Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Another Friday the 13th! Of course I get them all, so let’s skip the good luck / bad luck remarks.
This is my 450th GNR; I have been doing this much longer than I ever expected. Well, I guess when the Nazis marched into France, the people in the resistance had no idea how long they would need to be at it.
Anyway, don’t have many personal thoughts to share today, so I’m turning to a few others.
- “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” —Milton Berle. Note I feel as if this community — and many others — have been building doors and bridges.
- “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” Alice Morse Earle, American historian
- “The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down.” —Stephen Richards
- “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” —Robert H. Schuller
Come on in and see some of the good things that good people are doing to make the world a good place. For everyone.
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🗽
Making a difference...
Get ready to be seen and heard:
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes, Chaos and Cowardice💣
Knives are out for Noem and Corey — GOP not riding to the rescue Tom Latchem Daily Beast
The “knives are out” for fired Kristi Noem and her rumored lover, with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insider warning that they face investigations—and possibly worse—over their controversial tenure at the agency. ✂️
The source was blunt about the pair’s prospects, on “the contracts especially,” telling the Daily Beast on Monday: “Expect scrutiny on the warehouse contracts, the ads, the plane purchasing, the cars, everything.”
The insider added: “If the rumors circling Washington are true, Democrats will want hearings and maybe even prosecutions. And there’s going to be no Republican with a brain who comes to their defense.”
Their overall assessment was blunt: “They’re f---ed.”
Senator Tillis is a lot bolder now that he’s not running again for office. Still, I’ve got to say I approve this message:
Nearly ¾ of the Republican aides say Hegseth is hurting the felon’s foreign agenda Rhian Lubin Independent via Yahoo News
More than half of Republican congressional aides believe that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has harmed President Donald Trump’s foreign policy goals, according to a new poll.
During his 13-month tenure at the helm of the Department of Defense, aka the Department of War, Hegseth has presided over a major Signal group chat security breach, faced scrutiny over deadly missile strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and is now overseeing Trump’s war in Iran.
A survey by Punchbowl News found that 72 percent of senior aides on Capitol Hill believe that Hegseth has harmed Trump’s foreign policy priorities, with just 9 percent of staffers saying he had helped the president’s agenda.
You know their reps probably feel this way too. Staggering…
And the GOP brand is so bad now that at least one rep is pretending to leave it.
Yeah, we don’t trust him, but the act shows how weak the GOP is.
Here are some reasons why the GOP is currently so weak:
They really don’t like each other much:
And they should not like each other much, because so many are so terrible:
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul announce first neighborhoods to get free for 2-year olds child care
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul have unveiled the first neighborhoods to get free day care for 2-year-olds under the 2-Care program starting this fall.
Mamdani joined Hochul and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to tour the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling, a 2-K provider slated for Harlem.
The first four communities that will receive 2,000 2-K seats this fall are Washington Heights and Inwood, Fordham and Kingsbridge, East Brooklyn including Canarsie, Brownsville and Ocean Hill, and Ozone Park and the Rockaways.
"Launching 2-K in these four neighborhoods is just the beginning of our work to put money back in New Yorkers' pockets, strengthen our entire economy and help more families build their lives here," Mamdani said.
For multiple reasons, I am becoming a fan of James Talarico:
Some more about the TX campaign Adam Wren Politico
James Talarico’s charmed political journey has broken his way at almost every juncture of his career, from “The Joe Rogan Experience” invite as he was weighing a Senate bid last summer to his star turn in Texas’ quorum break to a fundraising windfall over a spiked Stephen Colbert interview in the primary’s homestretch. ✂️
“I’d be very worried if I were the national Republican Party after tonight,” said Emily Cherniack, the founder and CEO of New Politics, and a longtime Talarico ally. “Strong turnout, especially among Latino voters, signals real dissatisfaction with Republicans in power. That’s a huge warning sign for November for them.” ✂️
“I think both of them are extraordinarily weak,” Talarico said in an interview with POLITICO just days before Election Day. “Paxton and Cornyn, they’re different. Paxton was guilty of illegal corruption. That’s why my colleagues and I impeached him in the Texas House.
“But Cornyn is guilty of legalized corruption. He was the deciding vote on the Big, Ugly, Bill which kicked millions of Texas off their health care, took food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids all to give tax breaks to his donors. Both of them are guilty of using their public offices to enrich their donors — Ken Paxton in an illegal way, but John Cornyn in a legal way. I look forward to prosecuting the case against either of them — whoever makes it out.”
Another flip!
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🔵 Democrats flip another seat in the New Hampshire State House.
Democrat Bobbi Boudman wins a special election in a Trump+9 district, after losing the same seat by 14 points in 2024. A 13-point Democratic overperformance.
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-03-11T02:52:02.209Z
And for the future:
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COOK: “.. Republicans look no closer to ousting the moderate incumbent .. Shapiro has an approval rating consistently around 60%, a gargantuan cash-on-hand advantage, .. making it almost impossible to see him coming up short ..”
@cookpolitical.com #PAgov
www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/gov...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T19:11:22.324Z
💜 Unity?💜
🎩 T. Maysle. Americans united in aggravation over gas prices By HANNAH FINGERHUT, MIKE HOUSEHOLDER, MICHAEL SCHNEIDER, MICHAEL CATALINI and BILL BARROW Associated Press
It seems a country divided on so many fronts is finding common ground in pain at the pump, where the cost of the Iran war is hitting Americans squarely in the wallet and aggravating people across the political spectrum.
The higher prices are a reminder of how Trump has veered from his campaign promises. Not only were Americans embroiled in a new war overseas, they were paying for it every time they filled up their tanks.
about half of registered voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran while about 4 in 10 support it.
Overall, three-quarters were concerned about the war raising gas and oil prices.
Recent polling also suggests that the vast majority of voters expect the U.S. action against Iran to last months or longer, and many worry it is making the U.S. less safe.
Wow, I agree with Tucker. Or rather, he agrees with me:
📥Actions You Can Take 📤
Note I have removed the tax thingy for now because it is so unlikely that this IRS under the felon’s badministration will do anything about it. Will reinstate when conditions change.
Chop Wood, Carry Water — This always has a lot of ideas about what you can do today. Also, Jess Craven has some state specific newsletters.
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
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😈
Tax-cheat haven loses its appeal 🎩 Nanny Ogg
No companies signed up to drill in Alaska Lisa Friedman, New York Times
The Trump administration did not receive a single bid for its offer of new offshore oil and gas exploration opportunities in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, dealing a blow to President Trump’s ‘drill, baby drill,’ agenda.
The attempted sale of rights to drill in more than 1 million acres was the first of six offshore oil and gas auctions in Alaska that Republicans mandated last year when they passed Mr. Trump’s sweeping tax law.
It was seen as a key test of the industry’s appetite for investment in a state that Mr. Trump has called a “natural resource warehouse,” and essential for his “energy dominance” agenda of maximizing domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal. On Wednesday, though, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acknowledged that no drilling companies submitted bids.
“This is a huge embarrassment for Trump’s Alaska fossil fuel fantasy,” said Cooper Freeman, the Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.
Speaking of petroleum products:
Joe Rogan doesn’t like the war:
Several in the GOP are sick of Lindsey Graham
🎩 theghostofjohndewey
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Trump’s crusade to “save” white South Africans from supposed persecution is backfiring. A growing numbers of those same expatriates are buying one-way tickets home—disillusioned by the violence, fear, and brutality in Trump’s America. www.thedailybeast.com/white-south-...
— OldManLefty (@jonbandit.bsky.social) 2026-03-12T00:22:48.967Z
📣 Let’s Honor Truth☀️️
Some of the fight for truth happens sort of behind the scenes. This is a link to National Security Counselors, lawyers who work to keep us safe. Only recommending because Allison Gill uses them:
National Security Counselors was founded to further the twin ideals that the public needs to be as informed as possible about what its government does in the name of national security, and that people entangled in legal matters in this field should have reasonable access to knowledgeable legal assistance, regardless of income. To that end, NSC exists to perform four primary functions: to lawfully acquire from the government material related to national security matters and distribute it to the public, to use this material in the creation of original publications discussing the respective subjects, to advocate for intelligent reform in the national security and information and privacy arenas, and to provide a low-cost alternative to certain deserving clients involved in security law or information and privacy law-related proceedings.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love❤️
Boy collects cans for charity Andy Corbley Good News Network
A 13-year-old boy has raised thousands of dollars for charity by recycling more than a million aluminum cans.
Young Ryan Hulance came up with the idea as a way to make money for foodbanks while also caring for the environment.
From his home in Solihull in England’s West Midlands, he started contacting businesses asking if they could spare any cans which he could sell.
Ryan started collecting a few hundred cans per week in 2023 to store at his home, which is when his parents got on board, crushing the cans to save space by driving over them in their car before Ryan bagged them up.
A real “can-do” attitude!
📎Odds & Ends📎
A city (Tübingen, absolutely charming) defied McDonald’s and “To-Go” Waste Michaela Haas, Reasons to Be Cheerful
On a sunny afternoon, the McDonald’s at the edge of Tübingen buzzes with customers. Teenagers loiter over fries, a family shares burgers, cardboard cups and boxes pile up on plastic trays. Nothing here suggests rebellion. And yet, this fast-food outpost sits at the center of one of Germany’s most consequential environmental experiments.
Since January 2022, the city of Tübingen has been charging 50 cents ($0.60) for nearly every piece of disposable “to-go” packaging — every coffee cup, every pizza box, every burger wrapper — and 20 cents ($0.25) for throwaway cutlery or straws. The historic university city in southwestern Germany pioneered the model to stem its waste tsunami. The goal was blunt: Make single-use packaging just inconvenient enough that people would start thinking twice.
“The aim of the packaging tax is to avoid waste altogether,” says Mayor Boris Palmer, a prominent former member of the Green Party who has governed the city since 2007. “That’s why it applies to all disposable packaging, regardless of the material.” Compostable cups get no discount. From the city’s perspective, single-use is single-use. ✂️
Four years after the rollout, Tübingen’s experience shows that a packaging tax works: The use of reusable containers in the city has quadrupled, according to Mayor Palmer. Three quarters of eateries have reduced their single-use packaging, reports the Initiative Verpackungswende (Initiative for Packaging Turnabout), a coalition of environmental organizations and packaging companies.
“The city has become cleaner,” Claudia Patzwahl, a city administrator who coordinated the rollout, says. “You can see it in the cityscape.” Municipal cleaning services confirm there is less discarded packaging in public spaces and that bins fill more slowly. Some locals even returned to the old-fashioned custom of carrying lunchboxes to transport their meals.
Meanwhile, the tax has raised substantial revenue: In 2022, over a million euros; for 2025, the budget projects about 800,000 Euros. Officials see the decline not as a failure but as proof that fewer disposable items are being used.
The extra revenue funds street cleaning, waste management and environmental programs. It also helps subsidize alternatives. While man
🐦I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings: Messing with the Myths — three books so far in this series (new one is Ragnarok & Roll). 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. Not happy with Amazon? Paperbacks (not Kindle) also available at The Literate Lizard. Want to support me but not interested in my books? Buy one and donate to a library.
💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙
It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time.
I know it’s tough to see the path forward. And I can’t guarantee that there is a path forward. But people who are smarter and braver than I have seen ways to move ahead.
Their (the fascists’) plans really are dark, but many of them are also dumb, in the sense that they don’t make sense. So many of them cannot succeed.
Here are some quick hits.
- Stay involved. Yeah, that’s tough. I want to look away too, but by taking simple actions you can make a difference. Keep contacting your representatives, both in DC and at home.
- Support causes that will fight. Send money if you can, including to independent and honest news organizations. Also, spread their news with clicks and conversation.
- Slow them down. Oppose and block at every turn.
- Make the felon unpopular. Doing this weakens him. And it should not be that difficult.
- 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:
We need just 3 seats to take back the House. GoodNewsRoundup (a.k.a. Goodie or Madam Mayor) has put together a page for donations via ActBlue. Note you can opt out of emails.
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.
