On this beautiful Saturday, I find myself full of hope, optimism, and energy.
from DDDSmith:
We , the forces of light, are not alone in this. Help is streaming in in ways that are not apparent. The gnr mindset assures me that we shall truly overcome this evil. Not with ego but with love. Intent is everything and “we” have the best intent for each other and the planet.
My grandpa told me once years ago, that if there was any confusion of what to do “do what's best for the other guy”. So that's why I hang my hat with this community. This is the only way we ALL get through this.
Want to be full of hope, optimism, and energy too? Here are six things to fill those resistance, democracy loving tanks <make sure to read to the end for an easy action to take to protect the 2020 elections!>:
1. The Kids are Alright
The climate marches yesterday were inspiring and heart warming. Millions and millions of young people, all over the world, working together to save our world. All our future voters and leaders!
The new face of climate activism is young, angry — and effective
A growing sea of crusaders known as the Sunrise Movement has helped put climate change on the national agenda. Most aren’t even 30.
‘I hope the politicians hear us’: Millions of youth around the world strike for action
Young people from more than 150 countries are skipping school in solidarity on Friday, as part of another series of global climate protests urging world leaders to act more aggressively to combat climate change.
Here is what you really want, inspiring pictures and videos:
More amazing pictures in this NYT story
And more in this Vox article.
2. the Lewandowski hearing wasn’t pretty, but we got what we needed
I know people were really upset about the hearing (it was super hard to watch) But in a week, no one will remember the optics. And Nadler will be left with the evidence he needs.
The best evidence of obstruction of justice
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), in opening remarks before the testimony of Corey Lewandowski, said, “Today’s hearing is entitled ‘Presidential Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Power.’ This hearing is the first one formally designated under the Committee’s procedures adopted last week in connection with our investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to President Trump.”
Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe weighs in: “Communications by the president to a crony asking the latter to carry out a criminal act on the president’s behalf are covered by no privilege and subject to no immunity, and the president’s lawyers as well as the Justice Department lawyers must know as much.” He added, “Today’s spectacle was just another chapter in the ongoing criminal obstruction of justice in which this president has been engaged for well over a year, obstruction of justice designed to cover up the president’s illicit dealings with a hostile foreign power to help him acquire his office and to hold onto it.”
3. We have a great chance to take our country back in 2020
I just know each and every one of us is going to work our asses off to win in 2020. And that win is going to be SO FREAKIN SWEET I can’t wait.
Democrats target over 26,000 local races to unseat Republicans
Contest Every Race, a new coalition of Democratic groups, is launching a seven-figure campaign to challenge Republican incumbents in 26,849 down-ballot local races, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: 2020 is more than just the presidential election. Democrats are getting serious about trying to gain more power at the local level, whether through city council seats, school boards, or state legislatures.
- There are 520,000 elected offices in the country.
- As many as 75% go uncontested, per the group, ceding many of those seats to Republicans.
State legislatures, which oversee everything from infrastructure to gerrymandering to abortion laws, are particularly important. State maps identifying congressional districts are set to be redrawn before the 2022 midterm elections. That means local candidates elected in 2020 will help determine future congressional battlegrounds.
Republican Kobach Trails Democrat Grissom by 10 Points in Kansas Senate Race, Internal Poll Shows
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach trails Democrat Barry Grissom by 10 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup for Kansas' open Senate seat in 2020, according to internal GOP polling data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
‘The ground is shifting’: Arizona emerges as a 2020 trouble spot for Trump
Democrats appear to have their best shot at capturing the state since Bill Clinton won it more than two decades ago.
Why it will be hard for Trump to win Wisconsin again
Milwaukee’s Republican suburbs have never really warmed up to the president. That could be a big problem
Warning signs flash for Tillis in North Carolina
A Morning Consult survey released in July showed him with the lowest approval rating of any sitting senator — just 33 percent — and multiple polls have him trailing his potential Democratic challengers, including state Sen. Erica Smith and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham.
At the same time, Tillis is facing a primary challenge from retired Raleigh businessman Garland Tucker
4. There is evidence that our hard work pays off in victories
These stories have been mentioned before but I wanted to highlight them as AMAZING news from this week. Mostly because WE DID THIS!!! All the hashtagging and calling and sharing and donating… it worked. WE ARE AMAZING.
In turnaround, McConnell backs $250 million in election security funding
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday expressed support for providing states with an additional $250 million in election security funding, an abrupt turnaround after more than a year of opposition from the Kentucky Republican on the issue.
McConnell, who has been derided by Democrats as “Moscow Mitch” for repeatedly blocking efforts to combat Russian interference in U.S. elections, announced his position in remarks on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
DHS formally backs off plans to deport sick immigrant children
After backlash from Congress and the public, the administration says it will resume consideration of deportations on a "case-by-case" basis.
5. This whistleblower thing may really sink him
New revelations deepen scandal over Trump whistleblower complaint
Washington's newest scandal, over a whistleblower's complaint about President Donald Trump, intensified Thursday amid revelations that the White House and Justice Department tried to keep it quiet.
It is hard to see how any of this ends well.
Six months after special counsel Robert Mueller shut up shop, the White House again faces suspicion over Trump's dealings with a foreign power and seems to be taking steps to stop the full story from coming out.
Democrats are rummaging for new skeletons in Trump's closet
What might finally ensnare Trump
make no mistake: This would be the perfect example of conduct that might not technically be a crime but is obviously and blatantly a violation of the president’s oath of office and a threat to our democratic system. Former prosecutor Renato Mariotti tweeted, “If Trump promised foreign aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigating Biden’s son, that is obviously corrupt and should meet any definition of a ‘high crime’ for impeachment.”
if the facts point to corrupt behavior, impeachment will be a necessity and a political winner for Democrats. And yes, this would be way, way worse than Watergate.
and even from the right wing Washington Examiner → Trump-Ukraine suspicions raise specters of collusion and impeachment
Presidential impeachment looms, and perhaps even removal, because Donald Trump may have colluded after all.
If it is true, this is a scandal much worse than Watergate. If it’s true, Trump must be removed from office.
the story leaking so far (about pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden with Giuliani’s help) is pretty f-ing damning. And it sounds like it is not the whole story:
And their attempts at keeping this all quiet are failing. There are leaks galore.
this is a good reminder of how important it is to have Dems in power. We wouldn’t even know about this if Ryan was still Boy King
this is very likely to get us where we have all wanted to be: impeaching the MFer with a solid case:
‘Game changer’: Morning Joe panel nails Giuliani’s confessional outburst as evidence for Trump impeachment
Panelists on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” agreed President Donald Trump’s phone call to Ukraine’s president should be a “game changer” — and was clearly “impeachable.”
The July 25 call appears to have triggered a complaint from a whistleblower, after the president allegedly offered military and financial aid to Ukraine in exchange for pursuing an investigation into Joe Biden’s son doing business there.
the Democrats are all over this → Schiff vows to investigate whistleblower complaint 'come hell or high water'
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff vowed Friday to mount an extensive investigation into the whistleblower controversy dominating Washington
The California Democrat said Congress will get to the bottom of why the mysterious whistleblower complaint is being withheld from lawmakers come "hell or high water," asserting that the case involves something "more sinister" than a policy difference.
"This involves something more sinister, something involving a serious or flagrant abuse or violation of law or misappropriation, and the IG underscored the seriousness of this, and also that this needs to be looked into. And right now, no one is looking into this," he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly backed Schiff's push to obtain the complaint, telling CNN that the law is clear and she defers to the Intelligence Committee chairman's guidance on the matter.
AND we got this beautiful tweet out of it:
Think about how close the party was to impeachment before this. All the voices have either been for it or saying we just need to make sure the case is airtight before we do it.
We needed something to push this into solid “do” and this is it.
The pressure to impeach was huge before this and, in my opinion, this will be the thing to sets it over the necessary line for many in the party…. which is good. If nothing else, we need to be united as a party.
back to the good news:
6. There is hope from even the most unlikely of places
Israel’s election results could be the glimmer of dawn after a nightmare
For an Israeli who has watched the steady demolition of democratic norms under the seemingly endless rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is how the preliminary outcome of Tuesday’s elections looks. There is an uncertain chance that voters have ended the Netanyahu era. Rather than descend further into illiberal democracy, Israel may have begun a slow recovery. Someday historians even may mark Sept. 17, 2019, as the turning point toward a two-state agreement. It will take time to know.
DHS Just Finally Recognized White Nationalism as a Major Terror Threat
Its the first time the department has placed major emphasis on countering the threat of white nationalism coming from inside the U.S.
Pentagon Fighting Stephen Miller’s Plan to Slash Refugee Numbers
The Defense Department is reportedly arguing that the reductions to the current limit of 30,000 for refugee admissions, which have been proposed by White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, are against the national interest. Miller and his State Department allies want to bring in deep cuts or even a halt to refugee admissions. But defense officials say accepting refugees provides a way to promote stability in volatile areas. The officials have also reportedly proposed setting aside 6,000 slots for Iraqi applicants who worked for U.S. troops. “Current ongoing discussions for this year’s refugee ceiling are pre-decisional and it would not be appropriate to comment at this time,” said Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Carla Gleason.
More countries to sign onto Christchurch Call against online extremism
The Christchurch Call, an effort to reduce violent extremist content online that was launched by governments and tech companies in the wake of the Christchurch, New Zealand, shootings, has gained fresh support.
Driving the news: More countries are expected to soon sign onto the pledge — with the new additions expected to be announced next week at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Before we go, I hope everyone has heard about Fair Fight — Stacey Abrams’s amazing new project. Here is some info on it:
We spend a lot of time focused on which Democratic candidate to nominate, but none of this will matter if we don’t focus a hell of a lot more on what may be the greatest vulnerability that Democrats face in 2020: the Republican War on Voting.
Here’s the good news: Stacey Abrams is on the case, and she’s got a plan. Because of course she does!
It’s called Fair Fight 2020, and it’s an unprecedented effort to hire voter protection teams in 20 battleground states who can ensure that every voter is registered, can access their ballot, and has their ballot fairly counted.
But she needs our help.
Your donation will fund a Voter Protection Director, Deputy Director, Organizer, and Hotline Director starting a full year ahead of the election. 20 full-time voter protection teams will cost $5 million dollars. That’s a lot, but we can do it!
For a deeper dive on the Fair Fight plan, check out votesaveamerica.com/fairfight2020.
today, we have a special GNR link to donate to Fair Fight!
Click here to Donate to Fair Fight through the Good News Roundup Link!
Let’s see how much money those of us who are filled with hope can raise to protect our elections and restore our democracy! Go team!!
And remember to be kind to one another and, as Haymitch said, remember who the real enemy is. Its easy to get frustrated with one another when times are stressful and argue with people who are on the same side as you because you disagree about strategy. Strategy is important but it is just details. What is essential is sticking together and not wasting our time on infighting so we can beat the real enemy. We can disagree with one another, but if your first instinct when hearing about something awful Trump did is to complain about other Democrats, you need to take a close look at whether you are putting your energy in the right place.
So proud and lucky to be in this with all of you! ❤️ ✊ ❤️