Good Morning!
You may have noticed how amped up the “We’re doomed!” messaging has become lately and I am here to tell you: don’t get sucked into it! Yes, there is serious stuff going on, but there is also an all-out psychological war of hopelessness going on that seeks to rob us of the ability to fight back. Do not let disinformation and panic-mongering defeat you!
Searching for the good news is exhausting right now, not because there is so little out there, but because it is obscured by the piles of BS that are being dumped with increasing volume and urgency. Every news outlet one opens is plastered with horrific headlines, seemingly written to create maximum anxiety. It’s partly because media is largely owned by plutocrats who support Republicans, but there is also the spillover effect of relentless disinformation, agitation and psychological warfare saturating social media from which even honest journalists are not immune. None of us are.
Of course, there’s desperation behind all that fear-mongering. The bot armies and the social media agitators and the fake news planters and all the rest of the phantom algorithm army has been deployed because their masters are running scared. Republicans, MAGAts and whatever global criminals they are mixed up with know that they are vastly outnumbered by people who will defend democracy. They know they cannot beat us on an even playing field. We are the majority and we have the power to defeat the criminally corrupt cabal in the White House, their sycophantic enablers in the Republican party and their puppet-masters in Russia and around the world. The only way they can hold on to power is if they can convince us to defeat ourselves. These enemies of democracy seek to create fear and hopelessness in us in order to take away our power — to trick us into defeating ourselves. We must and can protect ourselves from the barrage and its devastating psychological effects. We do it by keeping things in perspective, nurturing resilience and staying unified. No bot can match human adaptability, versatility, originality, creativity and resilience.
It’s nearly midnight and I have decided to stop trying to sift through the screeching headlines looking for my usual numerous categories of good news and instead I’d like to focus on a message of perspective, resilience and unity — plus some key good news stories. We’ve got some excellent leaders who really help me out with this, beginning with former director of the US Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub. Click on the twitter bluebird (upper right corner) to read the whole thing. It’s good news!:
Ignore the DIsinformation Noise, Focus on what matters — Like Nancy Pelosi Does
Every single day I am thankful for the leadership of our House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Here’s how Nancy Pelosi is forcing Trump and the GOP over a cliff, David Cay Johnston, DCReport via Raw Story, February 17, 2020.
Pelosi didn’t come to Washington to win the news of the day, send flurries of tweets or bask in praise. She came to get long-term results. She has a steely focus on what can be done and then making it happen.
Even while knowing that Senate Republicans would acquit Trump, Pelosi set a trap for Trump and his obsequious Republican supporters on Capitol Hill. Lacking Pelosi’s inner confidence and skill at three-dimensional political chess, Trump and Congressional Republicans fell into Pelosi’s clever trap.
The trap: By supporting Trump no matter what, Republicans are stuck to him with political superglue. As Trump behaves ever more like a dictator, even referring to himself as “The King” in a tweet, elected Republicans cannot break free of him without tearing themselves apart.
Our big blue wave in 2018 scared the sh*t out of the Grotesque Oligarch Panderers and they hope to depress the even bigger blue wave of 2020 by dividing us with disinformation, exhausting us with the gish gallop of terrible news and shutting us down psychologically thus depressing voter turnout. We are not going to let that happen, are we? NOPE! 🚀 Eyes on the prize, everyone!
🎶 Music to Inspire You 🎶
Now, here’s some good news to keep in mind as you go through the day today dodging the bombardment of scary, sky-is-falling, you-might- as -well -give -up “news” :
⚖ Justice Is Coming ⚖
There are literally thousands of well-connected people working with us
Over 2000 DOJ alumni issued a signed statement this week calling for AG William Barr to resign, and urged their colleagues still in the DOJ to take a principled stand as well:
... we support and commend the four career prosecutors who upheld their oaths and stood up for the Department’s independence by withdrawing from the Stone case and/or resigning from the Department. Our simple message to them is that we — and millions of other Americans — stand with them. And we call on every DOJ employee to follow their heroic example and be prepared to report future abuses to the Inspector General, the Office of Professional Responsibility, and Congress; to refuse to carry out directives that are inconsistent with their oaths of office; to withdraw from cases that involve such directives or other misconduct; and, if necessary, to resign and report publicly — in a manner consistent with professional ethics — to the American people the reasons for their resignation. We likewise call on the other branches of government to protect from retaliation those employees who uphold their oaths in the face of unlawful directives. The rule of law and the survival of our Republic demand nothing less.
DOJ Alumni Statement on the Events Surrounding the Sentencing of Roger Stone, Medium.com, February 16, 2020.
And not only DOJ staffers are calling for action…
We learned last week that the NYC Bar Association condemned Barr’s actions , and now this:
Federal judges' association calls emergency meeting after DOJ intervenes in case of Trump ally Roger Stone, Kevin Johnson, USA Today, February 17, 2020.
Philadelphia U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, who heads the independent Federal Judges Association, said the group “could not wait” until its spring conference to weigh in on a deepening crisis that has enveloped the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr. ✄
Rufe, nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush, said the group of more than 1,000 federal jurists called for the meeting last week after Trump criticized prosecutors' initial sentencing recommendation for his friend Roger Stone and the Department of Justice overruled them. ✄
Tuesday, the federal judges are set to convene via a conference call involving 15 to 20 officers and members of the association's executive committee, Rufe said. ✄
Rufe said the group has not decided how it will report the result of its meeting, if at all. "We just could not wait until April to discuss matters of this importance," she said.
Now, this guy is no dentist, but here’s an interesting thread:
There’s a longer article about Barr from the Atlantic below in the Lightning Roundup. I’m not going to attempt to quote from it here because it is too long and a bit gloomy and doomy, but the good news is it was written by former DAG (from GHW Bush era), Donald Ayer, who pulls no punches about what an improper and corrupt barrstard we have for an AG.
Well-respected, powerful people are working hard to save the country — just like we are. Depend upon it.
Rudy Giuliani is in Hotter Water, too
Federal prosecutors weigh new charges that bring Lev Parnas investigation closer to Giuliani, Kara Scannell and Erica Orden, CNN, February 17, 2020.
Prosecutors with the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York are considering whether to charge
Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and at least one of his business partners with misleading potential investors for Fraud Guarantee, the Florida-based company that paid Giuliani,
President Donald Trump's personal attorney, these people say. Parnas co-founded Fraud Guarantee with the idea of providing insurance to companies to protect against fraud.
The scrutiny of Fraud Guarantee brings the investigation closer to Giuliani, Trump's vocal defender, and raises questions about what role the former mayor played, if any, in the marketing of the company. A lawyer for Giuliani said his client never had any conversations about investor pitches or marketing with Parnas or his business partner David Correia.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan for months have been investigating Giuliani's actions, including his efforts to oust Marie Yovanovitch, then-US ambassador to Ukraine, and push for an investigation into the son of Trump's political rival Joe Biden. Giuliani has not been accused of wrongdoing. Yovanovitch was recalled early from her position in April 2019.
😆 Laughter Break 😆
I challenge you not to laugh! 😀
💵 Economic News 💵
Dumpy constantly boasts that “he” has brought the best economy ever to the USA. Naturally, we already know he is lying, but it’s nice to read a little rundown of the facts:
How Trump’s economy stacks up, Courtenay Brown and Danielle Alberti, Axios, February 17, 2020.
Average economic growth under President Trump has outpaced the growth under Barack Obama, but not all of his recent predecessors.
Why it matters: GDP is the most comprehensive economic scorecard — and something presidents, especially Trump, use as an example of success. And it's especially relevant since Trump is running for re-election on his economic record. ✄
By the numbers: Last year the economy grew at 2.3%, after year-over-year accelerations in 2017 and 2018 — marking the slowest annual growth rate since Trump took office. Growth under Trump has yet to hit his oft-promised 3% mark annually.
maybe there is such a thing as a free ride!
...and it could have a huge economic and social justice impact, not to mention public transportation is better for the environment! Ridership on public transit has been declining in many cities and towns as more and more private cars are in use and the public transit services deteriorate as ridership and funding dries up. Raising fares only exacerbates the problem, often causing a public transit death spiral. Making public transit free will increase ridership, which will reduce individual vehicle traffic and congestion in cities. Better accessibility for citizens, reduced carbon footprint and easing of pressures on road management and infrastructure. Talk about a win-win-win! Here’s hoping cities around the country take note!
'Do we care about the public?': Cities weigh free public transit amid rising costs, Ben Kesslen and Ludwig Hurtado, NBC News, February 17, 2020.
Kansas City, Missouri, could become the first major city to eliminate bus fares in June under a proposal in the budget the City Council is expected to approve by the end of March.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said scrapping the $1.50 bus fare would be a windfall for working-class families that spend a good part of their incomes on transportation, and he believes it would benefit the city's economy, allowing people to move around more easily and patronize local businesses. ✄
The city would lose $8 million a year on fare-free transit, but Lucas insisted that it would not be "a significant amount" of Kansas City's $1.7 billion budget. By not paying for maintaining and using a fare collection system, the city would save about $3 million a year, leaving Kansas City officials to come up with only $5 million to cover losses, Lucas said.
He said critics rarely ask where the money comes from for other projects, like the hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year on building and maintaining streets or the $325 million to renovate Arrowhead Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs play.
Democrats are getting sh*t done
This story has already been shared in Good News, but I feel it’s important to keep the work that our elected Democrats are doing spotlit. They are working to restrain Dumpy and they are finding ways to do it and to persuade Rs across the aisle to join them. Pretty damn good work for the minority party!:
Eight Republicans join Democrats to pass Senate measure to limit President Trump's war powers against Iran, Dierdre Shesgreen, USA Today via Yahoo News, February 13, 2020.
Eight Senate Republicans broke with President Donald Trump on Thursday – joining all the chamber's Democrats to support legislation that would restrict the president's ability to wage war with Iran. ✄
The chief sponsor of the measure, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the debate was less about Trump’s Iran strategy and more about Congress exercising its constitutional responsibilities to declare war.
"An offensive war requires a congressional debate and vote. This should not be a controversial proposition," Kaine said during Wednesday's debate. "If we're to order our young men and women ... to risk their lives in health and war, it should be on the basis of careful deliberation by the people's elected legislature and not on the say-so of any one person."
The eight Republicans who voted “yes” on the resolution were: Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana.
More on the Important Voting Rights News From North Dakota
From the Indigenous legal matters blog, Turtle Talk: The original lawsuits on behalf of disenfranchised Native Americans were filed in January 2016 and October 2018. Neither was settled in time to prevent mass disenfranchisement. Finally, there is some good news on this story! A federal court denied the ND State’s motion to dismiss the suits, and finally the ND Secretary of State has agreed to settle the lawsuits by allowing several changes which will protect the right of Native Americans to vote. The changes will be enforced by a detailed court-ordered consent decree.
Secretary of State Agrees to Settle Voter ID Lawsuits by Entering Into Consent Decree with North Dakota Tribes, Matthew Campbell, Turtle Talk, February 13, 2020.
In the wake of the district court’s denial of the State’s motion to dismiss, the Secretary of State has agreed to settle two federal voting rights lawsuits brought by two Native American Tribes and several individual voters over North Dakota’s voter ID law. ✄
In addition to the previously announced rulemaking, which requires the state to recognize tribal IDs and supplemental documentation issued to tribal members, the Secretary has agreed to enter into a binding consent decree, enforced by a federal court order, which will ensure that Native American voters who do not have or do not know their residential street address are able to vote.
The Secretary of State also agreed to work with the Department of Transportation to develop and implement a program with tribal governments to distribute free non-driver photo IDs on every reservation statewide within 30 days of future statewide elections.
In the 2020 election, Native American voters will have the opportunity to mark their residence on a map, a process that is commonly used by voters in other states. The burden will then shift to the state to verify the residential street addresses for these voters, to provide that information to the voter and the tribe, and to ensure those voters’ ballots are counted.
🎶 Musical Break 🎶
Thanks to eagleray who posted this in Sunday’s GNR comments:
🌍 Environmental News 🌎
There’s a lot to dislike about enormous, unbelievable wealth concentrated in too few hands, but today I am just going to say kudos to Jeff Bezos for making this commitment. Not only is this a huge sum of money earmarked for the effort to fight climate change, but it is a huge challenge to other people of great wealth, corporations and countries to invest in restoring the planet.
Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, kicking off his own effort to fight climate change, Alan Boyle, GeekWIre, February 17, 2020.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says he’s launching a $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund that will issue grants aimed at addressing climate change — a move that comes less than a month after hundreds of Amazon employees criticized what they saw as the company’s weak commitment to tackling the issue. ✄
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” he wrote. “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
He said the first grants to scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations would be issued this summer.
⚡️ Lightning Roundup ⚡️
⚡️Important read! from 2thanks’ GNR: JOY IS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE: HOW CELEBRATION SUSTAINS ACTIVISM, Ingrid Fetell Lee.
⚡️ T’was ever thus!: Everyone loved George Washington, until he became president, Gillian Brockell, Washington Post, February 17, 2020.
⚡️ More historical perspective: The climate crisis must reunite America — and yes, that could happen, Peter Dale Scott, Salon, February 17, 2020. (hat tip to Mrmuni12)
⚡️Thoughtful and interesting: The radical moral implications of luck in human life, David Roberts, Vox, February 17, 2020.
⚡️ On the Constitution: Those who forget history, Jim Wright, Stonekettle Station (blog), February 14, 2020.
⚡️Nobody wants to work with Dumpy: Donald Trump’s erratic style of diplomacy has a price, Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, February 17, 2020.
⚡️Food for thought: Democrats can reclaim rural America — and Jane Kleeb wants to show them how, Paul Rosenberg, Salon, February 17, 2020.
⚡️For those hoping for an expanded SCOTUS: Embracing Supreme Court Expansion Carries No Political Cost, Study Says, Daniel Marans, Huffington Post. February 17, 2020.
⚡️An NPD expert and a comedian walk into Dumpy’s mentions; hilarity ensues: Katie Couric broke news about Trump on ‘Real Time’ — and it is hilarious, Bob Brigham, Raw Story, February 14, 2020.
⚡️Calls for Barr to resign intensify: Bill Barr Must Resign, Donald Ayer (former DAG under GHWBush), The Atlantic, February 17, 2020.
🎶 Musical Break 🎶
🔗 Helpful Links 🔗
Act Blue — fundraising for Democratic candidates in one easy site.
Vote Forward — currently organizing an effort to encourage voter registration, including providing addressees with voter registration forms! This is one of several “do it at home” projects through which many of us can really make a difference. Voter to voter initiatives have a track record of increasing voter turnout. The Vote Forward letter system is ideal for those who want to contribute but can’t write too much. The letter templates are provided and all you do is put in a line or two of your own and make sure the letters get to the voters on your list!
Postcards to Voters — Our own gnusie, Progressive Muse posts most days with information about PtV and updates on current campaigns and progress. This is the ideal “do it at home” contribution especially suited to those who enjoy getting a little creative and connecting with fellow voters around the country.
Fair Fight — Stacey Abrams’ initiative which has already made a difference in several elections! Find out how you can help out at this link.
Spread the Vote — wonderful organization which works hard to help eligible voters obtain valid ID so they can register and vote.
And finally, for one-stop all-purpose voter information:
Everything you need to know to vote — This site covers everything any eligible voter needs to know, from how to register, how to check that you are still registered, how to obtain an absentee ballot and what to do if your right to vote is challenged or you are stopped from voting.
Do something every day. It can make a huge difference, not just to you but to your country. But, don’t take my word for it — listen to Walter! :
💙 Roundup WindDown 💙
The wee hours are now upon me and it’s time to wind down the GNR. As always, I remind you to take good care of yourself and those you love. Eat nutritious food, get enough rest and try to get outdoors as often as you can. Make time for joy — yes JOY — because it will nurture your resilience in ways that will ripple outward in your community. It may seem weird to be talking of joy in these serious, trying times, but these are the times when we need joy the most.
As Ingrid Fetell Lee wrote in Joy is an Act of Resistance:
It’s a curious feature of autocratic regimes that forms of joy are often banned. Music is a common one…
What dictators know is that joy has a propulsive force, and that anything that gathers and channels that energy threatens to upend the rigid control of a population. Music, dance, art, eroticism: all of these fuel an emotional response that creates momentum, one that can be hard to control. Take, for example, The Singing Revolution: a four-year series of protests involving mass singing demonstrations that swept across Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia between 1987 and 1991, eventually leading to their independence. ✄
So, simply put, joy can be considered resistance because it’s a form of “energy for change,” as Lorde puts it. It counters and contrasts with the rigidity and control of oppressive structures in a non-violent way. ✄
Celebratory joy creates unity on an emotional and a physical level, and a unified populace is harder to dominate. ✄
Sensory joy is a form of care that contrasts with traumatic circumstances and helps cultivate the resilience needed to counter oppression. ✄
And lastly, joy provides a glimpse of a better future that keeps us motivated to work toward it. Hope is an elusive yet vital ingredient for activism. Essentially, hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better than today. Without that belief, there’s no point in fighting. Yet even the smallest kernel of it can move nations.
I encourage you to make time for small pleasures each day and to take joy in the simple gifts that you have in your life — favorite music, a sunset, a child’s laughter. Whatever brings you joy, be mindful of its presence in your life now more than ever and savor it for a few moments every day. It will not only lift you up in the moment, but it will strengthen you, build your resilience and remind you of exactly why we are all in this fight together.
I’ll leave you with one last lovely tweet thread (just click on the little blue bird):
Happy Tuesday, Gnusies!