Good Day Good Newsies, Gnus and Gnewbies alike!
I am going to start right out with it. This GNR will not be about the impeachment. Yes it is the news of the hour, it is anxiety and anger producing too and I really need to not focus on it here and I think you all need the same break as you sip your beverage of choice. Yes, I am following it and you should too, well as much as you can without wanting to pull your hair out. Summation: The Dem’s are awesome, the rethugs are horrible. There, that is all you need to know about the fauxpeachment in the Senate. You are all free to discuss it the comments, but I wish to spread other news. Will it seep in here and there, maybe, but it will not be my focus.
On that point, I also want us to remember our motto, blue no matter who. This is a trying time, the primary, impeachment, lying and cheating, outright corruption of our democracy by criminals in the know and the part of this great country we just cannot convince what is happening is not in their best interests. But the pie fighting and the sky is falling do us no good. 2020 is our goal and blue is where we want to be. Will it be a fight, of course. Can we do it, yes we can!
Onward!
Some people have no idea what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” – George Carlin
Parnas and Bondy: Not The Heroes We Asked For, But Maybe The Heroes We Got?
If the only way to survive the Trump administration is to keep resisting no matter how tired we get, then the combination of Lev Parnas and his attorney Joseph Bondy could be just what we need. When everything is crazy all the time and the riptide of normalization threatens to pull us under, maybe we need a wackass chucklefucker and his dead-eyed weed lawyer to shout, "Hey, snap out of it, this shit ain't right!" as they hurl a life preserver at our heads. Not because they can stop the tide, of course, but to jolt us back awake before we sink into the miasma of corruption.
It is in that spirit that we should view the latest salvo from Bondy asking Attorney General Bill Barr to recuse himself from Parnas's campaign finance case and appoint a special prosecutor. Not because it's likely to work with Barr or US District Judge J. Paul Oetken, but because it draws a giant arrow toward the gross impropriety at the Justice Department which gets buried under the daily avalanche of Trump corruption.
Now, we at this here Mommyblog didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday. We know damn well that Bill Barr has no intention of recusing himself like a common Jeff Sessions from a matter in which he has, or might give a reasonable person reason to believe he has, a personal stake. But calling him out on it still matters. The rule of law still matters. And it's not sexy, but dammit we have to fight for our norms!
So, thanks for that, you crazy weirdos. Also for this video of Mother Pence getting handsy with our Lev.
This will not change anything at this moment in time but just picture our new blue people in charge going back over all of this. And they will. There will be consequences. (i know that shows black, but it does play)
We know Brad is an idiot:
Trump Campaign Manager, Data Guru Very Bad At Campaigning, Data
It's admittedly a challenge to run Donald Trump's re-election campaign. He's just now through his first term, and his most significant legislative achievement is his own impeachment. Unfortunately, Trump's campaign manager is Brad Parscale, who according to our legal experts is a "shameless hustler." Parscale and his beard, which is mostly house trained, visited Fox News studios Monday to peddle fact-less "data." It didn't go well.
Parscale triumphantly informed Fox's Bill Hemmer that Trump is an unstoppable electoral behemoth. He's got amazing numbers among all the key demos Republicans don't actively prevent from voting.
It's like he's trying to hypnotize voters: "You are very sleepy. Everything is wonderful. You are enjoying the Super Bowl. It is much better than Cats." Sorry, it's not going to work. Trump has a reckoning with voters in November, and feel-good "data" won't save him.
And that is what I am saying here…most people want a fair trial and witnesses and documents. Good, let them continue this farce it will only spur more into action!
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” – George Carlin
The orange idiot showed his true lack of any intelligence at Davos. Good thing we have a real adult in the room.
Greta Thunberg's Message to Capitalists: 'Act as if You Loved Your Children'
Greta Thunberg is over it. The 17-year-old Swedish climate activist spoke at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday where she told all the business leaders, bankers, and politicians in the audience that they need to get their shit together if we are to survive the climate crisis.
“We demand, at this year’s World Economic Forum, participants from all companies, banks, institutions, and governments immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies, and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels,” Thunberg said, noting those actions needed to be taken immediately.
“Either you do this, or you’re going to have to explain to your children why you are giving up on the 1.5-degree target, giving up without even trying,” she said. “I am here to tell you that, unlike you, my generation will not give up without a fight.”
She also put tRumps great tree planting idea to rest…
“Don't give up! It's not over. The universe is balanced. Every set-back bears with it the seeds of a come-back." -Steve Maraboli
I am not promoting one plan over another or hailing M4A as the only answer. But I do know we need to do something and this is positive news.
In Historic Shift, Second Largest Physicians Group in US Has New Prescription: It's Medicare for All
The fight for Medicare for All received a two-handed boost from tens of thousands of doctors on Monday when the American College of Physicians—in a move described as a "seachange for the medical professions"—officially endorsed a single-payer system as among only one of two possible ways to improve the nation's healthcare woes.
Representing 159,000 doctors of internal medicine nationwide, the ACP is the largest medical specialty society and second-largest physician group in the country overall after the American Medical Association (AMA).
While it did not say that Medicare for All was the only way to achieve a more equitable, accessible, and sustainable healthcare system, the ACP laid out four key recommendations for achieving universal coverage in the United States. They are:
1. The American College of Physicians recommends that the United States transition to a system that achieves universal coverage with essential benefits and lower administrative costs.
2. Coverage should not be dependent on a person's place of residence, employment, health status, or income.
3. Coverage should ensure sufficient access to clinicians, hospitals, and other sources of care.
4. Two options could achieve these objectives: a single-payer financing approach, or a publicly financed coverage option to be offered along with regulated private insurance.
Please, this needs to get done. Just being an active member on this site you see the financial ruin that come with minor and major health issues.
From my honest opinion department, the SCOTUS has always been controversial. I know the tangerine blowhard and his helpers in the chamber have not made that any better. Yet once in a while something comes out on the right side.
Supreme Court lets Flint, Michigan residents sue over water contamination
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let residents of Flint, Michigan pursue a civil rights lawsuit against the city and government officials that accused them of knowingly allowing the city's water supply to become contaminated with lead.
The justices turned away two appeals by the city and the state and local officials of a lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to move forward. The lower court rejected a demand for immunity by the officials, finding that they violated the residents' right to "bodily integrity" under the U.S. Constitution by providing the tainted water after switching water sources in a cost-cutting move in 2014.
When our new President is in office this will be a major effort. This I know.
'Global Precedent' Set as UN Rules Climate Refugees Cannot Be Sent Back to Life-Threatening Conditions
Human rights advocates on Monday applauded a "ground-breaking" ruling by a United Nations panel which stated that climate refugees seeking asylum cannot legally be sent back to their home countries if they face life-threatening conditions due to the climate crisis.
"Without robust national and international efforts, the effects of climate change in receiving states may expose individuals to a violation of their rights," ruled the U.N. Human Rights Committee, "thereby triggering the non-refoulement obligations of sending states."
Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond. Hunter S. Thompson
The 49ers' Katie Sowers Will Be the First Woman and Openly Gay Coach to Head to the Super Bowl
PS. I do not follow sports at all of any kind. Just sharing this because this is monumental not because I favor any team over another...no pie fighting. 😁 The Management.
The 49ers beat the Packers last night, which amounts to very little from a progressive standpoint save for this: It means that 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers will become the first woman and the first openly-LGBTQ coach to head to the Super Bowl.
Sowers is only the second woman in history to hold a full-time coaching position with the NFL, but told People that it’s not something that her colleagues dwell on.
“When I’m on the field and look around, it all kind of sinks in on how far I’ve come and where I am,” she told PEOPLE. “I see young girls out there almost every game, and someone’s mom or dad is yelling to me, saying, ‘my daughter wants to play football,’ or, ‘my daughter is going to be a coach.’ And those are the moments where it’s worth it.”
So many good things happening, really.
Rutgers University Gets Its First Black President
It’s been a good week for black history. Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, last week it was announced that World War II hero Doris Miller would be honored by the U.S. Navy with an aircraft carrier named for him and on Sunday, school officials said that Dr. Jonathan Holloway, the provost of Northwestern University, is expected to take over leadership of Rutgers University next week, becoming its first black president, according to New York Times.
According to the most recent data published by the American Council on Education, non-white people make up less than a fifth of all college presidents with only 8 percent of the 17 percent of minority presidents being black.
So, cheers, Dr. Holloway, you’re making history.
Accidental Discovery of New T-Cell Hailed as Major Breakthrough for ‘Universal’ Cancer Therapy
Researchers at Cardiff University have discovered a new type of killer T-cell that offers hope of a “one-size-fits-all” cancer therapy.
T-cell therapies for cancer—where immune cells are removed, modified and returned to the patient’s blood to seek and destroy cancer cells—are the latest paradigm in cancer treatments.
The most widely-used therapy, known as CAR-T, is personalized to each patient, but it only targets a few types of cancers and has not been successful for solid tumors, which make up the vast majority of cancers.
Cardiff researchers have now discovered T-cells equipped with a new type of T-cell receptor (TCR) which recognizes and kills most human cancer types, while ignoring healthy cells.
“This is truly exciting and potentially a great step forward for the accessibility of cancer immunotherapy.”
“I don’t have pet peeves – I have major psychotic fucking hatreds.”– George Carlin
Listen folks, this shart is ticking me off but good. But you know what, we will fight and we will win. Screw the rethugs they are just making their beds and history will not be kind and hopefully justice will not either. So pay attention as you must, but do not forget the goal and do not be deterred no matter what. We are in this together!
I am copying Goodies list of all the ways to get involved for 2020. Read her The sky is not falling post from yesterday.
Here are some ideas of ways to donate your time from the comfort of your own home (click on the links):
- Get involved with Postcards to voters.
- register voters in key battleground states.
Here are some ways to get involved outside your house:
- Find volunteer opportunities at Vote Save America
- Get involved with Stacey Abrams Fair Fight which is fighting voter suppression — and already helped us with two huge victories in the south!!
- Get involved with your local democratic party
- People who live in or near a state with strict voter ID requirements might wish to help by volunteering with Voteriders.
- Sign up to go door to door in your district
- Sign up to drive people to the polls
Here are some ideas for donating:
- Donate to a fund for Democratic candidates that run in the 2020 Senate elections
- Donate to the Unify or Die fund for WHOMEVER our nominee will be
- Donate to Swing Left
- Donate to the ACLU
Thank you Dr. G!
As I will do until the primary, I want to do a shout out to a co-worker and good friend, Sara Spezzano, who is running in the Democratic Primary in New York’s 133rd Assembly. She is running to succeed Marjorie Byrnes, who, gosh who would have thought it, stated on the floor of the Assembly that giving sanitary products to girls in public schools would create a black market for the product. Well that should surprise none of us. Sara is a firecracker and would be a representative looking out for her constituents and their best interests. If you live in NY please support her. If you know someone who lives in NY pass the information along. State races matter as we all know.
Her Act Blue: Donate to Friends of Sara
Thank you friends!
Well peeps, if you are not smiling yet or ready to fight this ugly crap going on right in front of us, I will leave you with this. And if this does not make you go awww and tear up into your coffee, I do not know what could. 😊 Because who even knew about the dik-dik’s?
Enjoy these unsolicited dik-dik pics
Dik-diks are basically tiny African deer whose name comes from the chirping sounds they make. And if that's not adorable enough, then just wait until learn that they mark their territory with their tears (okay technically it's a secretion from the preobital gland but still).
Share your news in the comments, local, state, or national, whatever you think we need know that is Good News!
Peace!