, he no longer will be since they sho has been canceled. The X, formerly Twitter account, Call to Activism, announced the news.

Tapper was planning to push his Biden bashing book. As Biden just announced serious cancer, that was in especially bad taste. I have also read many questions about the accuracy of the book.

Anyway, good job, Kimmel!

Go, Worcester MA!

Washington state nurses join lawsuit against cuts David Keepnews, WSNA.org

The Washington State Nurses Association has joined with eight other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against federal health agencies seeking restoration of databases and other resources pulled from those agencies’ websites. The suit was filed by the Perkins Coie law firm on May 20, 2025, in the U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Washington, in Seattle.

Our coalition partners are a combination of Washington groups—the Washington State Medical Association, and the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics—along with the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, AcademyHealth, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, National LGBT Cancer Network, and the Vermont Medical Society.

Also, I must note the funny name of the author on this piece. Original and it inspired him to go into journalism? Or a name chosen to promote his place in the profession?

Another ally (for the most part) — the courts. tRump’s administration ordered to reinstate funding for environmental projects Cristen Hamingway Jaynes EcoWatch

In a huge win for environmental advocates, a federal judge on Monday ruled that the Trump administration must restore $176 million in grants to six cities and 13 nonprofits across the United States.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the first permanent injunctions challenging an administration that has frozen funding, dismantled agencies and fired federal employees, Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) said in a press release.

“This is a huge victory for these organizations who can now get back to work improving their communities. While defendants have announced their intent to appeal this ruling, SELC’s team is energized and ready to continue this fight all the way to the Supreme Court until all the grants represented in our case are restored once and for all,” said Kym Meyer, SELC’s litigation director, in the press release.

And:

BREAKING: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Department of Education and ordered the administration to reinstate employees fired in a mass termination. This can't happen without cnogressional approval, she ruled. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T14:45:03.841Z

And make sure, if you can, you go to or you somehow find a way to support the 6/14 No Kings protests:

Washington, D.C. — Today [May 5], Indivisible and a coalition of pro-democracy partner organizations announced the NO KINGS Nationwide Day of Defiance on Flag Day (June 14). The actions are set to take place during Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., on June 14. Instead of allowing this military parade to be the center of gravity, activists will make action everywhere else the story of America that day.

💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣

Casey DeSantis’ charity under investigation Tallahassee Democrat

The battle over Hope Florida, a project spearheaded by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, kicked into a new gear with news that a criminal investigation may have been opened into a $10 million "donation" from a Medicaid settlement that was then sent to a political committee to fight a constitutional amendment that her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, didn't like.

“Based on what?” DeSantis said May 20 after a reporter asked about the probe, which was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau.

“Everything that’s been thrown at (Hope Florida) is pure politics,” DeSantis said. “I believe in this program deeply and stand by it 100%.”

🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚

NH lawmaker takes on Avelo Airlines Kaysa Jalbert, 13 WGME

A New Hampshire lawmaker is fighting back against ‘Avelo Airlines’ after they signed a deal with ICE to fly deportation flights.

According to Seacoast online, New Hampshire state Rep. Seth Miller D-Dover launched a boycott campaign against the airline and raised about $6,000 dollars to have two billboards put up in New Haven, Connecticut.

The billboards message reads "does your vacation support their deportation? Just say avel-no!" Seacoast online reports the airline sent Miller a cease-and-desist letter, alleging trademark and copyright infringement, leading to the removal of the billboards.

Democrats were not in a position to stop the damned bill. But they spoke up, over and over, and pointed out how the vote in the middle of the night shows the GOP has a lot to hide Ben Blanchett, Huff Post via Yahoo News

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) on Monday called out House Republicans for scheduling an upcoming meeting in the wee hours of the morning to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“If Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ is so great, why not debate it when people are still awake? Wouldn’t you want everyone to know how great it is?” asked McGovern, ranking member of the House rules committee.

“Why are you debating it at 1 o’clock in the morning? I think that’s prime time in Guam.”

Again, overperformance by team blue in a special election!

Last night, Sam Sutton, a Democrat, flipped a Trump +55(!) state senate seat in a NY special election by 33.9 points!!!
— The Get More Smarter Podcast (@getmoresmarter.com) 2025-05-22T00:43:01.063Z

Note this is not technically a flip as this seat was held by a D, but that D was off working with Rs. More on the election: Jared Gans, The Hill

Sutton, a businessman who has led a nonprofit for years, defeated Republican Nachman Caller, an attorney who previously ran for state Assembly a decade ago. His win keeps the seat in Democratic hands after the resignation of former state Sen. Simcha Felder, who resigned from his position last month to take a seat on the New York City Council.

The result seemed uncertain as Felder is a conservative Democrat who previously caucused with the state GOP conference for years. Felder repeatedly ran unopposed on the party line for the Democratic and Republican parties.

State Senate District 22 encompasses a part of Brooklyn that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in the November presidential election.

But the district includes a heavily Orthodox Jewish area. Sutton has close ties to the Sephardic community as a co-leader of the Sephardic Community Federation.

Now, this was a low-turnout election in a district with unusual demographics. We can’t say for sure that this indicates what will happen in other parts of the country. But it sure beats going the other way!

💜 Unity?💜

One thing we have seen:

Starting to wonder if we took one for global civic democracy. Electing Trump basically seems to have knee-capped every revanchist far-right candidate in the world. You're welcome, world.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) 2025-05-18T21:03:26.775Z

Note that although we are making a big difference in some places, others — Portugal and Poland, for example — are not secure.

But this is good:

Great to see this. "The European Union will donate 5.5 million euros ($6.2 million) to support Radio Free Europe following a freeze on U.S. federal grants to the media outlet by the Trump administration, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said."
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) 2025-05-20T21:15:28.464Z

Romania! People here surely know that Romania, despite earlier predictions, went with the non tRumpy candidate in their election last Sunday. Here’s some information on him. Anjali Thakur, NDTV world

Romania has elected mathematician-turned-politician Nicusor Dan as its new president, delivering a clear victory over hard-right nationalist George Simion in a high-stakes runoff election. The 55-year-old secured 54% of the vote, according to AFP, in what is being seen as a strong endorsement of Romania's pro-European Union trajectory and a rejection of far-right, isolationist politics.

Dan, currently serving as the Mayor of Bucharest, is no stranger to success. Long before he entered politics, he was recognised as a math prodigy, winning two consecutive gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1987 and 1988.

Notably, he achieved a perfect score of 42 both years, a feat that placed him among the world's top young mathematicians at the time.

Following his Olympiad triumphs, Dan studied mathematics at the University of Bucharest before pursuing advanced degrees in France.

As a mathematician, I LOVE this.

Also, look at this: About Leo XIV, the new pope, from Wikipedia:

In 1973, Prevost was going to attend Tolentine College, an Augustinian seminary in Olympia Fields, Illinois,^[32] but it closed that same year.^[31] He promptly enrolled in Villanova University, an Augustinian college located near Philadelphia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in mathematics in 1977. ✂️

He returned to his father's native Hyde Park to obtain a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and taught physics and math at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago's Wrightwood neighborhood during his studies

I think — and of course I am biased in this opinion — people who truly love math tend to love actual facts. You know, truth. And Leo is showing love as well:

And:

For much of my adult life, I have had trouble tolerating Christians, because of the terrible hypocrisy, the racism, the misogyny and the televangelists and the terrible scandals. Like Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” It is so good to see Pope Leo XIV going against the cruelty of kings.

Also, the first world leader Leo XIV met with was Zelenskyy. Cool.

tRump has gotten the UK and Europe to work on resolving their differences Bmnnews.com

Nearly a decade after the United Kingdom (U.K.) voted to leave the European Union (EU) under Brexit and amid shifting relations with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, Britain and the EU significantly bolstered their trade and defense partnership on Monday.

In what is the largest deal the bloc and the U.K. have agreed to since the controversial Brexit vote in 2016, the two economic powerhouses agreed to increase defense ties and slash red tape, making it not only easier for U.K. food and visitors to access the continent, but also granting fishing rights to EU vessels off of Britian’s coastline.

The agreements have been described as a “reset” and championed by U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who opposed Brexit, and EU leader, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said, “At a time of global instability, and when our continent faces the greatest threat it has for generations, we in Europe stick together.”

Note this is a real trade deal, not the nonsense tRump has been spouting.

📥Actions You Can Take 📤

Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying?

Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are),you can support and contact these organizations:

ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union

Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.

Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams

🌱Grass roots. Join with local communities to make a difference. It could be your local Dems. It could be your school board or your library. Reach out to people. We all need each other these days.

🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help.

👎 Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.

🐍Schadenfreude 😈

Target bows to tRump, sales fall because ETTD

Rick Wilson compares Elon Musk to roadkill, because of the law ETTD

If I’m remembered for nothing else—and there’s a nonzero chance I won’t be—it will be for a single ironclad political law that holds across time, space, and every variable in politics: Everything Trump touches dies.

What started as shorthand for the emotional, legal, and reputational annihilation of Trump’s cronies has metastasized into something bigger and bleaker. It now includes America’s global influence, our economy, our system of government, our rule of law, and the increasingly fragile scaffolding of liberty itself. Even Trump’s most obsequious sycophants—especially them—eventually get the knife. Some in public, many in private. Most don’t even realize they’ve been iced out until they wake up to a New York Times headline about Trump “losing faith” in them. (It’s usually the Times because, yes, he secretly loves the mainstream media.)

And now, the latest name added to the long, sad ledger of MAGA roadkill is none other than former Co-President and Viceroy of DOGE: Elon Musk.

Remember Elon just a few short months ago? He wasn’t just powerful—he was the power behind the throne. The real Prime Minister of the United States. The Lord Regent of Dark Elite Ultra Gothic Hyper Cyber MAGA governance. He had Trump on speed dial, could make senators grovel with a tweet, and walked the White House halls like he owned the place.

The big problem is that tRump’s currently touching the country, so we will continue to suffer from that.

And, because this is Schadenfreude, and a second helping tastes even better, here’s more on How Trump Killed Tesla Jonathan V Last The Bulwark

How much does it cost to drive a Cybertruck?

The base sticker price for Tesla’s electric truck is $70,000,1 but that’s not the real cost. The real cost is the depreciation.2 When you go to trade in your Cybertruck, how much is it worth?

We have some answers. But before we get to the math, let’s go big-picture: Why should we care about the depreciation on a Tesla?

Because it’s part of a counterrevolution. ✂️

The anti-Tesla movement is one of the most successful cases of social coordination in American history. In the span of six months the Tesla brand has been made radioactive.

This isn’t a subjective view. You can see it in the data.

UK and Europe target Russia with sanctions after failed tRump-putin call Peter Beaumont and Pjotr Sauer, The Guardian

The UK and Europe have announced major sanctions against Russia as it became clear that Monday’s call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had failed to deliver any meaningful concessions from Moscow.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Tuesday accused Russia of “trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation” as Putin declined to support the US-proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire already agreed to by Ukraine.

The UK said its sanctions would target dozens of entities “supporting Russia’s military machine, energy exports and information war, as well as financial institutions helping to fund Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”.

“Putin has so far not put in place the full, unconditional ceasefire that President Trump has called for, and which President Zelenskyy endorsed over two months ago,” the Foreign Office said.

📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️

This week we’re honoring Media Matters, a group that has been monitoring and correcting the right-wing misinformation machine since 2004.

Media Matters for America is a web-based, not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation - news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda - every day, in real time.

Using the website mediamatters.org as the principal vehicle for disseminating research and information, Media Matters posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.

Media Matters was founded by David Brock, formerly conservative, when he did great damage to the country by challenging Anita Hill and helping to saddle us with the bribe-me-with-an-RV Clarence Thomas. But when engaged to help take down the Clintons, especially Hillary, he became disgusted with his work and changed sides.

Brock is no longer listed as part of Media Matters’ leadership but they continue to do important work. I don’t have the time to monitor the RW misinformation machine, nor do I have the tolerance. But Media Matters does, and they help us push back by their investigations and corrections.

🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️

San Jose dry cleaner guy helps the unemployed Annalise Freimarck San Jose Spotlight

When Ali Shirkhodaei immigrated to the United States from Iran at 28 in 2006, he didn’t know how difficult it’d be to get a job, even with his molecular biology degree. He job hunted for a year, with no idea he’d eventually run a successful dry-cleaning business in Campbell. Shirkhodaei did know he wanted to infuse his career with acts of kindness, no matter how small, and bring the spirit of Tehran’s city streets with him.

One of Shirkhodaei’s newest services at family-owned Lux Cleaners & Alterations does just that. He provides free, speedy outfit cleanings to any unemployed customer heading to a job interview — no questions asked, no limit. About five to 10 customers use the service a week.

“I think it will definitely give them some hope that the community they live in (cares) about them,” he told San José Spotlight. “It’s not about just getting, it’s about giving. That’s the part that brings all of us joy.”

Shirkhodaei first thought of the unique idea a few months ago after talking with other dry cleaners across the country who wanted to help their communities during tough economic times. He knows high-tech workers caught in the swell of Silicon Valley’s mass layoffs at companies like Google, Meta and Microsoft. He understands how difficult it is to be unemployed and wants to give back to the community that’s supported him since his business started in 2010.

📎Odds & Ends 📎

More than 1 in 4 cars sold in 2025 expected to be EV Paige Bennett, EcoWatch

According to the Global EV Outlook 2025 report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), 2025 is set to be big for EV sales. The report predicts that about one in four cars sold worldwide this year will be electric, despite overall market uncertainties.

In total, the agency has anticipated that more than 20 million EVs will be sold globally in 2025.

Based on the report findings, IEA reported that the EV market share is on track to pass 40% of all car sales by the end of the decade.

“This year, we expect more than one in four cars sold worldwide to be electric, with growth accelerating in many emerging economies,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. “By the end of this decade, it is set to be more than two in five cars as EVs become increasingly affordable.”

Let’s just make sure they’re not Teslas!

Hero saves women and their purses:

In Pennsylvania, a flash flood nearly swallowed this car with two women still inside. That’s when Ethan dove into the rushing water, pulled them out one by one, and carried them to safety. Then, he went back… for their purses. #hero ❤️
— Goodable - Good News Just For You! (@goodable.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T15:48:06.665Z

China’s CO2 emissions drop, possible peak Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch

For the first time, a surge in China’s renewable energy output has led to a drop in the country’s carbon emissions, despite rapidly increasing power demand.

The emissions decline marks a major milestone in China’s energy transition, according to an analysis by Lauri Myllivirta, lead analyst and co-founder of the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in Finland, published by Carbon Brief.

“Growth in clean power generation has now overtaken the current and long-term average growth in electricity demand, pushing down fossil fuel use,” Myllyvirta wrote in the report. “The current drop is the first time that the main driver is growth in clean power generation.”

The report said China’s total power demand rose 2.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, while thermal power generation — mostly from coal and gas — fell by 4.7 percent.

🐦 I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings: Messing with the Myths — two books so far in this series. Older offerings: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction (Hunters of the Feather). Mysteries based on Jane Austen’s novels, such as The Meryton Murders. Others based on history and Greek mythology, e.g., Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus. All titles also available through Kindle Unlimited. Want to support me but not interested in my books? Buy one and donate to a library.

**💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy** 💙

It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time.

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.

Current projects:

Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters

And Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny Lessons:

(1) Do Not Obey in Advance; (2) Defend Institutions; (3) Beware the One-Party System; (4) Take Responsibility for the Face of the World; (5) Remember Professional Ethics; (6) Be Wary of Paramilitaries; (7) Be Reflective if You Must Own a Gun; (8) Stand Out (this means, speak up, even when others do not); (9) Be Kind to Our Language; (10) Believe in Truth; (11) Investigate; (12) Make Eye Contact and Small Talk; (13) Practice Corporeal Politics; (14) Establish a Private Life; (15) Contribute to Good Causes; (16) Learn from Peers in Other Countries; (17) Listen for Dangerous Words; (18) Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives; (19) Be a Patriot; (20) Be as Courageous as You Can.

🌻

💙 President Joseph R. Biden: “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.”

💙 Sir Winston Churchill: When you’re going through hell, keep going.

🌹 🌹 🌹

TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.

Thursday GNR: The Cruelty/Stupidity/Hypocrisy/Insanity is the Point

Mokurai

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 22, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/22 · 04:00

Lotus flower and leaves emerging from dirty water

Republicans have long been mired in chaos and confusion, but now outright civil war has broken out among them. I am not going to attempt to give you all the details.

But I will give you some of what happened yesterday morning from 1 AM onward as the House Rules Committee debated the Big Beautiful Bustup, aka the Big Bad Bogus Billionaires Bill, with Democrats on the Committee calling out the Rs’ lawless cruelty, stupidity, hypocrisy, and insanity at every turn. That process took all day, with floor votes in the House again occurring in the dead of night this morning.

This is not the full catastrophe for them. This is just a few Republicans complaining that they have gone way too far, while others, notably Chip Roy, complain that they haven’t gone anything like way too far enough. It’s going to get much worse for them before this is over.

The final vote was scheduled as a five-minute vote at 6:55 Eastern. The final result was 215-214 at 6:55, passing the bill by the narrowest possible margin. Now we go on to the Senate.

Rabidly Repellent Republicans Rushing to Ruin/Bad News for Them

The latest disaster is the House Rules Committee debate on the Big Bad Bogus Billionaires Bill, which started yesterday at 1 AM, and continued until , mostly with the execrable Rep. Virginia Foxx presiding.

I can’t list all of the issues on which this bill proposes disastrous policies and demonizes regular people, nor the arguments Democrats made against them. All of them get reported on with great frequency. Similarly for the amendments offered by Democrats, which won’t make the news so much because they won’t go anywhere.

Let’s just consider some of the consequences.

Increasing the national debt by 4 terabucks/$4,000,000,000,000
How much $$Real Money$$^TM each and every item in the bill will cost
Not content with cutting $880 billion from Medicaid, they now want to cut $500 billion from Medicare, contrary to constant promises not to
The polling disasters for Rs on every issue
How many lives will be lost from cutting Medicaid and destroying research
How many ultra-Red states will go bankrupt without FEMA during hurricane and tornado season

See also my post from yesterday, Diabetes News: The Cruelty is the Point

And also yesterday, the maladministration sent a group of convicts to South Sudan, where there is a long-running and brutal civil war, in defiance of a 9-0 Supreme Court decision. These people have served sentences in US prisons, and are under deportation orders, but the courts do not allow them to be sent to unrelated third countries.

However, the bond market is coming to our rescue, as international borrowers pull back and rates on 20-year Treasury bonds rise sharply. This development is much more powerful than fears of inflation and recession.

WineRev

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 21, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/21 · 04:00

Image: In the foreground, a hand holds the stem of a wine glass, slightly tipping the rose wine within. We see through the glass the horizon and a host of golden sunflowers in a green field under a blue sky. Tags tipped WineRev Good News Roundups GNR — "God has given wine to gladden the hearts of people." Psalm 104

Welcome to Wednesday all ye seekers and arrivers! You have come to the right place! This is DailyKos, the Great Orange Presence on the Internet, and for years has supported the color Orange. In these days of Putrid Orange, you should not confuse the 2. And this corner of the DailyKos is the Good News Round Up: items, stories, bits of Good News for the living of these days, the comfort of souls, and a source of info to fight the good fight.

I am your once-a-month host, WineRev, coming to you on this 3rd Wednesday. A big week for me personally: this weekend I don the mantle (NOT the shelf over the fireplace; spelling counts!) and for the only time in my life I am honored with the title of Father of the Bride. WineRev-ette and Fernando are getting married on 52525 (5/25/25, ………….so that in later years Fernando won’t have much trouble remembering to get anniversary gifts.)

But please, have a sit in whatever sofa, recliner, wingback or rocker seems best to you in your quarters. Here there will be things to read, rec, link, comment, reply to, digress from, and digress from the digression of the digression, and even some moments of chuckles (which we all need these days). Chip in too, it makes this place worth visiting. Your thoughts, reactions and reflections? Somebody here needs just what you have to offer. Coffee, tea, mocha-cocoa or mimosas are ALWAYS in Good Taste at the Good News, and breakfast foods can be munched along with your reading. Please….get comfortable!

Oh, and as is my custom as curator of the History Corner, you will find historical moments of May 21sts from centuries past. Those days and those moments offer a fresh take and some useful pondering on the living of OUR days.

Good News in Society and Politics

>>>>>>>» In the living of these days we are dealing with politics grinding on society (and we look forward to the day when certain politicians will feel the grinding of society on politics.) We have seen the Dumb but Dangerous trying to create new Dumbs. Part of that effort has been to attack libraries, those fine places of repose where people READ, and consider, and research, and pause while reading literature because their minds have heard something, or their hearts have been moved.

But now comes a GOOD NEWS STORY that a federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the DOGE crew of Dumb Creation to stop attacking the IMLS. This is a federal body, the Institute of Museums and Library Services, that backstops and supports museums and libraries. (Myself I look forward to endless cheering when such a judge or judges declares some low-level, mid-level, or even high-level Project2025ers to be in contempt of court and sends the bailiff to drag a list of them for a 30-day stay in a 6x8 cell with “protein loaf” for dinner 3 days a week.)

>>>>>>» Mexico is NOT giving up its dignity or its Gulf to the winds wafting from the rear of Merde-a-Lago. Mexico also stood with Canada in the first Gale of Tariffs and earned a 90-day reprieve. Now last summer Mexico election Claudia Sheinbaum became the first Woman, and (in strongly Roman Catholic Mexico) the first Jewish President. (Both puts them up 2 on the U.S.) Of course she didn’t do it alone, but as the nominee of the “National Regeneration Movement” (MORENA—Spanish acronym).

Now we are going to need a good bit of National Regeneration on this side of the Rio Grande, and the sooner the better. We should take all the help we can get to defend our nation, strengthen the opposition, and attract voters to our cause. THIS THOUGHTFUL ARTICLE could be required reading for Democrats far and wide as something of a playbook of ideas of how to nationally regenerate The Comeback.

>>>>» May 21sts have made a stellar contribution to politics and how society should function:

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
Plato

427 BCE (A three-digit, BCE date! Although the year is a bit shaky; a best guess from a range of 429 to 423 BCE; the month and day seem firmer.) Athens (or maybe the Island of Aegina), Greece (Impressive May 21 Birthday #1) Birth of Plato, philosopher. Author of ‘The Republic’ to this day an idealized vision of such a nation; has served as guide and touchstone for centuries. Also the Parable of the Cave, and two (long-winded) dialogues: ‘Critias’ and ‘Timaeus.’ In this latter he wrote of (and possibly created) the legend of Atlantis. (Plato claimed an Egyptian priest had told of Atlantis to the Athenian hero Solon, and Plato said he had read of it in Solon’s memoirs.) Alongside Socrates and Aristotle as a key figure in Western thought and civilization.

1881 Geneva, Switzerland. The Red Cross was founded in this city about 20 years before. The idea of caring for the wounded and sick in time of war, regardless of uniform (or even civilians) gains ground year after year, nation by nation. After a long, nationwide campaign, Nurse Clara Barton, files the appropriate papers with Geneva and this day founds the American Red Cross. Barton became its first president. In Geneva the Powers that Were pointed out that other national Red Cross bodies were each headed up by a MAN. Clara Barton, her supporters and even politicians could write letters by the bushel to Geneva, and after some grumbling about “a woman’s place” they voted to admit the feisty Americans to the Red Cross club.

1980 New London, Connecticut A smaller city but intensely proud of being the home of the Coast Guard Academy. But on this day, another moment of pride: Ensign Jean Marie Butler becomes the first woman to graduate from a U.S. service academy (beating out those other snooty military academies. West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs to graduate a “first woman”, although they each had women among their cadets.)

As Rod Serling used to say on “Twilight Zone”:

“Submitted for your consideration.”

And now, for a story that fits kinda here, between the Society section (from above) and the Science/Reason section (coming up next.)

There has long been tension between Faith and Science/Reason, and Faith got out to an early and LONG lead. Only in the last 5 or 6 centuries has Science made headway to make for a far more modern world. The 2 sides have had hard moments: the Pope imprisoned DaVinci. The skeptics have decried the Faith in all sorts of forms as superstitious or even delusional.

But lately….there have been some moments of mutuality. In a set of hills in Northern Ireland the legends were told that in Druid times a certain area here was for the healing of the sick. The ailing came (or were carried) to this little valley and kept on the dirt floors of little huts, attended by the “healers” that lived there. Folklore says many did recover, but skeptics had a strong case of both lack of evidence and the possible “placebo effect.”

But then, in the last 10 years, a team of microbiologists (University of Swansea, Wales) took soil samples from the archeological site to their laboratory. In the dirt they found certain unusual compounds from the minerals etc. that washed down into that valley, and these were deadly…..to bacteria. Breathing in dust like this could have therapeutic impact. Even more, the compounds seem to work against the current “SuperBugs”, bacteria that have evolved immunity against current antibiotics.

In something of a similar development, across many religions there have long been stories of people and/or beings that have “auras” around them, and certain people claim the ability to see these, which show spiritual, emotional and physical states. Skeptics have often dismissed these out of hand, rightly pointing out no equipment, old or modern, has detected these, so no evidence leaves the answer to superstition or delusion.

Yet now comes THIS STORY from last week from a physics journal that has scientists detecting a faint “light” around every living thing…..a light that goes out when the thing dies. Hmmmmm….(and the old story is told of the Religious sitting on a mountain top when a hand appears on the rim from below. A scientist heaves herself onto the summit and bursts out, “I made IT. It is proven.” The religious folks smile softly and offer to shake hands, while someone asks quietly, “What took you so long?”)

Submitted for your consideration….

Good News in Science, Engineering and Technology

>>>>>>>>> Erie, Pennsylvania is a manufacturing town, but of a more unusual type. It is the US city that builds Locomotives. Now these started out burning logs or mostly coal for 70 years. As the automotive age came in, combustion engines got better and diesels, with higher torque (and so better for heavy loads) were invented. Now Erie still builds diesel and diesel-electric locomotives, but the fossil fuel age is fading. In a welcome development, it looks like the LABOR UNIONS are pressuring management to not only keep everyone working, but also to fully embrace THE GREEN RAIL movement. Every little bit counts!

>>>>>>» In the Internet age it seems like everyone carries the Internet in their smart phone. (Not me. Proud to be a Luddite that uses a phone for…..talking.) One reason libraries are under siege in some ways is just this ubiquity. “Just google it!” “Go on line!” And it is also true that the younger the fingers poking the screen, the more savvy they tend to be.

But there have been protests against this. The European equivalent of our AMA has recommended banning children under 12 using smart phones, especially playing on them. Those flashing pixels and over-bearing algorithms appear to have a PERMANENT (and NOT positive) structural effect on young and maturing brains. Now comes word that even among the teenaged that the Internet ain’t all its cracked up to breathlessly be. A scientific survey (IN THIS GUARDIAN ARTICLE) reveals that almost HALF of teens wish for a world WITHOUT Internet. 70% feel worse after a session on the pixels.

>>>>>>» We are grateful for all those blessed brainy people out there who, over the years, have imagined, designed, built, improved and passed on all sorts of the fruits of their thinking. On May 21sts, there have been some moments as well:

Everyone wants a bicycle helmet like that, right? Oh, and at the back, someone is finding out the “laid back” stance on a ‘swift walker’ has….issues…..

1819 New York City. Like SageHagRN and me and many Gnusies like you and your neighbors and families, I like to put on the snug shorts, some padded gloves, an aerodynamic helmet, and crank away on the pedals of my bike. I’ve done it a long time (in my teens in Ohio I did the TOSRV, a 2-day bike trip from Columbus to Portsmouth, Ohio along the Scioto River Valley, 210 miles round trip.) So today is a cool date. 206 years ago this day this city sees the first appearance in the US of French ‘swift walkers’ (also, ‘long-steppers’) a two-wheel wooden affair, with a beam connecting them for sitting (gingerly and sporadically) and a handlebar connected to the front wheel for turns. You rather paddled your toes against the pavement while the wheels rolled, so you could cover some ground. (Then you also dragged your shoes on the same pavement for stopping.) (Rubber tires, a saddle, metal frames, chains, gears and brakes all came later…...and now, very lately, E-bikes!)

Step right in to the Flying Hupmobile!
Find yourself a seat and leave the driving to us!

1914 Alice, Minnesota (NOT a girl’s name, but certainly Up North) Swedish immigrant Carl Eric Wickman knows a lot of the local guys are iron miners who make decent money. Wickman gets hold of a 7 passenger Hupmobile (!), learns to drive and on this day starts charging iron ore miners 15 cents as passengers each way from Alice (a little town north of Hibbing) to Hibbing so they can get to work. (Hibbing, site of the world’s largest iron mine.) He is a success and turns a profit.

Two years later Wickman expands and starts driving between Hibbing and Duluth (and when you make it to Duluth, you KNOW this story is going to end well!) He and two partners keep buying up control of little inter-city transports systems, going regional and finally in the mid-1920’s, national. In 1929 they adopt the system name of the Greyhound Bus Co, eventually the world’s largest surface transport passenger company.

“’Kathy,’” I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh…..”

You KNOW you want to hear it for the first time in a long time; join in and sing along….

YouTube Video

Sahkarov, scientific genius
in a plaid jacket

1921 Moscow, USSR (Impressive May 21 Birthday #2) Birth of Andrei Sakharov, nuclear physicist, activist. His theories advanced atomic energy and led directly to the Soviet Union’s development of the hydrogen bomb. But, despite being caught in a deadly and dangerous system, he also contributed to current understandings of cosmology and the universe. Sakharov was among, if not the, first to propose the idea of proton decay. He offered several ideas of sub-atomic parity and time reversal in the proto-universe (that is, what there was BEFORE the Big Bang (of physics, not TV). His intellect and prestige were so exceptional he was able to act as a political dissident to the Soviet regime from within. He advocated so forcefully and persistently for mutual understanding and peace between (especially nuclear) nations that he was awarded the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize. (A worthy compatriot to the earlier May 21st birthdays, and one in our time…..whew!)

_______________________________

About a year ago I posted profiles of 2 American First Ladies. Readers liked them, so they’ve been appearing regularly here.

Many times they have been rather obscure as their husbands or historical events have left them obscure. Now we have a President who is obscure, so the First Lady is doubly so. CAUTION: Sarah Polk was a woman of her times, and there were things about her that most of us find rather too MAGA. Comes with History.

Meet First Lady

Sarah Whitsett Childress Polk

Sarah, named after her maternal grandmother (Sarah Thompson Whitsett) was the 3rd of 6 children, was born September 4, 1803 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Her family (parents Joel and Elizabeth) were wealthy plantation owners just outside Murfreesboro, with cash crops and extra land, and a number of slaves to keep things running. The family were Presbyterian (a bit unusual for the Methodist and/or Baptist South) but the Childresses held to a strict form of the denomination, with a sharp, plain observance of Sundays as a day of rest in all ways. (“Sabbatarian” practices—-holding the Sabbath.) It was a form of the Faith Sarah embraced and practiced her whole life.

Sarah had 5 years in the “Common School” in town, then 2 years with a private tutor. Next came a year at a “girl’s finishing school” in Nashville. The “finishing” had required courses in piano, sewing/embroidery, dancing and social manners. (At a few of these social events teenaged Sarah became acquainted with the 40-ish Andrew Jackson, and they kept up a long relationship for decades.) Finally, she attended 2 years at the Moravian Friends Academy in Salem, North Carolina. The course work here was English, Bible study, Greek and Roman literature and geography, and Sarah developed a life long appetite for reading and learning to improve herself.

Vertical curls on a woman were the height of 1820’s hair fashion, as on display here on Sarah Polk.

The death of her father brought her back to the Tennessee family mansion. About 4 years later she married a lawyer, 8 years older than herself, who was a member of the Tennessee legislature. James Polk was already a rising star on the state political scene, so he was considered something of a “catch” for Sarah.

The Polks had no children of their own, but James’ father had died recently, and they adopted and raised the two youngest of Polk’s brothers. While lovingly meant, things did not go well. Sam Polk was a sickly teen becoming a man and had to travel extensively seeking medical treatment for a host of ailments. Worse, the other brother, William was quite rebellious and finally struck out on his own—-and came to a bad end. He was eventually caught, charged and convicted of murder.

In the late 1820s Andrew Jackson’s election carried a wave of Democrats into Congress with him, including James Polk. Sarah stayed in Tennessee with the boys (and a couple of slave women who helped with mothering.) Sarah had time and inclination (carrying out her view of a wife being supportive of her husband) to provide James with a steady stream of frequent letters, clippings from newspapers, and articles from journals, from all across Tennessee to keep him plugged in to developments there.

After a year of separation James asked her to come to DC and join her. They lived in a boarding house, just the 2 of them (while the boys had their substitute parenting). As she was a young (30ish), well informed woman UN-confined to home duties, she hobnobbed all around the Capital. As earlier by letter, so here she kept her ears open and fed James a steady stream of news, stories (and some gossip) about all sorts of other politicians, giving James good insights….a classic “power couple.”

This paid off handsomely. During Andrew Jackson’s second term (and THAT relation had a lot of traffic) Polk was elected Speaker of the House. Not only did the the 3 Tennesseans (Jackson, although born and raised in the Carolinas, had become a national figure when calling Tennessee his home) have much to talk about politically, Jackson and the Polks became close friends. When Jackson ended his 2nd term and retired to Tennessee, the Polks went with him as Jackson slowly wound through towns and cities being received as a war hero (of 1812) and the first “Western” President. Those cheering crowds noted the Polks basking in the glow of his fame.

Soon after Polk ran for and won the Governorship of Tennessee, but was defeated after only 1 (2-year) term. By this time the Polks were aiming for the White House, and both of them were outspoken in supporting US expansionism, the hot topic of the day. The Jackson Fame reflecting upon them (and Sarah’s efforts) got him the nomination in 1844. Sarah functioned as the campaign manager, (although out of public view). She handled all of their correspondence and Sarah industriously wrote editors of newspapers across the country, enclosing clippings of Polk from other papers. (In those days, people did NOT “run” for President. Rather, from home, a candidate received visitors as he “stood” for office.) Their efforts paid off and Polk won. In February they travelled to Washington and Sarah (with a growing interest in things inventive and “modern”) convinced her husband to travel by stage coach AND steamboat AND train to lend dignity and a certain cachet to these technical advances.

There was strong public interest in the First Lady; although Jackson had been a “Westerner” he had served 2 terms mostly as a widower. Now came Sarah Polk….and the public did not know what to make of her. She did not attend horse races in the city (a common past time among the Southern upper crust) and forbade dancing at the White House. There were no concerts on the White House lawn and no business whatsoever allowed by Sarah on Sundays at the White House. (Famously (?), early in the term, the Austrian Ambassador called at the White House to Present his Credentials (still a big deal in diplomatic circles.) Sarah sent a butler to turn him away; he had come on a Sunday, and “ordinary” Presidential business could wait for a week-day.)

There were formal dinners from time to time in the Polk White House, but guests noticed that no beer or spirits were served or offered. The dinners themselves only featured wine….and neither Polk was ever seen to even have any in their glass. These dinners took place by the light of cutting edge, indoor lighting: oil lamps. Sarah oversaw the conversion of every room in the mansion save one from candles to oil.

(In those days such dinners and events were paid for by the President out of his own pocket. Sarah did not like the costs, and soon laid off 10 White House Staffers and replaced them with house slaves she had shipped in from home in Tennessee. She had the White House basement remodeled so they would have living quarters.)

Sarah very much functioned as Polk’s Chief of Staff, deciding on her own who could and who could not see the President (and often, for how long.) This caused grousing from many (like the Vice President), but Sarah kept her post. She handled nearly all the Presidential correspondence, and, since Polk did NOT like public events….or his Cabinet (which he only convened rarely, or even consulted individually), the First Lady was his confidante and almost the sole channel for news and advice.

During the Polk years the Mexican War, provoked by the US, ignited. Sarah and James were squarely in the “manifest destiny” camp, with Sarah going as far as letting it be known publicly she believed the expansion of the US to the Pacific was ordained by God. (In other reported conversations, the First Lady also opined that God had ordained husbands over their wives, whites over any other races, and set the United States to become a world power---of which the expansion over Mexico was the first step…..sigh.) Although the Seneca Falls Convention for women’s rights (like the right to vote) was during their watch, Sarah tried to ignore these “radical ideas” as unhealthy to democracy and undermining religious homes.

After the Civil War, Sarah Polk made a rare public appearance and allowed this photograph

Polk was defeated for re-election and the couple returned to Tennessee, where they purchased a house they called “Polk Place.” Only 3 months later the ex-President died in a cholera outbreak. Sarah arranged for his tomb to be in their front yard. For the next 40+ years she invariably called her home “Polk Place” and always signed her letters (including family and friends) as “Mrs. James K. Polk.”

She lived on her own for decades, and twice had Presidential visits: Rutherford and Lucy Hayes called on her in the late 1870s, as did President Cleveland and First Lady Frances in the 1880s. Very long-lived, she died quietly in 1891.

Good News in Music, Art, Literature and Fun

>>>>>>>>> SageHagRN and I, just like many of you and your fellow Gnusies, have done a lot of bike -riding together and enjoyed ourselves pushing the pedals. (The Twin Cities have had an excellent and still growing network of bike trails and lanes.) But we will stand and cheer for the Two Wheel Do-Gooders of Chicago. THIS STORY runs down a 25-year story STILL going on: rescuing and restoring bikes of all kinds….. 150,000 of them NOT sent into landfills. And you can volunteer even if you don’t know the first thing about bikes or tools; they will teach you! YAY!

>>>>>>> For living, as a human being, music, the arts, literature all make for a rich life. That theme that stirs you, that canvas or sculpture that takes your breath away and leaves you staring, reading along and putting your finger in the book to hold your place as you stare off for a long think…..we all need them. And by good fortune, May 21sts have showed the other 364/5 days how rich this can get.

(Age 31) Durer’s “Young Hare” watercolor (!) just invites you to
pet the soft fur right through your pixels

1471 Nuremburg, Germany (Impressive May 21 Birthday #3) Birth of Albrecht Durer, painter/print maker. Third oldest of 18 (!) children, Albrecht’s grandfather (with Hungarian roots) was a goldsmith an early and successful printer, owning 24 presses. In the 1490s grandad printed the Nuremburg Chronicle, a 336-page volume of the history of the world in both German and Latin, complete with a stunning 1800 woodcut illustrations. Albrecht apparently helped with these and got good at it, very good. He had the chance to study in Italy, learned portraiture as well as print-making. Gained renown as a painter and his engravings (reproduced as prints; a first). Also pioneered painting by watercolor. For composition and delicacy, Durer set new standards for excellence.

1671 Siena, Italy Birth of Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia, composer. (Saying his name out loud makes me giggle.) Very little known about his life but born into a wealthy family that could afford him music lessons for the organ and he learned to compose for it as well. Mostly made Pisa his home, but had stretches when he lived in Florence and in Rome. Several of his sonatas are still recalled, along with some sacred music and several vocal pieces. Unusual that he not only played the organ but also learned to build organs. His example in Pisa, 60 stops and 5 manuals, still survives.

This Englishman at the keyboard gives a capsule summary of Ciaia, and then starts playing at about the 2:30 mark

YouTube Video

1688 London, UK (Impressive May 21 Birthday #4 ---as though Plato, Sahkarov and Durer, were not enough for this day….WOW!) Birth of Alexander Pope, poet. Son of a linen merchant (dad) and a lawyer’s daughter (mom) Pope was born and raised as a Catholic just as England was going hardcore Anglican. Catholic schools were closed or frowned upon, so young Alexander had a spotty education. He was also sickly much of his life, severe at times, that stunted his growth (he only grew to be 4’ 6”.)

Portrait of Alexander Pope circa 1742, Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684-1745) oil on canvas — Many deep thoughts from Alexander Pope, but at 4’ 6” at least he could save money by shopping for clothes in the Big Boys Department

When he was in his early teens the family moved out of London and his schooling ended. However, he carried on, having learned enough French, Italian, Latin, and Greek he could read many of the poets who wrote in those languages. Came to fame and a stable future when he translated Homer’s Iliad into English, to financial success. (It could be it takes a poet to translate a poet.) Followed up by translating the Odyssey and began publishing his own works. ‘Essay on Criticism’, ‘Essay on Man’, ‘Pastorals’, ‘Dunciad’ among his best. From his ‘Essay on Criticism’ penned the famous line: “ a little learning is a dangerous thing; either drink deeply from the well of knowledge or not at all.” (In my own writing and novels, I am very much in the Pope School: Revise, revise, revise. I don’t always care for it, but my writing gets better each draft.)

1904 Paris. A ball. A rectangle of grass. No touching the ball with your hands or arms. Run like mad for an hour and a half. And anybody can play, especially if you can use your feet. Much to the delight of generations of fans of the ‘Beautiful Game’ around the world, this day marks the formation of Le Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Only the Americans asked ‘what kind of football is that? Soccer?’ Yep.

And how should the Game be played? Well in this movie (“Victory” 1981) Pele (a name that still causes soccer fans to drop their voice volume by half...in hushed awe) does some dribbling of the ball with his feet that goes beyond human co-ordination. (The movie was set in Occupied France in World War II. The other team was a Nazi all-star team, and the refs were Nazis too. That’s why there were no fouling called during this amazing dribble. Pele holds his chest because he was nursing a kick to the chest…..that was not called a foul either.) And the goal at the end was not just for the movie; he scored several this way in a number of games...to the wild cheering of fans, and the amazement of every player on the field or bench…..whew!

YouTube Video

One for you, one for me. I’ll buy the first one…..Signed, WineRev...

And now comes the Good Part of this Diary: YOU! Yes, you! Now is your chance to comment, and rec or tip or both. Give a reply. Add your knowledge. Post a link. Take a tangent and run with it until it turns into a digression…..and then digress from the digression into three more tangents. This is how it should be! So get reading and get typing, and thank you for coming by.

May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.

Shalom.

Massive D overperformance in a special election! In NY!

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 21, 2025 · 1:08 AM PDT

2025/05/21 · 01:08

Again, overperformance by team blue in a special election! Note this is not technically a flip as this seat was “officially” held by a D. However, that D was so conservative that he was caucusing with Rs.

🚨NEW: Democrat Sam Sutton has won New York Senate District 22’s special election by 33 points. Trump won this seat by 55 in 2024, meaning an 88 percent over-performance for Democrats!REPOST to congratulate Senator Sutton on this impressive victory!
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@disavowtrump20.bsky.social) 2025-05-21T01:49:37.721Z

More on the election: Jared Gans, The Hill

Sutton, a businessman who has led a nonprofit for years, defeated Republican Nachman Caller, an attorney who previously ran for state Assembly a decade ago. His win keeps the seat in Democratic hands after the resignation of former state Sen. Simcha Felder, who resigned from his position last month to take a seat on the New York City Council.

The result seemed uncertain as Felder is a conservative Democrat who previously caucused with the state GOP conference for years. Felder repeatedly ran unopposed on the party line for the Democratic and Republican parties.

State Senate District 22 encompasses a part of Brooklyn that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in the November presidential election.

But the district includes a heavily Orthodox Jewish area. Sutton has close ties to the Sephardic community as a co-leader of the Sephardic Community Federation.

Maybe the voters noticed that tRump is asking for gifts from the sponsors of Hamas?

At any rate, this is a bright spot of blue in a tough week. Congratulations to Sutton, and everyone here, enjoy!

GNR Tuesday, 5-20-25: Not your normal Good News Roundup

MCUBernieFan

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 20, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/20 · 04:00

Good morning, Gnusies! Welcome to another ~~Wednesday~~ Tuesday, this Tuesday, the 20th of May, 2025. A lot’s been going on in my neck of the woods, but it’s time to sit down with a cup of coffee and a friend or two, so I hope you’ll join me in celebrating some good news.

Before we get started, though, I want to thank my fellow GNR author niftywriter for trading with me last week! Thanks so much!

Jessiestaf

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday May 19, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/19 · 04:00

Welcome back friends to the Monday Good News Roundup, that time of week where your intrepid GNR Newsroom (Myself, Killer300, Bhu, and the fine folks at the GNR Discord) bring you good news stories, music, cute animals and cartoons to start your week off right.

Now if you visit the GNR Discord, you know that some of our friends there are having a rough go of it; they are constantly seeing the bad news and the doomers, and listening every time one of the GOP opens their mouth and says how much they wish they could do awful things to us, and today they straight up asked me how I manage to cope with all of it.

And to be honest, I don’t really have a good answer for that. Like, in 2016 Trump winning destroyed me, I was wrecked emotionally. I fell into a deep depression, I was having panic attacks, For basically three whole months I was completely inconsolable.

And then eight years later, 2024 rolls around, and Trump wins again, and I am… Upset? Definitely. Annoyed? Surely? I was worrying I would fall into another deep pit of despair again but strangely it never happened. And for the life of me I can’t tell you why.

It could be that I had just gotten tougher in the eight intervening years. It could be I’ve already survived one Trump administration so I knew what to expect. It could be that the message board I frequent had put a moratorium on US politics discussion to prevent this sort of thing from happening so I was able to digest the goings on as it happened. It could just be that 2024 was a pretty shitty year for me personally altogether, Losing my apartment and other woes, so I actually had...I wont say real problems but I had more immediate problems, so politics was a secondary concern. But whatever the reason I just do not have it in me to lose my shit over this jackass anymore.

Not to say the news of Trump trying to dismantle our Government or mass deport people or talking about getting a third term isn’t alarming or worthy of concern, but at the same time I have to look at Trumps success record and shake my head.

Because to be clear, Trump is not the first shitty president we have had: I’ve said this before but other presidents have done far more damage to our democracy; Nixon, Reagan, Dubya, all of them terrible, terrible presidents and the damage they caused to us is still being felt today (Especially Reagan holy shit).

Trump is not special or different from any of them except in three regards: One, he’s utterly incapable of hiding his intentions. Like Reagan and Dubya were monsters, but they were able to at least fake being personable and likeable and charming, Trump can’t even do that. Two. We have a vast social media network giving us live updates of everything as it happens, so its way harder to ignore all the awful stuff Trump is doing whereas with Nixon or Reagan we may have missed the horrible shit they did. And Three, Trump is really, really bad at this. Like I am certain there are paths Trump could take to get what he wants, but he lacks the patience, the skill and the intelligence to do so, instead relying on Executive Orders. He just wants to pretend he’s a king and just give commands from on high. Well he’s not a king he’s a president, and he has to play by the same rules any other president does, and trying to game the system so far has not worked out well for him.

And in True GOP fashion, every time they lose they stick their hands in the pocket, kick the dirt, pout, and talk about how things would be better if they could just lock up the judges who are stopping them. Just the sourest of sour grapes.

I think the point I am making this this: Shit sucks right now, but we’ve been here before, and we will deal with it, the only way to get out is to go through it. We just have to hold on tight for four years and Trump is gone forever. I’m not saying its gonna be fun or easy, but its doable. So just buckle up gang.

Okay, lets get on with the news. But first some music: Everybody have fun tonight! Take it away Wang Chung!

YouTube Video

Library of congress turns away new MAGA bosses

Two Justice Department officials were denied access to the Library of Congress on Monday, causing a brief standoff on Capitol Hill.

The two officials—Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general, and Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior policy counsel—were seeking access to the U.S. Copyright Office but were denied entry at around 9 a.m., sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The New York Times.

The pair had brought a letter from the White House declaring that they were going to be serving in two top positions at the library under Todd Blanche’s leadership and recommendation. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, was named acting librarian of Congress by President Donald Trump on Monday—an appointment that would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Ha! I love to see this. Never resist in advance. (Also I was Binging the Librarians TV series when the election happened, so you know, don’t mess with librarians).

Palestinian student freed after ICE arrest forms support group for immigrants

A Palestinian student arrested during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship is helping launch an initiative to assist other immigrants facing deportation in Vermont on Thursday, a week after a federal judge freed him from custody.

Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, who led protests against Israel’s war in Gaza at Columbia University, spent 16 days in a state prison before a judge ordered him released on 30 April. The Trump administration has said Mahdawi should be deported because his activism threatens its foreign policy goals, but the judge ruled that he has raised a “substantial claim” that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.

As you can see, the resistance is alive and well.

Pro EU Centrists wins on Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan on Sunday won Romania’s closely watched presidential runoff against a hard-right nationalist who modeled his campaign after U.S. President Donald Trump. The victory marked a major turnaround in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West.

The race pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against Dan, the incumbent mayor of Bucharest. It was held months after the cancelation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

Good news out of Romania.

How DOGE’s plan to remake social security is backfiring

The U.S. DOGE Service arrived at the Social Security Administration this year determined to slash staff and root out what it claimed was widespread fraud and wasteful spending - a mission Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team has pursued across the government.

But as of this week, many of the major changes DOGE pushed at Social Security have been abandoned or are being reversed after proving ineffective, while others are yielding unintended consequences and badly damaging customer service and satisfaction. The problems come as the agency struggles to cope with a record surge of hundreds of thousands of retirement claims in recent months.

Good riddance, We may be stuck with Trump for at most four more years, but we need to boot Elon out of Washington yesterday.

Pedro Pascal: F**** the people that try and make you scared

The Trump administration is doing its best to scare Americans, so when powerful people call out the intimidation tactics, it matters. This time it’s Pedro Pascal, who urged Americans to “fight back” and “don’t let them win.”

Pedro Pascal used a Cannes press conference for a film with a strong anti-MAGA message to say, “F*ck the people who try to make you scared.”

Wise words to be sure.

The New Pope is latest sign that the world is rejecting Trumpism

Last week, following the death of Pope Francis, Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was named pope by his peers at the Vatican. He took the name Pope Leo XIV — widely seen as a reference to Pope Leo XIII, a pontiff remembered for his reforming spirit and for his encyclical on the rights of workers.

The new Pope Leo also shares Francis’s commitment to the rights of migrants. Like Francis, he has criticized the Trump administration in general and JD Vance in particular for their cruel anti-immigration policies.

In short, the new pope, like the old pope, does not support MAGA’s christofascist nationalism. MAGA, confronted with the fact that they do not control everything or everyone, responded in their usual fashion — by wailing and gnashing their teeth.

Yeah I’m liking the new Pope.

First court hearing on Tariffs did not go well for Trump

A federal court held the very first hearing on President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging, so-called Liberation Day tariffs on Tuesday, offering the earliest window into whether those tariffs — and potentially all of the shifting tariffs Trump has imposed since he retook office — will be struck down. The case is V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.

It is unclear how the three-judge panel that heard the case will rule, but it appears somewhat more likely than not that they will rule that the tariffs are unlawful. All three of the judges, who sit on the US Court of International Trade, appeared troubled by the Trump administration’s claim that the judiciary may not review the legality of the tariffs at all. But Jeffrey Schwab, the lawyer representing several small businesses challenging the tariffs, also faced an array of skeptical questions.

I wonder what will happen if they forbade Trump from making Tariffs. Like that has been his big power move this time around, take that away what’s he got?

Latino voters turn on Trump

A surge of support from Latino voters helped Donald Trump to win last year’s election, but new data finds that those same voters are now souring on his presidency amid his heavy-handed immigration crackdown.

A new poll from the Democratic group Equis Research, conducted in conjunction with Data for Progress, shows deep cracks in the so-called multiracial coalition the GOP hoped to build. And if the trend holds, Trump won’t just be bleeding support—he’ll be dragging down his party with him.

Among Latino voters who backed former President Joe Biden in 2020 but flipped to Trump in 2024, a staggering 64% now say Trump has gone too far with deportations and is targeting immigrants who strengthen the U.S. That’s in line with the share of overall Latino voters (66%) who think that. And only 29% of Latino voters overall agree with the idea that the pain inflicted by deportations is a “price to pay to ensure our safety.”

I’m not gonna lie I’m amazed any Latino person would EVER vote for Trump. Like you guys remember how he opened up his political career right? Calling immigrants criminals and rapists? Like does no one remember the first Trump term? (Apparently not because they ELECTED HIM AGAIN). Ah well, something something Leopards blah blah at least they are turning on him now.

💥 BREAKING: Yum! Brands shareholders voted today to reject an anti-DEI proposal, 99-1 percent. The proposal, presented by Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ, said failure to create faith-based employee resources groups (ERGs) poses risk of "discrimination." YUM! is parent co of KFC, Pizza Hut & Taco Bell
— Nancy Levine Stearns 🌎 (@nancylevinestearns.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T14:22:19.342Z

We have more power than Trump wants you to believe

Trump wants us to believe he is all-powerful. He wants us to believe that opposing him is futile or worse. He wants you to accept that there’s nothing you can do to limit his ability to harm our country and our democracy. But that simply isn’t true.

In truth, Trump is quite weak and afraid.

His greatest weakness is elections. He fears their outcome. That’s why he issued an illegal and unconstitutional executive order to try to seize control of them.

There are things every one of us can do in our daily lives to help ensure free and fair elections — and, in doing so, limit Trump’s power. Some actions are small — so small that you might dismiss them as unimportant. Don’t. Every important journey begins with a single step, and the first is no less important than the last.

Like I said, things are rough now, but don’t lose hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now for a musical break: MC 900: If I only had a brain

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Courts handed Trump a slew of defeats this week

Conservative and liberal judges across the country this week ruled against President Donald Trump in at least 11 different lawsuits challenging his administration’s immigration, elections and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The flurry of anti-Trump rulings suggests that, for now at least, the courts are mostly holding firm as a bulwark against the administration’s authoritarian power grab.

Once again, the courts are stemming the tide of Trumpism.

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Trumps Big Beautiful bill has its first big beautiful failure

Republicans on the House Budget Committee sank President Donald Trump's signature piece of legislation on Friday, with a quintet of hard-line Republicans voting it down in committee because the legislation doesn't make big enough cuts to Medicaid and food stamps.

The “One Big, Beautiful, Bill” was before the committee so that Republicans could meld together all of the other GOP committees’ portions of the legislation, a critical step before it could go before the full House for a vote.

I don’t know if I’m amused or horrified by the fact it failed because some Republicans decided it wasn’t horrible enough, but you know what sometimes you have to take the win.

Los Angeles votes for 30 dollar minimum wage

Los Angeles lawmakers have advanced a measure that would make the city home to the nation's highest minimum wage, approving a plan to raise hourly pay to $30 for tens of thousands of tourism workers by 2028, the year the city is set to host the Olympic Games.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-3 on Wednesday to approve the proposal, which applies to hotels with more than 60 rooms and businesses operating at Los Angeles International Airport.

Holy shit this is awesome. Give me some of that please.

Before you scream we are in an autocracy

Now, I have hoped against hope that I didn’t have to do something like this. However, there still are people that are just into the fact trying to say that America is an autocracy already. Let’s put this out of the way right now. If we were in an autocracy right now…we wouldn’t even have any protest going…all of our media would be as Russian media…everything we have would have been censored, and so-on. So the question I need to ask, is why are people mistaking a weak man like Trump for a strong-man? That’s a projection. We know he is weak, and he’s not intelligent, nor cunning, nor talented.

Too many of y’all, even on social media…still haven’t gotten this point yet. Trump is a coward, and would prefer if anybody else did the work for him. He is a wannabe mob boss, who has made a mess of how things are supposed to go. Also let’s keep in mind that things haven’t gone Trump, or the GOP’s way at all. If anything much of their wish list hasn’t been able to come to fruition. Also keep in mind that they made angry the wrong people.

This is an article that has kept a friend of mine on discord going through the hard times. Hope it helps you too.

Bill Gates to give away 200 Billion by 2045

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder speeds up donation plan

Gates says his foundation will spend around $200 billion by 2045

Foundation has already given away $100 billion

Urges governments, wealthy people to help world's poor

Bill Gates is kind of alright. See this is what tech Bro billionaires were like when I was growing up, not losers like Elon.

Antarctica gained 200 Billion tons of Ice over past two years

Antarctica was in the news this week in a surprising way: it was gaining ice, rather than losing it.

While Antarctic ice sheet loss has averaged around 147 gigatons per year for the period between 2010 and 2020, a remarkable reversal occurred at the opening of this decade.

Writing in China Earth Sciences, researchers at Tongji University, led by Dr. Wei Wang and Professor Yunzhong Shen, reported that East Antarctica’s Wilkes Land and Queen Mary Land region recorded 108 gigatons of average ice sheet mass gain per year from 2021 to 2023.

1 gigaton is equivalent to 1 billion tons, and 108 gigatons is the equivalent weight of 1.5 million of America’s flagship aircraft carriers, to use a silly bit of context to aid the reader in their imaginings.

This is surprising and good news. Nature is healing.

I think that’s a good ending point for this week. Time for Pokemon

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And now, the cute corner.

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And last but not least, the organizing spotlight, showing you how you can fight Trumpism.

Why building inspiring alternates is necessary to counter authoritarianism

Congress: Protect the right to dissent

Demand your rep vote no on the nonprofit killer bill

And that does it for this week, see you guys next time.

GNR Sunday ☀️ Happy Birthday, Gnuville! ☀️ 2 Polls: WWtW? + The first President you remember?

2thanks

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday May 18, 2025 · 4:02 AM PDT

2025/05/18 · 04:02

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Good News Roundups (GNRs) are a long-running series. Our writers collect upbeat news about the nation and world, news that we do not get from down-beating corporate media. Choosing not to flee or freeze, with the help of Good News Roundups we engage (fight). We don’t passively wait for the future to arrive, we invite the future with our actions. At our cores, know that doom-scrolling beats down inhibits our physical and mental health, so we choose to clean and feed in a flood of good news. You can read more good news by our writers here.

Welcome to this Good News Roundup!

If you’re new to Good News Roundups, please check out our longer welcome.

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Poll #1: Who Won the Week?

Bill in Portland Maine in the kiddie pool at Netroots nation in Minneapolis

Gnusie Bill in Portland Maine lets me repeat the results of his research. He arrayed the following items in his popular Who Won the Week? poll in Friday’s Cheers and Jeers. Many people already voted in that poll. Please enjoy Bill’s on-point analysis and wit, vote in his poll, Rec his diaries, get on his bandwagon, send him a donation, and earn his blessing.

Cheers and Jeers archive and future editions here. Way, way more than 2 thanks to The One, our Wicked Wizard of Wit and writer of Who Won the Week, Willhelm von kosland!

The Episcopal Church, for cutting ties with the U.S. resettlement program because Trump fast-tracked white South African "immigrants" while slamming the door on immigrants of color
The Library of Congress staffers who escorted Trump's fake "appointees" out of the building after he tried to fire Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, unaware that she's under the auspices of the legislative branch
Nebraska Democrat John Ewing, who crushed 3-term MAGA incumbent mayor Jean Stothert in what is being called the "Earthquake in Omaha"
Federal Judge Susan Illston, for blocking the Trump administration's massive firing spree in the federal government, a victory for the labor unions, nonprofits and local governments who filed the lawsuit
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for placing a hold on The Orange King's Justice Department nominees pending an investigation of the illegal Qatar 747 "gift" scandal
Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring MD, and Hopkins Middle School in Fremont CA, for winning their divisions in the 2025 National Science Bowl
The Qataris: after 5 years failing to sell their albatross 747 money pit, they "gift" it to world's biggest sucker Donald Trump in exchange for huge favors (and bugging devices) under the table
Harvard's bargain hunters, as a "fake" copy of the Magna Carta purchased by its law school in 1946 for $27.50 turns out to be a rare version, worth millions, from 1300 issued by King Edward I
The House Budget Committee, for taking President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” and sending it down the toilet in one "big beautiful flush"

Find Bill’s Friday poll here.

Which item did you vote for? Why?

Who made a winning move after Bill's deadline on Friday?

Above Image: Bill in Portland Maine in the kiddie pool at Netroots Nation in Minneapolis.

Poll

389 votes Show Results

Who is the first President you were consciously aware of?

Herbert Hoover

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard M. Nixon

Gerald R. Ford

James Carter

Ronald Reagan

George H. W. Bush

William J. Clinton

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

tfg

Joseph R. Biden, Jr

Not sure, maybe, neutral, no opinion, cannot decide

This poll has flaws: Disorganized! Unscientific! Not random! You left something out! You left ME out!

I never vote in polls like this because mind your own goshdarn, goldarn business, and/or something-something central federal homeland mumfle-mumfle Internet privacy

Pie, definitely pie, OMG pie! This poll is way too effin hard! You want me to click something and it's only now o'clock on a Sunday? Between you and me, one of us is out of their blooming gourd, and it ain't me!

The author of this poll is generally but not firmly opposed to adding "pie" to polls, but, obviously, as results will demonstrate, a not-tiny contingent of Daily Kos poll participants requires the option of pie, so here it is. Enjoy!

Herein the author also offers pie, as much as you want and free of calories. But with this option, you get the beverage of your choice: large or small, hot or cold, with herd or solo. Horn strap extra

Herein the author offers smoked salmon or miso as well as cream cheese, and bagels with or without your special beverage, and with or without pie. Bagels do not require horn straps

Something else which I will suggest or explain in the comments, and I know I can join Daily Kos and comment immediately, and I know frolicking Gnusies all over this blooming, greening Earth will welcome me [Please see the Gnuville Map]

389 votes Vote Now!

Who is the first President you were consciously aware of?

Herbert Hoover

0 votes

Franklin D. Roosevelt

11 votes

Harry S. Truman

16 votes

Dwight D. Eisenhower

151 votes

John F. Kennedy

101 votes

Lyndon B. Johnson

30 votes

Richard M. Nixon

35 votes

Gerald R. Ford

8 votes

James Carter

12 votes

Ronald Reagan

10 votes

George H. W. Bush

3 votes

William J. Clinton

4 votes

George W. Bush

2 votes

Barack Obama

1 vote

tfg

0 votes

Joseph R. Biden, Jr

0 votes

Not sure, maybe, neutral, no opinion, cannot decide

0 votes

This poll has flaws: Disorganized! Unscientific! Not random! You left something out! You left ME out!

0 votes

I never vote in polls like this because mind your own goshdarn, goldarn business, and/or something-something central federal homeland mumfle-mumfle Internet privacy

1 vote

2 votes

0 votes

2 votes

Herein the author offers smoked salmon or miso as well as cream cheese, and bagels with or without your special beverage, and with or without pie. Bagels do not require horn straps

0 votes

Who is to Blame for our loss in 2024? I Have The Answer. GNR

GoodNewsRoundup

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 17, 2025 · 4:08 AM PDT

2025/05/17 · 04:08

Who was to blame for our loss in 2024? Was it Biden? The people around Biden? Harris? The people running the Harris campaign? Our policy in Israel? People who voted for Trump because of Gaza? White people? Minorities?

Us going too far left? Us being too far center?

Maybe it was goblins? Space aliens? The alignment of the fucking stars?

Guess what? I don’t give a flying fuck and I am so tired of people wasting their breath discussing and debating and talking about this. If I read one more article on if and when and why Biden should have dropped out earlier/not at all I am going to scream.

Um, you guys? We are fighting fascists here. Do you think you could focus?

Because — spoiler alert — We can actually beat these assholes. We can reverse a lot of the damage that they have done (and will still do). We can beat them in court. We can beat them at the ballot boxes. We can use our voices to push legislatures to do the right thing. We can save this beautiful, flawed, and essential democracy.

But we need to actually focus.

I don’t give a flying fuck why we lost. And don’t tell me it will help us to beat them in future elections because we already are beating them in those elections. Read the fucking news (or see below).

So the answer to who is to blame? It doesn’t fucking matter. That is the answer.

I also don’t give a fuck about interparty politics in the DNC.

I don’t give a fuck about anything other than beating fascists.

I don’t give a fuck about whose strategy of fighting fascists is best. I’m so done with people berating one another for doing this “wrong.” Are you working to fight fascists? Awesome. Keep at it. If not, get the fuck to it. Your grandchildren are going to be so ashamed of you if you aren’t doing anything. Honestly, I’m ashamed of you. All the people around you who are actually doing stuff are ashamed of you. They aren’t telling you, but they are thinking it. So get the fuck with it. Fascism. Remember?

And most of you ARE doing things to fight fascism and do you know what that makes you? A fucking hero. A goddamn fucking hero. Thank you. And I mean that from the bottom of my salty heart. Let’s keep at it!!!

Do you need some cheering up before you get to work?

Perfect. I have some cheer for you (and I promise to be less salty next week)

*********

EDIT: added for all those hating on this in the comments: Please remember that the that fucking lunatic, asshole, fascist moron got less than 50% of the vote.

And last year, every incumbent party in every developed democracy lost elections — the first time that’s happened since measuring began in 1905!

And we lost by the SMALLEST margin in any of those countries!

And he had the smallest margin of victory since Richard Nixon!

And you can spend all your time trying to figure out that tiny loss, but you will likely be WRONG as people were in 2008 and 2012 and 2016. And meanwhile, you have wasted your time on BULLSHIT when we have fascists to fight. So, get focused.

End rant

****************

This team of fascists are fucking idiots

BREAKING: The GOP-led House Budget Committee just voted to reject Trump's big budget bill — an embarrassing setback for Republicans. Five conservative hardliners joined all Democrats in voting against the bill.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T16:15:13.849Z

U.S. Downgraded by Moody’s as Trump Pushes Costly Tax Cuts

The credit rating of the United States received a potentially costly downgrade on Friday, as the ratings firm Moody’s determined that the government’s rising debt levels stood to grow further if Republicans enact a package of new tax cuts.

The downgrade, to one notch below the highest triple-A rating, amounted to a repudiation of Washington, where President Trump only hours earlier had pushed his party to adopt a legislative package that might add trillions of dollars to the nation’s fiscal imbalance.

The new rating decrease could send ripple effects throughout the economy if it prompts investors to demand higher payments on bonds, which in turn could raise consumers’ borrowing costs.

Why a GOP plan to repeal abortion rights could explode in their faces

Republicans in the Missouri Senate invoked the legislature's "nuclear option" to place a measure on the ballot that would repeal an amendment voters adopted last year enshrining the right to an abortion in the state constitution.

Opponents, however, are likely to file legal challenges to the new amendment, while Democratic lawmakers have warned that the GOP's decision to ram its measure through will wreak havoc on future legislative business.

Whatever unfolds, though, Republicans could ultimately find themselves in the worst of all possible worlds, with the well poisoned in the legislature and their repeal rejected by voters—if the courts don't reject it first.

Elon Musk Thought He Could Break History. Instead It Broke Him.

The partnership between the president and the richest man in the world is coming to an end. There is one clear loser in the breakup of this affair, and it is Elon Musk.

He fell from grace as effortlessly as he rose. Like a dime-store Icarus, he took too many chances, never understood the risks and flew too close to the sun. Wrapped in the halo of his social-media superstardom, he was blinded to the reality of his circumstances until it was too late.

Mr. Musk has already inked several lucrative federal contracts and could get far more, but he leaves Washington with his reputation as a genius jack-of-all-trades — a reputation he relied on to boost his company’s stock prices and win investors for his ambitious adventures — severely damaged. Once likened to the Marvel superhero Tony Stark, he is becoming increasingly unpopular. Many formerly proud owners of his Tesla electric cars are trading them in or pasting apologies on their bumpers. Sales have plummeted.

Fittingly, his reign was effectively brought to an end on April Fools’ Day, when the $20 million he donated to elect a Trump-backed Republican to an open State Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin backfired, propelling more Democrats than Republicans to the polls. It was no longer possible to overlook the reality that the richest man in the world had become a political liability. The day after the Wisconsin debacle, Politico reported that the president had “told his inner circle” that Mr. Musk would be “stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role.” In mid-April, Mr. Trump signaled his dwindling regard for Mr. Musk by replacing his choice for I.R.S. acting commissioner with the candidate favored by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The lesson to be learned here is that there is no room in the American system of government for an unelected co-president. While elections often yield results we do not expect or desire, we have long proved to be better off with a government composed of elected officials and senior appointments that have gone through the constitutionally mandated confirmation process. Mr. Musk thought he could be an exception. And that was his undoing.

‘Morally wrong and politically suicidal’: House GOP Medicaid cuts face bipartisan pushback

Prominent members of both parties, both in and beyond Washington, are sounding the alarm about House Republicans’ plan to cut Medicaid health care for millions of low-income Americans.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., slammed “corporatist Republicans” and the “party’s Wall Street wing” for centering their efforts towards passing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill on “slashing health insurance for the working poor.”

“That argument is both morally wrong and politically suicidal,” Hawley wrote in a New York Times op-ed this week. “If Congress cuts funding for Medicaid benefits, Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care. And hospitals will close. It’s that simple. And that pattern will be replicated in states across the country.”

On CNN on Wednesday, Hawley said he would not support the House Republican bill, adding uncertainty to its already rocky path to passage by Republicans' 53-seat Senate majority.

Hawley noted that over 70 million Americans, roughly 20% of the country, rely on Medicaid, including more than one million Missourans.

We Are Winning Elections

Democrat ousts incumbent Republican in Omaha mayoral race

Douglas County, Neb., Treasurer John Ewing Jr. (D) ousted Republican Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert in the latest victory for Democrats during President Trump’s second term, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection.

Ewing, who is also a former deputy chief of police for Omaha, will become the city’s first Black mayor. He denied Stothert a chance at an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office in an election that was officially nonpartisan but featured a Democrat and a Republican facing off.

The city hasn’t had a Democratic mayor since 2013, when Stothert beat Democratic incumbent Jim Suttle to become Omaha’s first female mayor.

Dems lead on the generic ballot by 6 points, 47%-41%

There is a reason why battleground House Republicans are so worried right now, and why Dems keep overperforming in election after election across the country - We The People are seriously unhappy with what Trump and his allies are doing to the country, and want something better.

Carville Tells Everyone to Get Over the ‘Angst’ as Dems Are Winning Elections

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville says there is no point feeling “angst” about the party’s current polling numbers because they are still winning elections.

“We’re winning elections left and right,” Carville said. “We just won an election in Omaha and beat a 12-year incumbent. We were winning elections in Senate districts and House districts that Trump carried in Iowa by about 20 [points]. We were winning the elections. We won in Wisconsin by 10.”

Are Republicans having trouble recruiting Senate candidates in the Trump era?

The seat up for election in Georgia -- held by incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection -- has received close attention from Republicans, who hope they can flip what is widely viewed as a vulnerable seat.

But Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who had been seen as a major contender for the seat, took himself out of contention, saying he would not run for the seat.

In New Hampshire, Republicans faced a similar situation when the popular former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who had been mulling a run for Senate for the seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. D-N.H., said in early April that he had decided not to run.

"I think it's a problem. I think that Trump has put a damper on that for the party in general. … Trump demands absolute loyalty and nothing else matters but fealty to him. And that makes people who want to talk about issues and things that their particular state or constituents care about -- [it] makes it very difficult," said ABC News contributor Barbara Comstock, a Republican who formerly represented Virginia in the House.

We are strong.

Trump appointees tried to get to work at the Library of Congress. Staff members at the library refused — and called the Capitol Police.

Two Trump administration DOJ officials who claimed to be assigned to the Library of Congress in acting leadership roles were turned away from its offices this morning, three sources familiar told NBC News. [Nieves and Perkins] arrived at 9 a.m. at the U.S. Copyright Office in the Madison Building and presented an email saying they were given the new roles, but the two were not allowed into the offices and left. The two had also presented a letter saying that Todd Blanche, the current deputy attorney general, was being appointed to also be the acting librarian of Congress. The two left after speaking with library staff and security.

In case this isn’t obvious, standoffs like these are not at all common. The New York Times reported that when Nieves and Perkins showed up, staff members at the library “balked and called the U.S. Capitol Police as well as their general counsel, Meg Williams, who told the two officials that they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office and asked them to leave.”

Immigration Crackdowns Are Booming. So Is the Digital Resistance Fighting Them.

At first, shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration, these efforts took a local, focused approach: community advocates in the Long Island town of Islip crafting a live map of verified Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings in Suffolk County, and developer Joanna Benavidez setting up a limited-access app to track ICE appearances in the frequently raided immigrant town of El Cajon, California. From there, the website People Over Papers began tracking ICE arrests in Washington state, using a volunteer team of moderators to review anonymous reports. Its digital map, hosted on the virtual canvas platform Padlet, now takes a nationwide view. There’s also ResistMap, a network from the Turn Left PAC that solicits ICE agent–sighting reports via a form, displays verified sightings on a map, and allows users to opt in for text alerts. As for smartphones, there’s SignalSafe, a mapping app that collects anonymous, crowdsourced ICE agent alerts and accompanies them with submitted photos, videos, and text notes. The Mexican government has even launched an app, ConsulApp Contigo, that allows Mexican Americans to quickly notify their home country’s consulate if they get in any trouble with ICE, then be connected to legal help or get a message out to their family and friends.

It’s a heartening groundswell of effort, but these quickly assembled creations have their limits.

That’s why another platform, called ICEBlock, is hoping to bypass those issues through ample security and automation. Joshua Aaron, a longtime software engineer and former bassist for the famed Napster-era power-pop band the Rosenbergs, is single-handedly coding and funding the app, symbolized on Apple’s App Store with an illustrated logo featuring a melting ice cube. It’s an atypical program in many ways: It’s available for download only on the iPhone, it does not require a formal account or cost any money, it purports to collect no user information, and it offers no pixelated ads.

New York Law Firm That Struck Deal With Trump Is Losing Lawyers

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft struck a deal with President Trump last month intended to secure the future of New York’s oldest law firm. Instead the pact is backfiring, adding to an exodus of lawyers that has placed the firm on uncertain footing.

Cadwalader already was facing troubles, including imminent attorney departures, before its April 11 deal with the White House in which it avoided a punitive executive order by pledging at least $100 million of pro bono work to support the president’s priorities. The agreement now is pushing more lawyers to leave, people familiar with the matter said, spurred by anger that the firm capitulated to Trump instead of fighting back against an administration campaign that many in the industry believe to be unconstitutional.

A key partner in the firm’s litigation group is in late-stage talks to join a boutique firm and several other litigators are planning an exit, the people said. J.B. Howard, who is counsel at the firm and a former Maryland deputy attorney general, is also leaving and sent a letter to firm leadership protesting its capitulation, people familiar with his departure said.

Maine Governor Secures School Lunch Victory in Fight With Trump Over Trans Athletes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to unfreeze over $2 million for school lunch programs and other nutrition funding in Maine last week, the result of a settlement with the state which Maine Gov. Janet Mills heralded as a “victory” in her ongoing war with the Trump administration over transgender-inclusive school sports.

The courts are doing well

The Supreme Court keeps a temporary block on using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans.

The Trump administration will not be allowed to deport a group of Venezuelan detainees accused of being members of a violent gang under a rarely invoked wartime law while the matter is litigated in the courts, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

The justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, directing it to examine claims by the migrants that they could not be legally deported under the Alien Enemies Act, the centuries-old wartime law invoked by the Trump administration.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote a dissent, arguing that the justices had no authority to hear the dispute at this stage. He was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

The ruling deals a sharp blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to deploy the wartime law to pursue swift, sweeping deportations of Venezuelan migrants accused of being members of the gang, Tren de Aragua.

The first federal court hearing on Trump’s tariffs did not go so well for Trump

A federal court held the very first hearing on President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging, so-called Liberation Day tariffs on Tuesday, offering the earliest window into whether those tariffs — and potentially all of the shifting tariffs Trump has imposed since he retook office — will be struck down. The case is V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.

It is unclear how the three-judge panel that heard the case will rule, but it appears somewhat more likely than not that they will rule that the tariffs are unlawful. All three of the judges, who sit on the US Court of International Trade, appeared troubled by the Trump administration’s claim that the judiciary may not review the legality of the tariffs at all. But Jeffrey Schwab, the lawyer representing several small businesses challenging the tariffs, also faced an array of skeptical questions.

Supreme Court broadens standard for unreasonable force claims against police

The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier to bring unreasonable force claims against police, ruling unanimously that courts should examine the circumstances beyond the split seconds when an officer fears for their safety in deciding whether they can be tried for unreasonable force.

Judge Orders Georgetown Academic Released From Immigration Detention

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University who was arrested in March, after two months of detention in an immigration facility in Texas.

People are standing up to him

From Vatican City to Canada, Trump increasingly represents everything people of goodwill oppose.

Last week, following the death of Pope Francis, Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was named pope by his peers at the Vatican. He took the name Pope Leo XIV — widely seen as a reference to Pope Leo XIII, a pontiff remembered for his reforming spirit and for his encyclical on the rights of workers.

The new Pope Leo also shares Francis’s commitment to the rights of migrants. Like Francis, he has criticized the Trump administration in general and JD Vance in particular for their cruel anti-immigration policies.

In short, the new pope, like the old pope, does not support MAGA’s christofascist nationalism. MAGA, confronted with the fact that they do not control everything or everyone, responded in their usual fashion — by wailing and gnashing their teeth.

It doesn’t seem like an accident that the Vatican has chosen a pope who embodies and extols a very different vision of Christianity than the one currently prevailing at the White House.

The recent Canadian national election is the first, and clearest, example of the anti-Trump backlash.

The right-wing Liberal party in Australia looked set to take advantage of anti-incumbent sentiment and cruise to victory until (and you may have heard this before) Trump got elected, started throwing tantrums, and — ta da! Labor leader Anthony Albanese won a second term as prime minister, while Liberal leader Peter Dutton couldn’t even hold his own seat.

Kennedy Center Employees Move to Unionize as Trump Takeover Heats Up

Workers at the Kennedy Center are refusing to stand idly by as President Donald Trump conducts a hostile takeover of the storied arts institution.

Following months of controversial layoffs and leadership upheaval, more than 90 staffers at the celebrated venue announced Thursday that they would be moving to unionize.

Bruce Springsteen Opens His Tour With Rant About ‘Treasonous’ Trump

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band began their “Land of Hope & Dreams” tour with forceful messages about the “treasonous” Trump administration.

In Manchester, England, Springsteen summoned the “righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times.”

“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration,” he told the crowd before performing the tour’s namesake song.

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”

“The America that l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people,” he concluded. “So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, “In this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.”

YouTube Video

De Niro Tears Into Trump’s Kennedy Center Takeover During Speech at Cannes

Robert De Niro issued a call to action for anyone disturbed by the Kennedy Center’s right-wing makeover by Donald Trump, whom he called “America’s philistine president.”

While accepting the Palme d’Or lifetime achievement award Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, the actor warned that artists and musicians are under threat.

“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted, and that affects all of us,” De Niro said. “That affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive. It brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity.”

“It’s time for everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest, and when there are elections, of course, to vote. Vote. Tonight, and for the next 11 days, we show our strength and commitment by celebrating art in this glorious festival. Liberté, égalité, fraternité,” he said.

They hate each other

A glimpse into the bitter infighting consuming MAGA’s intellectual ranks.

It’s been a rough week in the world of the online intellectual right, which is currently in the midst of two separate yet related blowups — both of which illustrate how the pressures of power are cracking the elite coalition that aligned behind President Donald Trump’s return to power.

The first fight is really a struggle over who should determine the philosophical identity of MAGA, pitting a group of anti-woke writers against a wide group of illiberal or post-liberal figures.

he second fight, which revolves around Curtis Yarvin — the neo-monarchist blogger who has influenced both Vice President JD Vance and DOGE. A recent post by rationalist author Scott Alexander accused Yarvin of “selling out” — aligning himself with Trump even though he had long denounced the kind of “authoritarian populism” that Trump embodies. Yarvin defended himself with some fairly bitter attacks on Alexander, drawing in defenders and critics from the broader right-wing universe in the process.

Each of these fights is telling in their own right. The “woke right” contretemps shows just how deep the divisions go inside the Trump world — between anti-woke liberals, on the one hand, and various different forms of “postliberals” on the other. The Yarvin argument is a revealing portrait of how easy it is to get someone to compromise their own beliefs in the face of polarization and proximity to power.

The party is split—and starting to fight—over whether to primary the senators who have challenged Trump.

Trump fundamentalists are weighing up bids to oust Senate Republicans who have dared to cross the president, Axios reports.

The planned move, in states like Texas and North Carolina, could spark a MAGA civil war—but the president’s most fervent acolytes see it as a necessary risk, despite the chance of far-right challengers flopping at a general election.

Too much grift...even for MAGA Republicans?

“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” Laura Loomer tweeted. “But I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”

Not to be outdone, Erick Erickson unleashed a screed:

This is my problem with taking the plane from Qatar. It’s not that it’s a bribe. It’s not that it’s corrupt. We’ll get to Boeing here, but my objection to taking this 747-800 from Qatar is not that it’s an attempt to bribe the president. It is not it’s corrupted. It is not that it’s a violation of the emoluments clause. My problem with taking this plane from Qatar is I do not think the president of the United States of America should sit and fly on a plane purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens.

Former presidential rival Nikki Haley jumped in as well, to receive her own slow clap:

Accepting gifts from foreign nations is never a good practice. It threatens intelligence and national security…Especially when that nation supports a terrorist organization and allows those terrorist regimes to live on its soil. Regardless of how beautiful the plane may be, it opens a door and implies the President and US can be bought. If this were Biden, we would be furious.

What can you do to save democracy?

Remember, the good news happens BECAUSE we fight! So let’s do this. What can you do?

Go here → chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com

Consider joining some peaceful protests! They are making a big difference!

Here are some ideas.

If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area. One way to find a local group is through indivisible: indivisibleproject.formstack.com/…
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
The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.
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

Also, continue to find joy in your life! Don’t let that fuckface live rent free in your mind! This is your life!!!!!

Looking for something more specific?

Want to focus on the ENVIRONMENT:

Want to focus on CIVIL RIGHTS:

HUMAN RIGHTS - GENERALLY:

Physicians for Human Rights https://phr.org/...
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org
The Leadership Coalition on Civil and Human Rights https://civilrights.org

LGBTQ+:

The Campaign for Southern Equality/Trans Youth Emergency Project https://southernequality.org
GLAAD https://glaad.org LGBTQ+ centered news
Lambda Legal https://lambdalegal.org
Folx Health https://www.folxhealth.com/...
National Black Justice Coalition https://nbjc.org/...
Glad Law https://www.glad.org

WOMEN:

Huge thanks to DKos user dabug for help with this list.

Don’t let the options overwhelm you! Try to pick one thing and see if it calls to you. If it doesn’t find something else.

There are so many ways to get involved and help!

Some inspiration before I say goodbye

“Whatever happens, stay alive.

Don't die before you're dead.

Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction.

Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell of your body, with every fiber of your skin.

Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design.

Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope.

Stay alive with joy.

There is only one thing you should not waste in life,

and that's life itself..."

by Joy

At Albany Bulb with Elaine

By Alison Luterman

Side by side on a log by the bay.

Sunlight. Unleashed dogs,

prancing through surf, almost exploding

out of their skins with perfect happiness.

Dogs who don't know about fired park rangers,

or canceled health research, or tariff wars,

or the suicide hotline for veterans getting defunded,

or or or. We've listed horror upon horror

to each other for weeks now, and it does no good,

so instead I tell her how I held a two-day old baby

in my arms, inhaling him like a fresh-baked loaf of bread,

then watched as a sneeze erupted through his body

like a tiny volcano. It was the look of pure

astonishment on his face, as if he were Adam

in the garden of Eden making his debut achoo,

as if it were the first sneeze that ever blew,

that got me. She tells me how her dog

once farted so loudly he startled himself

and fell off the bed where he'd been lolling,

and then the two of us start to laugh so hard

we almost fall off our own log. And this

is our resistance for today; remembering

original innocence. And they can't

take it away from us, though they ban

our very existence, though they slash

our rights to ribbons, we will have

our mirth and our birthright gladness.

Long after every unsold Tesla

has vaporized, and earth has closed over

even the names of these temporary tyrants,

somewhere some women like us

will be sitting side by side, facing the water,

telling human stories and laughing still.

I am so proud and so lucky to be in this with all of you. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 💙❤️💛💚✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

GNR for Friday, May 16, 2025: We're not going to be the generation to lose democracy

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 16, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/16 · 04:00

Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!

When the USA was starting — nearly 250 years ago - a woman asked founder Benjamin Franklin what kind of country we would have. “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Franklin was warning us that a democracy for the people requires the action of the people. It’s not something we can take for granted.

The great news is that Americans are no longer taking it for granted.

Protests are happening with great frequency. Elections — in places such as Texas and Nebraska — are kicking out the craven GOP enablers.

We see, too, that pushing back on tRump and his evil regime works. He caves easily. On many programs. Many people are standing up. The courts. A few surprises in the GOP. And many, many on team blue.

We cannot stop our resistance efforts. We need to keep it up. So that means continuing to contact representatives, to go to protests and to rallies, and to do whatever else we can think of to help fight back.

We can be learn from our own history. History may not repeat, but it rhymes. Fascists have tried to take over our country before. It’s true that this time they have the presidency, but tRump’s actions are so corrupt that even members in his own party are speaking out against him.

We can have hope. Rachel Maddow, in an interview with Stephen Colbert (see below), said that after her first 100 days, she was much more heartened than she ever expected to be at this point. As she says, “We’re not going to be the generation that loses democracy.”

So put in the work, when you can, and encourage others to do so as well. Then spend the rest of your time living your best life.

Keep it up, gnusies, and come in and see what some of the good guys are doing!

Regular Scheduled Programming

Remember:

💜Although they lie all the time, reality matters. And our goals — based on reality — are more popular.

🗽 Report on the Resistance 🗽

People are turning out to protest when they can, Here are some examples:

Inspiring images out of Worcester Massachusetts tonight as hundreds gathered in the pouring rain to demand their police stop cooperating with ICE. What happened yesterday will never happen again. We will not allow it www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bkp... cc @maddow.msnbc.com
— Greater Assabet Indivisible Network (GAIN) (@gain-indivisible.bsky.social) 2025-05-10T01:10:09.342Z

And of course, taking down Tesla:

Our 10th Indivisible Charlotte #ICLT Tesla protest today. Two TV stations showed up, too.
— Sharon Harmon (@sharonharmon.bsky.social) 2025-05-10T20:34:32.927Z

Reminder to join a protest if you can on 6/14, the day tRump is using our tax money to give himself a parade.

www.nokings.org
— Rachel Maddow (@maddow.msnbc.com) 2025-05-05T22:47:39.052Z

💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣

tRump is the most corrupt politician ever, so much so he’s getting pushback from Cruz. Cruz!

Remarkable to see this, but also Ted Cruz will not be alone. The Qatar plane deal is anathema to national security and more. It's not a partisan issue.
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) 2025-05-13T16:12:44.751Z

Lawrence O’Donnell thinks the bribe, in the end, will not happen.

Chaos!!! No wonder small businesses are worried. Rs cannot govern:

Good lord. 🤡 @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2025-05-14T10:42:28.051Z

🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚

Take a look at Omaha! Yes, Omaha, Nebraska!

JUST IN: Democrat John Ewing Jr. defeats Republican incumbent Jean Stothert in the Omaha mayoral race. Ewing, who is also a former deputy chief of police for Omaha, will become the city’s first Black mayor. In 2021, Stothert won by 27 points; today, she lost by more than 10, a massive swing.
— Republicans Against Trumpism (@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social) 2025-05-14T03:29:24.793Z

Senators going to the House:

This is leadership. This is solidarity. This is good trouble. Democratic Senators Booker, Smith, and Schatz crash the House markup in protest of Medicaid cuts…
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) 2025-05-14T13:26:37.516Z

Governors such as Pritzker stepping forward to really address the price of groceries:

I've heard from those in Venice that the lack of affordable grocery options was taking a toll. Today, I'm announcing a $2.4M investment for them to build a new, municipally owned grocery store — and over $10M to address food deserts statewide through our Grocery Initiative.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) 2025-05-15T17:33:40.784Z

💜 Unity?💜

The title of this GNR was inspired by the following segment of Maddow’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Yes, she’s pushing her book Prequel, but there’s a lot of great stuff:

YouTube Video

And if you don’t want to watch, let me summarize:

Colbert (who works at CBS) explains how CBS leaders were told to lay off tRump — and how they did not pass that information to the news division. Maddow says leadership is hearing inappropriate political pressure and making sure the people beneath you in the organization don’t have to deal with that pressure themselves.
Maddow talks also how people and some elected officials are pushing back to protect Head Start, Social Security offices and more. Not just the courts, but tRump finding himself alone on the wrong side of every argument.
Fascism has threatened the US before, but other generations fought it off successfully (although it was never in the White House).
No one single bullet; we need to do everything, everywhere, all at once.
Need to protect journalists, courts, lawyers, and demand more of elected officials.
Americans seem to finally realize tRump wants to be a dictator.
Maddow says we need to stay engaged, but she’s much more heartened after 100 days than she ever thought she would be.

This is good! Obviously, not everyone agrees, but if we have a few Rs, that’s a good thing indeed.

Sen. Steve Daines: “It's war crimes. There's an irrefutable case being made right now for the war crimes of Vladimir Putin and the soldiers who committed them…They need to be prosecuted by the International Crime Commission...The stench of death was there.” (2022)
— Republicans for Ukraine (@gop4ukraine.bsky.social) 2025-05-12T18:29:53.819Z

📥Actions You Can Take 📤

Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying?

Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are),you can support and contact these organizations:

ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union

Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.

Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams

🌱Grass roots. Join with local communities to make a difference. It could be your local Dems. It could be your school board or your library. Reach out to people. We all need each other these days.

🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help.

👎 Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.

🐍Schadenfreude 😈

Forgery? I’m shocked, shocked...not

JUST POSTED: Trump-Kushner Hotel Project in Serbia Hits a Snag: Alleged Forgery Serbian authorities say an official admitted to forging a document allowing a protected site in Belgrade to be demolished and replaced with a Trump hotel. Fate of project is now up in the air. nyti.ms/3YLwORG
— Eric Lipton NYT (@ericlipton.nytimes.com) 2025-05-15T02:06:04.696Z

Yes, Ewing won in Omaha, but it’s also that Jean Stothert lost — despite her very maga culture wars. Samantha Riedel Them

Stothert was generally favored going into Election Day, as a 12-year incumbent who won her last election with a whopping 64% of the vote. But in the final weeks of the campaign, Stothert and a conservative PAC blitzed Ewing and the Democrats with anti-trans ads similar to those seen in the 2024 presidential election.

One TV ad from the Stothert campaign claimed that Ewing “stands with radicals” in favor of “boys in girls’ bathrooms and sports,” according to the Omaha World-Herald. Separately, a mailer paid for by the newly-formed PAC Omaha Leadership Fund — itself funded by another right-wing, anti-abortion PAC called “Common Sense Nebraska” — claimed that Ewing wants to “transition minors without their parents’ consent” and is “backed by radicals who will allow men in girls’ sports and bathrooms,” as seen in what appears to be a photo of the mailer posted to the r/Omaha subreddit last week.

Ewing’s campaign called Stothert’s claims “utterly false” and demanded that the TV ad be pulled, per the World-Herald. In a statement to the newspaper, Stothert said she had no knowledge of the mailer before it was released, but stood by the TV ad. The claims in that ad were not connected to any statements by Ewing himself, she said, but were instead based on his endorsements from the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Nebraska Stonewall Democrats, the party’s LGBTQ+ caucus. Stonewall Dems oppose LB89, a Republican bill in the state legislature that would ban trans students from using bathrooms or locker rooms, or competing on sports teams, that match their gender; legislators voted to advance the bill last month, after a similar version died as the result of a filibuster in 2024.

Vance is 0 for 2 with popes. But the reproducing public doesn’t like him either:

#ProudBlue The baby name “Vance” is declining in popularity according to the latest Social Security Administration data. It is not a coincidence. JD Vance is likely accelerating the decline. apple.news/AJTdOrNhdTQe...
— Marlena (#felon47 is NOT my President) (@ohpleeznotagain.bsky.social) 2025-05-13T15:04:36.726Z

My uncle Donald has been dead many years, but I regret his name as well.

White rural reckoning Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman Public Notice 🎩 Nanny Ogg

More than 100 days into his second term, however, Trump’s policies are starting to wreak havoc on the very rural white citizens who have been his most loyal geo-demographic voting base. If they voted for Trump last year hoping he’d make their lives better, they’re quickly finding out they made a mistake. ✂️

A stunning PBS/NPR/Marist poll released earlier this month showed Trump’s support in rural America since taking office cratering. His February approval rating of 59 percent — a figure that includes both Trump-loving white rural citizens and far less supportive non-white rural citizens — fell 19 points to just 40 percent.

Given the limited number of rural residents in all but the biggest national surveys, that poll could be an outlier. But it suggests doubts may be emerging in the places where Trump got his strongest support — and which are now being punished for believing that he actually cared about them.

It took three presidential election cycles, but perhaps rural Americans are beginning to realize that Making America Great Again is only going to make their lives far worse.

The piece discusses the ways that white rural residents are losing: chaos in farms, OSHA being slashed (bad for miners), and support being withdrawn so that they will lose libraries and hospitals and broadband. And yes, they actually chose this fate, so I do feel a little Schadenfreude. However, I also hope they learn their lesson because that would be better for all of us.

And, we should remember they have been manipulated into this:

Meiselas: They’re going through this because people like Trump and others are the ones doing it to them. And the people causing the pain have managed to convince the people they’re inflicting it on that they’re actually helping them. They’re not.
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T22:32:12.276Z

📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️

The ACLU has had a place here before, and they’ll be here again. Getting a scholar released Press Release

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal court today ordered Dr. Badar Khan Suri released from detention on bond eight weeks after immigration authorities arrested him in retaliation for constitutionally protected speech and associations. He will be able to return from Texas to Virginia, where his case challenging the constitutionality of his arrest is proceeding, and where he lives with his wife and three children.

“Hearing the judge’s words brought tears to my eyes,” said Dr. Khan Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh. “I truly wish I could give her a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again. Speaking out about what’s happening in Palestine is not a crime. Let’s show the world that this country is still a place where people can and do express their beliefs without fear.”

Dr. Khan Suri, an Indian national, is a lawful visa holder married to a Palestinian-American U.S. citizen. Prior to his arrest, both were doxxed by the extremist blacklisting websites Canary Mission and CAMERA. Federal immigration agents abducted Dr. Khan Suri outside his home on March 17th for speech in support of Palestinian rights and family ties to Gaza, then secretly transported him 1,500 miles away from his family and his attorneys.

After being transferred to five different ICE facilities across three states in just four days, Dr. Khan Suri arrived at an immigration detention center in Texas, where he spent nearly two weeks in a room without a bed and with a television blaring twenty-one hours a day. He was observing the holy month of Ramadan, but ICE officials denied him water and food to break his fast. He was issued used underwear, as well as a bright red high-risk uniform reserved for people alleged to pose the greatest security threats.

“The Constitution protects us all – regardless of citizenship – from being targeted by the government for our political speech and our family associations. The Trump administration is trying to silence speech it doesn’t agree with by targeting people like Dr. Khan Suri and Mahmoud Khalil, but ideas are not illegal,” said ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Eden Heilman. “Dr. Khan Suri’s arrest and detention far away from his family is part of an extreme and unprecedented attack by this administration designed to punish students and academics for their views, and we won’t stop fighting until Dr. Khan Suri gets justice.”

Last week, the judge rejected the Trump administration’s request to dismiss Dr. Khan Suri’s habeas case or move it to Texas, keeping it in Virginia. Separately, Dr. Khan Suri’s immigration case, in which the Trump administration is seeking to have him deported, is proceeding in Texas. The next immigration hearing is scheduled for June 3rd.

Today’s ruling adds to mounting losses for the Trump administration in cases in which it has arrested immigrant students and academics for criticizing U.S. support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. In the last two weeks, federal courts have similarly ordered Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi and Tufts PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk released from detention.

I also want to honor unknown leakers:

I want to know more. And someone tell Rachel Maddow or Chris Hayes.
— Proud Woke Boomer (@bobinphx.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T03:36:08.323Z

🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️

Because Mother’s Day was last Sunday, we’ve a mom and her boy here:

After 9 months apart, this military son pulled off the ultimate surprise... Showing up at his mom’s graduation. 💙🎓
— Goodable - Good News Just For You! (@goodable.bsky.social) 2025-05-09T12:21:20.793Z

📎Odds & Ends 📎

Eating more fiber can help you flush out forever chemicals Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch

A new study has found that eating higher amounts of dietary fiber can reduce the levels of two of the most common per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals.”

The researchers discovered that fiber was most effective at reducing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), each of which can remain in the human body for years, reported The Guardian. Federal data has shown that the chemicals are present in the blood of almost everyone on the planet.

“The general public is exposed to PFASs via ingestion of contaminated food and drinking water and use of consumer products that contain PFAS,” the authors of the findings wrote. “Despite the growing concerns about the toxicity of PFAS, specific interventions to reduce PFAS levels in the body are limited. Recent epidemiological studies suggest one potential strategy. Investigation of dietary patterns and PFAS body burdens show that the consumption of fruits or vegetables and fiber-rich diets are associated with lower serum-PFAS concentrations in both adults and children.”

Just had sauerkraut with my dinner, before I found this. Another reason for sauerkraut.

What dedication to a cause can achieve:

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker even singled out Mike Baker of Schaumburg for his efforts.
— CBS News Chicago (@cbschicago.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T05:00:06.736Z

Uganda stopped an Ebola outbreak. And the link here shows that Africa — at least parts — may be able to manage things themselves.

Uganda stopped a Sudan Ebola virus outbreak in under 3 months. No chaos. Just fast action, local leadership, and a rapidly implemented vaccine trial. Maybe the problem isn’t capacity in Africa after all—maybe it’s the story we keep telling about it. open.substack.com/pub/bktitanj...
— BK. Titanji (@boghuma.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T13:18:10.854Z

Research shows it’s possible to end global poverty AND meet climate change goals Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch

As the world works to stop global heating by ending the use of fossil fuels in accordance with climate objectives, ensuring that everyone on Earth has a decent standard of living is possible if the world quickly and decisively implements emissions reductions, new research has found.

The study, led by research scholar Jarmo Kikstra with the Energy, Climate and Environment Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), looked at energy scenarios that line up with both the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ✂️

“Our findings challenge the notion that eradicating poverty and protecting the planet are conflicting goals. In fact, the energy needed to ensure basic human dignity is small compared to what is currently consumed globally,” Kikstra explained. “Even so, such a sustainable development trajectory means growth rates in low-income countries are much higher than we have seen. It requires appropriate development efforts and international support.”

🐦 I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings: Messing with the Myths — two books so far in this series! Older offerings: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction (Hunters of the Feather). Mysteries based on Jane Austen’s novels, such as The Meryton Murders. Others based on history and Greek mythology, e.g., Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus. All titles also available through Kindle Unlimited. Want to support me but not interested in my books? Buy one and donate to a library.

**💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy** 💙

It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time.

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.

Current projects:

Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters

And Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny Lessons:

(1) Do Not Obey in Advance; (2) Defend Institutions; (3) Beware the One-Party System;(4) Take Responsibility for the Face of the World; (5) Remember Professional Ethics; (6) Be Wary of Paramilitaries; (7) Be Reflective if You Must Own a Gun; (8) Stand Out (this means, speak up, even when others do not); (9) Be Kind to Our Language; (10) Believe in Truth;(11) Investigate; (12) Make Eye Contact and Small Talk;(13) Practice Corporeal Politics; (14) Establish a Private Life;(15) Contribute to Good Causes; (16) Learn from Peers in Other Countries; (17) Listen for Dangerous Words; (18) Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives; (19) Be a Patriot; (20) Be as Courageous as You Can.

🌻💙

President Joseph R. Biden: “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.”

💙

Sir Winston Churchill: When you’re going through hell, keep going.

🌹 🌹 🌹

TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.

Thursday GNR: Why No New Bogus Moral Panic?

Mokurai

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 15, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/15 · 04:00

The last new moral panic from Republicans was trans kids in bathrooms and sports. It used to be that Rs came up with bogus moral panics constantly, but somehow they have stopped. It could, of course, be the growing panics about themselves. How about

Let’s call it “Planegate”?
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill going down in flames, as both Houses of Congress are increasingly divided against themselves?
Their disastrous polls?
Their increasing underperformance in elections at various levels?
Rs increasingly in favor of renewable energy?
The new Pope telling them about themselves?

Whatever it is, I am enjoying both the relative quiet from them and our successes in court, in the streets, in various political arenas, indeed around the world. What do you think?

Here is the latest attempt, which erupted briefly in March, but has not actually taken hold.

The New Republic: A Very Trumpian Moral Panic Has Struck the Art World

Spurred by Christian activists and far-right Republicans, police in Texas have seized five Sally Mann photographs from a major museum. What happens next could have major implications for provocative art and First Amendment protections.

Photo: Photographer Sally Mann relaxes with her dog Honey in a meadow of tall grass on her farm near Lexington, Virginia.

Where do you draw the line? Art, naked children and exhibitions, in the world of Sally Mann Photographer www.artnews.com/art-news/new...

[image or embed]
— Rupert Rivett (@rupertrivett.bsky.social) April 27, 2025 at 1:28 AM

Mann has spurred controversy for years over her photographs of her rural Lexington, Virginia, home, which include nude images of her underage children shot during the 1990s.

niftywriter

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 14, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/14 · 04:00

22443868 - bleeding heart flowers (dicentra spectabils). shallow dof

Good Day, Everyone and Happy Wednesday! MCUBernieFan and I have switched days, so next Tuesday you can expect their signature brand of good news!

What’s new today? Read on and find out.

Resistance Rising Everywhere

Elections continue to show resistance even in so-called “red states”. Last night results:

The next big worry for the GOP: Will Don Bacon seek reelection?
His #NE02 — already the bluest House seat held by a Republican — includes Omaha, where Dems are headed to a double-digit win tonight.
Bacon has said he'll decide by "late summer."

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— The Downballot (@the-downballot.com) May 13, 2025 at 9:54 PM

Several elections on tap tonight:
• Omaha Mayor: Dem John Ewing up 54-46 in early vote. Would be a flip.
• OK #SD08: GOP wins but another big Dem overperformance—around 20 pts
• MA #HDEssex06: Dem win, double-digit Dem overperformance
Special elections Big Board -->

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— The Downballot (@the-downballot.com) May 13, 2025 at 8:23 PM

The year so far:
• Dems outperform in 19 of 21 specials and flip two deep-red seats
• Liberals defend WI Supreme Court with double-digit victory
• Dems win Omaha mayor's office for first time since 2009
— The Downballot (@the-downballot.com) May 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM

💪🏼 People Resist

The people are not having it.

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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 7:57 PM

Everyone seems very worried about "Gosh, well what do we tell the transphobic people to get them to vote for Democrats?"
Tell them to get the fuck over it. Tell them, straight to their faces, "I feel embarrassed for you that this is a thing you are whining about."
— Robyn Pennacchia (@robynelyse.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 10:07 PM

👨🏽‍⚖️ Civil Servants Resist

📚 Library of Congress Staff Turn Away New MAGA Bosses, Yasmeen Hamadeh, Daily Beast, May 13, 2025.

Two Justice Department officials were denied access to the Library of Congress on Monday, causing a brief standoff on Capitol Hill.

The two officials—Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general, and Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior policy counsel—were seeking access to the U.S. Copyright Office but were denied entry at around 9 a.m., sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The New York Times.✂️

Library staff members called U.S. Capitol Police, however the two Justice Department officials left willingly after General Counsel Meg Williams asked them to leave and reiterated they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office.

📊 The Congressional Budget Office Still Works, Bill Scher, Washington Monthly, May 13, 2025.

The CBO has long had a deserved reputation for honest, nonpartisan analysis. Trump’s Washington has been, seemingly, doing everything possible to turn Washington into a propaganda machine cranked by compliant apparatchiks. The CBO is a creature of Congress, not the White House. It was created by the Budget Act of 1974 to give Congress more resources to counter the Executive Branch’s much larger Office of Management and Budget, and its 10 directors have been widely respected figures like the late Alice Rivlin and Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Still, you might think the current Republican leadership would replicate the slash-and-burn approach of DOGE, rid the joint of anyone unwilling to forsake accuracy, and concoct budget analyses that serve Trump’s agenda. ✂️

Swagel’s reputation for objectivity and a conservative pedigree appears to have insulated him from Trump’s wrath, at least so far. But on Sunday, he unveiled an unvarnished analysis of the GOP health care plan. He gave an interview to the Financial Times, allowing the possibility that Trump’s tariffs could harm the economy. The FT quoted Swagel as saying, “At some point, if the high tariffs are sustained, those will have broader [negative] economic impacts.”

That could be one heresy too many for Trump. But even if the president does throw one of his trademark tantrums, Republican congressional leaders may not be inclined to dump Swagel. The GOP’s fiercest budget hawks, like Representative Chip Roy, are already flagging attempts to use budget gimmicks that mask the cost of the party’s proposed tax cuts. “This is fairy dust, and they’re full of crap. And I’m gonna call them out on it,” Roy said of the Senate’s attempt to treat a renewal of Trump’s expiring first-term tax cuts as cost-free. Installing a White House toady at CBO would discredit GOP numbers. Without a credible CBO score of how much the bill will reduce the deficit—if it would reduce it—the hawks may bail and deny Trump his big, beautiful bill.

👨🏼‍🌾 As Trump aims to deport millions, one pathway to legal status got bigger, Ximena Bustillo, NPR, May 12, 2025.

In the past, legal experts said applying for a green card while in the U.S. on a temporary visa would draw more scrutiny to applications from immigration officials. Temporary workers had to attest their intent to only be in the U.S. on a short-term basis. Still, having a green card application pending could not only jeopardize an H-2B worker's chances of visa renewal, but also increase the risk of the green card itself being denied.

But the new rule explicitly clarifies that such workers are eligible to apply for permanent residency in the U.S. without risking their visa status.✂️

The Biden-era rule, which could take the Trump administration years to undo, leaves open one pathway to immigration for tens of thousands of workers on temporary visas even as the administration seeks to close down others, like certain asylum or parole programs.

Getting workers on a green card also provides employers with more certainty about keeping their most prized employees, amid uncertainty about lower caps and competition for H-2B visas in the future.

"They want to have something in place so that anytime they are out-competed for those visas, they have a fallback plan of having their workers obtain green cards," said Nataly Mualem, founding attorney of Mualem Law, which specializes in workforce visas.

🏬 Businesses resist

Retail giant Kroger joins Costco in rejecting an anti-DEI proposal from conservative shareholder activist group the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR).
Kroger: Diversity & Inclusion "have guided what we do for half a century" and "Diversity & Inclusion are embedded in our business"

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— Nancy Levine Stearns 🌎 (@nancylevinestearns.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 10:01 AM

Kroger rejected an anti-DEI proposal submitted by conservative shareholder activists at the National Center for Public Policy Research. NCPPR has overwhelmingly lost anti-DEI proposals in 2025 shareholder votes at Costco, Apple, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss, others.
www.impactivize.org/2025-shareho...

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— Nancy Levine Stearns 🌎 (@nancylevinestearns.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 10:01 AM

⛪︎ Churches Resist

There’s something that I know a lot of progressive Christians have been expressing for awhile: frustration that a version of white Christian nationalism has crowded out (in the public understanding) the kinder, gentler Christian identity that takes the teachings of Jesus to heart and tries to live a New Testament Christian life.

That may be changing! Moderate and liberal Christian churches — the old “mainline” churches that we’ve all been assured are dying out — are standing up and pushing back against MAGA cruelty. I, for one, am here for it!

Here are two stories which will warm the hearts of liberal Christians everywhere!

⛪︎ Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, citing moral opposition, Jack Jenkins, NPR, May 12, 2025.

In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Trump's administration.

Here’s a picture of St. James Cathedral, Episcopal Church in Chicago

In a letter sent to members of the church, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe — the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church — said that two weeks ago, the government "informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees."

The request, Rowe said, crossed a moral line for the Episcopal Church, which is part of the global Anglican Communion, which boasts among its leaders the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a celebrated and vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa.

"In light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step," Rowe wrote. "Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government."

Rowe stressed that while Episcopal Migration Ministries will seek to "wind down all federally funded services by the end of the federal fiscal year in September," the denomination will continue to support immigrants and refugees in other ways, such as offering aid to refugees who have already been resettled.

🦁 The newly elected Pope Leo XIV calls for media to use communication platforms for “peace”, while subtly calling out media cowardice and disinformation.

Pope Leo XIV asks journalists to use communication as a tool for peace, Sarah Ventre, NPR, May 12, 2025.

It is early days, yet, of course, but I am hopeful that Pope Leo XIV may bring even more effectiveness and an injection of fresh energy into the work that Francis started. And that would be good news for the world because Francis was all about care for the marginalized, the homeless, the poor and the suffering. He never stopped advocating for refugees and migrants, too. Now Leo is entering the stage and is reportedly concerned with those same issues of human suffering and a desire for “just” peace. Leo brings his own gifts of superb communication skills as well as administrative experience. With 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, that could be quite a force for good.

VATICAN CITY — "The way we communicate is of fundamental importance: We must say 'no' to the war of words and images; we must reject the paradigm of war," Pope Leo XIV said in an address to journalists Monday morning. He implored them to use communication as a tool for peace.

Pope Leo XIV

Referencing Pope Francis' message from the World Day of Social Communications in January, Leo said, "Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression. We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice."✂️

Leo also reiterated the church's solidarity with imprisoned journalists and called for their release.

"The church recognizes these witnesses — I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives — the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices."✂️

Just before blessing those gathered at Paul VI Audience Hall and shaking the hands of seasoned Vatican journalists, Leo concluded by saying, "I ask you to choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favor of peace."

🎶 Musical Interlude for Peace 🎶

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🧬 🔬 Science and Health News 🩺 💊

🤕 Migraine drug is first to tackle debilitating early symptoms, Fred Schwaller, Nature, May 12, 2025.

Scientists have shown that a drug approved to treat migraine headaches can also alleviate debilitating non-headache symptoms, such as fatigue, brain fog and blinding light sensitivity, that occur as the migraine is starting.

The drug — called ubrogepant — is already known to stop the onset of a full-blown migraine attack in some people if they take it when the headache begins. But a phase III clinical trial, described in Nature Medicine on 12 May1, shows that it can also tackle the ‘prodrome’ symptoms that arrive hours or even days earlier.✂️

The process of a migraine starts long before the head pain, when brain circuits involving the hypothalamus — a region that regulates several vital bodily functions — become dysregulated. In the prodrome, or premonitory phase, people can experience various unpleasant symptoms, including fatigue, neck pain, an aversion to light (photophobia) or sound (phonophobia) and difficulty concentrating.

“Not enough attention has been given to prodrome symptoms,” says Goadsby. The trial aimed to “fill this gap” by investigating whether ubrogepant has an effect on the initial stages of a migraine.

🪻 Some plants cause more suffering than others for gardeners with pollen allergies, Jessica Damiano, AP, May 13, 2025.

Allergy-inducing plants are those that rely on wind rather than bees or butterflies to spread their pollen. Ragweed, which strikes in late summer and early fall, gets the most notoriety, but its springtime counterparts can be at least as irritating.

Trees most likely to cause symptoms include birch (Betula), catawba (Catalba), cypress (Cupressus), elm (Ulmus), hickory/pecan (Carya), oak (Quercus), sycamore (Platanus) and walnut (Juglans), according to the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS), created by horticulturist Thomas Ogren and published in his 2020 book, “The Allergy-Fighting Garden.”✂️

On the other hand, plants with “double” flowers or heavier pollen that doesn’t travel far are less likely to release much pollen.

Among trees, apricot (Prunus armeniaca), fig (Ficus), fir (Abies), fruiting pear (Pyrus), fruiting plum (Prunus domestica, Prunus insititia), redbud (Cerus), serviceberry(Amelanchier laevis), female ash (Fraxinus), female box elder (Acer negundo), female cottonwood/poplar (Populus), female maple (Acer), female palm (Arecaceae) and female willow (Salix) are easier on the respiratory system.✂️

As for flowers, you’ve got options: Begonia, female clematis, columbine, crocus, daffodil, delphinium, hibiscus, impatiens, iris, bird of paradise, pansy, petunia, phlox, poppy, snapdragon, tulip, verbena and zinnia are friends. Roses, too — especially tightly packed, dense-petaled varieties, which exude even less pollen than those with single or semi-double flowers (rose allergies are more often fragrance-related than due to pollen, according to Ogren).

🍚 I like rice — it’s one of my favorite starches — but I had no idea it could be better for you than just the starch on your plate to fill you up along with the “good” foods! 🤣 Check it out for yourself!

There's a secret superfood in white rice and pasta: Here's how to unlock it, Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR, May 12, 2025.

But what if there's a way to make the naughty carbs a bit nicer? In the past decade, food scientists have figured out a way to help people digest refined carbohydrates more slowly. In the process, they've uncovered a surprise: a super nutrient hidden inside white pasta and white rice.

It's called resistant starch. Studies have found that eating more resistant starch comes with myriad health benefits. It can improve gut health, lower inflammation in your body and enhance insulin sensitivity. And for people with diabetes, it helps with blood sugar management, a meta-analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition found.

And here's the good news: You can create this supernutrient in your own kitchen. All you have to do, Patterson says, is cook the rice or pasta and then chill it.

🌱 The 'Oscar' of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria, Dan Charles, NPR, May 13, 2025.

Mariangela Hungria, a microbiologist in Brazil, spent decades looking for bacteria in the soil that could act like fertilizer, boosting farmers' harvests. But she faced a lot of skepticism.✂️

Today, her work was rewarded with the World Food Prize, which recognizes advances in agriculture and nutrition. Bestowed by the World Food Prize Foundation since 1987, it comes with a cash award of $500,000.✂️

Hungria isolated useful strains of bacteria called rhizobia which inhabit nodules on soybean roots, capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that feeds the plant. She also documented benefits from a strain of another soil microbe, Azospirillum, which releases hormones that stimulate the growth of roots, allowing plants like corn, wheat and pasture grasses to capture nutrients more efficiently.✂️

Hungria wants to see women taking a bigger role. Farming has been shaped by a kind of masculine attitude, she says: claiming more land, competing to be "the winner of production."

Women are more likely to shift the focus of farming toward environmental sustainability, Hungria says. Caring for land that's already been claimed rather than trying to clear more. Focusing not just on the size of the harvest but on which crops deliver better nutrition.

That'll be part of her speech, she says, when she formally accepts the World Food Prize later this year. . And Hungria says she'll use the cash she has won to fund a new award that will recognize women who are working in agriculture, microbiology, communications or for the benefit of people with special needs.

🔬 Scientific societies take charge as U.S. climate report faces political uncertainty, Optimist Daily, May 14, 2025.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) announced plans to publish their own peer-reviewed assessments of climate change impacts on the United States. Their move comes after the administration told 400 scientists working on the federally mandated report that their work was being reevaluated—casting doubt on a key document required by law.

“We are filling in a gap in the scientific process,” said AGU President Brandon Jones. “It’s more about ensuring that science continues.”✂️

Rather than accept a gap in the public’s understanding, the AGU and AMS have chosen action. Their goal: produce a full scientific report within a year. Former federal scientist Anjuli Bamzai noted that the value of these reports lies in their long-range forecasting. “With the assessment, we’re better equipped to deal with the future,” she said. “We can’t be an ostrich and put our head in the sand and let it go.”

Wuebbles agrees: “Watering down or killing the national assessment will not keep the message about the importance of climate change from getting out.” The truth, backed by data and observation, has a way of surfacing.

🎶 Music Time 🎶

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🐩 💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩

Hello Everybody! It’s me, CG! I was able to find some nice stories for you today!

First, two stories from my city — a dog/cat story and a bird story!

Chicago animal control unveils free, 24-hour microchip scanning to find lost pets, Kaitlin Washburn, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 8, 2025.

Lost pets can now be reunited with their families faster, thanks to a new free station for scanning their microchips.✂️

Microchips, about the size of a grain of rice, are radio frequency identification devices implanted in dogs and cats, usually between their shoulder blades. Owners then register their personal information, like their phone number and home address, on to the chip using a registration database. The chips are only active when they’re scanned and aren’t powered by batteries.

The chips can be scanned and activated at any animal shelter, vet clinic or police station. Owners can figure out which registry tracks their pet’s microchip on the American Animal Health Association’s website.

The process for using the scanner is laid out at the station in English and Spanish. The steps are:

Scan the pet’s microchip using the handheld device provided in the weatherproof case.

Write down or take a photo of the chip number that appears on the screen.

Call the microchip company; instructions provided at the scanning station.

The company will reach out to the registered owner and help facilitate the reunion.

x
Lost pets can now be reunited with their families faster, thanks to new free station for scanning their microchip.
chicago.suntimes.com/animals/2025...

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— Chicago Sun-Times (@chicago.suntimes.com) May 8, 2025 at 9:30 AM

🐦 Now the bird story ….📢 da da da DAAAAAA!!!…. we are SO excited here in Chicago! Imani and Sea Rocket — our Great Lakes Piping Plover pair have returned to Montrose Beach!! Also, the bachelor plover, Pippin (a real favorite with our bird watchers) has also returned and now everybody is hoping another female will come to the beach and pair up with him! There was one hatchling who survived last year, Nagamo, but we don’t know its sex nor if it is going to make it back here this year. FINGERS and PAWS CROSSED!!! 🤞🐾

But for now, we are overjoyed that both Imani and Sea Rocket have returned!! 😍 There’s another successful pair that returned up in Wisconsin at Waukegan. I don’t know as much about them, but we here in Chicagoland are so happy for Wisconsin, too!

Piping Plover Nest Watch Is On as Imani's Mate Lands at Montrose and Waukegan's Pair Makes Safe Return Too, Patti Wetli, WTTW (PBS), May 12, 2025.

The moment Illinois piping plover watchers have been waiting for finally arrived: The ladies are back.

Sea Rocket, the female plover who mated with Monty-and-Rose scion Imani in 2024, landed at Montrose Beach over the weekend, identified by her telltale leg bands, according to Chicago Piping Plovers. She joins Imani and Pippin, in a repeat of last year's love triangle.

Plover monitors will be keeping a close eye on mating and nesting behavior, with Sea Rocket and Imani having hatched four chicks in 2024. Only one, Nagamo, survived to full fledge. With Nagamo's sex unknown, hopes have been high that the chick might be a female and a potential partner for Pippin.

The size of the protected beach at Montrose could likely support two nesting pairs of plovers, according to wildlife experts.

👶 Here, have a few moments of dogs with newborn human babies:

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🐶 This next story is sort of sad and sort of happy. I feel bad for Charlie the pug, because his humans are fighting over who gets to keep him. That has to be awful for everybody. I think the judge did the best thing, in a situation that is so hard. But vaccination is important — even life and death in some cases. I am happy that Charlie will get his vaccinations.

Regina woman wins custody of Charlie the pug because former partner refused to vaccinate him, Dan Zakreski, CBC, May 12, 2025.

"These types of claims tear at the heartstrings of a judge," he wrote in his May 1 civil court decision... Having to decide whether a person is to be denied access to, and possession of, a pet that they have loved and cared for over many years is not an enjoyable task."✂️

Charlie the pug (screenshot of CBC photo)

Demong said the man did not help his case by admitting under questioning that he had doctored the original purchase agreement by adding his name and signature to make it look like the couple had jointly paid the $800 to buy it from a breeder.

Even with that misstep, Demong said both owners raised the animal, took good care of it and shared costs.

It was the stance on vaccines that tilted the scale. The man had made it clear he opposed vaccines, going so far as sending a letter to their vet indicating that he did not consent "to Charlie my black pug get [sic] his vaccinations of any sort."✂️

"Were he granted exclusive possession and ownership of Charlie and followed through with his anti-vaccine approach to Charlie's care, this nonfeasance/misfeasance could cause illness or death not only to Charlie, but to animals and humans which come into contact with him," Demong wrote.

"It is not only in Charlie's best interest, but it alleviates the potential concern that [his] approach to dog care might create serious health hazards to other animals and to people who encounter him."

Demong awarded the woman full ownership of Charlie, conditional on her paying her former partner $400.

⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️

⚡️ Reality Strikes Back, Matt Kerbel, Wolves and Sheep, May 12, 2025.

⚡️ Why Pope Leo XIV is More than One Small Stand Against Trump, Jill Filipovic, Daily Beast, May 13, 2025.

⚡️ I’m a College Dropout and I’m Better at U.S. Civics than SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts, Michael Ian Black, Daily Beast, May 13, 2025.

⚡️ Why the Democrats are still stuck in the past, Paul Rosenberg, Salon, May 10, 2025.

⚡️ How middle-of-the-night wake-ups might unlock your most creative ideas, Optimist Daily, May 8, 2025.

⚡️ A GRAND EXPERIMENT IN PARENTHOOD AND FRIENDSHIP, Rhaina Cohen, the Atlantic, May 11, 2025.

⚡️ Six striking images showcase scientific fieldwork, Jack Leeming, Nature, May 13, 2025.

🎧 Antony Blinken: ‘The jury is still out’ if the US is a reliable ally, Times Radio YouTube, May 12, 2025.

🎧 Pope Leo XIV: The Journey from Chicago to Rome. A Charlie Rose Global Conversation, Charlie Rose, May 10, 2025.

🎧 Pete On How We Stand Up To Trump and Offer Something Better, Pete Buttigieg, May 13, 2025.

🎧 Trump Broke The Global Economy All By Himself (w/ Justin Wolfers), the Bulwark, May 13, 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.

🎩 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

‼️ Check your voter registration ‼️ ← Seems obvious, but super important.

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.

Jessica Craven at Chop Wood, Carry Water provides scripts to help you if you worry about what to say.

📪 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.

⚖️ Support the ACLU!

🚨 NEW! 🚨

Thanks to arhpdx for this link from yesterday’s GNR:

National Parks Conservation Association ← Find out how you can help keep our national parks going strong through these tumultuous times!

🧵 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 this Wednesday.

Remember everybody, you are important and your wellbeing is important, too. Take good care of yourself. Get some rest. Eat nutritious food. Make time for fresh air and time outdoors to help you keep perspective.