Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the very bad stuff that is happening. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including ourselves) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. Because sometimes the good news, which can be incremental, gets lost in the deluge of the click-bait bad. Because we need to fortify ourselves before returning to the fight. Because we sometimes get ideas about how to fight while here. And also — because we’re a community 💙 ❤️ 💙 — we like to be here.
And, yes, this has been a pretty bad week. But little of it is surprising, at least not surprising on what the bad guys are doing or are trying to do. What has been surprising is the outpouring on our side.
Remember:
💚 There are more of us than there are of them.
💛 They are terrified when we organize.
💔 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, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.
💙 Russia, Russia, Russia 🐻
— and Other Toxic 🍄 Trump Matters
It’s predicted to get really hot for Donald Trump. 🔥
Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is now sitting in jail contemplating his future while his lawyers present a flurry of different arguments to spring him, none of which have been successful so far. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is reportedly getting ready to cooperate with the feds in his case in New York, and Mueller is said to be eyeing his involvement very closely. Erik Prince, the former Blackwater CEO who seems to have turned up in numerous meetings with Russians and Middle Eastern potentates offering "back channels" during the presidential campaign, told the press that he's "cooperating" with the Mueller probe and has turned over his phone and computer to investigators. (Most legal analysts seem to be skeptical of Prince's sincerity, which isn't surprising.)
Trump's old friend Roger Stone is reportedly in Mueller's crosshairs and is considered most likely to be the next person indicted. (This piece by Marcy Wheeler explains just how much trouble Stone may be in and how his case is a likely template for others.)
Russian oligarch tied to Putin loaned Manafort money 💵
A Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin loaned jailed former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort $10 million, Reuters reported.
In a recently unsealed copy of a search warrant application, an FBI agent reportedly claimed he had reviewed tax returns for a Manafort-owned company and saw Oleg Deripaska had loaned Manafort the cash. That July 2017 search warrant application was approved and led to a predawn search of Manafort’s Virginia home, which has provided crucial evidence for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
A friend of mine, with experience in Russia, is blogging on the subject. For example, Russia may not be able to rely on oil forever.
Reading about what ordinary Russians are going through will make you feel for them.
✊ Fighting the Kidnappings & Family Separations ✊
Hundreds arrested protesting what’s happening in immigration
More than 600 protesters, mostly women, were arrested on Thursday after they staged a non-violent action in the heart of the US senate office building in Washington against Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy towards immigrants and separation of families at the border.
The mass protest was one of several demonstrations that erupted across the country, providing a taste of what is expected to be much larger demonstrations on Saturday called by the Women’s March and the Center for Popular Democracy. The rallies are likely to get a further boost as a result of the announcement on Wednesday by Anthony Kennedy that he is retiring from the US supreme court, providing Trump with the chance to make a second ultra-conservative appointment to the nation’s highest court and prompting fears of a roll-back of liberal protections.
Local governments refusing to participate
Some are refusing because they want nothing to do with it. Others are accepting, but so they’ll have the power to help the detainees.
Even many at ICE are unhappy with ICE
Now, some of this is just due to bad publicity. But it helps.
💙 Democrats Are Great 🌊
Republicans 🐘 Got Nothing 👎
Even Rasmussen (Trump’s favorite pollster) shows the impact of the kidnapping of children
If there were any Republicans left who thought Trump’s plan to heartlessly rip families apart at the border was going to translate into a political win, a wave of new polling data has dashed those dreams.
Not only did Trump’s approval rating drop a net nine points in the latest Gallup poll — the largest one-week decline of his presidency — but Trump’s favorite, Republican-friendly pollster, Rasmussen, now shows him tumbling.
“With the debate over immigration policy continuing, the president’s overall job approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since late March,” Rasmussen notes.
Things are tight in Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke will be "very tight" and could affect candidates in November who have a lower spot on the ballot.
In a telephone town hall Tuesday with supporters, Abbott warned that Republican leaders in Texas should not take their re-election for granted because Democrats are energized and eyeing Texas as a potential target.
"It's going to be very tough, very tight," Abbott said of the race between Cruz and O'Rourke.
Actually, Cruz seems to still be ahead by double digits, but a lot tighter than before. And this may bode well for other races, too. Go, blue wave!
Trump is dragging down the Republican party 👎
The more the Republicans are linked to Trump, the worse they do. The numbers are eye-opening, to say the least:
Suffolk University/USA Today Poll:
On the poll’s congressional ballot question—“Which party’s candidate are you more likely to vote for in your congressional district?”—the GOP trails by just six points, 45 percent to 39 percent. But when the question is framed around Trump—“Do you want to elect a Congress that mostly cooperates with President Trump, or one that mostly stands up to President Trump?”—the gap more than triples. Fifty-five percent of voters choose a Congress that stands up to Trump. Only 34 percent choose a Congress that cooperates with Trump. A six-point deficit becomes a 21-point deficit.
If you really need something to cheer you up, that’s a great diary!
From the Maddow Blog:
💜 Though some recent online polls show Gov. Rick Scott (R) ahead in Florida's U.S. Senate, the new NBC News/Marist poll shows Sen. Bill Nelson (D) leading his Republican rival, 49% to 45%.
🌵 In Arizona, where Sen. Jeff Flake (R) is retiring, the new NBC News/Marist poll shows Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) with double-digit leads over each of the Republican candidates in hypothetical general-election match-ups.
😄 In Ohio's U.S. Senate race, don't be too surprised if national Republicans direct their resources elsewhere: the NBC News/Marist poll finds Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) leading Rep. Jim Renacci (R), 51% to 38%.
💙 In Virginia's 10th congressional district, which is a key district if Democrats have any chance of taking back the House, the latest Monmouth poll has state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D) leading incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock (R), 49% to 39%.
📎📎📎 Odds and Ends 📎📎 📎
👩 Electing women helps women, and about everyone else, too 👨
Research shows women govern differently than men in ways that change policy and even social attitudes. When more women get into politics, a lot more changes than you might think.
Academics have found this over and over again: Women legislators are more likely to introduce legislation that specifically benefits women. They’re better at bringing funding back to their home districts. They get more done. A woman legislator, on average, passed twice as many bills as a male legislator in one recent session of Congress.
✊ Kentucky bourbon seen as likely victim of Trump’s trade war
Last week the European Union imposed a 25 percent duty on all U.S. whiskey products, part of $3.8 billion in tariffs on American goods. That came after Mexico’s slapped on a similar tariff for American whiskey exports, which amounted to $13.4 million last year.
🌐 Uplifting natural phenomenon may prevent catastrophic ice loss
A shocking new discovery in Antarctica might be a potential life saver in the fight against climate change.
According to a study conducted by The Ohio State University, the earth under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is rising faster than ever recorded before. While that may sound alarming, it’s actually good news for the crumbling ice sheets above.
🌱 Rooftop farming is more than a dream
...farms have started appearing on rooftops across the world. And they’re not just benefitting local waistlines with fresh produce, they’re also improving the health of city-dwellers by helping the environment.
Complex molecules on a Saturn moon suggest it could support life 🌻
Cool, just cool.
💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙
This is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to win back the offices — and despite the predicted blue wave 🌊 , this will be an uphill battle in some places -- and then we have to reverse the evil that has been wrought. This requires tremendous effort from all of us. (And working on it will make YOU feel better, too.) Some suggestions:
Browse Yosef’s Diary for lots of ideas and links. Note that he has a lot about getting out the vote, and the first step is registration.
Call or write your representatives! Donate! If you don’t want to donate to democrats, because you don't want your name out there, support Planned Parenthood or quality journalism or some other group that matters.
Write postcards! Here’s the link to the PostcardstoVoters site.
Put up signs! WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Because you’re reaching people outside of our bubble! Freewayblogger explains how to do this. This is great and much easier than you think and you’re not likely to get in trouble. And in this diary he explains how it’s both a Constitutional right and duty to protest in troubled times:
But I talked to my lawyer about this and he said if the President even just appears to be a traitor, I’m allowed to put up a sign on public property that says “Our President appears to be a traitor.” In fact, he said I can put up a hundred of them! How crazy is that? He was really animated about it too — said stuff like the First Amendment being created precisely for situations like the one we’re in now, and that they made the First Amendment intentionally broad so people could speak out as loud as they wanted — particularly when the nation was in peril. In fact, he said they kind of expected us to do it.
2thanks usually has a whole bunch of suggestions.
Tell people. Write comments to online articles. When you speak, you encourage others to speak as well. You may even change some minds.
What you do matters. You know the gazillion movies, where the stars are battling it out — but they wouldn’t make it, if it weren’t for the distractions and the support of the rest of the cast? Well, most of us are the rest of the cast. If you can be a star, that’s great too, but if not, you can still be a hero, even if your song is not as loud.
As pr0gressivist reported in one of Wednesday’s GNRs, sometimes just one person makes a difference. And 25% is usually the tipping point.
And if you have any other ideas, please put them in the comments!
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.
💙 🌻 💙