Good Day, Gnusies! Another Tuesday has rolled around and apparently there will be a lot going on today — such as congressional hearings (Lewandowski and Porter, I believe, though neither are expected to be cooperative. At all. Here’s hoping our House leadership is prepared for the inevitable obstructionism and deals with it sternly.) Oh... L👀k! → Nadler slams White House for blocking testimonies and limiting Lewandowski
I must admit, I struggled with the roundup this week. There was enough news that pushed my buttons and made me angry and frustrated by the situation we have all been thrust into. I went out of town overnight with no computer (which was actually wonderful) and today when I got too distracted by the maddening stories, I took the curlygirl out for a good long walk and then a nice long fetch time. It helped —
Here’s the thing, my dear gnusies: we are in a pickle and we know it. We struggle to stay focused, to be relentless in our work to oust these criminals, and to keep up the effort to GOTV, protest the egregious acts of this maladministration and demand justice. It can be exhausting, mentally, emotionally and physically.
And here’s the other thing: we are winning this fight. It is slow—oh so slooooowww — and still we can barely see any signs of progress. But they are there. Little signs that we ought not to miss. No matter how loudly the MAGAts shout and scream, they are not numerous — they simply have a big microphone. Right wing media and mainstream media have provided them with an outsized platform for their vicious ideology, making it seem like they represent some sort of majority or at least half the population. But they don’t! They never have and even with all that media support and outrageous propaganda apparatus functioning 24/7 for decades, they not only have not grown their despicable anti-American movement but the country has actually moved even further toward progressivism and liberal ideals while their numbers have decreased! Even before the country finally woke up to the danger in 2016!
We, the majority — the real American moral majority — are winning this battle for the hearts and minds of the American people, because we are fighting for what most human beings want: a fair, just and kind society where each person is treated with dignity. We have been the majority for a long time and that liberal majority continues to grow. It is only gerrymandering and the uneven distribution of Senatorial power which allows a minority to have so much power in this country. That’s something else we will need to work on, but first we need to win back the Senate , hold the House and of course replace the illegitimate orange squatter with a fine Democratic president.
This catastrophe of an illegitimate administration of criminals, grifters and perverts has one positive quality: it has ripped the mask off the Grossly Obscene Patriarchy party once and for all. The Christian extremists, the so-called fiscal conservatives, the self-styled “moral majority” has been exposed for the vicious, immoral, power-hungry villains that they are and they will never be able to pretend they stand for any righteous principles again.
We will work our asses off and GOTV. We will protest and contact or congresscritters and we will march and we will write postcards and letters and we will do whatever it takes. And we are going to win back this country. So, not only will we get the pretender and his odious family out of the White House, but we can rid ourselves of all the unconstitutional religious extremism that has been allowed to infiltrate our government as well as the assorted grifters, money launderers, con artists, perverts and general swamp creatures.
It’s good to be doing this work with so many other gnusies — we are stronger together!
OK, let’s get to some news!
🍑 Impeachment 🍑
Nadler: 'Personally, I think the President ought to be impeached' but public has to be on board, Jeremy Herb, CNN News, September 16, 2019.
Nadler's comments were some of the most detailed he has offered thus far about his rationale for the House to pursue impeachment. He said that he believes the House should act on impeachment, even if the Senate will not remove the President, because Congress has to "vindicate the Constitution."
"We have to show that this kind of behavior -- trashing the Constitution, trashing all the norms which guarantee democratic government, aggrandizing power to the Presidency and destroying the separation of powers and thereby leading the President to become more and more of a tyrant cannot be tolerated. And it cannot be normalized," Nadler said. "We have to make sure the next President or the one after him or her knows there's a real penalty to be paid. That's why the impeachment is necessary, even if we cannot get a vote in the Senate."
The New York Democrat cited multiple allegations his committee is investigating, including Trump's alleged
violations of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution, public corruption, obstruction of justice and abuse of power, as well as defying congressional subpoenas.
🎻 Bibi’s Got Troubles Too, Man 🎻
One hopes: Netanyahu's election eve pitch to voters: I'm about to lose, Barak Ravid, Israel’s Channel 13 News, September 17, 2019.
President Trump said today at the top of his meeting with the Crown Prince of Bahrain that the Israeli elections tomorrow are going to be “interesting and very close”.
Why it matters: Trump's remark echoes Netanyahu’s main campaign message in the last few days — that the polls are tight and the center left bloc led by Benny Gantz is about to win. ✂️
Between the lines: Netanyahu isn't just worried about his political survival. He needs a new government to vote to shield him from corruption charges. 👀
🔍 Investigations 🔎
Elaine Chao Investigated by House Panel for Possible Conflicts, Eric Lipton and Michael Forsythe, New York Times, September 16, 2019.
WASHINGTON — The House Oversight and Reform Committee asked Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Monday to turn over documents related to communication with her family’s shipping company as the panel stepped up an investigation into whether any actions taken by Ms. Chao amount to a conflict of interest.
The request by the committee in the Democratic-controlled House relates to actions Ms. Chao has taken that potentially benefited Foremost Group, a New York-based shipping company owned by her family. Foremost has received hundreds of millions of dollars in loan commitments from a bank run by the Chinese government to help build ships that Foremost has purchased from government-owned shipyards there.
The actions by Ms. Chao — including joint public appearances since she became transportation secretary in 2017 with her father, James Chao, who founded the company, and a planned trip to China to meet with government officials there along with her father — have led House investigators to question if she is using her office to try to benefit her family’s financial interests.
Rep. Pressley To File Kavanaugh Impeachment Resolution, Kimberly Atkins, WBUR News, September 16, 2019.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley will introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for an impeachment inquiry to begin against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, after a news report over the weekend contained a previously unreported claim of sexual misconduct against him.
“I believe Christine Blasey Ford. I believe Deborah Ramirez. It is our responsibility to collectively affirm the dignity and humanity of survivors,” the Massachusetts congresswoman said in a statement.
The three-paragraph resolution would authorize an impeachment inquiry, call for a committee or task force to be empowered to conduct depositions and issue subpoenas, and authorize funding for “such sums necessary” to conduct the probe.
New York uncovers $1billion is Sackler family wire transfers, Danny Hakim, New York Times, September 13, 2019.
The New York attorney general’s office said on Friday that it had tracked about $1 billion in wire transfers by the Sackler family, including through Swiss bank accounts, suggesting that the family tried to shield wealth as it faced a raft of litigation over its role in the opioid crisis.
Earlier this week, thousands of municipal governments and nearly two dozen states tentatively reached a settlement with the Sackler family and the company it owns, Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin. It was unclear if the new disclosure would change the thinking of any of the parties that agreed to the settlement.
The attorneys general of a majority of states, including New York and Massachusetts, have already balked at the proposed deal, contending that the Sackler family has siphoned off company profits that should be used to pay for the billions of dollars in damage caused by opioids.
And, as expected:
Purdue Pharma, Accused Of Fueling Opioid Crisis, Files For Chapter 11, Bobby Allyn, NPR News, September 16, 2019.
But Democrats are on it!
Sen. Blumenthal, NYAG Letitia James and other Democrats are not going to let them off that easily:
Trump is ‘hate-tweeting’ about polls because he is in an ‘unprecedented position of weakness’: CNN’s Avlon, Matthew CHapman, Raw Story, September 16, 2019.
“President Trump’s been hate-tweeting a lot lately about polls, calling them all fake news,” said Avlon. “Which means they’re probably not looking too good for him. But that’s despite a CNN poll from June that found a majority of Americans think Trump will win re-election and there’s a lot of confidence coming from the White House. They point to the power of incumbency, a huge money advantage and at least to date strong economy.”
“But go back to the data and you’ll see that there is real reason for Trump to be nervous,” continued Avlon. “First, he’s the only president in the history of the Gallup poll never to hit 50 percent approval. That’s despite the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years. That’s not all. A new CNN poll shows a stunning six in ten voters say that Trump doesn’t deserve a second term, with a dismal 39 percent approval rating. Dig deeper and you will see a stark enthusiasm gap — a recent Washington Post/ABC poll found 27 percent of folks strongly approve of Trump’s performance, while 48 percent strongly disapprove. Another poll, 53 percent of registered voters say they would definitely vote against him.”
“We should know that national numbers don’t mean a whole lot, right?” said Avlon. “Let’s look at Trump’s approval rating in key swing states. Florida, Trump’s got a 44 percent approval rating, despite 54 percent of folks saying they’re financially better off than in 2016. How about Pennsylvania? 42 percent of Keystone State voters say Trump is doing a great job. Michigan, where Trump won by 10,000 votes, his approval rate down to 44 percent. Wisconsin, where September poll showed that Trump is at 45 percent. Trump’s under water in states he easily won, like Ohio, where only 43 percent of voters approach of the job he’s doing. North Carolina, the most recent Gallup numbers put Trump at 45 percent, and 45 percent in Iowa, a state he won by almost ten points. Underwater in Texas, 45 percent. Poll last week showing that 48 percent of Lone Star voters say they definitely vote against him.”
8 Years of Trump tax returns are subpoenaed by Manhattan DA, William K. Rashbaum and Ben Protess, New York Times, September 16, 2019.
The state prosecutors are seeking a range of tax documents from the accounting firm, Mazars USA, including Mr. Trump’s personal returns and those of his business, the Trump Organization. The subpoena seeks federal and state returns for both the president and the company dating back to 2011, the people said.✂️
Congressional Democrats have taken an aggressive approach, subpoenaing six years of Mr. Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department, as well as personal and corporate financial records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One and Mazars USA.
The president has fought back to keep his finances under wraps, challenging the subpoenas in federal court. He has also sued to block a New York State law, passed this year, that authorized state officials to provide his state tax returns in response to certain congressional inquiries. By tying up the requests in court, Mr. Trump’s team has made it diminishingly likely that Democrats in Washington will get the chance to review them before the election next year.
But it may be more difficult to fend off a subpoena in a criminal investigation with a sitting grand jury, as there is in Manhattan. It is possible the Trump Organization could try to negotiate with the district attorney’s office to narrow the scope of the subpoena.
CNN reporter explains why the Manhattan Trump subpoena is different — and more serious — than Democrats’ investigation, Matthew Chapman, Raw Story, September 16,2019.
“Will Donald Trump and his lawyers and the Trump Organization move to quash the subpoena, which is in a criminal context. The other subpoenas that have been sent by the House Democrats seeking Donald Trump’s financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, and also a subpoena to Mazars accounting firm, they are playing out in court. But a criminal investigation is somewhat different than what the House Democrats are looking into. There are different rules around that.”
“The big question here is, does Trump seek to quash this and then how will this play out in court,” said Scannell.
‘Giant step closer to someone finally having their hands on’ Trump’s taxes: former deputy assistant AG, Sarah K. Burris, Raw Story, September 16, 2019.
👀 What A Strange Coinkydink! 👀
Coincidentally, two remarkably similar counter-intelligence incidents occurred in the US and Canada last week and the fallout continues in both countries and possibly around the world. I don’t believe in coincidences when it comes to remarkably similar expressions of alarm and surprise, talk of extremely serious implications, very serious misconduct and of course Russian involvement. It’s too soon to know, and no doubt very unsettling since the illegitimate criminal cabal will play grimly serious hardball with every weapon at their disposal (Barr none) to evade justice, but it appears that there may be a tiny crack in the dam that is preventing exposure of the international crime ring:
Trump’s acting intelligence chief told to turn over whistleblower complaint or face public questioning by Congress, Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, September 16, 2019.
Acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire has until Tuesday to turn over a whistleblower complaint regarding a “serious or flagrant” abuse involving an intelligence activity and possibly the White House.
If he fails to do so, he will be ordered by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) to explain publicly on Thursday his reasons for refusing.
“A director of national intelligence has never prevented a properly submitted whistleblower complaint that the [intelligence community inspector general] determined to be credible and urgent from being provided to the congressional intelligence committees,” Schiff said in a statement Friday. “Never.”
In his letter to Maguire, Schiff said: “The committee — and the American people — must know why, in violation of law, a whistleblower complaint is being concealed, whether the underlying conduct involves the president or those around him, and whether the White House is involved in trying to cover up this authorized disclosure.”
While elsewhere under the “five eyes” (IC allies) watch:
Arrest of Canada intelligence official could hurt allies, says head of police, David Ljunggren, Reuters, September 16, 2019.
“We are assessing the impacts of the alleged activities as information becomes available,” RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said in a statement. “We are aware of the potential risk to agency operations of our partners in Canada and abroad and we thank them for their continued collaboration.” ✂️
“Mr. Ortis had access to information the Canadian intelligence community possessed,” said Lucki. “He also had access to intelligence coming from our allies both domestically and internationally.”
In an indication of how serious the case is, Lucki said the “extremely unsettling” allegations “have shaken many people throughout the RCMP.” ✂️
Ortis was looking in to allegations that Russian tax fraudsters had laundered millions of dollars through Canada, a U.S. financier said on Monday.
California and Texas Representing For Justice!
I’m including an older story below not only because it is good news that CA legislature has passed a law banning for-profit prisons, but also because the article goes into really helpful detail on just how that for-profit prison business works (which is useful to understand!):
California bans private prisons – including Ice detention centers, Darwin Bondgraham, The Guardian, September 12, 2019.
The private prison industry is set to be upended after California lawmakers passed a bill on Wednesday banning the facilities from operating in the state. The move will probably also close down four large immigration detention facilities that can hold up to 4,500 people at a time. ✂️
Private prison companies used to view California as one of their fastest-growing markets. As recently as 2016, private prisons locked up approximately 7,000 Californians, about 5% of the state’s total prison population, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. But in recent years, thousands of inmates have been transferred from private prisons back into state-run facilities. As of June, private prisons held 2,222 of California’s total inmate population.
The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, must still sign AB32, but last year he signaled support for the ban and said during his inaugural speech in January that the state should “end the outrage of private prisons once and for all”.
California adds an 11th state to its travel ban. No taxpayer-funded trips to Iowa, Wes Venteicher, Sacramento Bee, September 13. 2019.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday extended California’s ban on taxpayer-funded trips to an 11th state, adding Iowa to the list based on the Midwestern state’s passage of a law that removed gender protections under Medicaid. ✂️
Twelve years ago, Iowa’s Legislature made gender identity a protected characteristic under its Civil Rights Act, which prohibited refusing service to or discriminating against people based on their gender identity preferences.
In March 2019, the state’s Supreme Court ruled the protection extended to gender transition surgeries under the state’s Medicaid program. Two months later, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill banning Medicaid spending on the surgeries.
“The Iowa Legislature has reversed course on what was settled law under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, repealing protections for those seeking gender-affirming healthcare,” Becerra said in a news release. “California has taken an unambiguous stand against discrimination and government actions that would enable it.
California has protected gender-affirming treatment since 1978, according to Becerra’s release.
Federal Judge Rebukes Houston DA for Using the Willie Horton Strategy, Daniel Nichanian, theappeal, September 12, 2019.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal gave preliminary approval last week to a settlement that restructures the bail system and provides for the pretrial release of most people charged with misdemeanors in Texas’s Harris County, the nation’s third most populous county and home of Houston. And she did it over the objections of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
Rosenthal offered a stern rebuke of Ogg’s bid to stop the settlement by reviving the Willie Horton strategy, so named because of an ad that George Bush’s allies ran during the 1988 presidential campaign to portray Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as soft on crime. The commercial focused on a single individual’s crime, which it blamed on Massachusetts’s furlough policies. ✂️
Rosenthal’s order granting preliminary approval for the settlement directly rebuts this argumentative strategy. “Several amici cite cases of misdemeanor defendants committing crimes while on bond as evidence that the decree endangers public safety and should be rejected,” writes Rosenthal, who then cites pages 17 to 20 of Ogg’s brief. She continues:
These anecdotes do not undermine the record or the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. No pretrial bail system can prevent every defendant who is released on money bail or personal bond from committing an offense or failing to appear. The amici’s argument is essentially an argument for incarcerating every arrestee and defendant until trial or other disposition. … The amici’s hindsight disagreements with individual case outcomes have no bearing on whether the decree is a fair, reasonable, and adequate remedy for the constitutional violations that the record shows prevailed in Harris County.
Here Rosenthal, who was herself appointed to the federal bench by George Bush in 1992, lays bare the absurd premise of those who offer a handful of anecdotes as reason enough to oppose a systemic reform, as if in so doing they have shifted the burden of proof onto the proponents of reform.
Texas passed a radical anti-health care law — but Austin found a way to fight back, Lisa Needham, ShareBlue, September 13, 2019.
On Sept. 1, it became illegal for cities in Texas to fund abortion facilities, even if that funding is used for services like pregnancy prevention. So Austin decided to take things into its own hands and fund abortion access instead. ✂️
The law doesn't prohibit funding costs related to abortions, it simply prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to abortion providers. So Austin set aside $150,000 in next year's budget to provide money for "incidental expenses" including travel and lodging for people getting abortions. Since the city's money won't go toward the abortion itself, the law doesn't apply — therefore, the city isn't prohibited from working with organizations that help provide access.
Of course, those behind the state law are furious. State Sen. Donna Campbell, the primary author of the Senate bill, said that the city budget "defiantly violates the spirit" of her bill and that she would be "working with the Attorney General's Office on this issue." Another anti-choicer declared that if Austin wants to help women, they should lower taxes.
📝 The Wall The Wall The Damn Wall 📝
Trump's plan to pay for border wall with Air Force funds risks national security, report says, Courtney Kube, NBC News, September 13, 2019.
The report, obtained by NBC News, details the importance of each of the 51 military projects chosen by the Trump administration to lose their funding, including construction of a new gate to address a growing security concern at an overseas U.S. base, projects to build facilities to safely store more than $1 billion in munitions overseas, and even replacing a boiler whose failure is "imminent" and could cause the evacuation of an entire base in Alaska. ✂️
One of the major areas affected were military construction projects supporting the European Defense Initiative, a program intended to increase U.S. military presence in Europe to deter Russian aggression. In some cases, without the construction projects, the bases identified as part of the initiative cannot support the deployment of U.S. airmen or assets. ✂️
The Air Force submitted a list of all unobligated funds to the Office of the Secretary of Defense months ago, but only found out what projects would be affected when the list was released to Congress and the public last week, according to a congressional official and an Air Force official.
Pentagon puts brakes on 3 border barrier projects because of cost, Matthew Choi, Politico, September 16, 2019.
The Defense Department is no longer moving forward with three border barrier projects in California and Arizona, according to a court filing Monday.
The move is a reversal of an earlier Pentagon authorization for about 20 miles of fencing, lighting and other border infrastructure that would have used $2.5 billion in funds redirected from a counter-drug fund. That authorization, announced Aug. 27, was based on what was then determined to be "lower-than-expected contract costs." But the Defense Department revealed in the Monday filing that the department would not be able to cover the costs of the project.
🌎 Loving Planet Earth 🌍
NYC says 1.1M NYC students can skip school for climate strike protest, Rebecca Falconer, Axios, September 17, 2019.
School districts are debating what position to take after New York City announced that 1.1 million public school students could skip classes without penalties to join the global youth climate strikes Friday, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: Per the Times, this a test of the movement’s impact — by causing disruptions and getting noticed by political leaders who are in NYC for the United Nations Climate Action Summit 3 days later and the General Assembly meeting that follows it.
Youth strike advocates Fridays for Future said more than 2400 events were taking place from Sept. 20 through Sept. 27 to coincide with the UN climate summit on Sept. 23, where Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is due to make an address.
- More than 115 countries and 1,000 cities have registered so far, the group said.
"All eyes are on the United States which already has 145 cities signed up, with participation that is expected to be tenfold when compared with the first two global strikes in March and May of this year."
KLM to replace Brussels flight with train to cut emissions, France24 News, September 13, 2019.
In a bid to cut its environmental impact, KLM will from March 2020 reduce from five to four the number of flights from Amsterdam to Brussels.
Instead, KLM will buy passengers tickets on the Thalys train that covers the same route between Schiphol airport and the Belgian capital.
The 45-minute, 200-kilometre (120-mile) hop has been a frequent target of environmental campaigners who say there is no need to use the plane for such a short distance.
"KLM has often stated that it is in favour of replacing short-haul flights by train, as long as the train product is a fully-fledged alternative in terms of speed, reliability and comfort for passengers," the airline said.
😅 Phew! File 😅
Kids Not Hurt By Screentime, Jared Rizzi, Scientific American, September 16, 2019.
Odgers and her colleagues looked at the screen-related behavior of 400 public school students in North Carolina ages 10 to 14. This group was picked as a representative sample of race and socioeconomic status for the entire U.S. The researchers found that--even not counting time doing schoolwork on screens--the kids spent between almost five hours to seven hours per day on their devices. With the older kids online the most. That’s a lot of hours, but:
“Overall what we find is no connection between the amount of time that young people spend online using digital technologies and mental health symptoms like depression, anxiety; when we do find associations they were actually quite surprising to us… we found that young people who sent more text messages actually reported better mental health. Now, again, this was a small association, but it reflects what other people have found, that people who are very connected offline, that use technology in the positive ways to stay connected often are more connected online as well and experiencing better mental health.”
🔥 Meanwhile, From the Schadenfreude File, This Assh*le 🔥
After Howling Protests, Milo Yiannopoulos Barred From Midwest Furry Convention, Matt Shuham, Talking Points Memo, September 16, 2019.
“Hate is not welcome at Midwest FurFest,” Matt Berger, an organizer for the massive furry-centric event, said in a statement. “Midwest FurFest can confirm that Mr. Yiannopoulos has registered for the event this year. While the convention generally does not comment on anyone’s registration status, Mr. Yiannopoulos has already stated as much publicly.”
“The board of Midwest Furry Fandom, consistent with our posted code of conduct, has rescinded Mr. Yiannopoulos’s registration,” the statement continued. “He is not welcome to attend this or any future Midwest FurFest event.”
Yiannopoulos’ ties to white nationalists were exposed by BuzzFeed News in 2017. Earlier that year, comments surfaced in which the troll appeared to condone pedophelia. Those made him persona non grata, even among some far-right circles.
Still, he’s attempted to keep a public profile, attending the so-called “Straight Pride Parade” in Boston recently and complaining about being broke to his remaining followers online.
And this assh*le...
GOP state senator quits rather than run in district that's not gerrymandered, Dan Desai Martin, Shareblue Media, September 16, 2019. ← But not for lack of trying!! 👀 ‼️
And This Assh*le Too…
LOL, maybe this is punishment enough for this putz. Oh, the humiliation! 😂
⚡️ Lightning Roundup ⚡️
⚡️ Your Tuesday Wonkette: And Now For Something Completely Different, The President's Brain Is Broken, Evan Hurst, Wonkette, September 16, 2019.
⚡️ This “strange story” tip of iceberg: Our Biggest Questions About The DNI Whistleblower, Josh Kovensky, Talking Points Memo, September 16, 2019.
⚡️ “TRUMP IS ANNOYED PENCE HASN’T BEEN DEFENDING HIM MORE”: IS TRUMP’S LONG-SUFFERING V.P. IN DANGER OF GETTING BOUNCED? Gabe Sherman, Vanity Fair, September 16, 2019.
⚡️ Explains tRumpian dynamic, hopeful about outcome: The Trump depression (and we don't mean the economy): Key symptom of autocratic regimes, Paul Rosenberg, Salon, September 15, 2019.
⚡️ Good ol’ aspirin might help bring down maternal mortality rates: A Daily Baby Aspirin Could Help Many Pregnancies And Save Lives, Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR Health, September 16, 2019.
⚡️ ABC's ratings show that interest in the Democratic primaries is still high, Brian Stelter, CNN Business, September 13, 2019.
⚡️Remember that reporter who was banned from the WH?: White House correspondent Brian Karem meets with an agonized Trump insider, Brian Karem, Playboy, September 11, 2019.
⚡️ Comprehensive, updating and surprisingly encouraging overview: Disenfranchisement and Rights Restoration: Spotlight on States, theappeal political report, 2019.
⚡️ PELOSI, IMPEACHMENT & DEMOCRACY V. AUTOCRACY, Teri Kanfield, Musing About Law, Books and Politics, September 13, 2019.
⚡️ Irony: RIP: Ivanka tells donors she got her moral compass from her dad, Nancy Cook, Politico, September 13, 2019.
⚡️ Short answer: Yes they do! Do plastic bag taxes or bans curb waste? 400 cities and states tried it out.Matthew Zeitlin Vox News, August 27, 2019.
⚡️ Excellent article (thanks Andrew Cockburn!): Hello From the Year 2050. We Avoided the Worst of Climate Change — But Everything Is Different, Bill McKibben, Time, September 12, 2019.
What Can You Do?
The best news I can give you today, Gnusies, is that no matter how tough the going gets, we gnusies will just get going — tougher!
There’s a lot we can do; we can march in protests; we can support progressive candidates; we can help people register to vote; we can encourage everyone we know to vote; we can encourage people we don’t know to vote, too!; we can call and write our representatives in Congress and demand that they listen to the majority in this country and represent us!
How do we do all of that? Well, most GoodNewsRoundups provide some links and information on how to take action and provide a daily dose of good news to keep you informed and encouraged. Follow us! Also, Yosef 52 posts several times a week with great information, polls, insider news on races and links to helpful resources to take action — follow him!
And here are some more helpful links:
Indivisible — organization that coordinates local and national activism. Click to find a local group/events.
ActBlue- fundraising site for progressive candidates and causes.
To support people who need assistance getting IDs and registering to vote: Spread the Vote
Postcards to Voters — write to your fellow citizens around the country and ask them to vote for Democratic candidates. Postcards to voters makes it easy!
Vote Forward — write letters (there is a template and you can just add a short personal sentence or two) to citizens encouraging them to vote. (non-partisan GOTV initiative).
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
One last piece of news is that the UAW has called a strike of nearly 50k auto workers. These are the workers who took wage freezes and other sacrifices during the auto industry bailout to help save their industry. SInce then, GM and other car manufacturers have posted terrific profits, while the worker’s wages and benefits have stagnated. I think it is good news that the workers, organized through their union, are going to fight for their fair share of the enormous profits that have resulted from their hard work and sacrifice. I add this story with a note of caution because of my concern for those workers and their families, who will have to survive on strike pay until this is resolved. Nevertheless, I think it is good news to see a sign of unionized workers flexing their muscle in a righteous labor dispute, putting the importance of unions back on the front pages,
Massive Strike Hits General Motors As 46,000 Workers Walk Off, Dave Jamieson, Huffpost, September 16, 2019.
The United Auto Workers called for the work stoppage after the union failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement covering some 46,000 workers at dozens of facilities. GM and the union remained far apart in negotiations on Sunday, when UAW leaders converged on Detroit and decided overwhelmingly to strike after their contract expired over the weekend.
There’s no telling how long the impasse could last. Shutting down plants is extremely costly for GM and within weeks could lead to slimming choices for buyers on dealer lots. But workers could start to feel pain, too, as they try to eke by on union strike pay of just $250 per week, a fraction of what the typical employee earns.
The massive strike wasn’t hard to see coming. As HuffPost reported in July, GM has been enormously profitable ― though profits have recently been falling ― and workers who sacrificed during the auto industry’s crisis in 2007 are expecting a bigger share of the gains.
That’s it from me for this Tuesday!
As always, please remember to take good care of yourself and those you love.
Eat nutritious food, get outdoors if you can and breathe in some fresh air and gaze around at trees and flowers and nature.
Take a few minutes each day to read good news (shameless plug!😀).
Take the breaks you need to restore your faith in humankind and your belief in this country’s resilience and then get back to it because we need you!
We are all in this together and we will have each other’s backs; when I need a breather, someone else steps up and when someone else needs the break, I will be ready to step back up. That’s how we will get through this long haul and that’s how we will save the country.
Oh, and take the curlygirl’s advice and get enough rest!
(Sorry no music today — for some reason my YouTube is failing me- no code to embed maybe because I am out of the USA right now).
EDIT To ADD: Well, willya look at that!! Thanks, 2thanks!! Happy Tuesday, Newsies!