GNR for May 14

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.

Thanks for reading and have a happy Wednesday!

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Make ICE Take Off Their Masks

chloris creator

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

Tuesday May 13, 2025 · 10:01 AM PDT

2025/05/13 · 10:01

We keep hearing about masked agents coming and pulling people off the streets or out of their houses.

This needs to stop.

And it can be stopped, if we protest and resist. We have seen pushback work in many areas!

But we need to elevate this.

Some are demanding the masks come off, such as in Newark:

NEW: Clashes now outside ICE’s Delaney Hall detention centre. Masked agents inside are pushing protestors & Newark Police seemingly between them. A masked agent appears to be saying “You wanna go, you wanna go?” to one of the protestors. “Take your mask off!”, is shouted back. (🎥 Freedom News)
— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) 2025-05-12T21:43:48.314Z

Yes, many of these people are being denied due process, but it’s worse than that.

Why are ICE agents masked to begin with? Our law enforcement officers shouldn’t be anonymous. Ever.
— George Takei (@georgetakei.bsky.social) 2025-05-12T22:37:11.261Z

Or, as Sandi Bachom says:

How are the masked ICE agents arresting people off the streets different from these guys I've filmed? Proud Boys, Blood Tribe, Patriot Front, Boogalo Boyz?
— Sandi Bachom 📹🎥🎬 (@sandibachom.bsky.social) 2025-05-11T02:10:25.364Z

If they were doing anything honorable they would show their faces. The fact that they are not, means they know what they are doing is wrong.

It’s also possible for anyone to put on a mask and to engage in carjacking and other crimes.

Of course, some people have asked questions about this. This is from back in March Emma Tucker, CNN

As the Trump administration continues to expand its deportation actions, startling scenes have emerged in recent weeks of masked federal agents in plain clothes detaining international students on campus or near their homes, raising serious questions about those tactics and their authority to wear face coverings.

There is no federal policy dictating when officers can or should cover their faces during arrests, but historically they have almost always worn them only while performing undercover work to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, law enforcement experts told CNN.

Practices have seemingly changed due to the concern agents will be targeted as a byproduct of the Trump administration’s policies, in a climate where the average person can use technology to expose an officer’s personal information, said Jerry Robinette, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security special agent in charge, who currently serves as a consultant for law enforcement agencies. ✂️

The optics are striking because historically in the US, agents have almost always gone without face coverings when arresting some of the country’s most dangerous criminals – such as John Gotti, the head of the Gambino crime family, or the cartel boss El Chapo – unlike in countries like Mexico, Italy or those in the Eastern Bloc, according to Miller and John Sandweg, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and former acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security.

The question has been raised, but not enough.

I don’t know if others are pushing back, but we need to elevate it. Please, demand our representatives and senators to raise an outcry. Local governments may be able to help, Get the media to report on it.

No more masked agents!

Please, include suggestions below.

🐦 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.

GNR for May 13, 2025 — Witnessing is the beginning of resisting

arhpdx

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

Tuesday May 13, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/13 · 04:00

Happy Tuesday morning, Gnusies! As usual, I’ve found a lot of good news for you, and some entertainment and laughs, too. But I’m going to begin on a serious note.

Last Tuesday, I had the extraordinary experience of taking a tour through an exhibition of art by a Holocaust survivor whose son, a Portland rabbi, led the tour. Alice Lok Cahana’s art was stunning, and Rabbi Michael Cahana's recounting of her experiences was both painful and inspiring. One of the things he told us has stayed in my mind all week: Alice told her son that of all her memories, including her time at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, the one that was most painful for her was the walk from her home in Sárvár, Hungary, to the train station after the Nazis ordered all the Jews to leave. What burned into her memory was the absence of anyone out on the street or even looking through their windows to witness the erasure of their Jewish neighbors from the town. When she wrote her memoir, she called it “Empty Windows.”

We are living through a very dangerous and frightening time in our country now, and many people are comparing ICE to the Nazi Gestapo. But a big difference between the U.S. in 2025 and Germany in 1933 — one that continually gives me hope — is that Americans are turning out to be active witnesses of the atrocities. They’re not only showing up, they’re recording events on their phones, confronting the thugs from ICE and MAGA-compliant local police departments, and demanding action from their elected officials. The recent events in Worcester, MA, illustrate this. More and more of us are paying attention, and once we pay attention and become witnesses, we begin to resist and we encourage others to resist, too.

When 17-year-old Darnella Frazier recorded George Floyd’s murder on her cell phone, we all got an indelible lesson in the power of witnessing. That lesson is serving us well now.

Opening poem

By Denise Levertov

* * * * *

Good news in politics and resistance

Hill leaders question Trump’s attempted Library of Congress takeover

It’s certainly unusual for me to open this section with news about Republican Congresscritters pushing back against Cheatolini! Fingers crossed this is the beginning of spinal growth among the Rs.

From Politico:

Top congressional leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s attempt to replace to Library of Congress leaders, with the dispute over presidential powers over the institution leaving its future in question Monday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a brief interview that congressional leaders “want to make sure we’re following precedent and procedure” in naming a replacement for Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress whom Trump dismissed Thursday.

Trump on Monday appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian of Congress, but the official now holding that post, Robert Randolph Newlen, did not immediately recognize the appointment as valid, according to an email Newlen sent to library employees. The clash included a brief standoff Monday at the Library of Congress in which Justice Department officials arrived claiming to be newly in charge of the agency, said a person familiar with the interaction. After library officials resisted, the DOJ officials departed without resolving the conflict. Capitol Police officers were called to the scene but told by library staff that they were were not needed, according to another person, who was also granted anonymity to describe the sensitive matter. ✂️

A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately return a request for comment. Any GOP objections to Blanche’s appointment would represent rare pushback to Trump’s presidential authority. ...While the president nominates the Librarian of Congress for Senate confirmation, the library itself is part of the legislative branch. Thune did not answer when asked whether he thought Trump had the authority to name an acting chief librarian.

Congressional Democrats have castigated Trump’s moves at the library and have called for Congress to end the president’s power to nominate the top librarian. A House Democratic litigation task force is reviewing potential legal options, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.

Democrats vote to reject Senate crypto bill

This is newsworthy because there had been some hints of Dem defection before the vote. Jessica Craven thinks our success was fueled by all the phone calls and emails constituents sent to their Dem senators. Good work, y’all!

From Politico:

Senate Democrats on Thursday voted down a procedural motion that would allow the upper chamber to take up landmark GOP-led cryptocurrency legislation, delivering a stunning blow to Republicans on one of their first major policy pushes since clinching a trifecta.

The upper chamber voted 48-49 not to proceed on the crypto bill, squashing the effort following a chaotic week of negotiations in which the GOP backers of the legislation sought to win over a group of key Democratic holdouts.

All Democrats and three Republicans — including Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri — voted against the effort, which required 60 votes to advance. Democratic negotiators pushed to delay the vote until next week to give them more time to circulate potential changes with members, but GOP leaders plowed ahead. ✂️

The vote is a major loss for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other pro-crypto Republicans, and it could jeopardize a broader GOP effort to advance several pieces of industry-friendly digital assets legislation this year. Thune voted against the bill and entered a motion to reconsider, which will allow him to bring it back up on the floor. ✂️

The vote is a victory for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been against the GOP-led stablecoin effort.

In Montana, a Rare Sight: Republicans and Democrats Voting Together

It’s definitely a good sign that some Rs are acknowledging that their party’s policies are harming their constituents and are starting to join their Dem colleagues in voting against those policies.

From The NY Times (gift link):

In deep-red Montana, Republicans have controlled both houses of the Legislature since 2011, and the governor’s office since 2021. They ousted the last remaining Democratic statewide official, former Senator Jon Tester, in November.

Which has made it all the more aggravating for conservative lawmakers to find themselves effectively in the minority this year. After an intraparty dispute in January, nine Republican state senators began breaking with their caucus on key votes, siding with the 18 Democrats in the 50-person chamber. The result: a 27-person majority that has all but locked Republican leaders out of power.

Some or all of the Nine, as the Republican defectors are known, have voted with Democrats to reauthorize a Medicaid expansion, establish a child tax credit, increase access to maternal health care, and pass the state budget. They have helped block bills that would have weakened labor unions, made state judicial elections more partisan and established an unlimited hunting season on wolves. On [May 1], the session’s final day, they again broke with their party, pushing through a property tax cut to assist residents struggling with soaring home values.

The unusual alliance shows that for all the seeming unanimity in the MAGA movement, Republicans can still clash over policy objectives and the wielding of power. And in an era when advancing legislation often loses out to mocking the opposing party, it shows that some on the right remain more interested in getting things done.

South Florida chefs fight to save the country's largest food assistance program

This is a great example of using whatever platform you have to join with like-minded colleagues to push back against harmful legislation. Chefs can do it, doctors can do it, research scientists can do it, lawyers can do it. Probably all of us can do it!

From WUSF:

Eight South Florida chefs are joining more than 150 culinary colleagues nationwide in urging Congress to protect children from going hungry.

They are speaking out against proposed deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, which helps low-income families buy groceries.

"Cuts to SNAP will guarantee more hunger and hardship for families," said Lorena Garcia, a Venezuelan chef based in South Florida who is among those who signed a letter to Congress opposing the cuts. ✂️

In the letter to Congress, the chefs mentioned that SNAP is one of the nation's most powerful tools to end hunger, supplementing a family's food budget and ensuring they can provide nutritious meals without sacrificing other essential needs.

"Kids who receive SNAP do better in schools. They're healthier [than] those [who] actually do not have access to it," Garcia said. "[It] is such a powerful tool that we need in order to combat hunger."

AGU and AMS Join Forces on Special Collection to Maintain Momentum of Research Supporting the U.S. National Climate Assessment

Here’s an example of scientists banding together to keep vital research going.

From AGU:

The American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists, and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the professional society for atmospheric and related sciences and services, invite manuscripts for a new, first-of-its-kind special collection focused on climate change in the United States. This catalog of over 29 peer-reviewed journals covers all aspects of climate, including observations, projections, impacts, risks, and solutions.

This effort aims to sustain the momentum of the sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA), the authors and staff of which were dismissed earlier this week by the Trump Administration, almost a year into the process. Congressionally mandated, the NCA draws on the latest scientific research to evaluate how climate change is affecting the United States. The new special collection does not replace the NCA but instead creates a mechanism for this important work to continue.

“It’s incumbent on us to ensure our communities, our neighbors, our children are all protected and prepared for the mounting risks of climate change,” said AGU President Brandon Jones. “This collaboration provides a critical pathway for a wide range of researchers to come together and provide the science needed to support the global enterprise pursuing solutions to climate change.”

National Park Nonprofits Are Booming Amid the Park Service Turmoil

Although private donations can’t entirely fill the gap in funding that has been cut from the national parks’ budgets, private dollars will keep the parks going until we can reverse these reckless cuts.

From Outside:

This is no ordinary spring for Acadia, Shenandoah, or the rest of America’s 63 national parks and 433 National Park Service-managed sites. Starting in February, the Federal government fired 1,000 NPS workers and persuaded 750 to take buyouts. Since then, the government has issued a flurry of unprecedented orders that range from requiring parks to remain open despite staffing shortages to giving Tyler Hassan of the Department of Government Efficiency the power to “effectuate the consolidation, unification and optimization of administrative functions” within the NPS.

As the NPS has been shaken up, the nonprofits associated with individual National Parks have seen a major uptick in volunteers and cash donations. Outside reached out to some of the most prominent NPS nonprofits, and heard a similar story.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest among our supporters and our members in finding ways they can express their care for the park,” said Elizabeth Silkes, chief executive officer for the Grand Canyon Conservancy (GCC). The organization launched a new fundraising campaign on April 24 called Stand Together for Grand Canyon. ✂️

While the NPS is funded by the federal government, nonprofits like the Grand Canyon Conservancy pay for a wide array of programs, from trail maintenance, to educational classes for kids, to seasonal staff inside of the park. Each conservancy has its own strategy for investing funds and manpower. ✂️

“Historically, philanthropic support has not replaced federal funding or paid for permanent government roles,” [Jessica] Cocciolone [Executive Director of Shenandoah National Park] said. “Our role is to provide additive support that enhances what the federal budget enables, not to supplant it.”

But the staff cuts within the NPS have forced some conservancy leaders to rethink this approach. Shenandoah National Park Trust is considering expanding its role to fund permanent park positions. “We firmly believe it’s the federal government’s job to operate and steward these parks in line with the NPS mission,” Cocciolone said. “But we also know these are unprecedented times, and we’re being asked to do more.”

* * * * *

🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿

Randy Rainbow nails it yet again — IMCOMPETENT!

YouTube Video

Trump’s Attack on ActBlue Just Blew Up in His Face

A Trumpian tantrum attack shows us where we need to send extra support. ActBlue will come out of this fight stronger than ever.

From The New Republic:

The Trump administration’s decision to target ActBlue has instead resulted in the left-leaning platform’s biggest fundraising day of the year.

On [April 24th], Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate the online donations platform, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into Republican allegations that ActBlue had allowed “‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees.” ActBlue is a crucial fundraising tool for Democrats, as almost all party candidates use it in both primary and general elections.

The announcement inspired donors across the country to open their wallets, handing the Democratic Party a massive financial boost as some PACs more than quadrupled their fundraising within 24 hours of Trump’s memorandum.

“PACs that typically raise $3,000 to $6,000 on a message raised $25,000 and counting,” Turn Left PAC senior adviser Randy Jones told The New Republic.

* * * * *

The media messing up

This nails the situation perfectly.

The sane-washing of Trump’s trade madness is inexcusable.
US implements tariffs, China matches.
US implements more tariffs, China matches.
US surrenders & partly reduces tariffs, China matches.
Media: “MAJOR TRADE DEAL!”
What a joke.

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 4:05 AM

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Good news from my corner of the world

This Oregon program seeks to unlock opportunities for Latino farmers and gardeners

It’s beautiful to see Oregon’s Latino population moving from being day laborers in other people’s fields to working fields of their own. Some of the best produce I buy in my favorite farmers markets is grown by Latino farmers.

From Oregon Public Broadcasting:

Growing up in Guatemala, Alejandro Tecum wanted nothing to do with farming, he said. “When I was younger, I worked on my parents’ land and I came to hate it with all my soul because it was hard work,” he said in Spanish. “We were killing the soil, every year we were killing the soil,” he said. “It wasn’t until I learned that there was a way to practically do nothing and let the soil heal on its own that I got hooked.”

Tecum now lives in a region of Oregon with some of the most rich, productive soils in the country – the Willamette Valley. It’s also a region with a large percentage of Latinos. He leads a program in Washington County, where only about 7% of farms are Latino or Hispanic owned, that seeks to help aspiring farmers or home gardeners successfully grow their own food or market their own produce. ✂️

Alejandro Tecum talks about fertilizers and cover crops at a class on April 7, 2025. Tecum is the regenerative agriculture education and farm incubator coordinator at Adelante Mujeres.

Nonprofit Adelante Mujeres was founded to support Latina women and their families through education and leadership training. For two decades, its regenerative farming and land access program has been focusing on the importance of soil health, soil conservation and pest management, and it’s entirely taught in Spanish. More than 400 people have graduated from the program in just the last seven years.

Some Latino or Hispanic immigrants bring their culture and farming knowledge because they grew up farming in their home countries. Some want to know how to do it better, or they might do it for the cost benefits of home gardening, while others might want the boost to start their own farm, Tecum said.

Accessing food with dignity: El Centro Mercado, Cornelius free food pantry, opens doors

El Centro Mercado is the kind of food pantry that looks exactly like a grocery store but without any prices. Everything is free.

From Hillsboro News Times:

As food banks across Washington County tighten their budgets, Centro Cultural’s El Centro Mercado has officially opened its doors in a historic downtown Cornelius storefront where “people can access food with dignity.”

Elected officials and community leaders gathered Friday, May 9, to celebrate the grand opening of the Washington County nonprofit’s market-style free food pantry — an initiative rooted in efforts to feed folks during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Centro previously partnered with the Oregon Food Bank to provide resources for families once a month, nonprofit member Rose Gallegos saw a growing need in the community in 2020 — and took things into the cultural organization's hands with a pantry at "La Plaza" on the main Centro campus.

By the end of 2021, the organization broke ground on the new location inside a century-old space at 1216 E. Baseline St., giving one of the oldest buildings in the city a major facelift in a multiphase development. To help revitalize the building’s degrading exterior — and open new doorways for modernization in Cornelius’ aging downtown — Centro received funding at the state and local levels. The organization was granted $199,121 in 2023 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department through the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant, a state-funded effort to breathe new life into historic city centers. The city of Cornelius matched the award with $150,000 of its own. ✂️

“Anybody who walks in the door is welcome, and we do get folks from all over the county who come here and are able to take food that is culturally appropriate for them,” Caballero Rubio said.

Portland is still weird!

Back in 2007, Portland’s iconic music store, Music Millennium, started selling bumper stickers saying “Keep Portland Weird,” and the city embraced the slogan. Here’s a photo:

Last Tuesday, we got proof that Portland’s special brand of goofy weirdness is alive and well.

From Nextdoor:

Original post: Did anyone else see the naked guy driving a bath tub down 10th near hawthorn flipping people off?

Comments:

If this isn’t the most Portland post I’ve ever heard… WHAT?! lol

Sounds like the most Portland thing ever lol

Cool

Good to see the old skool version of Portland weirdness again!! 🤭😂

* * * * *

Good news from around the nation

IT’S OVER: Republican Jefferson Griffin Concedes in North Carolina Supreme Court Race

This story has been covered a lot on DKos, but I had to include it because it makes me so damn happy.

From Democracy Docket:

LOSER!!!

Jefferson Griffin, the Republican candidate in the 2024 North Carolina state Supreme Court election, finally conceded six months after losing the race to incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, the Associated Press reported.

Griffin’s concession comes after a federal judge Monday ordered the state to certify Riggs’ election victory. The federal court order effectively halted Griffin’s ongoing efforts to overturn the election and disenfranchise thousands of voters. In a statement, the North Carolina elections board said the race will be certified after the federal court’s seven-day stay ends, on May 12.

“While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”

WINNER!!!

In a statement, Riggs [said], “After millions of dollars spent, more than 68,000 voters at risk of losing their votes, thousands of volunteers mobilized, hundreds of legal documents filed, and immeasurable damage done to our democracy, I’m glad the will of the voters was finally heard, six months and two days after Election Day,” she said. “It’s been my honor to lead this fight — even though it should never have happened — and I’m in awe of the North Carolinians whose courage reminds us all that we can use our voices to hold accountable any politician who seeks to take power out of the hands of the people.”

Lincoln [NE] voters approve ban on source-of-income housing discrimination

I love that this was “overwhelmingly approved”!

From KOLN-KGIN:

Voters in Lincoln overwhelmingly approved a change to city ordinance [last] Tuesday that bans housing discrimination based on a renter or buyer‘s source of income.

Unofficial final results released by the Lancaster County Election Commission showed 25,450 votes in favor of the ordinance and 13,216 against it.

Roughly 7,700 early vote ballots are expected to be counted on Friday, May 9. An additional 220 provisional ballots — including 216 regular and four requiring voter identification — will be tallied on Wednesday, May 14.

The measure prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to tenants who use housing vouchers, public assistance or other lawful income sources, including those enrolled in the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program. Prior to the vote, landlords in Lincoln were allowed to deny applicants based on how they paid their rent.

The ballot initiative was spearheaded by Lincoln for Fair Housing, a coalition of nearly 20 community organizations. In a statement issued after the results were announced, the group praised the vote as a victory for equity and inclusion.

Chicago City Council Passes Mayor Johnson’s Landmark Green Social Housing Ordinance

Affordable green housing is a perfect win-win. And it looks like the new nonprofit’s reinvestment in these housing developments via a revolving loan fund will keep the project growing.

From Chicago.gov:

[On May 7th], the Chicago City Council passed Mayor Johnson’s Green Social Housing (GSH) Ordinance...to expand affordable housing in Chicago while upholding the City’s green building standards. The ordinance lays the groundwork for the creation of an independent nonprofit with the authority to serve as a GSH developer. With the passage of the GSH ordinance, Chicago becomes the first major city in the country to implement this innovative model for developing permanent affordable housing. ✂️

GSH will be funded with $135 million from Mayor Johnson’s Housing and Economic Development (HED) Bond. A newly created nonprofit, known as The Residential Investment Corporation (RIC), will operate the GSH model independently of the Department of Housing. RIC will primarily own and operate these developments, with profits reinvested into future projects or used to increase affordability. Once established, this revolving loan fund will provide low-cost financing and equity investments for developing permanently affordable, mixed-income housing.

Community solar is winning over Republican lawmakers around the US

More evidence that Rs are persuadable if they can be made to understand the benefits to their constituents.

From Canary Media:

In several states, Republican lawmakers are taking the lead on an unexpected policy priority: encouraging more community solar.

This year, Republicans in Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio have sponsored bills to spur the growth of this shared renewable energy resource in their states. Community solar installations, which are typically 1 to 5 megawatts, or up to 30 acres, allow households to reap the benefits of cheaper, clean power without putting panels on their own roofs. And customers who subscribe to these projects can save money on their electricity bills. ✂️

Twenty-five states have already adopted policies to enable community solar, according to an April report from the NC Clean Energy Technology Center. Nationwide, shared solar had its biggest growth spurt ever in 2024, rising 35% from 2023 to reach a cumulative 8.6 gigawatts of installed capacity, according to Wood Mackenzie. Now, the idea is gaining momentum among conservatives.

Not only are GOP lawmakers introducing and signing on to more community solar bills, but other local Republican stakeholders such as chambers of commerce, landowners, and conservative policy groups are also voicing their support, according to the national trade association Coalition for Community Solar Access.The libertarian group Americans for Prosperity is backing Iowa’s HF 404 — alongside Walmart. Last year, in Alaska, several GOP legislators voted for a community solar bill, and the state’s Republican governor signed it into law. ✂️

That Republicans are advocating for solar at the local level comes as something of a surprise given the federal government’s ongoing opposition to clean energy. On Capitol Hill, GOP lawmakers are weighing the repeal of federal tax credits for renewables, and the Trump administration has attempted to claw back billions of dollars Congress authorized for solar and other clean energy projects. At the same time, the executive branch claims its actions are “ensuring America’s future is marked by energy growth and abundance – not scarcity.”

So why is community solar finding fans among some local Republican lawmakers? These projects brim with benefits, including ones that tap into the conservative principles of free markets and individual property rights, according to advocates.

* * * * *

Good news from around the world

“An anti-MAGA Pope”

Jen Rubin’s take on any event of this magnitude is worth reading, and I found this short essay especially rewarding.

By Jen Rubin on The Contrarian:

History was made today with the announcement of a new pope. “Robert Francis Prevost, became the first American pope, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. He was not considered a favorite…any American would be a long shot to become pontiff,” the New York Times reports.

The cardinals chose someone exceptionally close to Pope Francis, a humble leader of the flock who emphasized care for the environment, the poor, and migrants. In his opening remarks in St. Peter’s Square, one could hear the echo of Pope Francis’s inclusive message. “We can be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, that is always open to receive everyone — just like in this square, to welcome everyone, in charity, dialogue and love,” Pope Leo XIV said.

For an American Catholic Church that often veered far to the right, the new pope may help realign U.S. bishops with the sentiments Francis brought to the Vatican. It also has not escaped notice that before ascending to the papacy, he frequently posted criticisms of J.D. Vance’s remarks misstating church doctrine, Donald Trump’s harsh immigration policies, and Trump and El Salvadoran autocrat President Nayib Bukele sneering at the fate of deportees.

The selection of his papal name may carry significance. Pope Leo XIII was called the “Social Pope” or the “Pope of the Workers” in recognition of his support for trade unions, workers’ rights, and social justice. That suggests he will advance a progressive world outlook at odds with MAGA cult’s utter lack of empathy.

If we pull back, the elevation of Pope Leo XIV might be seen as the third recent “election” (following Canada and Australia) in which an anti-MAGA figure was selected. For those who harbor aspirations for a more humane, rational, decent, and inclusive world, the new pope offers a ray of hope. We badly need a counterpoint to Trump’s dark, cruel, ignorant, materialist, and bigoted outlook. You do not have to be Catholic to hope Pope Leo XIV provides that.

—Jen Rubin

Editor-in Chief

New Pope Has Creole Roots in New Orleans

So Pope Leo XIV is not only anti-MAGA, he also has Black ancestors! This is absolutely my favorite bit of news from the past week. The “American Pope” is American in the best possible way, a product of our unique multi-ethnic, multi-racial melting pot.

From The NY Times (gift link):

Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans.

Image of a grave marker in Chicago for members of the Martinez family, including the new pope’s grandparents.

The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or “mulatto” in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting pot of people with African, Caribbean and European roots.

The grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, eventually moved to Chicago in the early 20th century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope’s mother.

The discovery means that Leo XIV, as the pope will be known, is not only breaking ground as the first U.S.-born pontiff. He also comes from a family that reflects the many threads that make up the complicated and rich fabric of the American story.

The pope’s background was unearthed Thursday by a New Orleans genealogist, Jari C. Honora, and confirmed to The New York Times by the pope’s older brother, John Prevost, 71, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.

“This discovery is just an additional reminder of how interwoven we are as Americans,” Mr. Honora said in a text message late Thursday. “I hope that it will highlight the long history of Black Catholics, both free and enslaved, in this country, which includes the Holy Father’s family.”

Russian Economy Enters Full Collapse Mode

We’ve all been waiting for this shoe to drop for a long time, but according to this long-time observer, we should see the impact this year.

By Evgen Istrebin in Kyiv Insider:

I looked at Russia’s 2025 budget figures, and what I found is nothing short of a disaster in the making. The numbers I compiled in the table reveal the harsh reality: Russia is on the brink of financial collapse due to its reckless military spending and collapsing revenue base. Let’s break it down.

The 2025 budget plan was for a 5% increase in spending, a total of 42,297 billion rubles. But in the first four months alone, they’ve already spent 15,499 billion rubles — an increase of 21%. ...Because of this overspending, the budget deficit has grown by 182% year-on-year to RUB 3,229 billion over four months. To reach their annual target, they will need to cut the deficit by 76% over the remaining eight months – an impossible task in wartime. ✂️

War is the heart of this crisis. Military spending is growing rapidly – the Center for European Policy Analysis estimates that it will amount to $140 billion in 2025, which is 25% more than expected. Meanwhile, the National Welfare Fund, their financial buffer, is almost depleted to 3.2 trillion rubles as of April 1, and the data for May has not yet been published. This is clearly not enough to cover a deficit of this magnitude.

Oil prices are falling and sanctions are strangling their exports. They are left with two options: end the war to limit spending, or resort to printing money, which will destroy their economy. Some point out that their planned deficit is always 1.5-2 trillion rubles lower than the actual deficit, and this trend has been observed since 2022. With revenues shrinking and military spending growing, they are hurtling toward a financial wall like a locomotive into concrete. This is not just a budget crisis; it is a systemic failure that could transform their economy and the conflict they are fueling.

* * * * *

My favorite recent quotes, memes, and cartoons

I’ll start with three gems from Jay Kuo’s indispensable “Just for Skeets and Giggles”:

TANK vs TESLA
"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"
- ⁠WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank

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— Led By Donkeys (@ledbydonkeys.org) May 7, 2025 at 9:46 AM

The best students do this instead of using AI.

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— Joseph Fasano (@josephfasano.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 12:08 PM

Hiding among the flowers as if she is one of them 🌸

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— Why you should love animals (@animalstwts.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 12:29 AM

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Good news in medicine

NIH Funding Now Will Prioritize Research That Eschews Animal Testing to Push Innovation

Illustrating the truism that every cloud has its silver lining, RFK Jr’s hostile takeover of the NIH has resulted in one positive outcome — favoring grant proposals that don’t use animal testing.

From Good News Network:

The National Institutes of Health recently announced that in order to improve the quality of science used in drug development, the agency would favor grant proposals that move away from animal testing. The FDA, which had previously announced a similar change, described the decision as one that would move research towards using “a range of approaches, including AI-based computational models of toxicity and cell lines, and organoid toxicity testing in a laboratory setting.” ✂️

Some bodies of research have been inconclusive on the efficacy of translating the results of animal models to human diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, a statement from the NIH read. ✂️

To integrate innovative human-based science, the NIH intends to establish an Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) within NIH’s Office of the Director. The new office will coordinate NIH-wide efforts to develop, validate, and scale the use of non-animal approaches across the agency’s biomedical research portfolio and “serve as a hub for interagency coordination and regulatory translation for public health protection,” the statement read.

“An astonishing 90-95% of drugs that pass animal tests go on to fail in human clinical trials, driving up costs for drugs, harming millions of animals, and delivering too few tangible results for patients in life and death circumstances,” wrote Wayne Pacelle, President of Animal Wellness Action. Pacelle lauded both the NIH and FDA decisions, claiming the consequences meant that perhaps in a few years, we’ll stop using millions of animals for testing. That includes thousands of primates and beagles every year.

British hospitals introduce treatment for heart failure that cuts deaths by 62%

This is truly amazing.

From The Guardian:

People in Britain with heart failure are being given larger doses of drugs at the start of their treatment after a global study found that this led to a huge fall in deaths. Experts say the new approach could mean those with the potentially fatal condition start receiving their ideal amount of medication within two weeks of diagnosis rather than after many months. ✂️

“Heart failure is a silent killer, so this new way of treating patients is a total gamechanger that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. It will save many lives and bring hope to so many families,” said Matthew Sunter, the lead heart failure nurse at St George’s. “In days gone by, we would start patients on a very low dose and increase it by very small doses. It could take nine to 12 months to reach the optimal dose. ...Strong-HF has allowed us to think completely differently. For the first time ever, we offer patients a review one week after discharge and we can catch them before they get sick enough to need to come back into hospital. And we can get them on to the recommended therapy for their heart failure within two to three weeks instead of nine to 12 months.”

The global trial showed that “once we establish patients on those drugs, we reduce their chance of dying by 62% and their chances of rehospitalisation for heart failure by 30%. That is huge and means we can prevent avoidable deaths while easing the pressures on our hospital,” Sunter added.

* * * * *

Good news in science

Okra and Fenugreek Extracts Safely Remove Microplastics From Water in New Texas Research

Researchers have been racing each other to discover which material(s) work best to trap and remove microplastics from water. This research looks very promising.

From Good News Network:

The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for [turning] okra and fenugreek extracts [into powders] and tested results in a variety of types of water. ...Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source. Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%). The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

* * * * *

Good news for the environment

Business leaders overwhelmingly back a rapid transition to renewable power

You can read the full poll results here: ‘Powering up: Business perspectives on shifting to renewable electricity’

From E3G:

‘Powering up: Business perspectives on shifting to renewable electricity’ is a poll of nearly 1500 business executives across 15 major global economies and emerging markets (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Türkiye, UK and US). It was commissioned by E3G, Beyond Fossil Fuels and We Mean Business and conducted by Savanta. It reveals that:

Business executives globally overwhelmingly back a rapid transition to renewable power, calling for a direct shift away from fossil fuels to renewables

97% support the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, with 78% advocating for this within 10 years.

Two thirds of business leaders said the energy transition doesn’t need to be done via gas: 67% advocate for a direct transition from coal to renewable energy with no new gas.

Among business executives who want their government to prioritise investment in renewables, nearly nine in ten (87%) globally also want them to stop using coal-fired electricity completely within the next decade.

Big businesses want a transition to a fully renewables-based electricity system within a decade, and are planning to switch up their operations and suppliers to ensure a competitive edge and long-term energy security.

Nearly three-quarters of big businesses plan to transition away from fossil fuels in their own organisations within a decade. 38% expect the majority of their electricity to come from renewables in 5 years, and a further 33% in 10 years.

Half of business leaders globally plan to relocate their operations (52%) and supply chains (49%) if their government doesn’t transition.

Over half (55%) see energy security as the top benefit of a renewables-based electricity system – improving energy security by reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Access to renewable electricity is a top priority for 90% of business leaders when deciding on where to invest.

93% of organisations are considering investing in on-site renewables to aid their operations.

Businesses want governments to step up, remove the top barriers to the transition and deliver the policy support and infrastructure needed for businesses to secure renewables at speed, or risk losing investment and jobs

Alongside cost, top barriers included: insufficient national infrastructure for storing and distributing renewable electricity (38%), insufficient availability of renewable electricity sources (37%), policy and regulatory support (36%), and absence of detailed energy policies and plans (35%).

A frequent policy request coming from business called for the government to provide incentives, education and training programs for workers in adjacent industries to reskill for renewable energy jobs (43%).

* * * * *

Good news for and about animals

Brought to you by Rascal and Margot, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.

Giant Mystical Eagle Thought to Be ‘Extinct in Mexico’ Reappears, Marking Landmark Moment for Conservationists

Rascal admits to being pretty intimidated by this harpy eagle. But he’s happy that harpy eagles are showing up in Mexico, at a safe distance.

From Good News Network:

A harpy eagle in attack posture

A harpy eagle, Latin America’s largest eagle, and one of the largest in the world, has been sighted in a rainforest in southern Mexico, where it was believed to be locally extinct.

Named for the crone-bird hybrid of Greek mythology, the appearance of this large and majestic raptor is worthy of the association. Adult females are much larger than their male counterparts, weighing up to 40 kilograms (20 lbs), and measuring more than 6 feet from wing tip to wing tip.

Despite a significantly slower and lower birthrate than other eagle species, the harpy eagle numbers in the tens of thousands across South America. In Central America however, they’re virtually extinct. In Mexico, it’s long been thought that they were, but dedicated wildlife monitors eventually proved otherwise. A 2011 photograph by a guide from the Siyaj Chan, a group of Indigenous community members who live near the Chiapas-Guatemala border, reignited interest from conservationists that the harpy may still exist in the state, reports Mexico News Daily.

Located in the Lacandon Jungle, a tropical rainforest stretching approximately 1.9 million hectares from southeast Chiapas into northern Guatemala and into the southern Yucatán Peninsula, it’s the only environment the primate-eating eagle can thrive in.

Margot would absolutely love to be a bodega cat! She solicits skritches from everyone she meets but mostly depends on us, and I confess that we do occasionally burn out. If she were in a bodega, the skritches would never stop!

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Rosy would have loved this sweet story.

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* * * * *

Morning Good News Roundups at 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd at 7 a.m. ET, 7 days a week:

The Monday GNR Newsroom (Jessiestaf, Killer300, and Bhu).
Alternating Tuesdays: arhpdx and niftywriter.
Wednesdays: 1st Wednesday different authors, 2nd MCUBernieFan, 3rd WineRev, 4th and 5th alamancedem
Thursdays: Mokurai.
Fridays: chloris creator. Regular links to the White House Briefing Room.
Saturdays: GoodNewsRoundup, the one and only!
Sundays: 2thanks. A brief roundup of Roundups, a retrospective, a smorgasbord, a bulletin board, an oasis, a watering hole, a thunder of hooves, a wellness, a place for beginners to learn the rules of the veldt. For instance, we do not welcome grammar-police comments in Roundups.
Nanny Ogg posts Evening Shade diaries at 7:30 p.m. ET every day but three: kraigo posts the Evening Shades on Saturdays, Girasol posts the Evening Shades on Sundays, and Momma O on Wednesdays. After a long day, Gnusies meet in the evening shade and continue sharing Good News, good community, good actions, FAFO activities of tfg, and many cats. Find most Evening Shades on the Trending List

For more information about the Good News group, please see our detailed Welcoming comment, one of the first comments in our morning diaries.

* * * * *

Good News Sources

👏👏👏 to Mokurai for putting our old lists of sources together in alphabetical order — and now providing Bluesky links for them!

And Mokurai has also created a Good News Roundup feed on Bluesky. If you’re on Bluesky, click on that link, then “pin” the feed.

* * * * *

A couple of new ways to get your news

The Fucking News

I love The Fucking News! It’s become one of my favorite sources of news and analysis. Here’s how author Jonathan Larsen describes what he does:

The Fucking News is the weekday-morning newsletter of journalist Jonathan Larsen (me), aggregating, contextualizing, and commenting rudely on the day’s news.

"I recommend signing up for these guys, if you like getting your morning news with swearing." - Naomi Klein.

Who doesn’t, these days?!?

The Fucking News

Today’s Edition Newsletter by Robert Hubbell

This is my other favorite source of news and commentary. Here’s how Hubbell describes what he’s up to:

The newsletter started in February 2017 as my effort (as a father and husband) to provide hope and perspective to my family after the unexpected results of the 2016 election. Over time, my family email was shared among friends and became of community of like-minded citizens devoted to preserving American democracy.

Everyone is welcome as a free subscriber to Today’s Edition Newsletter, though paying subscribers help me to devote more of my available time to the newsletter.

Today’s Edition Newsletter

* * * * *

Action Steps to Take Now

Sign up for 50501 updates

Make sure you know when there’s a 50501 event near you! Here’s the link:

50501

The Digital Drumbeat “Action Alerts” from DemCast

This “weekly roundup of opportunities for activism” is new to me, and I’m quite impressed by it. Among the activist sites in this week’s roundup are Mobilize, Action Network, Climate Now, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Check it out: March 29, 2025.

And if you want to sign up for their posts, here’s the link: Subscribe

The Big List of Protests

I found this on Bluesky on Saturday. You can filter the list by state or date, and you can add to it. Because it’s crowd-sourced, information about any particular protest needs to be confirmed directly with the event host. That said, it looks useful and is certainly inspiring to scroll through.

The Big List of Protests

Chop Wood, Carry Water

If you haven’t already signed up for the daily newsletter from Chop Wood, Carry Water, by Jessica Craven, do it!!

Here’s how she describes what she’s up to:

I started sending these emails right after Trump's election in an attempt to help bolster my own spirits and those of my devastated friends. “Chop Wood Carry Water” is a saying I learned from my dad; the idea is: when the going gets tough, put your head down and focus on simple actions. This newsletter offers such actions; they’re easy, but they’ll also help build a better democracy (and keep you sane).

As we head into the biggest election of our lives, also, the danger from MAGA Republicans is more real than ever. Our engagement and simple actions have never been more important. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!

What’s in the newsletter:

Each weekday I post:

A short pep talk

A call script for your two Senators

A call script for your House rep

An "extra credit" action

A Resistbot letter [Jessica provides complete info on this]

Sometimes a strategic donation suggestion

A way to help win an election

An invitation to a politics-related webinar

It should take you about 5-7 minutes to take the actions.

I find her pep talks genuinely effective and her actions easy to accomplish and very satisfying! She also does a GNR-style summary of the best news stories of the week every Sunday, which is a wonderful gift. I always use several of the stories she highlights on Sundays in my GNRs.

Indivisible’s action steps

These came out of a recent webinar. Jessica Craven summarized them as follows:

First, they want us to call our reps, for sure... But they’re also urging us to go in to our U.S. Senators’ offices in person… . I know it sounds daunting, but remember, these offices are there for constituents and they’re supposed to be willing to meet with anyone who asks. You won’t talk to the lawmaker, of course, but to a staffer who will convey what you say to them..

(Oh, and if you don’t know where your lawmakers’ offices are, guess what? Resistbot has a keyword for that! Text the word VISIT to 50409, follow the simple prompts, and they’ll give you all of your lawmakers’ office addresses.)

Abortion assistance

Please help spread information about this important resource!

#ASafeChoice is a referral network of physicians who provide medication abortion services ACROSS THE US.

People everywhere need to know about this option. These doctors have the capacity to help more women!

Let’s spread the word! ❤️✊

— Nick Knudsen (@nickknudsenus.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 1:00 PM

Here’s an easy action you can take RIGHT NOW:

Donate to two organizations providing support to people in no-abortion states who need assistance getting abortions.

National Network of Abortion Funds

The Brigid Alliance

Both of these organizations provide help with transportation, medical fees, hotel stays, etc., for those who have to travel out of state for an abortion. NNAF is a central clearing house for that assistance, The Brigid Alliance does that work directly.

And here’s another resource for women seeking abortions which I discovered only recently: Women on Web. They provide abortion pills worldwide for women who need to use them immediately and also for women who want to keep a supply on hand. You can make donations on their website to further their work.

And please pass this info along to anyone you know who may become pregnant.

From the National Network of Abortion Funds:

Misinformation is an anti-abortion tactic designed to already confuse people who are trying to get an abortion. In addition to pointing people to abortion funds, you can help by sharing accurate and important resources with your community:

If/When How's Repro Legal Helpline is a free legal resource for people seeking abortions who have questions about their legal rights. Helpline attorneys and advocates can be reached at reprolegalhelpline.org or 844-868-2812.

People need to know their rights when interacting with the health care system. If/When/How and Physicians for Reproductive Health created this simple guide with everything you need to know about talking to a healthcare provider after a miscarriage or abortion.

Get the truth out

Indivisible has created a Truth Brigade to push back against the lies.

Propaganda, false characterizations, intentionally misleading messages, and outright lies threaten our democracy and even our lives. We can effectively combat disinformation, despite the well-funded machines that drive it. They may have money, but we have truth and we have people.People believe sources they trust. When we share and amplify unified, factual messages to those who trust us, we shift the narrative. When we do this by the thousands--we’re part of the Indivisible Truth Brigade, and we get our country back. Join us.️

Our own Mokurai is a member. You can see all of the diaries in the Truth Sandwiches group on DK here.

Fight the climate crisis and the oligarchy in your own yard

Gardening Toad posted a DKos diary recently encouraging us to do our part “to completely rebuild our culture to one of equity and abundance for humans and the biosphere.” Check it out! What now? The power of us.

Goodie’s action steps

Run for something! Seriously? Why not you?

Get involved with the Democratic party.We aren’t perfect, but they are fucking evil.

Get involved with Swing Left. They are working on races right now!

Get involved with Postcards to voters! Influence voters in key areas from the comfort of your own home!

Donate to the AMAZING Florida Rights Restoration! They are taking buses around Florida to empower returning citizens, remove financial barriers to voting, and increase public safety. They are really amazing

Make phone calls FROM YOUR OWN HOME to protect voter rights.There are phone banks on Wednesdays and on Saturdays.

The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.

The League of Women Voters work year-round to combat voter suppression through advocacy, grassroots organizing, legal action and public education. You can get involved with them at this link

Volunteer with Black Voters Matter at this link. They have on the ground work in 10 states and people from other states can write postcards, phone bank, fundraise, and text.

Spread The Vote works to get voters IDs before voting begins. You can volunteer with them at this link.

Sign up at Democracy Docket to stay informed about the fight against voter suppression and the fight for voter rights.

Most important: DON'T LOSE HOPE. This is a giant and important fight for us but, win or lose, we keep fighting and voting and organizing and spreading truth and light. We never give up.

* * * * *

Closing music

So we praise the renegades

Who take to the street with songs in their feet, yeah,

And we sow seeds to grow

In the soil that’s not yet spoiled.

Put your foot down, put your foot down, put your foot down.

When they come to push you around,

Put your foot down.

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❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Thanks to all of you for your smarts, your hearts, and

your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd.

❤️💙 RESIST, PERSIST, REBUILD, REJOICE! 💙❤️

From the GNR Newsroom, its the Monday Good News Roundup

Jessiestaf

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

Monday May 12, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/12 · 04:00

A bunch of light purple, and light gray-blue and purple flowers, perhaps roses, held in a almost-not-visible hand. Image uploaded by Jessiestaf and used for Jessiestaf's top image in Monday Good News Roundups. Tags Gnus, Newsies, Newsroom

Welcome back to the Monday Good News Roundup, that time of the week where your intrepid GNR Newsroom (Myself, Killer300, Bhu, and the good folk at the GNR discord) gather the good news stories to help start your week off right.

First of all Happy Mother’s day to all who celebrate. Secondly, I got myself a new CPAP machine this weekend. I can barely use it right now, but I am hoping to adapt to it so I can use it at night. Wish me luck.

Anyway, onto the good news, but first some music: Soul Sacrifice by Santana

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Judge says Alaska bear killing program remains void

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game does not have the right to carry out a controversial plan to kill bears this spring, at least for now, a state judge has ruled.

Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin found that the department’s predator control program, aimed at boosting a caribou population that has declined dramatically since the 1990s, remains unconstitutional, despite an Alaska Board of Game emergency authorization for the bear-killing to resume.

Through the program, which began in the spring of 2023 after the board first authorized it in 2022, the department has killed 175 brown bears, five black bears and 19 wolves.

Great news. Leave the bears alone.

Poland launches free preventative health program for people 20+

Poland has launched a new free health screening programme for people aged 20 and above, aiming to boost early detection of problems and promote preventive care.

The new initiative, called Moje Zdrowie (My Health), broadens the eligibility of a similar earlier scheme, Profilaktyka 40+ (Prevention 40+), which was available only to people over 40 years old.

Unlike the previous programme, which offered a one-off set of checks, the new scheme can be used regularly: once every five years for those aged 20-49 and once every three years for those older than that. It also now includes a follow-up visit with a doctor.

Great news for people in Poland. Especially young people.

FDA approves Pap Smear alternative

The Food and Drug administration has approved the U.S.'s first at-home alternative to the Pap smear, a procedure generations of women have dreaded and often found painful.

The new device by Teal Health will offer a "much preferred experience," the company said in its announcement, and also aims to increase screening rates by making the procedure more convenient.

Traditionally, gynecologists have inserted a cold metal speculum deep into a woman's vagina to scrape cells from the cervix.

The Teal Wand — "built with empathy," the company said — uses a swab to collect a vaginal sample. Women will then mail the sample to a lab that will screen for HPV (human papillomavirus), the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. A growing body of research has found HPV testing to be highly accurate.

Great news for people who have vaginas.

Mercury levels in the atmosphere have decreased during the 21st century

Mercury is released by environmental and human-driven processes. And some forms, specifically methylmercury, are toxic to humans. Therefore, policies and regulations to limit mercury emissions have been implemented across the globe. And, according to research published in ACS ES&T Air, those efforts may be working. Researchers found that atmospheric mercury levels have decreased by almost 70% in the last 20 years, mainly because human-caused emissions have been reduced.

“By tracking mercury pollution over four decades at the top of the world, we show that global efforts to reduce pollution are working — mercury levels in the air around Mount Everest have dropped significantly in the last two decades,” explains Yindong Tong, the corresponding author on the study.

Fantastic news for the environment.

Trumps inevitable betrayal of his supporters

On Sunday, Donald Trump went on TV and told Americans that their children should make do with less. “They don’t need to have 30 dolls; they can have three,” the president said on Meet the Press. “They don’t need to have 250 pencils; they can have five.” Critics were quick to point out the irony of America’s avatar of excess telling others to tighten their belt. But the problem with Trump’s remark goes beyond the optics. It’s that his argument for austerity contradicts his campaign commitments—and exposes the limits of his transactional approach to politics.

Something something “Leopards eating faces” something something. (Sorry if I’m not as articulate as I usually am I’m kinda sleepy as I write this.)

Nearly 200 Overwatch developers form a new Union

Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Activision Blizzard have formed a new union under the Communications Workers of America called The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild—CWA, "a wall-to-wall unit that includes game developers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance."

New Unions are always welcome. Especially in the video game industry that desperately needs them. I was a fan of the original Overwatch before Blizzard’s naked greed and cruelty drove me away from them, and Overwatch 2 became a joke due to naked corporate greed. So Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for the company.

Judge bars Trump cuts to Agencies

A federal judge has temporarily barred President Donald Trump’s administration from dramatically shrinking three agencies that fund libraries across the U.S., settle labor disputes with public sector workers, and support state business contracting programs.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell, Jr. in Rhode Island said Trump can’t unilaterally end the funding and programs for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. All three agencies were established by Congress.

The agencies carried out the cuts under the direction of an executive order from Trump. In Tuesday’s preliminary injunction, McConnell said the actions were likely arbitrary and capricious because the agencies weren’t able to provide more than “vague” justifications for the sweeping cuts.

And what a surprise, Trump loses again. Is anyone still taking this loser seriously?

Trump is wallowing in growing frustration that his job is harder this time

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump has recently taken to complaining to dinner companions at his Mar-a-Lago resort that things are not going as well as he thought they would in his return to the presidency.

Now that he is over 100 days into his second term, the president in recent weeks has expressed growing dissatisfaction that he hasn't been able to deliver on his promise to end the war in Ukraine and has even taken to wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stringing him along.

Oh Boo hoo. Let me play you a tune on the worlds smallest violin you cheddar encrusted waste of space.

Like I said, he’s got four years left. Lets make sure he’s as miserable as possible in those four years as he’s making us.

Trump can’t stop states from fighting climate change

Accordingly, Trump has set his sights on states during the first 100 days of his administration.

He has tried to kill New York City’s congestion pricing, though last week the Department of Justice accidentally filed a document outlining the legal flaws with the administration’s plan.

On April 8, he signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify and halt any state climate laws that she deems illegal, including California’s pioneering cap-and-trade program. That directive, though, is probably illegal itself, because the Constitution guarantees states broad authority to enact their own laws, legal experts told Grist.

“This is the world the Trump administration wants your kids to live in,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “California’s efforts to cut harmful pollution won’t be derailed by a glorified press release masquerading as an executive order.”

More evidence of Trumps impotency. The Green future is coming in spite of him.

Anonymous shuts down airline helping with Trump deportations

The Secular Talk YouTube Channel brought this wonderful story to my attention. Go subscribe to him, he’s doing great work.

On May 5, hacker group Anonymous hacked the website of airline company GlobalX, the airline carrying out the lawless deportation of Americans, many of them legal residents.

The website was defaced with a message from Anonymous which read:

Anonymous has decided to enforce the Judge's order since you and your sycophant staff ignore lawful orders that go against your fascist plans.

The message refers to Federal U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez ruling on May 1 that the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used to carry out deportations. The message quotes the Judge’s order and mocks Trump, stating “You lose again Donnie.”

I generally don’t put a lot of stock in Anonymous being overly useful, they were pretty absent during Trumps first go, but it is nice to see them acting out now. Good on them.

Time for a musical break: Some other world by Elton John from the Ferngully soundtrack

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Salt Lake City and Boise make Pride flags official city emblems to skirt flag law

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Democratic controlled cities of Salt Lake City and Boise adopted new city flags this week showing support for LGBTQ+ people in defiance of their states’ Republican-controlled Legislatures, which have banned traditional rainbow pride flags at schools and government buildings.

Ha! I love this. Become ungovernable!

JD Vance’s half brother only got 13% of vote in Cincinnati mayoral primary

Cory Bowman, the Republican half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, received just under 13 percent of the vote in Cincinnati's mayoral primary on Tuesday, enough to advance to the general election.

Bowman, 36, was beaten by Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat, who won 82.5 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Republican Brian Frank, the third-place finisher, was eliminated with just 4.6 percent of the vote.

Under the rules of the nonpartisan three-way primary, only the top two finishers advance to the November general election.

I mean its a pretty small things, but sometimes you just wanna point and go “HA HA!”

Wall Street tells Google to break itself up

Today’s piece is brief, but notable. This morning, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, testified in the Google remedy antitrust case. And he made two observations about the consequences of the case, which led Google’s stock to crater 7.5%, or $150 billion in value. Here’s the Google stock chart.

Google has gotten too large, its time to divide it up.

New Pope critical of Trump

President Trump sent his well wishes to the new American Pope, Robert Prevost — even though the new pontiff has been critical of the president, his administration and the White House’s treatment of migrants.

Prevost, who has taken the name Pope Leo XIV, has shared several highly critical posts about Trump and his immigration policies on X.

One scathing post he retweeted read: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”

Hey, new Pope dropped. And I like him already.

Democrats won victories across Texas

A strange sensation crept across all of progressive Texas on Sunday, and that was the unfamiliar sensation of victory. Democrats and progressives won elections all over the Lone Star State this weekend, and here’s a quick, comprehensive recap.

North Texas Wins

In Tarrant County, voters completely shut out county GOP and Patriot Mobile-backed candidates. Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, trolling Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Bo French on Twitter, called it an 0-11 shutout of GOP candidates in that county’s three largest cities, including the Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield City Councils and School Boards, plus Keller ISD. The vast majority of those GOP losses were suffered by candidates backed by Patriot Mobile, a notorious DFW area virtual network operator and mobile phone service provider that gives a portion of its profits to conservative causes and candidates. All of their picks lost - notably Tammy Nakamura, who also had been backed by the True Texas Project, an anti governmental group flagged by the Southern Poverty Law Center, failed in her bid for re-election to the Grapevine Colleyville School Board, losing to Matt Foust.

I know it seems like a long shot, but I for one will never stop fighting for a Blue Texas.

The Majority turns on Trump

Donald Trump is flopping.

Three months into his second term, his poll numbers have plummeted to historic lows. A growing majority of Americans — 55% — disapprove of his presidency. In one poll, a whopping 45% gave him an “F” grade. Voters give him devastatingly low marks on issues like the economy and immigration. Another poll shows that 52% of Americans see Trump as a “dangerous dictator” who is overstepping his presidential authority.

Trump is a pathetic loser who is whining and throwing a tantrum whenever he doesn’t get his way.

Preserving Cherokee language, 10 books at a time

At the entrance to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, North Carolina, a big red sign reads ‘English Stops Here.’ The school, which teaches preschool through the sixth grade, is a Cherokee language immersion program. Classes, lunch and after-school activities are conducted primarily in Cherokee, and the school’s books, maps and diagrams are full of the 85 symbols that make up the Cherokee syllabary.

Among other resources, teachers and students have access to copies of a half dozen hand-printed picture books designed and created by students at Western Carolina University (WCU). The books cover a range of topics, from Cherokee myths and legends to the riparian habitats of western North Carolina.

The partnership with WCU was initiated by Dr. Hartwell Francis, the curriculum developer for the New Kituwah Academy and an honorary member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

This is a really cool idea. Thumbs up.

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Think this is as good a stopping point as any, now for Pokemon.

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And now, the cute corner.

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And last but not least, the organizing spotlight, where we look at ways you at home can help resist the Trump Agenda.

I've made a script [with the CORRECT bill number] you can use. additionally, i recommend reading this guide on how to contact your reps autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/u... You can find your reps here: www.house.gov/representati... www.senate.gov/senators/sen...
— Dieselbrain (@dieselbrain.bsky.social) 2025-05-09T19:02:27.802Z

Don’t let the news overwhelm you, use this tool to stay engaged

And that’s it for this week. See everyone next Monday.

GNR Sunday ☀️ Happy Mother's Day ☀️ 2 Polls: WWtW? + How do you feel about the new pope?

2thanks

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

Sunday May 11, 2025 · 4:02 AM PDT

2025/05/11 · 04:02

Colorful sketch of a wildebeest by Starhawk, a side view of a happy, dynamic gnu dancing on one hind leg. A classic heraldric pose of a beast in rampant position. Image bears a hand-written title, &amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Happy Dance,&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;. The lettering is joyful. Image created by Starhawk of Daily Kos. Uploaded 03-07-2021. Presented as a gift to all members of the Good News Roundup team. Tags Good News Roundups Gnus Gnusies Newsies gnhap

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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Happy Mother’s Day!

“And Happy Day to grandmothers, aunts, and aunts by courtesy or by love. Your grace and your love make all the difference in the world.” libera nos in the comments.

Happy Birthday Gnuville! 8 years old in May 2025!

GoodNewsRoundup brought her “Good News Roundups” to Daily Kos from FaceBook in May 2017. We are almost 8 years old!

What are your recollections of the founding of Gnuville? What brought you here? What keeps you here? Please post them in the comments of the May Sunday Roundups, send them to me via kosmail or email, or Reply to any of my comments.

We don't have GoodNewsRoundup’s first Roundup here on Daily Kos because, when I was mentoring her about Daily Kos, I forgot to tell her that deleting diaries is frowned on. Then it was too late. Thanks, GoodNewsRoundup, Gnusies, Authors, Readers, and Kosacks!

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 Pulitzer Prize winners, including former Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes, who resigned rather than let Jeff Bezos sabotage her work
Federal Judge Richard Myers, who shut down the GOP attempt to steal the election of Democrat Allison Riggs to the North Carolina state Supreme Court, resulting in her MAGA challenger's concession
Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the first PM to win reelection there in 20 years as the "Trump Effect" delivers a come-from-behind victory for the Labor Party
Liberal school board candidates across Texas, as voters kicked out an army of MAGA book banners, a massive rebuke to the Republican war on truth, curiosity, and knowledge
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, for rejecting Trump's mad attempt to revoke the legal right of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to live in the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, for looking into Trump's tired, droopy eyes in the Oval Office and informing him that Canada is not available for sale or conquest
The Vatican, for holding elections of a new leader with only 2 weeks "campaign time," no Super PACs, no obnoxious ads or money begs, and no mud slinging (P.S. You can just call Chicago-born Leo XIV "Da Pope.")
The federal court that ruled Alabama engaged in racism by not creating a 2nd Black majority district after being ordered to (and it may invoke the Voting Rights Act requiring pre-approval of future congressional maps)
Orlando City Commissioner Tony Ortiz, for switching to the Democratic party because “The Republican Party is not the party I signed up with. Marginalization of Latinos and immigrants is not leadership. It’s fear-based politics.”

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.

ICYMU: This Week in Gnuville

In case you missed us: Miss a day or two? Need more Good News? Need a respite from ruin scrolling? New to Good News Roundups? Kicking doom scrolling out of your life?

Three writers of the Good News Roundup on Daily Kos stand in front of a good gnu. Image created by Edward Song:

Trump is the Losingest Loser Ever: GNR
GoodNewsRoundup

GNR for Friday, May 9, 2025: Let's wear them down
chloris creator

Thursday GNR: A Positive-Sum Interaction
Mokurai

In A World of Choices, Choose Hope - May 7th Good News Roundup (GNR)
bilboteach

GNR for May 6 - When the going gets tough, the tough get going
niftywriter

From the GNR Newsroom, its the Monday Good News Roundup
Jessiestaf

GNR Sunday ☀️ Good News Roundup ☀️ 2 Polls: WWtW? + Did you go to a May Day protest?
2thanks

Image: Three writers of Good News Roundups stand in front of a good gnu. Image titled "Good Gnus by 2thanks, chloris creator, and Mokurai." Created by Edward Song, 2024. Thank you, Edward!

The Five R’s of the Resistance:

I’ve repeated these for many years. I’ve added boycott.

Resist: Boycott, protest on the streets, call senators and representatives, etc.
Rebel: Run for office, GOTV (Get Out The Vote), support a progressive.
Revolt: Change the laws, change the culture, build your communities.
Rely: Trust that millions of others are fighting the good fight.
Rest: Take care of yourself, we are in this for the long term.

WineRev’s Good and Goofy Notes

(WineRev will return to our sunny oasis tomorrow, Monday, June 12th.)

Watch for WineRev’s History Corner in the comments to see what others went through, struggled with, and surmounted in the past. His G&G comments are mini Good News Roundups. You can find all his comments here, even today’s, once he posts it. Tech Tip: You can search for >>> in Roundups to quickly find his comments.

WineRev, last Sunday, May 4th:

(Cue John Williams…..from your youth…….) Not only is it May…...not only is this the Good News Round Up for a Sunday (as hosted by 2thanks)…..it is…….the More than 3rd, Less than 5th day, so…...all together now:

May the 4th be With You!

If you’ll put on your brown, hooded Jedi-Robes-R-Us inside gear and step away from your land speeder, you’ll see the Beverage Bar/Humanoid Section is offering up FOUR day starters: coffee, tea, mocha-cocoa and (ahem) out of this world Mimosas. The Steam Table-Humanoid Ingesting Station is featuring the toasted, the microwaved, the baked and the griddled in various combinations.

Over in the Rebel Alliance Lounge you’ll find furniture for relaxing for your species, and you can greet the ewoks, the wookies (who have the LONG sofas), and your fellow Good News Gnus (a few of whom have arrived dressed as Gnus…..and in this lounge, no one even notices). Find a suitable chair, sofa, recliner or wingback, yea verily, even a rocker, and tune in for the latest. While you do need to check your light sabres at the door, wearing your hair up in Leia Cinnamon buns over your ears is considered charming. Have a sip, a munch, a read, give a rec, a comment, ask, reply, chuckle, cheer…..and welcome to the Sunday History Corner.

Science

Please share good science news with us! (Especially JWST, health, environment.)

A good place to look for science news if you are waiting for the Sunday Roundup is the archive of Overnight News Digest. On Saturdays, the OND always focuses on science, though not all of it is devoted to what I would call Good Science News.

Need more good news?

… arhpdx posted a list of good news sites toward the top of a recent Roundup, or you can find that same list in my comment: Good News Sources. Thank you, arhpdx and Mokurai!

[On a desktop, you could open that comment in a new Tab by clicking the timestamp, and then you could Bookmark that page or save it to your Favorites.]

Sunday, Mapday: Pin Dropping

Worldwide snapshot of members of Daily Kos's Gnuville (the Good News Roundup) on 14 May 2023.

Our map of Gnuville: 895 of us have shared our global locations!

To leave your mark, please Reply in the comments to tljdk or the map-building comment. Please indicate only your general location, NOT street number and street. (Please persist, we are volunteers.)

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If you join us regularly, are you Following us? More than 490 Kosacks Follow us.

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Where Ever is Herd

Morning Good News Roundups at 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd at 7 a.m. ET, 7 days a week:

Nanny Ogg posts Evening Shade diaries at 7:30 p.m. ET every day but Sunday. Girasol posts the Evening Shades on Sundays. After a long day, Gnusies meet in the evening shade and continue sharing Good News, good community, good actions, FAFO activities of tfg, and many cats. Find most Evening Shades on the Trending List.

For more information about the Good News group, please see our detailed Welcoming comment, one of the first comments in our morning diaries.

How to Resist: Do Something …

”Build your communities,” said Kamala Harris

KOS Katalogue 2025: Support fellow Kosacks by buying goods and services.
Helping Humpday Diaries: Gnusies PeterHug, zenbassoon, and 2thanks.

A Cascade of Protests. Find one near you:

FiftyFifty.one — the folks who started the movement.

How to call 3 Reps calls a day in less than 5 minutes

To determine my script for calling my Senators and Representative every day, I use the following:

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Seven of our Good News writers regularly post a panoply of fantastic action steps in their Good News Roundups. If you don’t see a way to become active that suits your personality, your funds, or your time, please review their most recent diaries for many different options to volunteer and/or donate:

Democrats Fight Back!

Please support the following Daily Kos authors. Follow the Democratic Party Spotlight Group here to find these stories easily in your Stream (DK Inbox for diaries).

Dems, Dems, and More Dems, Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays at 9 a.m. ET, by Janesaunt.
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Rainbow Roundup (of LGBTQ lawmakers and journalists), Saturdays, by T2.
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Still Think Democrats Aren’t Fighting Back? Mondays and Fridays, by dfh1.

And These:

Postcards to Voters: Watch for comments by Progressive Muse.
The Black Kos Community posts diaries on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. ET. Diaries here. This white guy is very, very grateful to the Editors and commenters of The Porch! And we love to see them here!
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In my Sunday smorgasbord Roundups, I especially welcome the following types of comments:

Who won YOUR week?

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In the comments of all Roundups, we do not welcome Grammar Police or Debbie Downers.

Notes on Images

^{Top Image: Our Starhawk created the above this detailed sketch of a gnu in brown, green, and black on white. A happy and dynamic gnu rises on a hind leg in a classic heraldric rampant stance. Joyful letters prance above and behind the mane: “Happy Dance.” Signature: Nick Korolev, 2021. — Thank you, Starhawk, for our dancing gnu!}

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A Little Bit About Me

I’m learning Spanish!

At intervals throughout the day, I practice my Spanish using Duolingo on my cell phone. Language instruction has improved a lot since I took languages in school 400 years ago.

Learning Spanish has been on my bucket list for a long time.
Learning Spanish is another way to build community at several levels.
Learning Spanish is healthier than focusing on national politics. It’s okay to take a break.
Learning a language helps seniors prevent dementia.

I spoke my first conversational Spanish sentence: I went to a local restaurant that serves delicious Central American food (Antonio’s). I asked the friendly waiter if he knew about the Know Your Rights pdf, and he told me another patron regularly restocks his supplies of the printable cards found at the end of that pdf. I was able to create my first simple and brief sentence in Spanish to express myself: “¡Yo estoy muy feliz! (I am very happy!)” Then I added in English “that you showed me the printable card. Thank you!”

Are you learning Spanish on Duolingo?

Shall we form a learning-Spanish Gnuville Duolingo subgroup?

If you are interested in joining, perhaps with occasional Zoom meetings for practice, please let me know by Reply, kosmail, or email.

Our Roundup is almost open!

Thank you for fighting for truth and justice with all us Gnusies! 40% of our Readers don’t visit every day, 50% of us do, and 10% are here for the first time! We all do what we can. Since 2017, we’ve shared positive news, laughed, organized, resisted, rebelled, revolted without being revolting, relied, rested, mentored, created, crossed rivers, chewed our cud, and laughed. Here’s looking at you, kid, and standing upwind! Beginners, you are cordially invited to comment!

As always, please share more Good News than I can find or provide.

This is a group diary, and by my power I declare this Good Gnus Salo(o)n open! Let the good-news sharing and community building begin! Laissez les bonnes nouvelles rouler!

Power with, not power over ❤️ ✊ ❤️

2thanks (he, him)

Thank You!: Many regular Roundup readers know that I’m the co-founding Admin and background mentor of the Good News Roundup group. Over the years I’ve supported and led this and other Daily Kos groups that have raised almost $1M for candidates, individuals, and groups. In response to my previous requests, many readers sent me gifts, $1500 so far toward my goal of $12,000. Team 2thanks thanks you! 💙

I’m now asking for help to pay for my wife’s medical treatments. If you value my gifts and activism, please don’t patronize me, but be my patron. Gift me via PayPal (click “Friend,”) Venmo, or CashApp, or send me a kosmail for my address. If you can't do that, I understand. Perhaps, instead, you could boost this story onsite or online. If you already sent me a gift, I bow deeply in gratitude. ~2thank

Poll

226 votes Show Results

How do you feel about the new pope?

Sad

Happy

Afraid

Surprised

Angry

Resigned

Anticipation

Disgust

Trust

Grief

Jealousy

Resignation

Serene

Not sure, maybe, neutral, no opinion, cannot decide, don't care

A combination of one or more of the above

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]

226 votes Vote Now!

How do you feel about the new pope?

Sad

0 votes

Happy

113 votes

Afraid

0 votes

Surprised

26 votes

Angry

0 votes

Resigned

2 votes

Anticipation

18 votes

Disgust

3 votes

Trust

5 votes

Grief

0 votes

Jealousy

0 votes

Resignation

1 vote

Serene

8 votes

Not sure, maybe, neutral, no opinion, cannot decide, don't care

33 votes

A combination of one or more of the above

14 votes

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

1 vote

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

0 votes

1 vote

0 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

1 vote

0 votes

Trump is the Losingest Loser Ever: GNR

GoodNewsRoundup

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

Saturday May 10, 2025 · 5:49 AM PDT

2025/05/10 · 05:49

Authoritarians rule by instilling fear and projecting strength.

At the start of the Trump admin Part II, it seemed like he might succeed in that. People were afraid — I noticed many people being quiet who were loud the first time.

But my friends, the mask is off the Wizard of Oz. The man behind the curtain has been revealed.

And he is weak and pathetic and the losingest loser ever. And so many more people are fighting back.

Yes, bad things still continue. Yes, we need to keep working hard.

But the mask is off. He is weak and pathetic and we can win so many important battles if, and when, we work hard.

We’ve got this!

Just listen to Letitia James:

“We’re all in this together ... We’re ready, we’re prepared. Do not give into fear ... This is not the time to be afraid, this is the time to stand up and fight back ... We will not give in, not give up. We will not capitulate. We will not bow. We will not bend. We. Will. Survive.”

Trump is the losingest loser

Trump is quite weak and afraid.

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.

It’s also true that some actions are much bigger — so big you might doubt your ability to achieve them. Don’t give up before you start. Have faith that you can accomplish great things if you set your mind to it.

Remember: weak and afraid!

Republicans had a terrible week in court

This week felt like an inflection point. Trump began by casting doubt on whether Due Process applies in the United States and seemed unsure if he must uphold the U.S. Constitution. With each new lawsuit challenging his actions, the administration and Trump’s lawyers appeared increasingly resigned to the reality of their likely defeat.

Just months ago, Department of Justice lawyers were held in high esteem when they entered courtrooms. Now, they are met with skepticism and criticism from federal judges across the ideological spectrum. Morale appears low and only worsening.

Trump’s behavior has also shifted. He is increasingly acting like a man told by his lawyers to plead the Fifth. Every question about the law garners a response to check with his lawyers. He seems weak and afraid. A man who knows he lost the public and the courts on nearly his entire agenda.

Oh what is this? yet another person calling trump “weak and afraid.” Yes indeed!

White House Says Trump’s Proposal to Rename Veterans Day Has Been Scrapped

The White House has backed off President Donald Trump’s stunning social media proposal to change the name of Veterans Day to “Victory Day for World War I” and will settle for keeping the name while adding a proclamation hailing American victory in World War I.

The quick about-face by the White House came after Trump stirred up opposition from veterans groups to his late-night post Thursday on Truth Social

The Disabled American Veterans service organization put out a one-word statement Friday on Trump’s plan to change the name of Veterans Day: “No.” The DAV, with more than one million members, has been at the forefront in challenging Trump on his plans to downsize the federal workforce and possibly cut Medicaid.

Well that one lasted about a minute. What a loser!

🚨BREAKING: Three judge panel with 2 Trump appointees STRIKES DOWN Alabama congressional map for violating Constitution and VRA. Court finds Alabama INTENTIONALLY discriminated against Black voters. Proud of ELG team and our clients in this historic fight! www.democracydocket.com/cases/alabam...
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T17:43:13.408Z

Trump Judges Strike Down Alabama Congressional Map as Racially Discriminatory

In a scathing ruling, a panel of three federal judges Thursday struck down Alabama’s 2023 congressional map as a violation of both the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The judges — two of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump — excoriated the state for what they called “a deliberate decision to double down on the dilution of Black Alabamians’ votes.“

The unanimous decision strikes a blow for fair representation for Black voters in the state, and could lead to new restrictions on how Alabama makes future changes to its map.

those are GREAT news! Sorry loser! We get to vote!

NEWS: Trump ditches Ed Martin, a Jan. 6 insurrectionist defender, as his choice for DC US Attorney following Republican Senator Thom Tillis’ refusal to support his nomination.
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-05-08T15:54:18.891Z

And as he gets weaker, more and more Rs will stand up to him. It isn’t backbone (they still don’t have that) it is self preservation

Judge blocks deportation flight of Asian migrants to Libya

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing migrants from being sent to Libya or any other third country after immigration attorneys filed an emergency motion Wednesday.

Is that ANOTHER loss in the courts? Why yes it is!

‘JD Vance Is Wrong’: The Pope Appears Uneasy With Trump Immigration Policies

Before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became pope, a social media account under his name shared criticisms of the Trump administration’s positions on immigration.

In July 2015, the account reposted an article by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York that described Mr. Trump’s “anti-immigrant rhetoric” as “problematic.” Three years later, the account shared a post from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, saying there was “nothing remotely Christian, American or morally defensible” about the administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents.

At times, the account waded into other contentious areas of American politics. In 2020, it shared a statement signed by seven American bishops that said they were “broken-hearted, sickened, and outraged” by the killing of George Floyd, which they described as a “wake-up call.”

And the new Pope hates him! Hee hee.

‘Stay tuned’: The half-baked Republican reconciliation plan

It’s the end of a hugely important week in Hill Republicans’ quest to craft a massive reconciliation package. Next week, a trio of House panels will mark up the most important pieces of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda — cuts to social safety net programs and an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

But here’s what’s striking to us: So much about this reconciliation package is still undecided even though the GOP leadership says they’ve been working on it for more than six months.

Girl, you all have one job — make a damn budget. Biden did this so well with even smaller margins than you have. Who is sleepy now, ya loser!?

Loomer targets new Trump surgeon general pick

Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur and prominent supporter of President Trump, has set her sights on Dr. Casey Means, the physician-turned-wellness influencer who Trump tapped as his new nominee to be U.S. surgeon general on Wednesday.

In a series of posts on social platform X that began shortly after Trump’s announcement, Loomer accused the president’s advisers of poor vetting and attacked Means’s background.

“This is honestly insane,” she wrote in one post Thursday morning. “I do not believe for one second that Donald Trump made this decision. I refuse to believe it.”

Even Loomer feels confident taking you on! Losing!

Republican Gives Up Fight to Overturn Defeat in N.C. Judicial Race

A six-month battle over a North Carolina Supreme Court seat ended on Wednesday when the Republican challenger, who had embarked on an extraordinary effort to throw out thousands of votes, conceded the race.

All that energy and… ya lost.

JD Vance's Half Brother Gets Only 13% of Vote in Cincinnati Mayor Primary

Bowman, the Republican half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, received just under 13 percent of the vote in Cincinnati's mayoral primary on Tuesday, enough to advance to the general election.

Bowman, 36, was beaten by Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat, who won 82.5 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Republican Brian Frank, the third-place finisher, was eliminated with just 4.6 percent of the vote.

13% to 82% HAHAHAHAHAHA

Trump 2.0 as a modern morality play—where the bad guy always loses.

Trump and his GOP enablers are engaging in conduct of such grotesque and exaggerated vice that it surpasses caricature. We are not merely unwilling audience members, we are—in a sense—emotional hostages of a play designed by Trump to dispirit and frighten us. But something remarkable is happening. As in medieval morality plays, good triumphs over evil, and everyone can see the ultimate resolution from a mile away.

Whenever Trump is forced to defend his obviously unconstitutional orders in court, he loses—as he should. He is acting in an extra-constitutional manner, replacing the rule of law with his daily dyspepsia that determines his emotional state. In a rational world, i.e., a courtroom bound by the law and the rules of evidence, Trump's infantile temper tantrums carry no weight.

Nonetheless, we should take solace from the fact that Trump loses again and again when he is forced to defend his orders in court. The lesson we must internalize is that resistance is not only necessary but also the only path to victory. Those who resist Trump win—eventually. Those who capitulate are forever in his grasp, supplicants whose reward for groveling is more abuse.

“always loses” LOL

Trump’s drooping polls

On the show, Elliott tells us:

Why history suggests Trump’s numbers could go much lower by the midterms—and could even put the Senate in play.

How Democrats have helped sink Trump’s popularity on the last issue that had been his strength, immigration.

and people keep hating him more! How is it even possible!

Trump Rages at Own Judge After Ruling Bans Deportations Under Wartime Act

President Donald Trump had a meltdown Saturday after a federal judge banned him from using a centuries-old wartime act to deport men without due process.

“Can it be so that Judges aren’t allowing the USA to Deport Criminals, including Murderers, out of our Country and back to where they came from?” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday. “If this is so, our Country, as we know it, is finished!”

Hee hee!

"You deserve less" is a great campaign slogan for Republicans. Keep it up
— Thor Benson (@thorbenson.bsky.social) 2025-05-04T14:16:16.256Z

OMG thanks for writing the ads for us, you loser!

His trade war is like World War 2, only much dumber and entirely self-inflicted.

Donald Trump launched a pointless trade war, and catastrophe is on the horizon. Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned yesterday that unless the president backs down on his tariffs, “they are likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment."

But the president is demanding that Americans sacrifice for … well, that part remains a mystery.

The only problem is that telling Americans they need to sacrifice for the sake of someday potentially working at an iPhone factory is, to put it charitably, terrible politics.

It’s hard to miss that Trump’s trade plan has shifted from “90 deals in 90 days” to “start rationing children’s dolls and pencils.” Instead of a triumphant victory, Trump and complicit Republicans in Congress are preparing Americans for a long, hard slog.

But any sense of “shared sacrifice” is inconsistent with the selfishness and materialism that is at the very heart of Trumpism.

Making matters worse, Trump sold voters during last year campaign’s on what was supposedly in it for them, with fantastical promises to magically lower prices and create new jobs from long-dead industries. He told his supporters he’d be their retribution, but instead he released the leopards to feast on their 401Ks.

LOL

Carney ate trump’s lunch

As the President treated the room and the world to this tour of the inside of his skull, the Prime Minister smiled uneasily, then shifted in his seat, sucked on his teeth a little and gestured a couple of times, attempting to air-traffic-control his way into the conversation.

The free square at the centre of any Mark Carney bingo card is “If I may,” which is his all-purpose interjection to delicately wrest a conversation back to something he considers to be more sane and realistic. Here, finally, he managed to if-I-may the President, and he would do it several more times through the meeting, though at no point would the conversation return to anything resembling sanity or reality.

“If I may, as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one right now,” he said, looking around at the Oval Office. He added, “And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”

Mr. Trump waited for him to finish, then countered blithely with “Never say never,” at which point Mr. Carney looked either toward his ministers perched on the couch or to the reporters beyond them, and mouthed the word “never” with cartoon exaggeration.

“mouthed the word “never” with cartoon exaggeration” LOL

Mexican Prez Shuts Down Trump: ‘Sovereignty is Not For Sale’

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed on Saturday that she had rejected a U.S. offer of troops to help combat drug trafficking in Mexico, saying, “Sovereignty is not for sale.”

Responding to a Friday report from The Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump was pressuring Mexico to allow for further U.S. involvement in combating drug cartels, Sheinbaum described a tense phone call with her northern counterpart last month.

“He said, ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States military come in and help you.’ And you know what I said to him? ‘No, President Trump,’” Sheinbaum told supporters gathered in eastern Mexico on Saturday.

Why let Canada have all the fun!

Why Trump's Efforts to Blame Biden for the Economy are Doomed to Fail

Trump has a two-pronged approach to deal with this problem. For Trump’s base, the first solution is just to pretend like everything is fine. This will work with his most ardent supporters and most shameless media allies. For everyone else, Trump plans to blame Joe Biden for his problems.

Trump is desperately trying to shift the blame away from himself. It’s not going to work this time — here’s why:

Trump Misplayed the Expectations Game

It’s All About the Tariffs

Voters Associate the Negative Economy with Trump

Nice try loser!

These 6 Republican ‘red lines’ could complicate Trump’s policy plans

As Republican lawmakers hammer out a “big, beautiful bill” to enact President Donald Trump’s policy plans, they’re running into a problem: their colleagues’ growing list of red lines.

Some House Republicans say they won’t vote for a bill that cuts Medicaid. Others have refused to support the legislation unless it lets their constituents deduct more of their state and local taxes. Last week, one Senate Republican ruled out voting for any bill unless it pares back spending to the level before the pandemic — which would require massive additional cuts.

The growing list of policy “no-gos” will make it even harder for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) to draft a bill that can pass their narrowly divided chambers.

Again, with being unable to write a budget. My lord, one job….

Rand Paul: "I'm not voting to add $5 trillion to the deficit, or to the debt ceiling. Conservatives have never voted for that, and now conservatives are lining up and falling all over themselves to vote for the largest debt ceiling increase in all of history."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-08T12:59:04.044Z

Well I hate that guy but I love him saying no.

Sliding opinion polls and tumultuous markets appeared to be taking their toll as Trump lashed out in all directions.

A prickly President Trump attacked reporters on board Air Force One and lashed out at former allies at the Wall Street Journal and Fox News during one of the most bad-tempered days since he returned to the White House.

Trump grew more and more irate during a mid-air press gaggle as he flew from his Florida bolthole at Mar-a-Lago back to the hot seat in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, after another tumultuous week in office.

The back-and-forth came after Trump admitted in an interview that a recession was possible as a result of his economic policies. “Anything can happen, but I think we’re going to have the greatest economy in the history of our country,” he told Kristen Welker during the chat on NBC’s Meet the Press, which aired Sunday.

Oh, is loser boy, mad? So sad!

Boom: Ed Martin's nomination is officially dead, Trump just announced. Reupping this pod exchange on why stopping him mattered so much:
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T16:40:22.053Z

Hee hee!

GOP senators hope to avoid Trump agenda becoming a ‘train wreck’

Republicans are looking to regroup on President Trump’s agenda, which one GOP lawmaker says is becoming a “train wreck.”

Senate Republicans met at the Library of Congress on Wednesday to plot a path forward on the stalled budget reconciliation bill amid growing tensions between conservatives, who want to make deep cuts to government spending, and moderates, who worry about the impact on Medicaid and other federal benefits.

good luck with that losers!

Top Republican Waves the White Flag Amid Wipeout Fears

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that he will not run for Senate next year, dealing a massive blow to Republicans who saw him as a strong contender against Democrat Jon Ossoff.

The two-term governor, who cannot run for re-election in 2026, explained that being on that ballot “is not the right decision for me and my family.”

Smart to not get on the loser train!

New piece: Trump’s approval rating among low-engagement voters has fallen 30 points since Jan, the worst decline for any group. The GOP’s big advantage with hard-to-reach voters has evaporated as economic turmoil & toxic politics turns them away from Trump www.gelliottmorris.com/p/what-do-di...
— G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris.com) 2025-05-06T12:09:09.045Z

Hee hee.

Bill O’Reilly Attacks ‘Dopey’ Trump: ‘There’s No Excuse’

Conservative pundit Bill O’Reilly attacked President Donald Trump for posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope less than a week after attending Pope Francis’ funeral.

“That was just dopey,” O’Reilly told NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert during Monday’s On Balance. “There was no excuse for that… The guy just died, you know?”

Bill O’Reilly feels comfortable taking you on. Sorry loser!!!

US automakers rip Trump trade deal with UK

America’s “big three” automakers ripped President Trump on Friday over his newly announced trade deal with the United Kingdom.

The Thursday agreement is the first bilateral trade pact the administration reached since it rolled out and then paused a “reciprocal” tariff regime on many of America’s main trading partners.

The British auto industry expressed excitement about the deal, which allows the U.K. to export 100,000 cars to the U.S. at a 10-percent tariff rate, and effectively removes another national security tariff.

American carmakers didn’t share that enthusiasm.

“The U.S. automotive industry is highly integrated with Canada and Mexico; the same is not true for the U.S. and UK,” American Automotive Policy Council President Matt Blunt said in a statement.

So he has made one deal so far, it is with (checks notes) someone we don’t have a trade imbalance with and it… benefits them and not us.

What a loser!!!

Meanwhile, we continue to kick ass

If you think Democrats aren’t doing things it is either because (a) you don’t look in the news for the many, many things that are being done or (b) you are trying to demoralize other people.

Crypto Bill Stalls in the Senate as Democrats Balk

Democratic supporters of the measure to regulate parts of the industry refused to allow it to move forward amid concerns in their party that President Trump and his family are profiting from cryptocurrency.

A first-of-its-kind bill to regulate parts of the cryptocurrency industry stalled in the Senate on Thursday, after Democrats blocked it amid concerns in their party about how President Trump and his family are profiting from crypto.

More democrats getting elected

In Lincoln, Nebraska, voters elected 3 Democrats in nonpartisan school board races, with Dems also decisively winning the Board of Education contests. Meanwhile, in Texas, the 11 candidates endorsed by the Tarrant County Republican Party—and other conservatives across the state—lost hard in a series of crushing upsets. Good.

Democratic-led states sue to prevent Trump from gutting health agencies

A group of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday to challenge the Trump administration's decision to gut the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by firing 10,000 of its employees and shuttering entire agencies within the department.

Attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit, opens new tab filed in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, said the job cuts and agency consolidations U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced in late March unconstitutionally stripped the department of the resources necessary to do its job.

US House Democrats aim to force vote blocking cuts to Medicaid, food aid, sources say

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leaders on Tuesday are set to unveil a move to try to shield Medicaid and a food assistance program from cuts to offset the costs of President Donald Trump's tax cuts, according to three people familiar with the plan.

Democrats will begin a discharge petition for the bill that could force a vote on the House floor if a majority of lawmakers sign on to the petition.

New polls show that young voters prefer Democratic candidates by a 2:1 margin in 2026. But to get there—we have to fight and make sure our democracy survives. We are going the work to do so, because it’s Gen Z’s future on the line. Can you chip in to support us? secure.actblue.com/donate/vot-p...
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer.com) 2025-04-30T22:16:17.594Z

Yesterday we saw new pro-democracy lawsuits in Florida, Indiana and Kansas and a big court win in North Carolina. I expect several NEW cases will be filed today. Stay informed. Subscribe to Democracy Docket: hubs.ly/Q03jcjqP0
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T13:47:43.912Z

On the lighter side

Conclave Selects First Chicago-Style Pope
— The Onion (@theonion.com) 2025-05-08T20:41:00.000Z

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope
— Hector Diaz (@iamhectordiaz.com) 2025-05-08T17:36:39.191Z

Me: I absolutely dgaf who the new pope is MAGA: we hate the new pope Me: NEW POPE IS DADDY!!!!
— Amir Talai (@amirtalai.bsky.social) 2025-05-09T00:32:26.132Z

when the pope has been to menards
— Technology Connections (@techconnectify.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T17:29:39.552Z

my vet, who's hard of hearing: can you repeat your cat's name me:
— derek guy (@dieworkwear.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T20:42:45.195Z

THE POPE CALLS IT "SOCCER"
— Adam Whittaker Snavely (@snaves.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T17:25:07.628Z

Today's front page.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@chicago.suntimes.com) 2025-05-09T13:18:24.283Z

the new york sewer rats have finally elected a new rat pope
— Brent Black (@brentalfloss.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T16:18:43.677Z

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.

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:

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.

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 9, 2025: Let's wear them down

chloris creator

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

Friday May 09, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/09 · 04:00

A field of pansies, mostly blue in the foreground.

Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!

I often listen to Lawrence O’Donnell’s The Last Word during my morning constitutional. On the Tuesday night show, he made an interesting observation about tRump’s interview from Sunday. tRump was asked if he had a duty to defend the constitution.

tRump should have said, “Yes,” because of course, he took an oath swearing to do so. Or he could have said, “No, I don’t, I’m president and I can do what I want. Even SCOTUS said so!” Of course, that’s how he’s been behaving.

But O’Donnell pointed out what tRump actually said. He said, “I don’t know.” tRump usually pretends to know things, even when he doesn’t. That’s his go-to response

The “I don’t know” was offered in an exhausted manner, without the usual swagger. It is possible that tRump is being worn down. The polls, the markets, the elections in other countries, the special elections, and the many rallies and the pushback of the courts — all opposing him, all rejecting him, are certainly making him tired (and any president would be tired). tRump may have good doctors, but he keeps bragging about acing cognitive tests, which no one who did not need cognitive tests would do. Genetics cannot save him; all but one of his siblings have died.

Of course, we cannot rely on a medical event to rescue us; besides, they will prop him up as long as they can. And we would just get Vance, who may be just as bad (but is certainly smarter).

We cannot rely on a medical event, but we can wear tRump down. Despite his making up a silly story about the meaning of the Declaration of Independence — which means the exact opposite of what he claimed — he was too tired to brag about the Constitution.

And when people fight tRump, who is a terrible coward, they often win.

So let’s keep it up, because we are fighting for truth, love, and our country.

Besides, there are more of us — and we have support around the world — which means we can take turns resisting. Make a commitment to resist some, every week if not every day. But you don’t need to do it every minute.

Come on in and see what some of the good guys are doing.

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 🗽

While its aggressive tactics likely mask internal disorganization—such is the norm in personality-driven regimes; making the boss happy is far more effective than any appeal to principle or ideology—their actions are no less real or consequential for it. Opposition therefore remains crucially important. When the federal government takes action in spheres in which the executive has considerable unilateral power, as with the termination of jobs and the revocation of student visas, recourse is limited. But most private citizens or entities that become targets of the administration are on stronger footing, and they should fight back as publicly as possible, because when the administration comes for them, it often must stretch beyond its legal and even political capacities.

For example, the Associated Press successfully sued the government after the administration barred AP reporters from White House functions in response to the wire service’s refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” (The Trump team has since learned they can skirt enforcement by not openly admitting that their actions have motivations that violate the First Amendment.) ✂️

And there are signs that other American institutions are discovering that standing up to the Trump administration can be safe. Microsoft recently switched its legal representation in a major case in Delaware from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a firm that had cut a deal with the Trump administration, to Jenner & Block, which did not.

In these and other instances, particularly against private citizens and institutions, Trump’s greatest weapon is not the true force of law but reluctance of his opponents to fight back. As the political and economic consequences of the administration’s policies become clearer to more Americans and the administration grows more desperate for victories, the number of their targets will increase. But that is likely to make their attacks less potent, not more. Consider that whichever side in any confrontation has the greater number of targets is the one we would describe as being “outnumbered.”

I’m so glad that Justice Riggs resisted:

This is good news
— Molly Jong-Fast (@mollyjongfast.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T01:38:40.049Z

And, if you want to do something about the tRump party for himself on 6/14, you can!

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

💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos💣

Senator Tom Tillis opposed Ed Martin.

This is great news! Bye bye Ed Martin!!! www.politico.com/live-updates...
— Harry Dunn (@libradunn1.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T23:53:49.579Z

What does this mean? Note that Tillis was considering voting against Pete Hegseth, but was threatened by tRump and so voted for the obviously incompetent Hegseth for DOD secretary. But now, apparently, tRump doesn’t have the power to stop Tillis. tRump’s hold on the Rs, at least in the Senate, has weakened.

Tillis is supporting Pirro from fox now, probably as he’s been threatened.

Gosh, these days I am almost liking Rand Paul! It is a weird feeling!

REPUBLICAN Senator Rand Paul says he opposes the Trump/GOP plan to explode the deficit (to give tax cuts to the rich) DOGE was always a grift
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T13:30:35.545Z

You know who’s also showing a little independence, now that tRump’s powers seem to be waning? Chief Justice Roberts! Daniel Hampton Raw Story

Chief Justice John Roberts took a thinly veiled shot at President Donald Trump during an interview Wednesday, and his remarks stunned CNN anchor Erin Burnett, who noted, "he knows the weight of every word."

Burnett told Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes she had just heard new comments from the Supreme Court's chief justice.

"Literally just finding out that he said this. Trump, obviously, has been attacking judges who rule against him. The Chief Justice has just spoken out. Let me just play what he said," Burnett said. ✂️

“In our Constitution, judges and the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law — and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the President. And that innovation doesn't work if the judiciary is not independent," said Roberts.

Guantanamo Bay sounds fierce. But it is not practical. Nor is Alcatraz. We have to stop them from doing Libya.

Fewer than 500 US immigration deportees have been held at Guantánamo Bay during the first three months of President Trump’s multi-million-dollar migrant mission. And those tents that troops put up in a hurry? Coming down and never been used. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/u...
— Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenbergnyt.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T23:06:30.137Z

Budget problems for the GOP Alexander Bolton The Hill

Republicans are looking to regroup on President Trump’s agenda, which one GOP lawmaker says is becoming a “train wreck.”

Senate Republicans met at the Library of Congress on Wednesday to plot a path forward on the stalled budget reconciliation bill amid growing tensions between conservatives, who want to make deep cuts to government spending, and moderates, who worry about the impact on Medicaid and other federal benefits.

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) goal of getting “one big, beautiful bill” to Trump’s desk by Memorial Day won’t be met, and now there’s a danger that negotiations of the tax bill will slip past July 4, the target date set last week by Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent.

“We are keeping very close tabs on it,” a Republican senator said of the negotiations in the House, adding that the two chambers are heading in separate directions, with little direct negotiation.

“Sooner or later we have to pass the same thing, and I’m worried that this is potentially a train wreck. We can’t really get on the same page,” the lawmaker warned.

Gosh, they are incompetent…

MURRAY: It was due last week. By law. PATEL: I understand. MURRAY: You're not gonna follow the law? ... And you have no timeline? PATEL: No MURRAY: Hmm. We're not having a budget hearing without a budget request. So where is it?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-08T14:06:03.235Z

🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚

Governor Pritzker pushes back 🎩 crystalline

WELL PLAYED GOVERNOR! Kristi Noem wanted to do a press conference today at the Illinois Governor’s mansion. So Governor JB Pritzker hung this banner. Noem ended up choosing a different location. Your thoughts?
— Jazzy (@jazzyjones.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T22:54:35.526Z

Governor Tony Evers stands up:

Faced with the threat of arrest for offering Wisconsin state employees guidance on how to respond to potential abuses of power by the Trump administration, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says: “I’m not afraid. I’ve never once been discouraged from doing the right thing and I will not start today.”
— John Nichols (@nicholsuprising.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T15:02:39.421Z

Democratic states sue over tRump’s blockage of new wind energy projects Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch

Democratic attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court to attempt to block President Donald Trump’s plan to suspend permitting and leasing of new wind energy projects.

Plaintiffs say the action unlawfully threatens the wind industry, a major source of clean energy.

“This administration is devastating one of our nation’s fastest-growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, as The New York Times reported.

James said the move threatened “the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions in investments” and was “delaying our transition away from the fossil fuels that harm our health and our planet.”

OK, we know they have not won yet, but at least the Ds are delivering in terms of standing up and fighting.

🌵 Governor Hobbs holds the line

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoes three anti-trans bills #NOH8
— NOH8 Campaign (@noh8campaign.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T01:03:18.389Z

💜 Unity?💜

A new pope!

new pope! *crowd goes wild* American pope! *crowd boos* woke for an American! *crowd goes wild* bad on protecting abusive priests! *crowd boos* hates JD Vance! *crowd goes wild*
— Micah (@rincewind.run) 2025-05-08T17:33:10.929Z

Oh, you want his name? Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV (Note that although a cardinal, and from Chicago, he was never the Cardinal of Chicago. Thanks, nifty!)

Robert Prevost, when Cardinal of Chicago, repudiated JD Vance for using the Bible incorrectly and meanly, when attacking immigrants. This pope will look after the least among us. This was a most interesting choice by the conclave. A good choice.
— Gregory Humphrey (@gregoryhumphrey.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T18:03:06.604Z

Canadian elections, Australian elections, German elections, and now the papal election: all repudiate tRumpism.

from the DOD I can’t believe it, but this is something I agree with Matthew Gault 404 Media

A new memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is calling on defense contractors to grant the Army the right-to-repair. The Wednesday memo is a document about “Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform” that is largely vague but highlights the very real problems with IP constraints that have made it harder for the military to repair damaged equipment.

Hegseth made this clear at the bottom of the memo in a subsection about reform and budget optimization. “The Secretary of the Army shall…identify and propose contract modifications for right to repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army's ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software, and technical data—while preserving the intellectual capital of American industry,” it says. “Seek to include right to repair provisions in all existing contracts and also ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.”

📥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 😈

Vast majority of investors in trump cryptocurrency lose money Emanuele La Prova VNY

According to a Chainalysis survey, hundreds of thousands of small investors who bought $TRUMP, the U.S. president’s cryptocurrency, have lost their money. More than 764,000 wallets that invested in the coin are now in the red while only 58 wallets–all linked to Trump’s entourage–collectively made more than $1 billion.

According to the survey, most of the wallets that lost money contained smaller amounts of tokens. The $TRUMP token, whose popularity has increased since the Republican leader’s second term began, has experienced sharp price swings and very erratic returns for investors. Fight Fight Fight LLC. and CIC Digital LLC. control most of the token’s offerings: both are controlled by the Trump Organization.

The cryptocurrency has attracted the attention of regulators in recent times.

Lawmakers are now formally investigating whether $TRUMP and a related cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial, which sends 75 percent of revenue to the Trump family, constitute a direct conflict of interest for the president. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched an investigation into the token’s ownership structure and revenue model. The hearing was originally meant to discuss digital asset regulations, but tensions escalated when Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and other Democrats objected to Trump’s crypto ventures, arguing that he was profiting from the sector while in office.

Apparently, 58 investors have done well, all linked to tRump.

Law firm that caved to tRump is losing lawyers:

Exclusive: 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.
— The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) 2025-05-08T19:30:49.927Z

Europeans really don’t like Musk Alessandro Parodi, Reuters

(Reuters) -Tesla's new car sales in Britain plummeted 62% year-on-year in April to their lowest in over two years, even as demand for electric vehicles rose, data from research group New AutoMotive showed on Tuesday.

Sales of billionaire Elon Musk's EV cars also plunged to multi-year lows in some other key European markets last month, national data showed last week, as Tesla prepares to counter competition from European and Chinese EV brands with the launch of a revamped Model Y.

And then there’s the super ugly Cybertruck:

I mean: I literally would not accept a free Cybertruck, if one was offered to me
— Bruce Arthur (@brucearthur.bsky.social) 2025-05-08T21:57:05.325Z

📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️

We have to honor Ann Telnaes, the Pulitzer board and even Andy Borowitz

To honor Ann Telnaes for winning the Pulitzer and embarrassing Bezos, I’ve taken down the paywall from my interview with her so everyone can watch it.
— The Borowitz Report (@borowitzreport.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T01:33:44.880Z

Nice to give Bezos a red face as well

404 Media for reporting this and some Anonymous hackers Joseph Cox, Jason Koebler, 404 Media

Hackers have targeted GlobalX Air, one of the main airlines the Trump administration is using as part of its deportation efforts, and stolen what they say are flight records and passenger manifests of all of its flights, including those for deportation, 404 Media has learned.

The data, which the hackers contacted 404 Media and other journalists about unprompted, could provide granular insight into who exactly has been deported on GlobalX flights, when, and to where, with GlobalX being the charter company that facilitated the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador.

“Anonymous has decided to enforce the Judge's order since you and your sycophant staff ignore lawful orders that go against your fascist plans,” a defacement message posted to GlobalX’s website reads. Anonymous, well-known for its use of the Guy Fawkes mask, is an umbrella some hackers operate under when performing what they see as hacktivism.

🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️

Playing for horses!

Timeline Cleanse: This French musician is being called the animal whisperer. Here's why. 💙🥹
— Goodable - Good News Just For You! (@goodable.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T15:14:35.490Z

📎Odds & Ends 📎

😄 European beach litter has fallen — a LOT Andy Corbley Good News Network

Litter on European beaches from the Baltic to the Aegean is falling, according to a new report.

If you’ve ever rented in Europe, or you’re a European and you live there, there’s a good chance you’ve had to comply with the strict waste control standards that require you to separate trash into several categories.

If that’s the case, and if it’s a pain in the neck sometimes, well crack a smile, because the hard work is paying off in one of the best, perfectly-tangible ways: how much trash is on European beaches.

In its latest EU Coastline Macro Litter Trend report, the Joint Research Center of the European Union has found that between 2015 and 2021 total beach litter has fallen 30%, with the biggest reductions seen in single-use plastic items (40%). The density was measured in pieces per 100 meters.

Really liked this:

✈️ ☀️ Pittsburgh airport works to be totally energy independent Andy Corbley Good News Network

Already partially-solar powered, the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is doubling its solar panel count by utilizing an adjacent property that used to be a landfill.

Now filled in, the 12 acres of terrain will be covered in 4.7 megawatts of solar energy, capable of canceling out 5 million pounds of CO2 emissions that would otherwise be generated from burning fossil fuels.

PIT already boasts its own 23-megawatt solar and natural gas microgrid, an installation which uses solar power to cover PIT’s demands, natural gas to make up the difference during peak hours or if the sun isn’t shining, and which transfers unutilized solar power to local homes and businesses.

💙 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: A Positive-Sum Interaction

Mokurai

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

Thursday May 08, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/08 · 04:00

Lotus flower and leaves emerging from dirty water

A real economy is by necessity a positive sum system. This is the heart of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, which you will note was not called Wealth of Billionaires. That would have been a good description of the Mercantilist system that provoked the American Revolution. You may recognize it today.

Mercantilism promotes government regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting and bolstering state power at the expense of rival national powers. High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, were almost universally a feature of mercantilist policy.

The Koan of the Invisible Hand

If I bake more bread than I need, and you churn more butter than you need, we both profit by exchanging bread for butter. If I get paid a fair wage, exchanging labor for money, and exchange some of that money for rent, food, clothing, shelter, health care…then my employer, myself, and all of those I buy from make a profit. But MAGAtroids in general and The Himself in particular are incapable of grokking this. A deal, to him, is only real if he gets to rip somebody off. Profit is irrelevant to those whose only concern is privilege, of making sure that Those People don’t get anything like their fair share.

And there you also have the entire Republican Congressional agenda, their under water polling, their stark underperformance in multitudes of court cases and elections…The Bad News Boors have a fundamental problem with tax cuts, slashing Medicaid, and tariffs, the heart of their legislative agenda, which are very specifically the plans that the public hates worst.

So, Chris Hayes asked last night, how do they sell these plans?

Do they try to pretend that none of it is happening? Yes, but they can’t.
Do they try to pretend that it is all good for their low-income, largely rural voters? Yes, but they can’t.
Do they try to sneak it all through in the dead of night? Yes, but they can’t.
Do they fuss about how many bills to put everything into? Yes. And that is something they can do, but it doesn’t do them any good. It just ends up with the Thing That Ate the GQP demanding that they put it all into One Big Beautiful Bill, and actually call it that.
Do they try to…? Yes, whatever it is, but they can’t.

In particular, there are what you might call “moderate Rs who want to cut Medicaid by somewhat less than $880 billion, and those that you might call wackadoodlidoodles who want to cut far more.

We, of course, want a government informed by empathy and by real economics, both of which are anathema to them. That means that we have to work much harder than them in the midterms and the next Presidential cycle.

And also point and laugh to the max.

chloris creator

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

Wednesday May 07, 2025 · 8:55 AM PDT

2025/05/07 · 08:55

I can understand that many are scared, and with good reason. I can also imagine that there are situations where fear would make me yield.

But, in the long run, and often in the short run, cowardice does not pay. Yielding only make tRump and his regime stronger and richer. Besides, it’s not as if they will respect you later. There’s even — if you’re a billionaire and the current regime follows the authoritarian playbook — the chance of future defenestration.

Of course, cowardice pays off for some, at least in the short term. Sometimes there’s a cost to courage as well. Kinzinger and Cheney ended up having to leave the GOP.

But there are also many, many examples of courageous stands making a difference.

Jump below the fold to read some of what I have seen, and then, in the comments, add your own.

Examples where courage is paying off:

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Law firm decides to use the law

How Trump's own words helped him lose a fight with law firm Perkins Coie reut.rs/432SmKR
— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-05-06T18:40:09Z

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Harvard standing up to tRump’s threats Rafi Schwartz The Week

Even within the elite Ivy League, Harvard University stands out as the country's premier institution of higher education. As such, the Trump administration has targeted Harvard in its assault on collegiate infrastructure. But the university has positioned itself to fight back, both in the courts, where it is suing the administration over frozen federal funds, and in the court of public opinion. President Donald Trump's effort to revoke the school's tax-exempt status has "no legal basis," a university spokesperson said, and could have "grave consequences for the future of higher education."

Trump's online invectives and Harvard's equally staunch response belie the fact that it is "not immediately clear" whether the IRS is moving forward with revoking the school's tax-exempt status, said The New York Times. Not only does such revocation "typically occur only after a lengthy process," but presidents are legally barred from "directing the IRS to conduct tax investigations" to begin with. The government agency will "not allow itself to be weaponized," said former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who served under Trump and President Joe Biden, in a statement to Bloomberg. Absent some "appropriate examination" of Harvard's finances and tax status, the IRS "does not and should not conduct a 'fishing expedition' designed to hopefully uncover a relevant issue."

Legally, the president does not have the right to do this.

🐔🐔🐔 Columbia University is suffering, even though it caved to demands. Because it will never be enough. My IndMaker

Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it will be laying off nearly 180 employees due to President Donald Trump's decision to cut $400 million in funding. This decision was made after the university's handling of student protests related to the Gaza war.

Around 20% of the staff affected by the funding cuts, who were supported by federal grants, received non-renewal or termination notices. "We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources," the university said. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard. Columbia University spokesperson Jessica Murphy did not confirm if more layoffs are expected but mentioned that the university is taking various steps to improve financial flexibility. These steps include keeping current salary levels and offering voluntary retirement incentives. Research at the university will be reduced, with some departments ending projects and others continuing research with alternative funding.

Some of the impacted research includes a project to develop an antiviral nasal spray for infectious diseases, as well as studies on maternal mortality, long Covid treatments, newborn care for opioid withdrawal, and colorectal cancer screenings. The recent layoffs, though anticipated, have been disheartening for the faculty, according to Marcel Agueros, the secretary of Columbia University's chapter of the American Association of University Professors. This group has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming the cuts are unlawful. University officials are trying to work with the Trump administration to get the funding back. However, Agueros, who is an astronomy professor, believes it will take years to recover from the damage already done. When funding is interrupted, it leads to people losing their jobs, prevents new hires, puts some projects on hold, and even causes others to be cancelled, which slows down research progress, he explained. The funding was pulled by the Trump administration in March due to the university's alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas conflict that started in October 2023.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Governor Janet Mills defends the kids

Janet Mills “ See you in court “ wins www.newscentermaine.com/article/news...
— Meidas_Pete (@ferst60.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T18:29:36.268Z

More on the story from the link in the flutter.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine leaders declared victory Friday after a high-profile legal clash with the Trump administration ended in a settlement that restores vital school lunch funding to the state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture agreed to stop efforts to freeze nutrition funds over a Title IX dispute with Maine over President Donald Trump's enforcement of an executive order involving transgender athletes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ States finding ways to work with other countries

My administration has strengthened our relationships with our international partners and allies. Illinois is a reliable and experienced trade partner, and we’re excited to continue working with cities and countries around the world. chicagocrusader.com/gov-pritzker...
— JB Pritzker (@jbpritzker.bsky.social) 2025-04-14T15:31:21.017Z

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Keeping up the fight when the GOP is trying to steal an election. (Griffin finally conceded)

This is good news
— Molly Jong-Fast (@mollyjongfast.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T01:38:40.049Z

I also admit I admire all the people in other countries standing up to tRump. Zelenskyy is the one who has had to stand up most — and if he had caved, think how much more Ukraine would have suffered — but we have seen others stand up as well.

Here’s Japan pushing back:

When your “trade talk” strategy is going super well. 🤡 @reuters.com 🇯🇵 www.reuters.com/markets/asia...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2025-05-02T12:01:45.923Z

And Canada. Prime Minister Carney owes tRump a bit, though, because he helped him win.

Trump's face the exact moment PM Carney told him that Canada will never be the 51st state. #cdnpoli🤣🇨🇦😂🍁
— Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T19:43:40.356Z

Just for fun, because we all need more fun.

This diary has been sponsored by the letter C.

Please, add more examples if you have them!

In A World of Choices, Choose Hope - May 7th Good News Roundup (GNR)

bilboteach

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

Wednesday May 07, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/07 · 04:00

Life is full of choices. For instance, I chose to take on the responsibility of one Good News Roundup a month. That’s a huge choice in my life because I’m not a natural optimist. Many people (including me) wallow in indifference and even despair for their entire lives. However, even in the darkest of times, there is hope.

I’ve thought about the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box a lot recently. Here’s a recap of the myth if you’ve forgotten or aren’t familiar with it.

Pandora, whose name means “all-gifted,” was blessed by the gods with numerous talents and charms. She was beautiful, clever, and alluring. However, she was also given less desirable traits – most notably, an insatiable curiosity.

Before sending Pandora to earth, Zeus gave her a jar (in later versions, a box) which he warned her never to open. Epimetheus, in his shortsightedness, failed to heed his brother’s warnings about accepting gifts from the gods. He allowed Pandora into his home, and inevitably, her curiosity got the better of her.

When Pandora opened the jar, she unleashed all manner of evils and miseries into the world – sickness, death, sorrow, strife, and many others. She closed the jar quickly, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Only one thing remained in the jar – hope.

America chose to open their own Pandora’s Box on November 5th, 2024. It unleashed all of the nastiness found inherent within our society that was always bubbling beneath the surface. But it also unleashed the seeds of its own redemption: hope and solidarity.

We at the Good News Roundup choose hope instead of fear, good news instead of doomscrolling, and love instead of hate. We’re not naïve — we know that the forces of evil are strong and currently have power in the halls of Washington, D.C. However, we also know that the forces for good are strong too!

Thus begins my first effort at writing a Good News Roundup...

😡 We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore! 😡

Swasticars taking a hit in Europe.

Tesla’s sales in Europe continue to collapse — “even as it started shipping the redesigned Model Y sport utility vehicle to customers.”
@bloomberg.com $TSLA
@alexwinter.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM

Trump Policies Draw Outrage at May Day Protests Across the US

Annual May Day rallies proclaim the cause of workers in the United States and across the globe. But this year, demonstrations in the United States were supercharged with the breadth of the anti-Trump movement, as outcry continued to grow over the president’s agenda and expansion of executive power.

Protesters denounced the administration’s effort to roll back workers’ rights — a particular sore spot on a day dedicated to celebrating organized labor — as well as plans to cut education funding and carry out mass deportations.

…

Similar scenes unfolded across the country, as the police closed streets for the crowds in major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington.

But protesters also rallied in small communities that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump, including Norman, Okla.; Sauk City, Wis.; and Hendersonville, N.C. Groups held signs in front of municipal buildings and public schools, and some demonstrators wore red to indicate their support for public education.

May Day, May Day! SO IMPORTANT open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

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— Jen Rubin (@jenrubin.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 6:29 PM

The protests continued in Chicago into the weekend after May Day passed.

YouTube Video

US opposition politician @sanders.senate.gov gathered between 5 to 10 thousand people in Philadelphia to celebrate May Day and oppose the Trump regime. #3E #EndImpunity #MayDay

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— Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 6:41 PM

MAY DAY protests include Nashville…
www.tennessean.com/story/news/p...

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 4:32 PM

Phoenix showed up for May Day

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— DavidDecherd 📎 (@ddekhard.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 8:42 PM

May Day in Ann Arbor...

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— GrouchyMarkx (@grouchymarkx.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM

Let’s do it all again in June 14th!

“If you are watching this right now and you’re thinking I don’t want a king in this county, good news: Neither do we. And you can be part of this.” - @ezralevin.bsky.social
We’re mobilizing nationwide on June 14 to say No Kings. Find an event near you or start one: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i...

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— Indivisible (@indivisible.org) May 5, 2025 at 10:02 PM

💪 Not Afraid To Take a Stand 💪

Looks like another town hall went off the rails. This time, Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17) was the member of the GOP targeted.

🧵
NY-17 Rep. Mike Lawler had a local social worker physically dragged out of his town hall Sunday night.
Emily Feiner was singled out by private security, lifted out of her seat, as the crowd chanted “let her stay” and “shame, shame.”
She’s a constituent.
Not a threat.
Fascism again.

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— Jennifer ✨Get In Good Trouble (@thejenniwren.teamlh.social) May 4, 2025 at 9:23 PM

We’re holding town halls in every corner of the country.

In DEEP RED Adams County, Pennsylvania, I held a town hall with hundreds of people — led by local organizers — because GOP Rep. Joyce and Sen. McCormick refuse to show up.
But if we keep showing up for and with each other, we will meet this moment.
@democrats.org

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— Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (@malcolmkenyatta.bsky.social) May 4, 2025 at 6:42 PM

Go Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon! Making Pennsylvania’s 5th district proud!

Scanlon: The Gulf of Mexico was so named over 500 years ago. If we want to update that name to reflect our current culture, maybe we should call it the Sea of Emoluments—you know, the place where we can board the Ship of Fools and navigate from a State of Ignorance to the Confederacy of Dunces…

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM

Love me some Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Expect to see her in almost every GNR I write!

Crockett: Instead of the President cosplaying as the next pope, he may want to cosplay as an actual President of these United States. That means he may have to do a little bit of research and understand that he swore a an oath to defend and protect the constitution.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 5:06 PM

A rare time a member of the GOP is making the good news. I’ll take it, especially since Ed Martin is a crooked nutjob.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis informed the White House that he won’t be supporting Ed Martin, Trump’s pick for federal prosecutor in Washington, because of Martin’s past defense of the January 6 Capitol riots.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:35 PM

🐈🐕Pootie/Woozle Video Break 🐈🐕

YouTube Video

⚖ Trump Fought the Law and the Law WON! ⚖

🚨BREAKING: Federal District Court REJECTS Republican effort to overturn North Carolina Supreme Court election result. Orders the state to certify the results of the election and not proceed with the cure process. Congratulations to our clients, the ELG team, Justice Riggs and the voters of NC!

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— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM

US Appeals Court Rejects Attempt to Strip Status from Thousands of Immigrants

A federal appeals court rejected on Monday a request by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined, opens new tab to put on hold a judge's order halting the Department of Homeland Security's move to cut short a two-year "parole" granted to the migrants under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

The administration's action marked an expansion of the Republican president's hardline crackdown on immigration and push to ramp up deportations, including of noncitizens previously granted a legal right to live and work in the United States.

The administration argued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had discretion to categorically end the migrants' status and that the judge's order was forcing the U.S. government to "retain hundreds of thousands of aliens in the country against its will."

Pressure works. RFK Jr. is reportedly restoring FDA's FOIA office following our lawsuit challenging the firing of records staff.
That's good news, but CDC's FOIA office is still illegally shuttered. We'll keep fighting for transparency until all of HHS complies with the law.

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— CREW (@citizensforethics.org) May 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM

COURT ODDS AND ENDS: A federal judge has temporarily blocked the CIA from firing Dr. Terry Adirim, who claims the agency targeted her for termination after criticism by Laura Loomer and Ivan Raiklin.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM

MORE: Another judge has sounded the alarm on the Trump administration's alleged violations of due process in immigration proceedings. Judge Larence Valardo said the administration view of due process was "downright frightening." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM

Judge Orders Dept of Education to Restore Pandemic Relief Funds

The U.S. Department of Education must abide by earlier promises to give states more time to spend COVID relief money, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos issued the preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, 15 other Democratic attorneys general, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The injunction only applies in the states that sued and not nationwide. California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Jersey are among the states that joined New York and Pennsylvania in the lawsuit.

NEWS: Second federal judge continues blocking AEA removals or transfers today, this time in the Colorado case.
Judge Sweeney, who previously issued a TRO, grants a preliminary injunction blocking all AEA proclamation-based removals, regardless of notice. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:49 PM

Don’t know what the Trump regime’s angle is with this…

Court filings revealed the Department of Justice will not appeal a judge’s order blocking part of President Trump’s election order that imposed a documentary proof of citizenship requirement when registering to vote — a major win for voters.
— Laurence H. Tribe (@tribelaw.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 8:06 PM

❎The Times They Are a Changing ❎

Quality Candidates are Lining Up to Take on Republicans

An important difference between this cycle compared to this same point eight years ago is that far more high-quality candidates have announced for Congress in swingy seats currently held by the GOP, despite the fact that Democrats go into this election already holding more House seats than eight years ago.

In 2017, through the end of April, 24 seats held by Republicans had at least one declared Democratic candidate, but only five of these seats featured a candidate who had previously won elective office. This year, there are 17 seats held by Republicans with an announced Democratic candidate, but 10 of these races have at least one challenger with elective office experience.

Meanwhile, prominent electable GOP candidates are shying away from running.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp NOT Running for Senate in 2026

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will not run for Senate in 2026, according to three people familiar with his decision. The popular Republican would have been a prime recruit against first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

“I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family,” Kemp said in a statement posted on X. “I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November.”

The Senate math is tough. Democrats have a plan to expand the map.

A look at possible Democratic Senate recruits as the party looks at ways to expand the 2026 map.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/u...

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— Michael Li (李之樸) (@mcpli.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:52 AM

Trump is causing a backlash in the western world against far-right politics.

Trump is singlehandedly revitalizing the global center-left

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 3, 2025 at 10:13 AM

The far-right (mostly) lost big in the suburbs of Texas for school board races last Saturday.

It was a tough night for MAGA-aligned candidates in Texas. In the May 3, 2025, local elections, voters across the state decisively rejected far-right candidates, particularly in school board and city council races. From Tarrant County to Collin County, and from San Antonio to Dallas, communities chose leaders who prioritize public education, inclusivity, and pragmatic governance over culture wars and partisan agendas. This widespread shift signals a growing resistance to extremist politics at the local level.

Voters across Texas sent a message loud enough to rattle the far-right out of their echo chambers: we’re done with your culture wars, your book bans, and your crusade against public schools. Voters chose community over chaos, educators over agitators, and progress over extremism.

The local elections weren’t just a series of wins but a sweep. MAGA-backed candidates got absolutely trounced across the state. This was the result of deep organizing, years of work by local Democrats, and voters who are fed up with the far-right hijacking of school boards and city councils to push their agenda.

Texas isn’t turning blue overnight, but make no mistake: the MAGA movement had a very bad night, and the momentum is shifting.

The people who ultimately chose Trump (low engagement voters) are the ones souring on him the fastest and deepest.

New piece: Trump’s approval rating among low-engagement voters has fallen 30 points since Jan, the worst decline for any group. The GOP’s big advantage with hard-to-reach voters has evaporated as economic turmoil & toxic politics turns them away from Trump
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/what-do-di...

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— G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris.com) May 6, 2025 at 8:09 AM

None of the articles shared below constitute an endorsement by bilboteach or the GNR. We respect the primary process and will allow it to play out.

We have our first notable candidate for CO-03 against Rep. Jeff Hurd in Alex Kelloff

Old Snowmass’ Alex Kelloff announced on Wednesday he will run for U.S. Congress.

The fourth-generation Coloradan and co-founder of Armada Skis formally entered on Tuesday into the race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. He will run as a Democrat in the November 2026 election.

“Everything that holds this country together — honor, integrity, common sense, the rule of law, mutual respect — is under attack,” Kelloff said in a press release. “Donald Trump and his followers, including Lauren Boebert and her successor, Jeff Hurd, are tearing at the fabric of our democracy and undermining the very institutions that protect our freedoms. I can’t sit back and watch it happen.”

We have our first notable candidate for NE-02 against Rep. Don Bacon in Denise Powell.

Denise Powell, known for her role boosting new candidates with Women Who Run, is running for Congress in 2026 in Nebraska’s 2nd District.

Powell told the Nebraska Examiner on Wednesday that she is running because many people in the Omaha area have lost a “voice in D.C.,” and the district needs more of an “everyday working” person to represent them.

She said she would prioritize protecting Medicaid and Social Security, vote to ensure the federal government does its part to boost quality K-12 education and push back against the Trump administration.

We have our second notable candidate for PA-07 against Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Carol Orbando-Derstine.

Democrat Carol Obando-Derstine, a onetime staffer for former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, launched a campaign Thursday to oust Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie from his seat in Lehigh Valley’s 7th Congressional District — a race that could have significant implications for the balance of the U.S. House in the 2026 election.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, who held the seat for three terms before Mackenzie bested her last November by a single percentage point, endorsed Obando-Derstine, ending speculation about whether Wild would seek a rematch.

Obando-Derstine, 48, who escaped civil war in her native Colombia with her family when she was 3, has lived in the Lehigh Valley for 22 years.

She is running for Congress, she said, because “too many families are being squeezed by a system that puts billionaires and special interests first.” She added, “I know the struggles our families are facing because I’ve lived them.”

We have our first notable candidate for IA-03 against Rep. Zach Nunn in Sarah Trone Garriott.

State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott is launching her campaign for the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s 3^rd Congressional District as she seeks to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in 2026.

Trone Garriott, 46, is the first candidate to jump into the race in what is expected to be one of the country's most competitive congressional contests next year. She shared her plans in an exclusive interview with the Des Moines Register.

"I see public service as a calling," she said. "And what I’m hearing from the people in my district, from the people in Iowa, is that life is getting really challenging. Folks are struggling with rising costs. They’re not able to make ends meet for their families. And they need someone who is speaking out on behalf of their interests and their concerns and making sure that their priorities are being heard in Washington. And that’s what I do."

It’s a stretch seat, but we have our first notable candidate for NC-11 against Rep. Chuck Edwards in Moe Davis.

Retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis is stepping back into familiar turf — running for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

“I just keep looking at what Chuck Edwards is not doing for the district,” Davis told The Smoky Mountain News May 5. “People here are hurting, particularly after Helene, and they deserve somebody that's going to work for them, rather than for the billionaire out-of-state donors that own Chuck Edwards.”

A Shelby native, Davis graduated from Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice before earning his J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Davis went on to serve as a lawyer in the U.S. Air Force for 25 years, working as chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay military commissions in 2005. In 2007, he resigned in protest over political interference and the use of evidence obtained through torture and became a prominent critic of detainee policies. Davis also worked for the Congressional Research Service and as a professor at Howard University School of Law. Recently, he’s served as co-host of American Muckrakers podcast “Muck You” alongside David Wheeler.

🌍We are the World🌎

33 West Africans Freed from Human Trafficking Ring

Police raids have rescued 33 West Africans from a human trafficking ring in Ivory Coast that lured people into paying fees and providing coerced labor by promising them jobs in Canada, the international police agency Interpol said Tuesday.

Victims paid as much as $9,000 to supposed recruiters who instead trafficked them to the city of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, where they were held under physical and psychological coercion, the agency said in a statement.

They also were forced to help scam others with the same promise of finding a job abroad by taking photos of themselves in upscale restaurants and hotels and posting them online as though they were in Canada. The traffickers allowed them limited contact with their families to maintain the illusion of living overseas.

Germany might know a thing or two about far-right politics and the consequences thereof…

Germany hits back at Marco Rubio after he panned labeling of AfD as ‘extremist’

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— The Guardian (@theguardian.com) May 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM

Less-Thirsty Rice Offers Hope During Chilean Drought

A cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions. But a new strain of the world's favorite cereal developed by scientists in the drought-plagued South American country has generated hope that rice can be grown in seemingly inhospitable conditions.

Using an innovative planting technique, Javier Munoz has been trialling the "Jaspe" strain created by experts at the Agricultural Research Institute's (INIA) Rice Breeding Program.

It is one of several research efforts worldwide to come up with less resource-hungry crops at a time of increased water scarcity in parts of the world due to global warming.

Using Jaspe in combination with a growing method that requires only intermittent watering cut the Munoz family's water consumption in half in a country that has for generations cultivated rice in flooded fields, or paddies.

At the same time, yield rocketed, with each seed yielding about thirty plants -- nearly ten times more than a conventional rice field.

🎶Song of the Day🎶

YouTube Video

🧪Don’t Stop Believing (in Science) 🧪

In the interests of full disclosure, I will say the one area where I am fatalist is the climate crisis. That won’t stop me from bringing good climate and science news to the Good News Roundup!

Startup Company Turning to Seaweed for Critical Minerals

On farms off the coast of Alaska and in Mexico, a company called Blue Evolution grows seaweed used in food and skincare products. But five years ago, while studying the potential for seaweed to be used in bioenergy, the company discovered something else: The algae also contains critical minerals.

The research, conducted with Pacific Northwest National Labs, identified the presence of scandium, an expensive rare earth element that’s produced in tiny volumes globally. The seaweed also contains other rare earth elements and platinum group metals that can be used to make products ranging from EV batteries to motors for wind turbines. “That generated a lot of excitement,” says Beau Perry, CEO of Blue Evolution. “Everyone was like, ‘Can you mine with seaweed?’”

The company undertook more research into the area, and today it launched a new initiative, Orca Minerals, that’s focused on the new form of mining. Instead of blasting rocks or the seabed, the process makes use of the fact that seaweed naturally absorbs minerals from seawater as it grows.

Mushrooms can help remediate brownfields along with certain other plants!

some good news from @matthabusby.bsky.social!
on how propagating native plants and mushrooms could help clean polluted soil—including in the toxic, scorched scars of the LA fires
read more in @atmosmag.bsky.social 🌎🧪

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— Jason Dinh (@byjasonpdinh.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM

Scientists Hone in on Alternatives to PFAS

PFAS have been linked to a range of health issues, from high cholesterol to cancer. Some researchers are investigating how to break down PFAS in the environment, while others — like Eastoe — are developing fluorine-free alternatives.

To replace PFAS, scientists need to find a way to keep a material’s surface energy low without invoking fluorine. Eastoe and colleagues report that for PFAS acting as surfactants, chains of mostly carbon and silicon atoms with a bulky, tree branch–like structure can take the place of fluorine-rich fragments.

The researchers determined the surface tension of solutions containing water and the fluorine-free surfactants at different concentrations, usually by measuring the force required to pull a metal plate out of each solution. These tests suggest that the surfactants’ “branches” pack tightly at the surface of a water droplet to reduce the surface tension. Some of the best-performing alternatives reduced the water’s surface tension about as well as PFAS surfactants in use today.

Perhaps Planet Nine exists after all? A LOT of work needed to confirm it still but this is the most solid lead yet.

Astronomers have identified a potential candidate for the elusive Planet Nine by analyzing infrared sky surveys taken 23 years apart. The object, possibly more massive than Neptune, resides approximately 700 times farther from the Sun than Earth
🧪🔭
#PlanetNine
#Astronomy
#InfraredSurvey
#SolarSystem

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— Kenneth Becker (@geophotographer.org) May 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM

Scientists Can Turn Rain into Electricity

This is what engineer Siowling Soh—from the National University of Singapore—and his research team realized when they tried to generate electricity by catching rainwater in tubes.

“The setup is simple; no equipment is needed,” they said in a study recently published in ACS Central Science. “Hence, it is inexpensive and environmentally friendly to install, operate, and maintain […] scaling up can be achieved readily in three dimensions for large-scale harvesting of energy from nature. It can be used anywhere, including in urbanized areas.”

Previous experiments had tried to use water flowing through nanoscale tubes to capture electric charge. However, not only does the charge from flowing water decay more rapidly, but when tubes that small are used, that charge becomes just about negligible. It is also unnatural for water to flow through nano-tubes, which is why Soh stresses that macroscale tubes on the scale of at least millimeters wide should be used to harvest electricity from natural sources of water.

Solar storms are a HUGE deal. Read up on the Carrington Event of 1859. This telescope studies the sun and could be key to helping us predict these events.

The Daniel K. Inouye telescope snapped a clear image of sunspots.

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— NPR (@npr.org) May 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM

Two Scientific Societies Step into Climate Report Void

Two major scientific societies on Friday said they will try to fill the void from the Trump administration’s dismissal of scientists writing a cornerstone federal report on what climate change is doing to the United States.

The American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union said they will work together to produce peer-reviewed research documents assessing the current and future national impacts of climate change because a science-based report required by law is suddenly in question under President Donald Trump.

Energy storage of solar, wind, etc. is the ballgame — and it is getting better all the time!

The promise of grid-scale energy storage is that you can hold onto electricity for a bit and save it for later—rather than having to use it or lose it.

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— WIRED (@wired.com) May 3, 2025 at 4:53 PM

Farmers Making Bank on Newest Crop: Solar Energy

Around the world, farmers are retooling their land to harvest the hottest new commodity: sunlight. As the price of renewable energy technology has plummeted and water has gotten more scarce, growers are fallowing acreage and installing solar panels. Some are even growing crops beneath them, which is great for plants stressed by too many rays. Still others are letting that shaded land go wild, providing habitat for pollinators and fodder for grazing livestock.

According to a new study, this practice of agrisolar has been quite lucrative for farmers in California’s Central Valley over the last 25 years — and for the environment. Researchers looked at producers who had idled land and installed solar, using the electricity to run equipment like water pumps and selling the excess power to utilities.

On average, that energy savings and revenue added up to $124,000 per hectare (about 2.5 acres) each year, 25 times the value of using the land to grow crops. Collectively, the juice generated in the Central Valley could power around 500,000 households while saving enough water to hydrate 27 million people annually. “If a farmer owns 10 acres of land, and they choose to convert 1 or 2 acres to a solar array, that could produce enough income for them to feel security for their whole operation,” said Jake Stid, a renewable energy landscape scientist at Michigan State University and lead author of the paper, published in the journal Nature Sustainability.

😷I Will Survive (Good Medical News)😷

Fungi On Your Skin Could Produce a Potent Antibiotic

A deadly superbug that sometimes claims the lives of more than a million people globally a year may have a nemesis that lives right under your nose.

Quite literally. It dominates your skin microbiome, where it seems to keep staph infections at bay.

The overlooked agent is a species of natural yeast, called Malassezia sympodialis – one of the most prevalent microorganisms on healthy human skin. New research suggests that as it cleans oil and fat from your body's exterior, the fungi can produce a fatty acid that stops the development and growth of a staph infection.

According to lab experiments, led by scientists at the University of Oregon (UO), M. sympodialis can antagonize Staphylococcus aureus bacteria through its acidic byproducts.

Unparalleled Snake Antivenom Made From Man Bitten Over 200 Times

The blood of a US man who deliberately injected himself with snake venom for nearly two decades has led to an "unparalleled" antivenom, say scientists.

Antibodies found in Tim Friede's blood have been shown to protect against fatal doses from a wide range of species in animal tests.

Current therapies have to match the specific species of venomous snake anyone has been bitten by.

But Mr Friede's 18-year mission could be a significant step in finding a universal antivenom against all snakebites - which kill up to 140,000 people a year and leave three times as many needing amputations or facing permanent disability.

In total, Mr Friede has endured more than 200 bites and more than 700 injections of venom he prepared from some of the world's deadliest snakes, including multiple species of mambas, cobras, taipans and kraits.

He initially wanted to build up his immunity to protect himself when handling snakes, documenting his exploits on YouTube.

Learn to like to move it move it to prevent Alzheimer’s disease later in life!

🏃🧠 Move more, remember more?

A new study shows that increasing physical activity in midlife is linked to less brain amyloid – a hallmark of Alzheimer's – and healthier brain structure.

🔗 doi.org/10.1002/alz....

#Alzheimers #SciComm 🧪

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— Prof Sam Illingworth (@samillingworth.com) May 3, 2025 at 4:19 AM

Semaglutide May Reverse Signs of Liver Disease

The diabetes and weight loss drug semaglutide may also reverse signs of liver disease.

That’s the headline result of a new clinical trial that tested the popular medication in patients with MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

The disease is marked by fat droplets piling up in liver cells, chronic inflammation and scar tissue in the liver. But a 72-week regimen of semaglutide seemed to turn the disease around. Patients on the drug saw liver scarring improve and fat and inflammation wane, scientists reported April 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Scientists hope “the improvement in scar tissue will translate into less cirrhosis, and less of all of the bad things that can happen if scar tissue continues to progress,” says study coauthor Arun Sanyal, director of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “That is the goal of treatment.”

Gut Fungus May Reverse Signs of Liver Disease as Well

A common intestinal fungus produces a molecule that reduces symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice, according to research published in Science today¹.

The study marks a step forward in improving treatments for the disease, which affects roughly 30% of adults worldwide. Only one medication for the condition has approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, and it has limited effectiveness.

Before this study, the role of the fungus, called Fusarium foetens, in the human microbiome and its interactions with metabolism were poorly understood. “We had little understanding of how this fungus evolved to colonize the intestines of healthy individuals,” says co-author Jiang Changtao, a microbiologist at Peking University Third Hospital in Beijing. Previous studies have shown that gut yeast — a type of fungus — can aggravate alcoholic fatty liver disease², but whether filamentous fungi such as F. foetens could affect liver conditions was unclear.

Phages are absolutely part of the future of infectious disease medicine even with AI helping us with antibiotic research. The good news is the western world is finally taking them seriously.

Once lost in scientific obscurity, bacteriophage therapy (using viruses in medical treatment) is making a comeback. 🧪

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— Nautilus Magazine (@nautil.us) May 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM

Experimental Drug Led to Restored Vision in Mice

Our eyes could potentially be coaxed into a special repair mode above and beyond our natural self-healing abilities, according to a new study, thanks to the delivery of antibodies that trigger nerve cell regeneration in the retina.

The South Korean research team says the treatment offers hope for restoring lost vision that otherwise can't be brought back. For now though, it's only been tested in mice.

TB is a menace. Anything that can possibly detect an infection earlier/faster is good news!

Lead author @ssmelyansky.bsky.social spearheaded a strategy to label a single sulfur-containing glycan called ManLAM on the cell envelope of the bacteria that cause #TB. news.mit.edu/2025/new-mol... or here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🧪 #glycotime @mitchemistry.bsky.social

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— Laura Kiessling (@laurakiessling.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM

Immunotherapy Drug Could Spare People With Some Forms of Cancer

When a person develops solid tumors in the stomach or esophagus or rectum, oncologists know how to treat them. But the cures often come with severe effects on quality of life. That can include removal of the stomach or bladder, a permanent colostomy bag, radiation that makes patients infertile and lasting damage from chemotherapy.

So a research group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, using a drug from the pharmaceutical company GSK, tried something different.

The researchers started with a group of 103 people. The trial participants were among the 2 to 3 percent of cancer patients with tumors that should respond to immunotherapy, a drug that overcomes barriers that prevent the immune system from attacking cancers.

But in clinical trials, immunotherapy is not supposed to replace the standard treatments. The researchers, led by Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. and Dr. Andrea Cercek, decided to give dostarlimab, an immunotherapy drug, on its own.

The result was stunning, and could bring hope to the limited cohort of patients contending with these cancers.

Brazilian Ritual Root Could Be Used as Anti-Depressant

Long used in Indigenous Brazilian rituals, the jurema preta plant, which contains a potent psychedelic, is gaining ground as a potential treatment for depression.

At street stalls where medicinal herbs are sold, customers can buy the plant's root which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic substance that researchers say could be used to alleviate symptoms.

Following instructions he found on the internet, Guaracy Carvajal extracted DMT at home in 2016 from roots he bought on the street.

The 31-year-old software programmer, who had tried various treatment for chronic depression he has suffered since adolescence, said the drug makes it "feel like you've solved something in your life."

Physicist Draulio Araujo, who has conducted extensive research on the drug, said "the response is rapid. One day after treatment, (patients) already showed a significant improvement in their depression symptoms."

Yet he also warned that it "is not a magic cure" and that psychedelics "are not for everyone."

😆Wednesday Wheezes 😆

Thank you Denise Oliver-Velez for posting humorous cartoons in the APR every morning. This section is not possible without you!

Well, as long as they're naming new ambassadors ... #Ambassador #Birds #Comic #Cartoon #Cartooning

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— Dave Blazek (@loosepartsguy.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM

Somedays she'd wished she had just stayed in the Poké Ball. #grickledoodle #mothers #children #parenting #pokemon #cartoon #art #drawing #funny

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— Graham Annable (@grickle.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 12:06 PM

Source: https://www.thefarside.com/2025/04/30/1 #farside #comic
“What the? … This is lemonade! Where’s my culture
of amoebic dysentery?”

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— The Far Side (@farside-bot.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy) May 2, 2025 at 10:35 AM

New Comic Found:
Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for Fri, 02 May 2025 https://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2025/05/02
#comicstrips #comics #nonsequitur #nonsequiturstrip

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— The Funny Pages (@thefunnypages.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy) May 3, 2025 at 2:48 AM

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— toonerman (@dptoon.bsky.social) May 4, 2025 at 9:19 AM

This week's comic: A New Definition of Pain foxtrot.com/2025/05/04/a...

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— Bill Amend (@billamend.bsky.social) May 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM

Ellis Rosen

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— LJ Slater (@slatergurl.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 11:39 AM

Happy #teachersappreciationweek
#teachergram #teachermemes #education #educationmemes #school #schoolmemes #coolteacher #gagcartoon #schoolhacks #funny

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— Kyle Bravo (@kylebravo.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 6:44 AM

Leon Eden

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— paulpro (@mariopro.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 6:40 AM

👍 Hey Hey What Can I Do? 👍

This section is still under construction. Expect it to get bigger and better

You might see a theme with this first bundle of action steps… 😏

If you want to help teachers that desperately need funds (especially at the end of the year!), DonorsChoose is the site to hook you up! Another one is Adopt a Classroom!
Volunteer in a classroom! It can be something as structured and formal as Citizen Schools or as informal as inquiring at a local school district. Be prepared for a background check though!
Build a Little Free Library! I use these all the time and you never know what you’ll read next. Bonus points for distributing books banned by MAGA!

50501 is the group that sparked the protests against the Trump regime. The next huge day for protests is on Saturday, June 14th. Be there or be square!
Calling your representatives matters. 5calls.org makes the process much simpler and more efficient for you! Make it a goal to call their offices once a week or so!
It’s a little early for Goodie or I to start our own donation lists for the Good News Roundup readers. If you feel the need to donate, you’ll have to make do with Charles Gaba (DKos name Brainwrap). Special elections, Virginia, and New Jersey are the priorities right now.

📣 Looking for some way to take action? There's over TWO DOZEN Special Elections coming up THIS YEAR!
NEXT UP:
5/13: OK SD-08: Nathan Brewer
5/13: MA HD-Essex06: Hannah Bowen
5/20: NY SD-22: Sam Sutton
secure.actblue.com/donate/speci...

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— Charles Gaba (@charlesgaba.com) May 5, 2025 at 10:25 AM

📣 #VIRGINIA Democrats have eked out control of the legislature, but that's at risk...and they need help to regain control of the Governor's office. Donate today: #Blue25

secure.actblue.com/donate/vablu...

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— Charles Gaba (@charlesgaba.com) May 5, 2025 at 11:24 AM

📣 #NewJersey Democrats need your help this fall!
NJ may seem like a blue state, but we can't take it for granted, especially for Governor. Donate today: #Blue25
secure.actblue.com/donate/njblu...

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— Charles Gaba (@charlesgaba.com) May 5, 2025 at 11:04 AM

About the Author

Most of you do not know much about me. The first thing you ought to know is that I am much more comfortable in front of a keyboard than I am in front of a video screen or a telephone or in real life. It takes a great event to get me out in the real world other than for my job.

That’s right, I am an extreme introvert! I’ve met 2thanks before (and I hope to see him again) and I’ve talked to several other Kossacks over the phone. But my role at a party is to lurk in the corner and just take in the atmosphere and try to avoid talking to people as much as possible! 😨

With that, my inaugural Good News Roundup is open! Feel free to contribute more in the comments and especially help make next month’s edition better!

GNR for May 6 - When the going gets tough, the tough get going

niftywriter

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

Tuesday May 06, 2025 · 4:00 AM PDT

2025/05/06 · 04:00

Good Day, Gnuville!

It’s been quite the few months. Seems like 50 years since we had a sane (Biden) administration.

We know things are very precarious and some tough times are probably unavoidable, at least in the short to mid term. But there’s a change in the air and people are starting to really wake up to the seriousness of our predicament.

There’s been a lot of gloom and doom talk and in some quarters there’s been defeatism as people assume that since about half the people who voted, voted for this monstrous regime again — then we must surely be doomed.

And it’s true that ‘once could have been a fluke, but twice is a sign of a very deep sickness in our society’. However, half of half of eligible voters is not a majority of the American people. Not by a long shot.

Yes, more people could have voted. Yes, more people should have been aware of the danger. Yes, people would have voted for Kamala if they had only known...

But shoulda woulda coulda is not helpful right now.

A lot of people have been too stressed trying to make ends meet to pay much attention, sadly. Others have stopped believing that their votes even matter — as Republicans have dominated in many states and then govern in ways that hurt people. Still others have disbelieved the severity of the danger. Most are slow to arouse to protest and weirdly, that is actually a good thing in one way because it points to how stable for such a long time our society has been.

However, if this regime continues with their ruinous attacks on our government, our institutions and our economy, the people are going to surprise the naysayers and they will stand up and protest.

Americans are constitutionally unable to lie down and take tyranny. I think it’s just been hard to believe this is really happening. It is happening, though, and people are waking up to this reality.

I hate that we must deal with this, but we will stand up and stand against this regime and all its evil works.

To fortify us, we will require community and inspiration. So, let’s get into the good news. ☺️ And later, find community in the best comment section on the internet™!

YouTube Video

📰 🇺🇸 State News 🇺🇸 🗞️

20 state attorneys general sue Trump administration to restore health agencies, Aria Bendix, NBC, May 5, 2025.

The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that the administration violated hundreds of laws and bypassed congressional authority by endeavoring to consolidate the number of HHS agencies from 28 to 15 and initiating layoffs of around 20,000 employees.

“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James said in a statement. “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people, and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy — you are putting countless lives at risk.” ✂️

Monday’s lawsuit calls on HHS to halt its efforts to dismantle agencies and restore critical programs that have been lost.

The suit is not the first to challenge the federal government’s downsizing mission. A coalition of 23 attorneys general sued HHS in April over the termination of roughly $11 billion in public health grants, some which helped state health departments respond to disease outbreaks. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the cuts but hasn’t issued a final ruling yet.

🎩 to WineRev for this great story out of Texas!

Texas: Maga's Very Bad Night In Texas, Michelle H Davis, Lone Star Left, May 4, 2025.

It was a tough night for MAGA-aligned candidates in Texas. In the May 3, 2025, local elections, voters across the state decisively rejected far-right candidates, particularly in school board and city council races. From Tarrant County to Collin County, and from San Antonio to Dallas, communities chose leaders who prioritize public education, inclusivity, and pragmatic governance over culture wars and partisan agendas. This widespread shift signals a growing resistance to extremist politics at the local level.

A statewide rejection of extremism.

Last night, voters across Texas sent a message loud enough to rattle the far-right out of their echo chambers: we’re done with your culture wars, your book bans, and your crusade against public schools. Voters chose community over chaos, educators over agitators, and progress over extremism.

The local elections weren’t just a series of wins but a sweep. MAGA-backed candidates got absolutely trounced across the state. This was the result of deep organizing, years of work by local Democrats, and voters who are fed up with the far-right hijacking of school boards and city councils to push their agenda.

Texas isn’t turning blue overnight, but make no mistake: the MAGA movement had a very bad night, and the momentum is shifting.

x
Texas conservatives who've championed book bans & anti-LGBT policies suffered big losses tonight in school board races.
And They seem to have lost their working majorities to pass their policies in big school boards.
I tracked these results in FOUR boards tonight. So a 🧵 on each ICYMI.
— Taniel (@taniel.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM

Employees at Austin Alamo Drafthouse Location Vote to Unionize, Katie Kilkenny, Hollywood Reporter, May 3, 2025.

On Friday, a majority of eligible employees at the Sony-owned theater chain’s Slaughter Lane location in Austin, Texas voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers in a National Labor Relations Board election, according to union organizers. Workers voted 52-16 to join the UAW, with 94 percent of those eligible participating in the election. The results are still pending certification from the NLRB, which would make the union official.

“This is the result of four months of hard work and outreach by organizers,” the group of organizers, which calls itself SlaughterHouse United, stated on Friday. “We look forward to the result being officially certified by the NLRB post-haste and to begin bargaining with Alamo in good faith to secure a fair contract for our workplace.”

x
"On Friday, a majority of eligible employees at the Sony-owned theater chain’s Slaughter Lane location in Austin, Texas voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers in a NLRB election, according to union organizers. Workers voted 52-16 to join the UAW."
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

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— UAW (@uaw.org) May 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM

Ohio: Big universities joining forces to defend against regime attacks.

The Ohio State University Faculty Council voted 35-11 on April 24, 2025 to join the Big Ten "mutual defense compact" that would support the defense of academic freedom. They join universities of IL, IN, IA, MD, MN, NE, OR, WA, WI, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC.
— Trevon Logan (@trevondlogan.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 6:50 AM

Maine: Most Mainers don’t think Susan Collins deserves another term, survey says, Staff report, Portlan Press Herald, April 24, 2025.

More than two-thirds of Mainers don’t think Sen. Susan Collins deserves to be reelected next year, including most Republicans, according to a survey conducted last week.

The data released Thursday by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center comes 18 months before the November 2026 election and a year before campaigns are expected to ramp up.✂️

Overall, 21% of Maine residents believe Collins deserves to be reelected, while 71% believe she does not, according to the survey.

Among Democrats, 84% believe she does not deserve another term, while 67% of independents and 57% of Republicans agree.

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there's a long way to go til Nov 2026, but do love this headline (and article.) Suspect it might be inducing some rage from Maine's Senior Senator who HATES bad press in Maine media:
Most Mainers don’t think Susan Collins deserves another term, survey says
www.pressherald.com?p=7449615&uu...

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— Joe Sudbay (@joesudbay.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 9:11 AM

Georgia: NGL this makes me wonder what Kemp IS planning to do next. 🤨 But for Democrats, it is great news that Ossoff is polling double digits ahead of all other comers (so far) including 54-37 over Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp passes on running for a key Democratic-held Senate seat, Bridget Bowman and Sahil Kapur, NBC, May 5, 2025.

The state is a major target for Republicans as they look to expand their three-seat Senate majority. Georgia is one of two states, along with Michigan, where Democrats are defending a seat in a state that President Donald Trump won last November. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is running for re-election in Georgia, while Sen. Gary Peters is retiring in Michigan.

Kemp, who cannot run for re-election as governor due to term limits, said in a statement posted on X that a Senate run is "not the right decision for me and my family.

"I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November," Kemp wrote, "and ultimately be a conservative voice in the US Senate who will put hardworking Georgians first." 👀

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#GAGov Brian Kemp, the GOP's top recruit to take on Jon Ossoff, is reportedly saying no to the race.
A recent @ajc.com poll showed an Ossoff-Kemp race would be close, but Ossoff had ~double-digit leads on everyone else.

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— The Downballot (@the-downballot.com) May 5, 2025 at 1:42 PM

🥰 ILLINOIS 😍

My local paper, the Chicago Sun✶Times, is not pay-walled online and is calling for more support for journalism as one of the pillars of a free society:

World Press Day, an ideal moment to back the media, Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun Times, May 2, 2025.

A credo for totalitarianism, echoing in my brain like a clanking chain after seeing the latest MAGA red hat slogan, “Trump was right about everything,” sported by President Donald Trump’s adviser, Elon Musk.

Hard to believe people pay $19.99 to brand that on their foreheads. Points for candor, because belief in the infallibility of Trump is the guiding principle of this American era. As if the flesh of modern democratic society suddenly melted away to reveal the grinning skull of 18th century monarchism that was always underneath.✂️

The only avenue open to resist what is happening is to tell the truth, as clearly and frequently and forcefully as possible.

And who is doing that?

The media, or what is left of it. Which is why World Press Day — Saturday, May 3 — is extra important. Because if unfettered and fair reporting is valuable during normal times, it is absolutely essential now, if there is to be any hope to thwart gathering authoritarianism.

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First the state (thank you Gov. Pritzker!) did this and now the city of Chicago:

Chicago City Council Blocks Jan. 6 Rioters From City Jobs After Trump Pardons, Heather Cherone, WTTW (PBS), April 16, 2025.

The Chicago City Council voted 44-3 Wednesday to ban those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol from working in city jobs after most were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

“Traitors to this country should not be allowed to work for the city of Chicago,” Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) said.✂️

Gov. J.B. Pritzker directed state hiring officials to block the employment of anyone who took part in the attack that claimed the lives of five members of the U.S. Capitol Police and injured an additional 174 officers.

Mayor Brandon Johnson declined to follow the governor’s lead, prompting Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) to partner with Alds. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward) and Bill Conway (34th Ward), who are all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, to craft a ban with a city ordinance.

After the City Council meeting, Johnson endorsed the measure, saying it would ensure the city is run by people dedicated to preserving American democracy.

Democratic Governor Moves To Boycott El Salvador For Aiding Trump, Kevin Robillard, HuffPost, April 23, 2025.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is asking his state’s pension funds and procurement agencies to examine any investments or contracts they have with companies in El Salvador, the first step toward a possible boycott of the country for assisting President Donald Trump in defying court orders on the treatment of migrants.

In a statement, Pritzker indicated the moves were in response to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s willingness to help Trump deny due process to hundreds of migrants deported to El Salvador and now held in a notoriously dangerous maximum-security prison with no potential of release.

“The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” Pritzker said. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights.”

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@govpritzker.illinois.gov leading the way by adopting a state-wide boycott of El Salvador, hoping other states join. Everyone should boycott El Salvador, which is running concentration camps with our tax dollars. Boycotts such as these should be freely exercised.
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...

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— Jodi Jacobson (@jljacobson.bsky.social) April 23, 2025 at 1:40 PM

Highlights of Gov. J B Pritzker’s fiery speech in NH:

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Illinois AG joins 19 others to fight Election Suppression EO

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joins 19 counterparts in trying to stop Trump election order, Violet Miller, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 5, 2025.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in filing a motion to halt the implementation of an executive order regarding elections signed by President Donald Trump in March.

Trump’s order, issued March 25, demands states not count mail-in ballots received after Election Day — even those postmarked prior to the election, which Illinois and 17 other states allow — and requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply.

The attorneys general cited the Constitution’s elections clause, which allows Congress to regulate voting but designates states as the deciding power in the “time, place and manner” of holding elections.

🎶 Music Break 🎶

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⚖️ Courts Continue to Hold Firm to Rule of Law ⚖️

🚨 LATE BREAKING NEWS FROM NORTH CAROLINA 🚨

Kosack CBastian reports: BREAKING: Federal Court orders certification of election of NC Justice Allison Riggs

Texas: The Courts Push Back Against Trump, James D Zirin, Washington Monthly, May 5, 2025.

In Brownsville, Texas, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, ruled against the president’s lawless use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to detain and deport Venezuelan immigrants from South Texas. Trump, by proclamation, had invoked AEA to oust Venezuelan gang members from the country without a hearing.

This ruling may end many of the administration’s questionable deportation moves, invalidating the legal basis for their actions. Unless reversed by the higher court, the commonsense decision will bar such deportations in South Texas. The ruling may also have implications for litigation pending in other districts.

Federal judges in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado have issued temporary restraining orders blocking the administration from deporting immigrants without due process under the wartime law. They have ruled that the government cannot use the act to deport immigrants without notifying them in advance of their destination and giving them a chance to challenge that in court. This is the first time a federal judge has flatly weighed in on the act’s legality.

The judge relied on the statute’s plain language to reach his decision. He rejected Trump’s claims that a Venezuelan gang was invading the United States to justify using the act to deport migrants without a hearing. He said the president’s action “exceeds the statute’s scope. He correctly reasoned that the law authorizes such deportations only during wartime or a hostile invasion and concluded that Trump’s reliance on AEA “is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.” In our history, Presidents have only reserved the AEA for use in three major wars.

Massachusetts: US appeals court rejects Trump bid to revoke 400,000 migrants' legal status, Reuters, May 5, 2025.

BOSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court rejected on Monday a request by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousand of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a judge's order halting U.S. Department of Homeland Security's move to cut short a two-year parole granted to the migrants under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

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A federal appeals court rejected a request by the Trump administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States reut.rs/42ZsPSH

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— Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) May 5, 2025 at 3:48 PM

Pennsylvania: A Double Win For Voters in Pennsylvania, Matt Cohen, democracy Docket, May 2, 2025.

Courts delivered wins for Pennsylvania voters Friday in two different right-wing disenfranchisement efforts.

One ruling ensured that undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots will be counted, while the other rejected a far-right bid to purge more than 277,000 from the state’s voter rolls.

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Courts delivered wins for Pennsylvania voters Friday in two different right-wing disenfranchisement efforts.🥳
www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

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— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 4:53 PM

Washington, DC: The ruling against Trump's law firm order shows how to respond in this moment, Chris Geidner, Lawdork, May 4, 2025.

On Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell took a stab at summarizing what it means to exist in this moment — and how courts need to respond to it — with lessons for the rest of us as well.

“[S]ettling personal vendettas by targeting a disliked business or individual for punitive government action is not a legitimate use of the powers of the U.S. government or an American President,“ Howell wrote in her decision striking down the first of President Donald Trump’s several executive orders targeting a law firm with broad reprisals due to his personal grievances with the firm.

Although Howell’s statement might have been an obvious one when she took the bench nearly 15 years ago, Trump proved why such a statement was necessary less than 48 hours after she issued it. Asked on Meet the Press whether he has to uphold the Constitution, Trump replied, “I don’t know,” later, at least, adding that his “brilliant lawyers … are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”

In a moment when the president is explicitly shoving his oath of office to the wayside without a second thought, the other branches, the states, and the people will have to step up.

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What happened in the Perkins Coie lawsuit on Friday? Judge Beryl Howell declared Trump’s executive order against the law firm “null and void.”
In doing so, though, she did so much more. Read about it at Law Dork:

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— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 9:06 AM

😫 😡 They’re their own worst enemies — thankfully

TFG and the crooked gang who can’t shoot straight reversing cruel and stupid decisions:

Social Security Administration has scrapped DOGE's plans to end phone services, and to change how people have to sign up to receive payments.
"The shift amounts to a wholesale retreat by Musk’s team."
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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— Taniel (@taniel.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 9:15 AM

NEWS: After canceling thousands of foreign students' immigration records — threatening their ability to study and live in the US — the Trump administration has reversed course and restored them all.
It follows intense pushback from courts across the country.
Details TK
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 10:22 AM

White House backtracks on Trump's confusing Hollywood movie tariff announcement, David Edwards, Raw Story, May 5, 2025.

The White House appeared to backtrack after President Donald Trumpannounced new tariffs on movies filmed in foreign locations.

On Sunday, Trump revealed that he had ordered United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer "to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands."✂️

On Monday, however, a White House statement walked back Trump's declaration by saying that "no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made."

USA Today noted that the White House statement "added more confusion to an announcement that already was drawing questions about how the tariffs would be implemented."

Even *if* you accept Stephen Miller’s (textually, historically, and morally indefensible) claim that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to due process, you’d *still* need due process to ensure that the individuals at issue are, in fact, undocumented.
His argument fails even on its own terms.
— Steve Vladeck (@stevevladeck.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM

Hey, MAGA, Here's Proof Yer Boy's Not Good at This, Jonathan Larsen, The F*cking News, May 2, 2025.

Here is a superb simple explanation of “trade deficits” I found helpful:

Big thank you to Ali @velshi.com for giving me a healthy chunk of air time to explain the Econ 101 of bilateral trade deficits. It matters because this is the intellectual foundation for the President's trade war.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 1:55 PM

And speaking of the economy

Why Trump's Efforts to Blame Biden for the Economy are Doomed to Fail, Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box, May 4, 2025.

The S&P 500 performed worse in Trump’s first 100 days than any president in the last 80 years. Trump’s political problem is massive — he was elected to strengthen the economy and lower prices, and now the economy is weaker than it has been in years, and prices are skyrocketing.

Trump has a two-pronged approach to deal with this problem. For Trump’s base, the first solution is just to pretend like everything is fine. This will work with his most ardent supporters and most shameless media allies. For everyone else, Trump plans to blame Joe Biden for his problems.

In an interview with Fox News's Brett Baier, Vice President Vance declared this the “Biden Economy.”

Trump is desperately trying to shift the blame away from himself. It’s not going to work this time — here’s why:

Meanwhile, the rest of the democratic world rejects trumpism

The world is now reversing course to reject Trumpism, Heather Digby Parton, Salon, May 5, 2025.

In an upset similar to Canada's recent election, Australia voted for the incumbent Labor party against the Trump-like right-winger who led the polls in the run-up to Election Day. (In both cases, the conservative candidate even lost his own seat in the parliament.) Germany, too, just a couple of months ago, managed to beat back the far-right AfD party after Elon Musk and JD Vance stuck their noses in the campaign on its behalf.

Something is happening among America's allies, and it's a tremendous relief. For some years now, we've seen the MAGA-infused global right gaining a foothold amongst western democracies, largely driven by the same demagogic, nationalist, pseudo-populism that has fueled Donald Trump's dominance on the American right. Some countries like Hungary have served as a sort of experiment for the kind of post-democratic autocracies dreamt of by the modern right wing in which government co-opts, intimidates and de-legitimizes the political opposition to create an authoritarianism that dominates the culture and the politics without a lot of overt violence. But the rise of the far right among the Western allies seems to be stalling out.

And More Americans are saying hell no to the regime’s cruelty

Some Good News: Americans Are Rejecting Trumpism, Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair, April 30, 2025.

Despair isn’t useful, but polls are: Donald Trump’s dismal recent numbers are a bright light in dark times, and point to a shifting tide.

Autocrats want you to sink into despair and immobility, to see no light at the end of the tunnel. But we can already see some slivers of light and, yes, there is reason for optimism. That’s not to say pushing back against Trump’s extreme agenda is going to be easy—and there’s still quite a long way to midterms, never mind the 2028 election. But it’s heartening to see that a majority of the American people reject what this administration is doing on a host of issues. Trump has squandered any of the postelection honeymoon that presidents typically enjoy. His approval rating, which peaked at 52% a week after inauguration, has dropped to an average of 44%, according to polling compiled by The New York Times. One poll conducted this month found that Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in the last 80 years.

Drilling down on issues, it looks even worse. A CNN poll found that 59% of the public says that “Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country,” with just “12% saying his agenda has helped to bring prices down.” Trump is now underwater on his handling of everything from immigration and border security (51% disapprove) to inflation and cost of living (60% disapprove), per an NBC News poll; it’s not pretty on foreign affairs (55% disapprove) or civil rights (53% disapprove), per a UMass poll. According to a New York Times/Siena poll, “two-thirds of voters, including 75% of independent voters, said that ‘chaotic’ was a good description of the Trump term so far.”

When Authoritarians Gift You Openings, Jared Yates Sexton, April 24, 2025.

There’s a distinct feeling that things are turning a bit. If you tune into the zeitgeist you can sense it. This is what hypervigilance during a time of crisis can reveal and it’s a sense that we must hone and perfect in these moments. Fighting authoritarianism is an endless task and requires incredible emotional awareness that allows us to brace ourselves for attacks and counterattacks while searching for openings to diminish their capacity and eventually bring them to their knees. This is a type of politics and a type of battle that most people are unfamiliar and, frankly, uncomfortable with. But it remains the truth of the matter.

We must seize on any opening and any vulnerability. The Hegseth debacle is so transparently and embarrassingly buffoonish, not to mention how it puts the country and its safety at risk, that using it as example of how MAGA and its accompanying operations are definitively destructive is a fullproof strategy. That, when coupled with the outrage over Kilmar Abrego Garcia and everyone else caught up in this criminal cruelty, the obvious wrongness of slashing social safety programs, allowing more pollutants in our drinking water, building a database of autistic Americans, and the assault on the economy, which still has supposed experts wondering what’s happening, creates an overwhelming sense that something is not right here. I know it isn’t right. You know it isn’t right. But the burgeoning awareness with some who have sat this out so far or deluded themselves is where the sense of momentum builds.✂️

Feel now how this is true. Sit for a moment, ground yourself, and ask how it feels. Notice how the currents of the time, if you pay attention to them, if you let yourself be open to feeling them, are telling you where things are, where they are going. Where the openings and opportunities lay. Moments like this are the vulnerable spots where we can take advantage and gain ground. As we continue to build movements and coalitions, as we keep amassing our strength and our hope and our determination, and as we find our guiding star that reveals where we must go, these will be the moments that will turn the tide. By the same token, there will be moments of backlash, of authoritarian creep and aggression. You will learn to anticipate these as well.

Develop these senses. Nurture them. They’ve always been there. Now, all we have to do, is listen.

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Part of the fight against authoritarians is recognizing when their actions backfire and when there’s an opportunity to gain ground and ultimately defeat them.
This is a skill we must learn. Right now they are vulnerable and we must push hard.
jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/when-autho...

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— Jared Yates Sexton (@jysexton.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM

Let’s push for something like this:

👇👇

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 10:05 AM

🎶 Always worth reprising Music 🎶

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⛪︎ ✝️ Conclave Begins in Vatican City this week ✝️ ⛪︎

Although I have a complicated relationship with organized religion, I think a lot of liberals might agree that Pope Francis was a better than average religious leader during these times of rising right wing extremism and climate change. He didn’t shrink from the hard issues and he repeatedly called out cruelty, environmental abuse, gross inequality, policies that cause poverty and desperation and much more. He spoke truth to power, using his own power to try to advocate for the powerless, poor people, migrants and the earth itself.

This week the cardinals will gather to elect a new Pope and historically the church has tended to swing ack and forth between reformers and conservatives. However, there was a hopeful note in the story below:

🤞Papal conclave: All cardinals who will elect a new pope arrive in Rome, Joshua McElwee and Crispian Balmer, Reuters, May 5, 2025.

Some cardinals are looking for a new pope who will continue with Francis' push for a more transparent, welcoming Church, while others are seeking retrenchment to more traditional roots that put a premium on doctrine.

Conclaves are often spread out over several days, with multiple votes held before a contender wins the necessary three-quarters majority to become pope.✂️

German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is 92 and cannot take part in the vote, said he was sure the electors would choose someone to pursue Francis' progressive agenda.

"I believe that there is a very clear expectation. People want a pope to follow Francis. A pastor who knows the language of the heart, who does not close himself in palaces," Kasper told La Stampa newspaper.

"Of course, there are also cardinals who hope for a change of direction with respect to Francis. But my impression ... is that the majority of cardinals are in favour of continuity."

An example of Francis’ priorities which illustrates why I hope for a new Pope who is dedicated to continuing — and hopefully brining even more progress and vigor to — his work:

Popemobile to become clinic for kids in Gaza, fulfilling Pope Francis’ wish, Scripps News staff, May 5, 2025.

Pope Francis’ legacy will soon take on new life in Gaza. One of the popemobiles that once carried him as he greeted the faithful is being converted into a mobile health clinic for children in the war-torn region.

Caritas, a Catholic humanitarian organization, is outfitting the vehicle with diagnostic equipment, vaccines and other life-saving supplies. It will be staffed by doctors and medics.

“With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care — children who are injured and malnourished. This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” said Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden.

Caritas said the project was one of Pope Francis’ final wishes. In his last months, he asked the organization to transform the popemobile into a mobile clinic for children in Gaza.

🩺 🧪 Good Health Research News 💉🔬

Health Rounds: Boehringer drug delivers 'unprecedented' result in lung cancer study, Nancy Lapid, Reuters, April 30, 2025.

Among 75 patients with pretreated non-small cell lung cancer and mutations in HER2 known as tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) mutations, 71% had significant tumor shrinkage during treatment with zongertinib. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer.

“A 71% response rate is unprecedented in this cancer subtype, and not only is the data strong in showing that this treatment works, but zongertinib has the added convenience of being a once-daily oral therapy,” study leader Dr. John Heymach of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a statement.

“When you also consider the improved safety profile compared to less selective inhibitors, this suggests a promising approach for patients in need of new treatments," Heymach said. "That’s exciting because just a few years ago these patients had no effective targeted therapies.”

New gene-editing therapy shows early success in fighting advanced GI cancers, Alex Smith, University of Minnesota Medical School, May 2, 2025.

“Despite many advances in understanding the genomic drivers and other factors causing cancer, with few exceptions, stage IV colorectal cancer remains a largely incurable disease,” said Emil Lou, MD, PhD, a gastrointestinal oncologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Masonic Cancer Center and M Health Fairview, and clinical principal investigator for the trial. “This trial brings a new approach from our research labs into the clinic and shows potential for improving outcomes in patients with late-stage disease.”

In the study, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to modify a type of immune cell called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). By deactivating a gene called CISH, the researchers found that modified TILs were better able to recognize and attack cancer cells.

The treatment was tested in 12 highly metastatic, end-stage patients and found to be generally safe, with no serious side effects from the gene editing. Several patients in the trial saw the growth of their cancer halt, and one patient had a complete response, meaning that in this patient, the metastatic tumors disappeared over the course of several months and have not returned in over two years.

🐩 💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩

🦭 A Sea Lion Story

Ronan the head-bobbing sea lion proves animals can keep a beat: ‘No human was better’, AP via the Guardian, May 3, 2025.

Not many animals show a clear ability to identify and move to a beat aside from humans, parrots and some primates. But then there’s Ronan, a bright-eyed sea lion that has scientists rethinking the meaning of music.

A former rescue sea lion, she burst to fame about a decade ago after scientists reported her musical skills. From age three, she has been a resident at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, where researchers including Cook have tested and honed her ability to recognize rhythms.

Ronan joined a select group of animal movers and shakers – which also includes Snowball the famed dancing cockatoo – that together upended the long-held idea that the ability to respond to music and recognize a beat was distinctly human.

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🐦 A bird story

World's greatest mimic: this bird can perfectly replicate the sounds of 20 other birds, Elizabeth Benner, CBC, February 21, 2025.

In the forests of eastern Australia, a unique annual ritual is underway.

A male superb lyrebird fans out its large tail and bobs up and down amongst the foliage. It's performing a song and dance routine in hopes of winning a potential mate.

Unfortunately, this bird isn't drawing any attention. Female lyrebirds require more complex songs to win the ability to mate.

So this male lyrebird changes its tune: listening carefully to the sounds around him, he mimics them with frightening accuracy. ✂️

The lyrebird has a well-developed vocal organ called the syrinx, similar to vocal cords in humans and other species. The syrinx sits at the bottom of the trachea and acts as a resonating chamber. The ability for more intricate calls are due to muscles around this chamber, which produce changes in loudness and pitch in their song. Many singing birds can even control the left and right sides of the syrinx separately, allowing them to sing with two independent voices.

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🐘 An Elephant Joke

That last story reminds me of a joke! Did you know I can tell jokes?

I can!

Here is an Elephant Joke:

Question: How do you catch an elephant?

Answer: You hide in the grass and make a noise like a peanut!

🤣

That’s all I have for today. Thank you for reading my section! Luv, CG 💙🐾

⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️

Read

⚡️ Tyrants like Trump always fall – and we can already predict how he will be dethroned, Simon Tisdall, the Guardian, April 27, 2025.

⚡️ Get up to speed: The Democratic Party's Path Forward Primary, Todd Beeton, The Big Picture, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ Trump Is Showing Us How to Defeat Trumpism, David Rothkopf, Daily Beast, April 26, 2025.

⚡️ What Dems Can Learn from Trump's Disastrous 100 Days in Office, Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box, April 29, 2025.

⚡️ Maine’s Mills Thrills: Trump Loses in Competition Against Biological Woman, Jonathan Larsen, The F*cking News, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ Look to the Judges, Steven Beschloss, America America, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ TFG’s polling ↓ ☹️: Our Wins Of The Week, The Big Picture, May 4, 2025.

⚡️ Elon Musk Is an Evil Piece of Garbage—and an A-Level Fraud Too, Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, May 2, 2025.

⚡️ Forewarned is… A Failure of Imagination Could Do Us In, David Rothkopf, Need to Know, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ We’ve been here before: Universities, Trump, and the anti-intellectual tradition, Seth Masket, Tusk, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ The Easy Way to Uphold Birthright Citizenship, Garrett Epps, Washington Monthly, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week? Andrew Berka, the Nation, May 5, 2025.

⚡️ Are you a people pleaser? It’s time to find out what you really want, Moya Sarner, the Guardian, May 5, 2025.

Watch/Listen

🎧 Nice interview of J B Pritzker on Jimmy Kimmel

🎧 Trump’s Rage at Fox News over Bad Poll Hints at Coming Fiasco for MAGA, Greg Sargent Daily Blast podcast, TNR, May 5, 2025.

🎧 Terrific primer for the challenging US-Canada meetup today: Mulcair says that while Trump 'is not an economic genius', PM Mark Carney is, CTV News, May 5, 2025.

🎧 Russia’s massive blunder: Putin rejects US peace deal over ‘arrogance and greed’, Prof. Mykhnenko (Oxford University), Times Radio, May 5, 2025.

🎧 💪🏼🇨🇦 Mark Carney, King Charles and the Throne Speech, Dominion Report Vlog, YouTube, May 3, 2025.

🚧 🩷 ❣️ How Can You Help Build a Better World? ❣️ 🩷 🚧

I’m going to share some of the excellent links and suggestions from GoodNewsRoundup and chloris creator. Repetition is good!

🎩 GOODNEWSROUNDUP:

There are many ways to get involved. Everyone can find something that works for them.

Here are some ideas.

If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area.

One way 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

🎩 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.

📞 Call your Congress critters and register your concerns!

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!

🧵 Share your favorite news sites, podcasts or vloggers in the comments! The GNR comments section is a bonus reason to read GNR every day!!

💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙

That’s it from me and CG for another Tuesday.

Remember, Gnusies, take good care of your self and those you love. Do your very best to get enough rest, nutritious food and fresh air.

I am running out of time, so I will leave you with a little relaxing music.

Thanks for reading. Happy Tuesday, All!

YouTube Video

Don't fly in to Newark. First of many warnings.

chloris creator

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

Monday May 05, 2025 · 4:29 AM PDT

2025/05/05 · 04:29

With the current government being headed by corrupt incompetents, some things are not going to work.

One of the most scary, of course, is air control.

Although the current government may not care about it, most people do. This is from the New York Post, which, even though owned by Murdoch, thought it worth publishing (Alex Oliveira)

Newark Liberty International Airport is “not safe” for travelers, one air traffic controller at the delay-plagued travel hub reportedly warned.

“It is not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public,” the federal air safety employee reportedly told NBC News correspondent Tom Costello.

“Really an incredible statement, unsolicited. He just said that to me, and separately, ‘Don’t fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs,’” Costello recounted on MSNBC.

The airport, which served 49 million travelers in 2024 and is the second busiest in the New York City area, has been drowning in delays and cancellations for days.

In fact, before you travel, it may be best to check on the situations in the airports you plan to use. Search on “air control” and the name of the airport(s).

We can expect problems in many areas of our lives, and although we may not be able to avoid all — although we can always contact our representatives, and I suggest that everyone do that with respect to the FAA — we can take cautions in some areas.

Problems we have already seen:

The firing of people who oversee the nuclear stockpiles
Plans to cut back on milk inspection
Plans to let states roll back fluoride
Defunding of science

Please, add to the list in the comments below.

Many will know me as a good news roundup author, so usually I focus on just the good news of things. But I don’t want my peeps here to experience an accident.

🐦 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.

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