Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
As the author of the Friday GNRs, I get all the Friday the 13th GNRs. Some associate this day with bad luck.
Of course, luck — or at least randomness — is a part of life. We can’t control everything.
But, at least to some degree, we make our own luck.
There’s an old saying, known as the serenity prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
But I like the new twist that I first saw in the most recent years, attributed to Angela Y. Davis: “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
Of course, most of us, acting alone, cannot change much.
But, acting together, we can change a lot.
Contact your reps and your senators – especially if they are GOP – and complain about that damned budget bill for billionaires.
If you can, attend a No Kings rally on Saturday.
It’s up to us. We are the story now.
Come on in, friends, and see how many of us are making this story better.
Note: I put most of this together before what happened to Senator Padilla. That was bad, but it was also theatrics designed to make us look in a different direction. There are many stories tRump is trying to hide, and the biggest one is about us.
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 🗽
In her opening monologue from Monday (June 9), Maddow points out that the most important story is how we respond:
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Don’t want to watch? Here are some of the highlights (I wish they still did transcripts).
- No question about what this president is trying to do. The question is, will he succeed? And the answer will not be found by looking at him. It’s by seeing what we do. The question is, what will this country allow him to do.
- The answer is what happens in the streets, the courts, the states, and Congress.
- We are seeing over and over again, is that protesting against him works. He wants to seem strong, but he is weak. Protesting works, courts work, pushback works.
- Marcelo (high school kid in MA), Carol (restaurant worker in MO), little girl with health issues is here, Antonio is still here
- Pushback doesn’t always work, but pushback is the only thing that ever does work
- She shows protests against ICE around the country, and says tRump is panicking
- Protests also put steel in the spine of the political opposition (e.g., the Dems). Shows Governor Newsom, Representative Maxine Waters
- Maddow argues that the forces sent to intimidate Los Angeles and other places are symptoms of weakness — a president who doesn’t know how to get the support of his people
So, my friends, keep on protesting.
And especially you can protest tomorrow!
Need ideas for making a sign? How about
- No kings
- No masks on ICE
- Budget for people not billionaires
- Tax the Rich
- Save Democracy
- Truth Matters! Love Matters!
Already got your sign? Tell us about it!
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
Unpopular! That’s one of our tools. And it helps a lot:
Note it says “today” but it is from Wednesday. Sorry about the Boebert comment.
And some off the cuff analysis:
TACO! TACO! TACO! tRump surrenders on deportation:
In case you don’t want to watch, tRump said, because of pushback from farmers and other employers, ICE is going to stop going after the hardworking undocumented. In fact, the incompetent ICE have been deporting fewer people than were deported daily under Biden.
This is a complete surrender.
tRump stumbles — sorry for showing the ugly mug! But actually I’m showing it because it is so very ugly...
tRump and musk broke the law. Surprise, surprise!
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JUST IN: A federal judge in New York has ruled that the Trump administraiton's rush to send federal employee data to DOGE was a "breach of law and trust" that violated the Privacy Act and cybersecurity protections. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-06-09T20:21:13.215Z
It’s important to fan the flames of division in the Rs.
George Conway on how tRump turns on allies Alex Henderson AlterNet
During Donald Trump's first presidency, he was on very friendly terms with the Federalist Society, a right-wing legal group, and its activist, Leonard Leo. All three of Trump's U.S. Supreme Court appointees — Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch — were people the Federalist Society aggressively promoted. And many of Trump's appointees to the lower federal courts were endorsed by the Federalist Society as well.
But Trump, now four and one-half months into his second presidency, is angrily railing against the Federalist Society and called Leo a "sleazebag" and a "bad person" on his Truth Social platform. :scissors:
The fact that Trump now hates the Federalist Society after working with them in the past, according to Conway, underscores his "narcissistic" personality.
Conway told host Sarah Longwell — who, like him, is very much a Never Trumper and rooted for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — "Remember Mary Trump's book?.... The title was 'Too Much and Never Enough.' You can never satisfy this narcissistic appetite of Donald Trump. Because there will always be something else that he'll want from you that you can't give him or won't give him. And then, he'll turn on you."
Note: This is why no one should ever give him an inch. Won’t ever be satisfied.
tRump’s paranoia could be bad news for Vance Alia Zehra AlterNet
Trump's decision to select Vance as his vice president, Wolff noted, was influenced by Musk — who allegedly tied his substantial financial support to Vance’s nomination.
In a post on the social platform X following Musk's attacks against Trump last week, Vance said: “I’m the vice president to President Trump. My loyalties are always going to be with the president.”
But Wolff said it’s unclear whether Vance’s statement that he stands with the president will be enough to earn Trump’s trust following this fallout.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Some inspiration: Governor Newsom has been speaking up. And filing in the court.
And the call up was illegal.
I don’t know, can the soldiers just go home? Because tRump, in this case, is not their commander…
Always enjoy Representative Crockett!
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Crockett: I know that there’s been some conversations about what’s going on in LA and they want to say that it’s riots because they didn’t want people to keep talking about the Epstein files
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T17:46:39.104Z
And in case you missed it, and even if you didn’t (because repetition is good), Gina Ortiz won her election to become mayor of San Antonio.
I bet some people wrote postcards for her, so well done, gnusies!!!
Some excellent healthcare news in Oregon (sorry, arhpdx, for stepping into your state, but repetition is good)
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Thank you to Governor Kotek & lawmakers for keeping healthcare safe, accountable, and focused on the people it serves. This bill protects the doctor-patient relationship and puts patient care, not private equity, at the center of our healthcare system. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/06/09/b...
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten.bsky.social) 2025-06-13T04:21:32.833Z
💜 Unity?💜
We need unity. And we need to join together
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⚡️ Walmart heiress runs ads to encourage No Kings protests! AKALib Daily Kos
Apparently some of maga are trying to boycott Walmart now, but a friend of mine points out that will be really hard.
⚡️ Unanimous SCOTUS Decision in FBI Wrong House raid Avoid Amnesia Daily Kos
The FBI raided the wrong house back in 2017 (note who was president) and subjected a family to awful stuff. So far they have been shielded by the idea you can’t sue them. But now SCOTUS has unanimously decided otherwise!
National History Day contest, which received a total of 132,000 dollars to make it happen, was the victim of DOGE cuts. Thanks to donors it is still taking place.
📥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 😈
El Salvador’s president has colluded with gangs
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Breaking @propublica.org: Bukele of El Salvador has become one of Trump’s favorite authoritarians, and Trump touts him as a foe of MS-13. But a US investigation has found evidence he has colluded with the gang, even paying it for votes.
www.propublica.org/article/buke...
— Richard Tofel (@dicktofel.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T09:40:58.995Z
The soldiers are not getting paid:
They are apparently not doing much, either. Which is good. But they are attracting all the cameras.
Vote to reduce the government, and the government is not there when you need it.
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
We honor truth tellers. We also honor those who protect the truth tellers. One of those groups is Whistleblower Aid.
Want to know more? Here’s a description by Allison Gill, the founder of Mueller She Wrote, and currently the podcaster hosting The Daily Beans.
Hey everybody, it’s AG, and I'm super excited to announce our partnership with Whistleblower Aid. These are the lawyers that go up against the government to protect those willing to speak out, and they do this work pro bono!
And they have a track record. Remember that in the first Trump administration, Whistleblower Aid successfully and safely empowered truth-tellers to stand up and protect democratic values, resulting in Trump's first impeachment as well as accountability for intelligence officers and others working to keep the Capitol safe on January 6. They are representing our good friend and fellow whistleblower, Miles Taylor, and are currently supporting several other Trump Administration whistleblowers we can’t even talk about because whistleblower aid cares about protecting the identities of those who want to speak truth to power anonymously!
These are David and Goliath cases that Whistleblower Aid takes on, again at no cost to those they represent, which is why they need our help. If you can give any amount, no matter how small, you can feel good about helping these incredible attorneys protect and defend the brave folks who want to speak out in the public interest and in defense of democracy.
Here’s the case from the website about how they are representing Miles Taylor against the retaliation from the current evil regime (If you don’t recall, Miles Taylor was the guy who wrote Anonymous during the first evil regime):
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 3, 2025 – Miles Taylor, former President Trump-appointed Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Whistleblower Aid client, filed a complaint against the Trump Administration today, calling on federal watchdogs to investigate Trump’s retaliation against him. In April, Trump issued an Executive Order explicitly targeting Taylor for investigation for a litany of alleged serious crimes, including treason. This is the first time in U.S. history that a President has invoked investigative powers against a named private citizen.
In response to Miles’s complaint, Whistleblower Aid CEO, Libby Liu, issued the following statement:
“Miles’s bravery in filing this complaint represents a major step in fighting back against President Trump’s weaponization of presidential power to punish those who disclose wrongdoing. Trump’s labeling of Miles as a ‘traitor’ and his issuance of an unprecedented Executive Order that invokes the full investigative weight of the U.S. government against a named, private citizen, is as unconstitutional as it is autocratic. Retaliation has no place in the democratic process, and the Trump administration’s revenge against whistleblowers, like Miles, is ripped right out of the authoritarian playbook. President Trump’s disregard of our Constitution – which he has sworn to preserve, protect, and defend – threatens the very fabric of our Republic.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
As this Sunday is Father’s Day, this week we celebrate Dads showing love: Andy Corbley Good News Network
From paying off their child’s credit card debt to donating a kidney, a new survey revealed some of the most life-changing ‘dad acts’ in honor of Father’s Day.
The survey of 2,000 Americans uncovered fatherhood stories showing they truly are the most helpful heroes, with people sharing stories of selflessness and kindness.
One respondent shared, “The most heroic thing my father has ever done for me was during Hurricane Harvey—he trudged through the waters to come get me.”
📎Odds & Ends 📎
Global investment in clean energy soaring Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch
An increase in spending on clean energy is expected to drive record global energy investment of 3.3 trillion in 2025, with 2.2 trillion of that in “clean-energy technologies,” according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Despite economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, the World Energy Investment 2025 report shows China leads the way as the largest investor in energy.
Clean energy technologies will attract twice the capital of fossil fuels, with more investment being made in solar PV than in any other technology, the report said.
“Amid the geopolitical and economic uncertainties that are clouding the outlook for the energy world, we see energy security coming through as a key driver of the growth in global investment this year to a record $3.3 trillion as countries and companies seek to insulate themselves from a wide range of risks,” said Executive Director of the IEA Fatih Birol in a press release from the intergovernmental organization. “The fast-evolving economic and trade picture means that some investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach to new energy project approvals, but in most areas we have yet to see significant implications for existing projects.”
Far fewer girls being aborted these days The Economist
Without fanfare, something remarkable has happened. The noxious practice of aborting girls simply for being girls has become dramatically less common. It first became widespread in the late 1980s, as cheap ultrasound machines made it easy to determine the sex of a fetus. Parents who were desperate for a boy but did not want a large family—or, in China, were not allowed one—started routinely terminating females. Globally, among babies born in 2000, a staggering 1.6m girls were missing from the number you would expect, given the natural sex ratio at birth. This year that number is likely to be 200,000—and it is still falling.
Note: not perfect yet, and in some places still terrible. But this is a good sign.
Note: without enough women to go around, some guys become incels. Not good for them, not good for society.
Never too late to help your brain! Andy Corbley Good News Network
It’s never too late to start eating better to prevent dementia, according a new analysis of research involving 90,000 adults.
People over the age of 45 who followed a dietary pattern known as the MIND diet were “significantly” less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia, said the University of Hawaii scientists.
The MIND diet stands for Mediterranean Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, and was developed by the late Martha Clare Morris, ScD, a Rush University nutritional epidemiologist. It combines the traditional Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
It includes proven ‘brain-healthy’ foods such as leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, fish, and olive oil.
The study found that the MIND diet had a stronger and more consistent risk reduction relationship with dementia than other ‘healthy’ diets for the majority of racial groups in the study.
Note : sometimes it does feel as if the US has become dumber – could this be why? My own father was a committed liberal until the end of his life – when he had dementia.
Bill Gates to give most of his fortune to Africa Farouk Chothia BBC News
Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that most of his fortune will be spent on improving health and education services in Africa over the next 20 years.
The 69-year-old said that "by unleashing human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on a path to prosperity".
Speaking in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, he also urged Africa's young innovators to think about how to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve healthcare on the continent.
Gates announced last month that he would give away 99% of his vast fortune - which he expects to reach $200bn (£150bn) - by 2045, by when his foundation planned to end its operations.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings: Messing with the Myths — two books so far in this series. Try them! They’re fun! 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.
💙 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.
