Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Gee, just as I saved this, thinking I was done and turn to other work for rest of my morning, I learned tRump has tested positive for COVID.
I am glad he didn’t shake Biden’s hand on Tuesday! Because given how much he was sweating, he may have already been sick. I hope they never got near each other.
This isn’t even karma. This is science. Really basic science. Which tRump has chosen to ignore — even to deny, loudly. His actions have been as stupid as challenging the law of gravity.
I’m not sure what this means for the election. It depends on how sick he gets. I have to think this will weaken his cred with his voters, who admire him for being a strong man. Or they won’t want to risk going to the polls because it turns out you can get sick with COVID. And they won’t want to do mail, either, because they don’t trust the mail.
Come in, dear gnusies, and feast at today’s Good News buffet! But social distance while you do it!
Regular Scheduled Programming
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the very bad stuff that is happening. Some of us expected it: the cheating, the lying, the chaos, and yes, even the attempts to cling to power despite the clear will of the people. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know. Remember:
💚 There are more of us than there are of them.
💛 They are terrified when we organize. THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE TERRIFIED!
💔 They want us to be demoralized. We have to keep demoralizing them. Name, blame and shame! IT IS WORKING! WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE 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.
💙 Toxic 🍄 Trump Matters 👎
The first presidential debate was such a shitshow, that there was talk of the last two being canceled. Now, even although Tuesday evening was so dreadful, it actually did benefit Biden, as you’ll see later in this GNR. I admit I want the next 2 presidential debates to be canceled — and they still might be — for the selfish reason that they both fall on Thursdays and so have to go into the Friday GNRs. And now, with the fact that tRump has COVID, I expect that at least the first will be canceled.
While Biden debated, tRump debased, and the Commission on Presidential Debates is taking action. New York Times
The commission is also weighing whether to grant moderators the power to shut off a candidate’s microphone to help restore order, the people said, although both cautioned that those discussions were in a preliminary phase.
Cutting off a microphone, although widely prescribed on social media as a remedy to Tuesday’s problems, can be complex from a television production standpoint and may not prevent a candidate from continuing to speak in the debate hall.
Another option under consideration is to penalize an interrupting candidate by forcing him to yield more time back to his opponent, the people said.
We still don’t know what they will do, but at least options are being considered. Word is that tRump is refusing them, but I expect that COVID has made this moot.
An undecided voter undecided no longer the Daily Beast
After you take part in a presidential debate, there are some words you want to hear when people are asked how they thought you came across. Maybe descriptors such as authoritative, knowledgeable, or compassionate. One thing you don’t want to hear, however, is that you acted like “a crackhead.” But that is exactly how Trump’s performance was described by Ruthie, a previously undecided voter from Pennsylvania, who said she will now back Joe Biden.
Worried about challenges to the election? Here is some comfort:
There’s a lot in the Verdict Justia article. It’s too long to summarize here, but here’s a sweet paragraph:
A federal statute, the Electoral Count Act, specifies that Congress settles disputes over electors, but that would lead to a stalemate, as the Republican-dominated Senate and the Democratic-dominated House would likely disagree on which Pennsylvania slate to recognize (unless, of course, the Democrats win back control of the Senate in this year’s elections, given that all of this would be determined by the Congress that is sworn in on January 3, 2021). The Electoral Count Act addresses this contingency as well. It says unequivocally that “the votes of the electors whose appointment shall have been certified by the executive of the State” are the ones that count. Thus, a partisan dispute arising out of competing slates of electors from Pennsylvania—or Michigan, Wisconsin, or North Carolina, which also have Democratic governors—would be resolved in favor of the Democratic governor’s choice. Biden wins.
In other words, VOTE!
Comey testified on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee CNN
Former FBI Director James Comey pushed back against Attorney General William Barr's attacks on the FBI's Russia investigation, arguing on Wednesday that the Justice Department's efforts to dismiss charges against Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn were "deeply concerning."
"I have no idea what on Earth he is talking about," Comey said when asked to respond Barr's comments that the FBI's Russia investigation was "abhorrent."
"This was an investigation, it was appropriately predicated and opened that had to be opened and it was in the main conducted in the right way, picked up by the special counsel, lead to the indictment of dozens of people, and a finding by your colleagues in the Senate that the head of Trump's campaign was a grave counterintelligence threat to the United States of America because he was funneling in information to a known Russian intelligence officer," Comey added. "The notion that the attorney general believes that was an illegitimate endeavor to investigate that mystifies me."
Mystifies you, Comey? How naïve are you? Still, it’s a good reminder. And seems like Russian interference, welcomed, nay, encouraged by the president and his minions, is a lot more significant than Hillary having a server in her own house.
You have to wonder why Graham pulled Comey in for this conversation. Graham had to know what Comey would say. I heard speculation on one of the MSNBC shows that it was Graham kowtowing to tRump pressure.
Another warning on Russia:
Another arrest of another campaign manager … is that 4?
I don’t want Parscale to harm himself, but even less do I want him to hurt his wife and the rest of America, and this is what he has been doing. I must also confess that I am enjoying the meltdowns of the tRump toadies:
The tRump campaign is also worried about Parscale, because they are afraid he will start squealing. Daily Kos
But here’s the extra-delicious morsel. Apparently, in the wake of former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale’s recent arrest, TrumpWorld is freaking out just a tad according to Vanity Fair:
Parscale’s public meltdown happened while he is reportedly under investigation for stealing from the Trump campaign and the RNC. According to the source close to the campaign, the Trump family is worried that Parscale could turn on them and cooperate with law enforcement about possible campaign finance violations. “The family is worried Brad will start talking,” the source said.
But I think the tRump cabal could be in so much trouble that Parscale’s testimony may be unnecessary:
🐊 Draining the Swamp 🐊
I am not so sure how well this story fits into this section, but I like how it fights back against the evil the tRump administration has been attempting (pucklady linked as well but it’s worth a repeat). USPS workers quietly fighting back Washington Post
This summer, as controversial new procedures at the U.S. Postal Service snarled the nation’s mail delivery and stirred fears of how the agency would handle the election, rank-and-file workers quietly began to resist.
Mechanics in New York drew out the dismantling and removal of mail-sorting machines until their supervisor gave up on the order. In Michigan, a group of letter carriers did an end run around a supervisor’s directive to leave election mail behind, starting their routes late to sift through it. In Ohio, postal clerks culled prescriptions and benefit checks from bins of stalled mail to make sure they were delivered, while some carriers ran late items out on their own time. In Pennsylvania, some postal workers looked for any excuse — a missed turn, heavy traffic, a rowdy dog — to buy enough time to finish their daily rounds. ✂️
With the Postal Service expected to play a historic role in this year’s election, some of the agency’s 630,000 workers say they felt a responsibility to counteract cost-cutting changes from their new boss, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, that they blame for the mail slowdowns. They question whether DeJoy — a top Republican fundraiser and booster of President Trump — is politicizing the institution in service to a president who has actively tried to sow distrust of mail-in voting, insisting without evidence that it will lead to massive fraud.
Wonkette has a great article on this too, suggesting a caper movie on how the postal workers have been sabotaging the sabotage.
GM to pay back $28 million in tax breaks Daily Kos
Dan O’Brien at The Business Journal of Youngstown, Ohio, in collaboration with Pro-Publica writes—Ohio Just Ordered GM to Repay $28 Million in Tax Breaks for Closing the Lordstown Auto Plant:
The state of Ohio on Monday ordered General Motors to repay $28 million in public subsidies for reneging on its promise to keep its sprawling Lordstown plant open.
The automaker, which had pledged to keep operations going until 2040, closed its assembly plant last October, drawing criticism from elected officials in both political parties, including President Donald Trump. At the time, GM cited the collapsing market for small cars; Lordstown produced the compact Chevrolet Cruze.
But state officials said the closure violated the terms of two economic development agreements GM signed with Ohio more than a decade ago. Between 2009 and 2016, the company received more than $60 million in tax credits to maintain operations at the massive plant, which employed over 4,000 people.
💙 Democrats Are Great 🌊
Republicans 🐘 Got Nothing 👎
I listened to Steve Schmidt who pointed out a few things on MSNBC after the debate (sorry, no transcript). He pointed out that the talking heads on TV are talking up tRump’s numbers and talking down Biden’s chances. This isn’t just because they want a horse race. This is because they, too, are feeling the shame of having “gotten it wrong” in 2016. However, he pointed out — and others have pointed it out as well — the polls were not really wrong in 2016. Hillary won the popular vote by 2.5 to 3%. Schmidt also pointed out that no presidential candidate has been as far ahead as Biden is at this point in the race.
I am not telling you to be complacent, my friends. But perhaps we can all move mentally away from the edge of the ledge.
Schumer forces health care vote CNN
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in an extremely rare move Tuesday, took control of the Senate floor and is forcing a procedural vote on a bill, a step that is typically done only by the Senate majority leader.
The top Democrat's action now sets up a vote later this week related to a bill that would protect people with pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court sides with
the Trump administration's Department of Justice and strikes down the Affordable Care Act after arguments are heard in November.
Schumer's surprise steps were extraordinary because such motions are typically offered by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who controls the Senate and dictates what gets considered on the floor. Schumer has never before tried to force such a cloture vote in his time as the top minority leader, aides said.
The rules say any senator can do what Schumer did Tuesday but senators typically don't take these extreme steps because doing so regularly would shut down the Senate.
Right now, shutting down the Senate — preventing it from putting on another SCOTUS — sounds about right. And working to secure health care. Oh, and making R senators go on the record about not supporting health care. In the middle of a pandemic.
You have probably seen this, but it’s worth seeing again:
and this:
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
We are all concerned about the electoral college. But here’s some comfort:
Maryland to ban foam containers EcoWatch
Maryland will become the first state in the nation Thursday to implement a ban on foam takeout containers.
The law, which was passed in 2019, prohibits restaurants and other institutions that serve food, such as schools, from using polystyrene containers, The Baltimore Sun reported.
"Single-use plastics are overrunning our oceans and bays and neighborhoods," chief bill sponsor Democratic Delegate Brooke Lierman told CNN when it passed. "We need to take dramatic steps to start stemming our use and reliance on them ... to leave future generations a planet full of wildlife and green space."
Lierman said she had tried twice before to pass the bill, but a shift in public opinion against plastic pollution finally pushed it over the finish line.
🐍 Schadenfreude 🍎
Of course we have to include this here:
There are so many ways this could play out. It seems to take at least six weeks to kill people, so I expect tRump will still be officially on the ballot on November 3rd. And tRump has access to the best medical care.
Some people do very well, at all ages, so he may recover quickly. If he does it will be bad for the country because his followers still won’t take it seriously.
If he is really ill (and if Biden doesn’t have it) then I think the election is in the bag for Biden. tRump’s voters will be dispirited, and not bother to go to the polls.
And do I have any pity for him? No. His actions have killed tens of thousands of Americans.
News from Belarus, run by a Putin-friendly guy The Daily Beast
WARSAW, Poland—One of the rare successes chalked up by the regime of Europe’s last dictator has been the establishment of a kind of East European Silicon Valley, which spawned a booming industry of Belarusian programmers and tech start-ups.
The autocratic president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, now fears he has created a monster.
An army of 30,000 tech-savvy professionals is turning against its creator. Coders and software engineers, many of whom are linked to the state-sponsored Hi-Tech Park in Minsk, have formed a hacking collective called Cyber Partisans which is wreaking havoc as Lukashenko tries to quell a growing revolution.
📣Let’s Honor Truth ☀️
This week I want to award the medal of truth to whoever it was who managed to get the creep’s taxes to the New York Times.
The New York Times has obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Mr. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office. It does not include his personal returns for 2018 or 2019. This article offers an overview of The Times’s findings; additional articles will be published in the coming weeks.
The NYT is not revealing its source(s), because to do so would be dangerous for that person (people). Still, I am wondering who it is. An accountant? Someone who works for the IRS? Someone closer, perhaps sharing tRump’s last name? The NYT described the source as “legal and confidential.”
I think the NYT, according to the 1st Amendment, has the right to publish the taxes. I do wonder about whoever has done the leaking. The only person I can see who would have the right to leak all those files would be tRump himself (correct me if I am wrong), and I doubt he did it. So whoever did it may be breaking a law — a law that I usually prefer to be kept intact. Nevertheless, there are occasions when you have to weigh two choices and opt for the lesser of two evils.
Even if the person leaking this information has done so legally, this person has taken a serious risk to get vital information to the public, vital information about an imminent threat. I thank whoever it is.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️ ️
Kroger gives a job to a woman sleeping in their parking lot CNN
LaShenda Williams beams with gratitude every time she enters the Inglewood, Nashville, Kroger store in Tennessee. This is her workplace and a symbol of the new life she is building for herself. ✂️
Williams once lived in the parking lot of this same Kroger, after losing two jobs and her home in 2019. For a time, while living out of her car at the grocery store, she would come in during the day for food and conversation with the staff. When she'd return to the lot each night, she would move her car so that nobody would know the severity of her situation. ✂️
Williams distinguished herself as soon as she started and within just a month, she was promoted from a part-time cashier to a full time check-out associate. A couple months after that, she was able to get herself a new place to live, which her new colleagues helped her furnish.
I’m not crying, you’re crying — really worth a read. Just make sure you have some tissues.
📎📎Odds & Ends 📎📎
Progress in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis Good News Network
In a recent phase 2 clinical trial, the cancer drug bexarotene was found to regenerate the myelin sheath—the target of the autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis, or MS.
A protective lipid layer around nerves in the brain and spinal cord, the myelin sheath is targeted by immune cells incorrectly in patients with MS, resulting in the disease’s symptoms of neurodegeneration and disability.
The trial showed that bexarotene was able to effectively “remyelinate” the damaged nerves, placing scientists on the path towards a possible treatment.
My sister-in-law suffered from MS. It’s too late to save her, but I would be thrilled if it could save others.
Not exactly good news, but too funny not to share: Parrots had to be removed from display because of their fowl language Evening standard
Not the fowl-mouthed parrots in the story
A group of parrots at a UK zoo had to be removed from display when they all began swearing at customers.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park adopted five African grey parrots on August 15 and put them into a room together to isolate.
However, while they were in quarantine, they managed to teach each other a raft of obscenities. ✂️
"But we worried because we had a weekend coming up and children coming."
Speaking of birds: I do a lot of other writing. Most recent offering:
Hunters of the Feather, a story about a thinker-linker crow who wants to save birdkind from extinction. (It’s really good! It’s really cheap! Buy it!) My less recent stories, based on Jane Austen novels and others on Greek mythology,
can be found here.
💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙
It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time. And now it’s the time to get out the vote.
Many thanks to Yosef 52 for his indefatigable work in bringing us the info we need to GOTV. Arhpdx took it mostly from him and I have taken it mostly from her.
WRITE to infrequent Democratic voters:
Postcards to Voters — They provide lists of addresses and a required script (three brief items) which you can add to if you like. You provide the cards, write them, address them, and stamp them. This is the most personal way to write to voters. Cost: postcards and 35¢ stamps. PtV sells their own postcards on Etsy (the ones I use cost $15 for 100, with $5.70 shipping).
Vote Forward — They provide addresses and a download of a letter template for each voter, you print out the letters, provide the greeting and some personal messages (and decorations if you like), envelopes, and stamps. Vote Forward’s “Big Send” is scheduled for October 17th, when millions of letters will go out to infrequent voters. Cost: paper, envelopes, 55¢ stamps. UPDATE: As of Monday morning, they need writers to sign up for 1.7 million more addresses in order to reach their 10 million letter goal. Sign up today!!
[Postcards to Swing States — This effort is now completed, with 15.7 million postcards distributed to be sent to voters across 14 swing states!]
TEXT Democratic voters:
Text Out the Vote via the DNC.
The MoveOn Text Team
BE A POLL WORKER:
Work Elections
DONATE to help other Democrats vote:
Let America Vote PAC — they work on many fronts to support voters and voting rights
Progressive Turnout Project — they engage Dem voters in several ways, including a virtual phonebanking program
Vote Save America — they allow you to “adopt” a crucial state (Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin) and then give you tools to directly support the work of organizers, volunteers, and candidates in that state
Spread the Vote — they help voters get IDs in the states where those are required. They say on their website, “77% of the people we work with have never voted before and 100% of our clients cannot vote without us.”
Vote For Our Lives, a project of the Parkland kids’ March For Our Lives, is focused on young voters.
DONATE to Biden/Harris: JoeBiden.com
And if you need more inspiration, go straight to Goodie’s phenomenal series, “100 Days of Loving Joe Biden.” You’ll come away loving him more than you ever imagined.
DONATE to our priority Senate candidates:
Sen. Doug Jones (D. AL)
Dr. Al Gross (I. AK)
Mark Kelly (D. AZ)
John Hickenlooper (D. CO)
Jon Ossoff (D. GA)
Theresa Greenfield (D. IA)
Paulette Jordan (D. ID)
Dr. Barbara Bollier (D. KS)
Amy McGrath (D. KY)
Cal Cunningham (D. NC)
Adrian Perkins (D. LA)
Sen. Gary Peters (D. MI)
Sen. Tina Smith (D. MN)
Mike Espy (D. MS)
Steve Bullock (D. MT)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D. NH)
Jaime Harrison (D. SC)
MJ Hegar (D. TX)
DONATE to our priority House candidates:
See Ballotpedia’s list of U.S. House Battlegrounds and Ballotpedia’s list of State Legislative Battleground Chambers.
STAY INFORMED and keep your friends informed:
Election Protection — a Twitter-centric hub of voting info, including registration, absentee ballots, polling places, and protecting voters at the polls. An easy way to keep your Twitter network active in the election.
And some other ideas:
You can relax and recharge.
You can join protests and freeway blog.
You can help register new voters.
You can smile.
You can reach out to upset Republicans. Remember, a lot of them crossed over in the midterms! Get them to feel good about being blue.
You can share your ideas below.
🌻
🍀 “My experience has been that work is almost
always the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.” 🍀
Eleanor Roosevelt
🔥 If you’re going through hell, keep going! 🔥
Winston Churchill
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.
