Ruminations
Welcome to the Good News Roundup, a daily series. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the comments, where many people add links and good gnus stories. We have some terrific gnusies who drop in regularly!
The founder and Mayor of Gnuville posted another sustaining diary yesterday: 20 Reasons To STOP PANICKING and Keep Fighting. WE ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE. About 7,000 words, so you might have to take it slowly.
Tech issues set me back this morning, so what you see here is less than I had dreamed for, hoped for, planned for. Frustrating, but fortunately, not impassible. However, I plan to update the section on Religious Freedom Day shortly, if my computer is willing.
Who Won the Week?
As usual and with his permission, I’ve borrowed all the outstanding weekly news items listed by Daily Kos’s favorite satirist, Bill in Portland Maine. The following 10 items appeared in his Who Won the Week? poll in Friday’s Cheers and Jeers. Please enjoy Bill’s on-point analysis and wit, vote in his poll, Rec his diary, get on his bandwagon, send him money, and earn his blessing.
Bill is still undergoing chemotherapy, as you already possibly know. During chemo he’s been posting on Monday, sometimes Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. His Friday poll now has almost 300 votes. C&J archive and future editions here. Way more than 2 thanks to the incredible Willhelm von kosland!
- The Supreme Court, for allowing the Massachusetts AG to get records from ExxonMobil proving it hid research linking fossil fuels with climate change, and stopping Virginia GOP's attempt to keep using a gerrymandered district map
- The wheels of justice, as Nazi Trump cultist and human bag of trash Daniel Borden is sentenced to prison for attacking DeAndre Harris during the 2017 "Very Fine People" rally in Charlottesville
- Desmond Meade, whose effort to restore voting rights to 1.4 million felons in Florida who paid their debt to society resulted in Tuesday's enactment of the law making it a reality
- The new Democratic governors sworn in this week---Newsom (CA), Lamont (CT), Evers (WI), Walz (MN), Polis (CO), Sisolak (NV), Guerrero (Guam) and Bryan (Virgin Islands)
- The federal employees who are still showing up to work even though their human bag of trash president isn’t paying them because of his shutdown stunt backed by cruelty-loving Senate Republicans
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, for destroying Trump in the network TV ratings, the first time an opposition party response has topped a presidential address
- Gun-control advocates, as former Rep. Gabby Giffords joins House members from both parties to introduce a major background-check expansion bill on the anniversary of her attempted assassination
- Cyntoia Brown, as Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam grants clemency to the sex-trafficking victim who killed a man at age 16 in self-defense and received a life sentence for it
- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, for announcing "NYC Care," an ambitious plan to provide health care to all 8.6 million New York City residents, regardless of ability to pay
- Stormy Daniels, for providing welcome counter-programming to Trump's propaganda speech by opening her home to America and letting us watch her fold her laundry for 8 minutes live on Instagram
Spoiler Alert! … 3 top items … Winner announced … Defocus your eyes … federal employees who are still showing up to work 26%, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer 24%, Desmond Meade's effort to restore voting rights in Florida 14%.
A change in our Tuesday Good News writers
We are like a chevron of geese: Occasionally we rotate leadership to succor the tired. Niftywriter is stepping down from writing diaries for us to walk a path toward health. We’ll still see her in the comments, but she needs to focus her energy on herself for a while. I’m pleased to announce that the seasoned and popular writers NotNowNotEver and pucklady will return to our fold and post diaries on alternate Tuesdays. NotNowNotEver will post this Tuesday’s diary on 1/15.
7 Days, 8 Good News Writers:
This Week in Resisting:
A. The Black Kos Community
The Black Kos community has returned to Daily Kos after their hiatus:
Black Kos, Welcome Back in 2019
They post diaries on Tuesday and Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Everyone is welcome.
B. Happy Religious Freedom Day!
Our first national holiday of the year, Religious Freedom Day, always on January 16, this year falls on Wednesday.
Brief History of Religious Freedom Day
‘Religious freedom is a progressive value that must not be ceded to the Christian Right. The first national Day of the New Year will be one that most of us have never heard of. Authorized by Congress in 1992, Religious Freedom Day has been recognized every January 16th by an annual presidential proclamation commemorating the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. This seemingly obscure piece of Revolutionary-era legislation is so integral to our history that Thomas Jefferson asked that his tombstone recognize that he was the author of the bill, along with the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the University of Virginia as one of the three things for which he wished to be remembered. It is worth taking a moment to understand why Jefferson thought it was that important. Jefferson drafted the bill in 1777 but it took a decade to be finally pushed by the then-member of the House of Delegates, James Madison. It is regarded as the root of how the framers of the Constitution approached matters of religion and government, and it was as revolutionary as the era in which it was written. The bill not only disestablished the Anglican Church as the official state church, but it provided that no one can be compelled to attend any religious institution or to underwrite it with taxes; that individuals are free to believe as they will and that this "shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." As if he anticipated the historical revisionism of modern Christian Nationalists, late in his life, Jefferson sought to get the last word on what it meant. The Statute, he wrote, contained "within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohametan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination." ‘ [Frederick Clarkson]
In 2015, progressives — including many bloggers at Daily Kos — took a bold step to reclaim the progressive legacy of our revolutionary, founding era. The Daily Kos Religious Freedom Day group organizes diaries to celebrate Religious Freedom Day, January 16th. Please join us!
The big picture this week for RFD:
- Proclamations of Religious Freedom Day: Resolutions based on our model are being introduced in at least the MN state senate and the DC City Council. These efforts are the beginning of a campaign to get proclamations issued by state and local execs and resolutions introduced and discussed in state and local legislative bodies across the country. These are a part of the effort to reclaim the definition and meaning of religious freedom from the Christian Right.
- The Guardian — The English newspaper will post a major story in the next few days regarding the movement to oppose the Christian right state legislative campaign, Project Blitz (not linking).
- Twitter Storm! — The Coalition for Liberty & Justice's annual RFD Twitter storm will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday January 16th. Hashtag: #ReligiousFreedomIs.
Please watch for these RFD diaries this week:
- Sunday 1/13 8 p.m. ET — Frederick Clarkson
- Monday 2 p.m. ET — Dixiecollie
- Tuesday 4 p.m. ET — officebss
- Wednesday 7 a.m. ET officebss - MOT — Ann Lee and America Shakers
- Wednesday 2 p.m. ET — Frederick Clarkson
- Wednesday 4 p.m. — Dixiecollie’s — a Helping Humpday diary
- Wednesday 6 p.m. — elenacarlena
Twitter Storm!
The Coalition for Liberty and Justice's annual RFD Twitter storm will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday January 16th. Hashtag: #ReligiousFreedomIs.
What are you doing to celebrate Religious Freedom Day this week?
I’ll go first:
- In taking leave of friends, acquaintances, receptionists, etc., I wish people a merry “Happy Religious Freedom Day!” I say this to the same people I would wish “Happy New Year!” to. If I see a puzzled look,
- I added “Happy Religious Freedom Day!” to my signoff in my emails.
- I’ve written and spoken about RFD in my Indivisible group.
- I’ve helped to organize this year’s RFD diaries here at Daily Kos.
- I’m planning to support the RFD Twitter storm on Wednesday afternoon.
- I’m in communication with Gretchen Whitmer’s office to obtain a proclamation about Religious Freedom Day for Michigan.
We’d love to hear from YOU!
A Good News Roundup is nothing without you:
- What’s your take on Good News for our country?
- How are you resisting?
- How do you celebrate Religious Freedom Day?
- What’s your elevator speech about RFD?
- What’s your tech question?
That’s it for today. If you need more good news, please make your own and let us know about it.
Power with, not power over,
2thanks
Addendum: I’m sorry, but Tech issues delayed the completion of this Roundup. I have been able to add a lot of what I lost, and maybe I’ll add a few more links. Updating diary times with changes to schedule.