Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Many are writing about the meaning of the Chauvin verdict with respect to improvements (or not) for people of color, especially in the justice system. Others, with more insight than a blonde white woman, can write about that.
It was also a moment when truth stepped forward. And not just truth, but agreed-upon truth, with 12 diverse jurors from a swing state agreeing upon three separate verdicts in about 10 hours. They regarded the evidence, and they believed their eyes.
And although “believe your eyes” is where you’d think we would all start, consider all the times in recent years when we have not seen reasonable verdicts, when people have refused to believe their eyes and mountains of evidence. There are the many times when truth lost out after murders were perpetrated by the police, by Zimmerman, and more. Lies also won out in other cases. The senate refused to convict tRump after two impeachments, even though he tried to engineer foreign interference in the first, and in the second he sent his thugs to murder the vice president and to attack the very people sitting in judgment on him. These were both cases where there should have been no question, especially the latter, and yet we did not get sufficient agreement on the truth.
Truth has been taking a beating for years. Now, we know some people tell lies for power and profit; they know they are not telling the truth. Rupert Murdoch got the vaccination as soon as he could. So did the tRumps. They are simply evil, and many of their followers are likewise evil. But there are those who truly believe the lies they have been told. People who, while dying from COVID-19, still claim it does not exist. People who are ready to murder their own children because they believe in conspiracy theories.
And yet in Minneapolis, we got a verdict, the just, truth-based verdict, actually three just, truth-based verdicts. The jurors were not politicians (as far as I know). They were ordinary citizens. They came to unanimous agreement, that is, 100%, in a time when Biden’s victory of 51.3% over the former guy’s 46.9% is considering resounding. But maybe the fact that they were not politicians is reason for hope. Maybe we, the people can lead the politicians back to truth and to justice. Or maybe, when reasonable people are sequestered and are presented the truth, they will acknowledge it instead of being swayed by alternative facts lies.
Come in to Gnusville, dear friends, and see what we the people are doing. And please add your own news and the good stories of others! The Biden team is really, really busy, and I know I did not catch everything.
CDC count of vaccinations for 9AM Thursday, April 22: Distributed 282,183,915; In arms, 218,947,643.
Regular Scheduled Programming
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the many who are fighting to destroy our country. 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.
🗽 Biden as President!🗽
Biden, Harris and their administration have been hard at work. Here are the last week’s posts at the White House briefing room.
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, April 22, 2021
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: President Biden Announces 12 Key Climate and Infrastructure Administration Nominations
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Advances Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: Remarks by President Biden at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Session 2: Investing in Climate Solutions
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Opening Session
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: Remarks by President Biden at the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Opening Session
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: U.S. International Climate Finance Plan
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: A Proclamation on Earth Day, 2021
- Thursday, April 22, 2021: FACT SHEET: President Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing U.S. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the State of Vaccinations
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Tennessee Disaster Declaration
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 21, 2021
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Readout of the Third National Climate Task Force Meeting
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations for National Security
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: FACT SHEET: The American Jobs Plan Will Support Women’s Employment
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Statement from Press Secretary Jen Psaki
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: FACT SHEET: President Biden to Call on All Employers to Provide Paid Time Off for Employees to Get Vaccinated After Meeting Goal of 200 Million Shots in the First 100 Days
- Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Remarks by Vice President Harris on the Verdict in the Derek Chauvin Trial for the Death of George Floyd
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Readout of Oval Office Meeting with Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 20, 2021
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting with Leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: A Proclamation on the Death of Walter Mondale
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: President Biden Announces More Key Administration Nominations
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Remarks by President Biden on the Verdict in the Derek Chauvin Trial for the Death of George Floyd
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Statement by NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne on the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Protect U.S. Critical Infrastructure
- Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Vice President Kamala Harris Statement on the Passing of Vice President Walter Mondale
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Statement from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on the Passing of Walter Mondale
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Remarks by Vice President Harris on the American Jobs Plan
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 19, 2021
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Readout of Oval Office Meeting with Bipartisan, Bicameral Members of Congress
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting with Bipartisan Group of Members of Congress to Discuss Historic Investments in the American Jobs Plan
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Statement by NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Call with Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council
- Monday, April 19, 2021: Statement by Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger on SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange Incidents
- Monday, April 19, 2021: The Pandemic’s Effect on Measured Wage Growth
- Sunday, April 18, 2021: Nothing! 😄
- Saturday, April 17, 2021: A Proclamation on National Park Week, 2021
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Fact Sheet: U.S.-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership
- Friday, April 16, 2021: U.S.- Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement: “U.S. – JAPAN GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR A NEW ERA”
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Suga of Japan at Press Conference
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Suga of Japan Before Bilateral Meeting
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 16, 2021
- Friday, April 16, 2021: A Proclamation on National Volunteer Week, 2021
- Friday, April 16, 2021: A Proclamation on National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, 2021
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Remarks by Vice President Harris and Prime Minister Suga of Japan Before Bilateral Meeting
- Friday, April 16, 2021: President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Eight Key Administration Leaders
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
- Friday, April 16, 2021: A Proclamation on Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Mass Shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Invests $4 Billion in American Rescue Plan Funding to Combat COVID-19 in Indian Country
- Friday, April 16, 2021: Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Announces $1.7 Billion Investment to Fight COVID-19 Variants
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
DOJ investigating Minneapolis police department Katie Benner New York Times
The Justice Department will investigate the policies and operations of the Minneapolis Police Department, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced on Wednesday, a day after the former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd in a rare rebuke of police violence.
“The Justice Department has opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing,” Mr. Garland said in brief remarks at the Justice Department.
Such investigations are often the precursors to court-approved deals between the Justice Department and local governments that create and enforce a road map for training and operational changes.
We have to remember that, despite Chauvin’s being convicted this week, and several in the MPD coming forward to testify against him, three other police officers stood by and helped while Chauvin murdered Floyd. We have to remember that the original statement the MPD about Floyd’s death was “sorry, a guy died of a medical incident at a hospital” nature. So, the MPD needs some serious investgating.
🎩 hpg
💣 Republicans in Disarray 💣
The Republicans’ base is shrinking Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
The first comes from TargetSmart, a Democratic data firm that has compiled information on more than 98 percent of those who cast ballots last year from individual voter files. The firm finds: “Non-college educated whites dropped from 53.8% of the electorate in 2016 to 49.2% in 2020.” Moreover, “Nationally, total turnout increased by 12% relative to 2016, turnout among [Asian American and Pacific Islander] voters surged by 43% and Latino turnout increased by almost a third of all votes cast.” (While the disgraced former president may have done better among Hispanics in some states than he did in 2016, overall, he still lost 65 percent of these voters.)
TargetSmart’s chief executive, Tom Bonier, told me this means that non-college-educated Whites increased turnout over 2016, but just not as fast as other groups. In other words, the GOP is “running out” of non-college-educated Whites. ✂️
The second statistic behind the Republicans’ collective panic attack has to do with their solid core of supporters: White evangelical Christians. As I pointed out last month, Gallup finds that the percentage of those attending any religious institution has dropped below 50 percent, the first time in 80 years of its surveys.
🍑 Georgia Republican AG resigns from Republican Attorneys General group Tierney Sneed, Talking Points Memo
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) resigned from his position as chair of the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported Thursday, as the organization has faced scrutiny for promoting the Jan. 6 rally that led to the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
Carr, in an April 16 resignation letter obtained by AJC, cited a “significant difference of opinion” among the organization’s leadership, with the “fundamental” difference beginning after Jan. 6 and the “opposite views” about the “significance” of the events of that day. He also referenced “resistance by some” to the decision of the group’s executive director Adam Piper to resign in the fallout from the controversy over RAGA’s connection to the riot.
The day before the Jan. 6 mob, RAGA’s fundraising arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, sent robocalls urging recipients to “march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal.”
Murkowski breaks ranks:
This means VP Harris did not to come over to the Senate floor to cast a vote. It also means that McConnell, who had said there would be no R votes for Gupta (this is what Maddow said on the Wednesday night show), was wrong. It also means Murkowski cares for something more than just the RW agenda. And that is bad news for the Rs.
Gaetz in damage-control matter Roger Sollenberger The Daily Beast
The report also suggests that Gaetz has few friends in Washington. While Gaetz swore off donations from corporate PACs, he kept the door open to donations from candidate committees. But he has so far reported no financial support in 2021 from friends in Congress such as Jim Jordan and Stephen Scalise, both of whom donated to his 2020 campaign. And while he made same-day $4,000 donations to Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) in mid-February, Gaetz did not give money to any House colleagues. ✂️
Gaetz has also continued to rack up legal fees, a pattern established last summer around the time the DOJ investigation was reportedly launched. The Daily Beast reported earlier this month that weeks after Greenberg was first indicted—in June 2020—Gaetz paid the law firm Venable LLP $38,000, nearly four times the combined amount of legal fees incurred in the previous five years. The new filing reveals a $21,000 payment to Venable in February, bringing total legal expenses up to $85,000 since Greenberg was charged.
One pundit thinks the R election fraud claims may backfire Brian Klass Washington Post
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this month contained an ominous indicator of the
state of U.S. democracy. According to the poll, 60 percent of Republican voters still believe the 2020 election was “stolen” from former president Donald Trump — and 55 percent of Republicans think the 2020 election was rife with voter fraud and other forms of election-rigging. ✂️
These authoritarian machinations are a serious threat to American democracy. But what Republican leaders may not realize is that their lies about the quality of U.S. elections pose a serious threat to their political chances in the 2022 midterms, too. Republicans seem not to care about the violent consequences of spreading lies about election fraud or torching faith in democratic institutions. But they might care once they understand that spreading baseless Trumpian conspiracy theories about voter fraud isn’t just immoral and authoritarian. It’s also politically idiotic. ✂️
In Georgia’s 2021 special election, a preview of this phenomenon already played out after Trump spread lies about his election defeat. Two unhinged Trump acolytes, Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood, called for a boycott. Some in Georgia’s Republican party have blamed that attempted boycott for the party’s ensuing razor-thin losses, which handed control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats. Imagine that replicated in all 50 states.
This electoral risk for Republicans is compounded because they’re already going to lose plenty of voters who went to the polls in 2020 to vote for Trump rather than to vote for Republicans more generally. Those low-propensity voters are even more likely to stay home than more devoted Republican supporters if they falsely believe their votes don’t matter.
💙 Democrats Being Cool 💙
Stacey Abrams knows what she’s talking about
Representative Val Demings also knows what she is talking about
Virginia governor legalizes MJ possession starting 7/1 Axios
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday signed a bill that legalizes the possession and growth of small amounts of recreational marijuana starting this summer.
Why it matters: Virginia is the first Southern state to legalize recreational marijuana, and the 16th state in the country to do so.
Details: Under the law, effective July 1, adults 21 and older can possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana.
What he's saying: “This is the latest step we are taking to building a more equitable and just Virginia,” Northam said before the signing the bill. “Reforming our criminal justice system to make it more fair.”
💜 Unity? 💜
World leaders pledge cooperation on climate despite other rifts Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Daly and Christina Larson, AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America’s return to the fight against global warming.
Neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping immediately followed the United States and some of its developed allies in making specific new pledges to reduce damaging fossil fuel pollution during the first day of the two-day U.S.-hosted summit. But climate advocates hoped the high-profile — if glitch-ridden — virtual gathering would kickstart new action by major polluters, paving the way for a November U.N. meeting in Glasgow critical to drastically slowing climate change over the coming decade. ✂️
Biden’s new U.S. commitment, timed to the summit, would cut America’s fossil fuel emissions as much as 52% by 2030. It comes after four years of international withdrawal from the issue under President Donald Trump, who mocked the science of climate change and pulled the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.
🎩 hpg
🌻 Agricultural bill with good provisions for climate has bipartisan backing Ximema Bustillo and Helena Bottemiller Evich Politico
A bipartisan bill aimed at bolstering agricultural carbon markets has garnered enough Republican support to have a good chance of passage in the Senate. It's a positive sign for the industry’s pivot to be part of the solution on climate as the Biden administration seeks sweeping action on the issue.
Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) reintroduced on Tuesday a revamped version of their Growing Climate Solutions Act. The proposal has 17 Republicans on board — more than enough to meet the 60 vote threshold for cloture. Boozman, the ranking member of the committee, had previously expressed skepticism about the bill but now backs the effort.
Russia’s threats towards Ukraine have not been talked about much at Daily Kos, but is really, really important. It’s in the unity section because it would not have happened if Biden hadn’t strengthened our ties with our allies in NATO.
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are), you can support and contact these organizations:
ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union
Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.
Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams
🌱Grass roots. Biden and Harris can do the top-down stuff, but we have to support from the bottom. I don’t know how to deprogram 75 million people, but some things have been written about, such as deep canvassing, and lots of people are talking about this. If you know someone (who did not storm the Capitol), then see if you can be pleasant. Instead of trying to reason with them (logic is obviously not their strong point) distract them with something else. We need to remove the sources of lies and to take down the temperature. If we get more of the Rs to wear masks and to get vaccinated and to vote for Ds, the country will be a better place. We need to coax some of them out of the rabbit holes and diffuse the anger and the crazy.
🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help. Note: they are especially planning to target the 57 Rs in local governments who participated in the insurrection.
👎 Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists, and their current approach to supporting or not supporting the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.
🐍 Schadenfreude 😈
Chauvin is in solitary confinement Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Tim Arango New York Times
Derek Chauvin is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in Minnesota’s only maximum-security prison after he was convicted of murdering George Floyd and led out of a courtroom in handcuffs, according to authorities. ✂️
Mr. Chauvin, who is being held as he waits to be sentenced, will be alone in his cell for all but one hour each day, during which he is allowed to exercise. Even then, he will be kept away from all other prisoners and remain under the watch of prison guards inside the unit. ✂️
The cells are small and contain nothing more than a bench with a mattress pad, a combination toilet and sink, and a tiny shower. Prisoners are allowed to bring in necessities like clothing, toothpaste and soap, as well as a pen and paper. In some cases, they may also receive books, magazines or newspapers, but only if prison officials approve.
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️
This week I want to honor all of those who participated in what resulted in the conviction of Derek Chauvin. President Biden speaks about these people:
Let’s also be clear that such a verdict is also much too rare. For so many people, it seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors: a brave young woman with a smartphone camera; a crowd that was traumatized — traumatized witnesses; a murder that lasts almost 10 minutes in broad daylight for, ultimately, the whole world to see; officers standing up and testifying against a fellow officer instead of just closing ranks, which should be commended; a jury who heard the evidence, carried out their civic duty in the midst of an extraordinary moment, under extraordinary pressure.️
I also think all those who have gone out and demonstrated in support of Black Lives Matter deserve to be honored, because they helped create an atmosphere in which truth could prevail.
⚡️ President Biden expected to recognize the Turkish genocide of the Armenians The Guardian ⚡️ Something like a hundred years late, because the US has always need Turkey more than Armenia.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
This is from a story at the Good News Network, where a restaurant owner offers a thief the chance to change his life. The robber has not yet appeared, but I hope this approach gets used by others.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
COVID-19 hospitalizations down among seniors Matthew Perrone and Carla K. Johnson, AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged more than 70% since the start of the year, and deaths among them appear to have tumbled as well, dramatic evidence the vaccination campaign is working.
Now the trick is to get more of the nation’s younger people to roll up their sleeves.
The drop-off in severe cases among Americans 65 and older is especially encouraging because senior citizens have accounted for about 8 out of 10 deaths from the virus since it hit the U.S., where the toll stands at about 570,000
I found a series of articles about being greener in the kitchen at the Washington Post
Using peels and stems in cooking Rachael Jackson, Washington Post
The leafy bits. Carrot greens, radish greens, beet greens, the leaves tucked into your bunch of celery. If they’re fresh and crisp, drop them into salad. If they’re wilting, think stir fry. If they’re a bit tough, dice and saute them, or spin them into pesto. But do use the greens atop carrots, turnips and the like quickly — the leaves fade fast and the root veggies below last longer without their leafy tops.
Pickle juice. Mix with some oil and herbs, and voila: salad dressing. Class it up with vodka and vermouth for a martini; or tequila, bitters, simple syrup and lime juice for a margarita. You might even chug it after a workout. Some athletes swear by the hydrating, cramp-fighting power of pickle juice. For your latest pandemic baking challenge, Google “pickle juice bread” and brine up a loaf.
Seeds. Just as you roast pumpkin seeds, consider roasting the slippery kernels from their melon and winter squash cousins. Food52 suggests soaking watermelon seeds in salty water, followed by 20 minutes in a 320-degree oven.
Note you can roast leafy bits as well. Husband and I enjoy roasted cauliflower leaves, although it’s important to separate the leaf stem (which needs to cook longer) from the leafy bit, which only needs a few minutes.
Reducing plastic wrap Kari Sonde, Washington Post
Once ubiquitous, these days plastic wrap has product alternatives. With increased consumer concerns about the environment, a quick Internet search will lead you to new products such as stretchy, washable silicone bowl covers; popular beeswax-coated cloth from companies like Beeswrap or Abeego; mixing bowls with matching lids; a dishwasher-safe microwave cover to stop the splatter; even brand new Compostic wrap, a plastic wrap alternative that claims to decompose in 12 to 24 weeks without leaving toxins behind. Writer Kristen Hartke wrote a guide for The Washington Post in 2018 about even more products that can help you avoid plastic wrap, foil and paper towels.
You may not even need a new product. Look around your kitchen for items you may already have, such as compostable parchment paper, and think about making small tweaks to your kitchen practices, whether that means setting a plate on a bowl before microwaving its contents or transferring leftovers to a lidded container.
Enzyme-compostable plastic Science Daily
Despite our efforts to sort and recycle, less than 9% of plastic gets recycled in the U.S., and most ends up in landfill or the environment.
Biodegradable plastic bags and containers could help, but if they're not properly sorted, they can contaminate otherwise recyclable #1 and #2 plastics. What's worse, most biodegradable plastics take months to break down, and when they finally do, they form microplastics -- tiny bits of plastic that can end up in oceans and animals' bodies -- including our own.
Now, as reported in the journal Nature, scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley have designed an enzyme-activated compostable plastic that could diminish microplastics pollution, and holds great promise for plastics upcycling. The material can be broken down to its building blocks -- small individual molecules called monomers -- and then reformed into a new compostable plastic product.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. My 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! Review or rate it positively! Now available on Audible!) Other 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.
Current projects:
Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters
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 get out the vote for special elections.
You can reach out to upset Republicans. We need to win some back.
You can share your ideas below.
🌻
💙 “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.” 💙
President Joseph R. Biden
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.