The secret weapon to saving America is reverse psychology.
One little bummer: reverse psychology doesn’t really exist. Its a made up thing for TV, not an actual psychological theory.
You can see it on lots of shows like this:
This:
and this:
The basic idea is that if you tell someone that they can’t do something, they will want to do it even more (see Tom Sawyer and that fence).
Although reverse psychology isn’t real, that underlying phenomena is very real. People don’t like to have their freedoms taken from them. If they feel like they are, they rebel and become even stronger in their determination to do something. That is called psychological reactance.
And that is one of our greatest tools in saving America.
This is why the affordable care act — which was super unpopular when it was passed — became impossible to revoke. Once you give someone something, they rebel against it being taken away.
So what Biden is doing right now to help America and the American people is smart not only because it is the right thing to do in order to save our economy, our planet, and our health; it is smart because providing for people will make them less likely to accept the shaft that republicans offer Americans again and again.
In addition, there is no doubt that the Republican laws being passed all around the United States right now are meant to keep people from voting. We need to continue to do all we can to fight those laws, but we also have to keep talking about them for what they are — a desire to take a pre-existing right and behavior (voting) away from people. Folks don’t like that, and we may be able to get people to exercise their right to vote — despite the hardships — by reminding them about the very real threats that are out there. The truth is on our side: Republicans are trying to steal their votes. Let’s motivate them by making sure they know about that.
What can you do?
Most important: DON'T LOSE HOPE. This is a giant and important fight for us but, win or lose, we keep fighting and voting and organizing and spreading truth and light. We never give up.
We have so much great stuff going on right now with Democrats in power. We need to organize to win in 2022 so that we can keep this going. What good stuff are we fighting for?
Some Great Things We are Doing
Biden gets down to work
As the Republican Party finds new ways to pay homage to Donald Trump and attack democracy, Joe Biden is pushing ahead with the grunt work of building a substantive presidency that could change the shape of America.
Biden also spent the week working on the core task of his presidency -- ending the pandemic and repairing the economy. He announced a new target to
convince wary Americans to get vaccinated. He made a decision to back
waiving patents on Covid-19 vaccines, which reverberated around the world and could help save millions of lives in poorer nations. Biden also highlighted a
restaurant rescue plan that is typical of his approach -- in that it uses a gusher of government money to safeguard a vital economic sector.
The plan is an apt symbol of a presidency rooted in fixing problems that makes a bet that after a murderous pandemic, Americans have arrived at one of the periodic moments in history when they are willing to endorse the sweeping use of government power to ease social and economic deprivation.
The strategy requires Biden to open a narrow path through tiny Democratic majorities in the House and Senate
New York A.G. wants right wing operatives to pay millions for Black voter-targeted robocalls
Letitia James wants Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman to pay up to $2.75 million to New Yorkers who got robocalls allegedly aimed at suppressing the Black vote.
James said Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman "used misinformation to try to disenfranchise Black communities ahead of the election, in a clear attempt to sway the election in the favor of their preferred presidential candidate."
Nearly one million people signed up for Obamacare coverage this spring.
Nearly one million Americans have signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage during the first 10 weeks of a special open enrollment period the Biden administration began in February.
A total of 940,000 people enrolled in Obamacare coverage between Feb. 15 and April 30, new data released Thursday by Health and Human Services shows. Of those new enrollees, nearly half bought coverage last month, after Congress added billions in subsidies included in the most recent stimulus package.
With that additional funding, the average monthly premium that Healthcare.gov consumers paid fell to $86 for those signing up in April, down from $117 in February and March (before the new subsidies).
Biden administration details plans to conserve 30% of US land and water by 2030
Developed by the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the report lays out initial recommendations for a decade-long initiative -- described as the "America the Beautiful" campaign -- to encourage
local conservation efforts.
"The President's challenge is a call to action to support locally led conservation and restoration efforts of all kinds and all over America, wherever communities wish to safeguard the lands and waters they know and love," the agencies' top officials write in the report. "Doing so will not only protect our lands and waters but also boost our economy and support jobs nationwide."
New York Gov. Cuomo signs bill that automatically restores felons' right to vote after release
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill expanding felon voting rights on Tuesday, according to the state legislature, allowing for people on parole in the state to be eligible to vote as soon as they leave prison.
The
law codifies a 2018 executive order that allowed for Cuomo to individually pardon parolees. According to the bill text, Department of Corrections officials are required to provide a voter registration form as the felon is leaving the facility. Previously, parolees would have to wait a period of four to six weeks to receive a pardon and then must register to vote on their own.
The voting rights law comes as other Democrat-led states move to expand voting access, a stark contrast to Republicans in state legislatures pushing measures to restrict voting. Last month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed legislation that will automatically restore the voting rights of more than 20,000 people convicted of a felony once they're released from prison. And Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, took executive action in March restoring voting and other civil rights to more than 69,000 former felons as soon as they complete their prison terms.
In a first-of-its-kind effort, the Biden administration is asking people from both the public and the private sectors for their ideas about how to make sure the federal government equitably serves historically underserved communities.
Responses to a "request for information" from the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, would help identify gaps in budgeting and policy that aggravate inequality, particularly among communities of color, women, religious minorities, LGBTQ people, disabled people and rural communities, the agency said in announcing the initiative Tuesday.
The office, which works to assist the president in meeting policy, budget and regulatory goals, will coordinate with other federal agencies, such as the Treasury, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development departments.
The effort is part of the Biden administration's plan to address racial inequality throughout "the whole of government" and keep President Joe Biden's promise to use the executive branch to redress racial disparities, an OMB official said.
Trump era rule that made it harder for gig and contract workers to get minimum wage is withdrawn
The Labor Department is rescinding a rule that made it harder for gig and contract workers to argue they were entitled to minimum wage and overtime protections, part of a push to undo Trump-era decisions that favored businesses and employers.
The withdrawal of the “Independent Contractor” rule, which limited the ability of workers to argue that they were misclassified as contractors when they should have been employees, will be published in the Federal Register today and become effective on Thursday.
President Joe Biden is planning to raise revenue to fund his infrastructure plans through numerous tax hikes that would mostly hit the top 0.7% of Americans, a new analysis found.
“The vast, vast majority of the population will not see any tax increases,” Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and co-author of the report, told Yahoo Money. “This plan would really just ask the people who've been very, very successful and have done very well throughout recessions and pandemics… ask those lucky few to pay more.”
Biden admin taps Rich Cordray, former CFPB chief, to oversee federal student loans
The selection of Cordray, who previously was attorney general of Ohio and ran unsuccessfully to be governor, is a major victory for progressives who have been calling on the Biden administration to take more aggressive action on student loans and for-profit colleges.
Biden Quietly Preparing for Food Stamp Increase Without Congress
The Biden administration is quietly laying the groundwork for a long-term increase in food aid for tens of millions of Americans, without going through the ordeal of a fight with congressional Republicans.
The instrument is an obscure U.S. Department of Agriculture shopping list used to determine food stamp benefits, known as the market basket.
A review of the so-called Thrifty Food Plan, ordered by Biden two days after he took office, could trigger an automatic increase in benefits as soon as Oct. 1, a day after expiration of a temporary 15% boost in food stamp payments that Biden included in his $1.9 trillion Covid-relief package.
Biden talks like the most pro-union president since the New Deal
A Post analysis of Biden’s statements, remarks and proposals shows that he often goes out of their way to advocate for unions, much more than other 21st century presidents.
Previous presidents’ pro-union statements often focused on the passage of a specific bill or agreement, such as Barack Obama’s support of the Employee Free Choice Act or Donald Trump’s push to pass a North American trade deal.
Biden has taken a broader view. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order that named the creation of union jobs as a top priority of the administration. Union workers are woven into his plans for infrastructure and climate change. He created a task force to investigate how the executive branch can encourage the formation of unions without approval from Congress.
Biden is proving progressives wrong. And they're loving it.
Progressives were frequently aghast at candidate Joe Biden's instinct for moderation, his nostalgia for a bygone era and a record they perceived as too corporate-friendly and out of touch with his changing party.
But nearly 100 days into his term, some are happy to admit, they may be wrong.
"Many of us were disappointed when President Biden got the nomination," said newly elected Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who defeated a 16-term incumbent in a primary last year. "When you look at Biden's career, he's definitely someone we would call a moderate Democrat."
He is less disappointed today.
"Biden has been incredibly responsive to the progressive movement," Bowman said, recounting a recent meeting between progressive House members and White House chief of staff Ron Klain. "He told us point-blank: Keep pushing us. Keep us honest."
Merrick Garland rapidly erasing Trump effect at Justice Department
Attorney General Merrick Garland is quickly negating the Trump administration’s law enforcement legacy, dismaying conservatives with a burst of aggressive reversals and new policies.
Why it matters: As a former prosecutor and respected federal judge, Garland's devotion to the rule of law has always been core to his identity. That reputation has taken on new importance in his first 50 days on the job, after four years of allegations that Trump's DOJ was improperly politicized.
Liberal fears that the soft-spoken Garland might resist prosecuting Trump and his allies for the sake of unity were partially eased on Wednesday, when news broke that federal agents had raided the Manhattan home of Rudy Giuliani.
The Justice Department also announced on Wednesday that three Georgia men were charged with federal hate crimes in the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, whose death was a rallying cry during last year's racial-justice protests.
Other major steps taken in Garland's first 50 days include:
- "Pattern or practice" investigations into the Minneapolis and Louisville police departments, following the deaths last year of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
- A 30-day "expedited review" into how DOJ can better prosecute and track hate crimes amid a surge in violence against Asian Americans.
- The revocation of a Trump-era policy that restricted federal funding for "sanctuary cities."
- Responsibility for five of the six executive actions on gun control ordered by Biden.
The DNC's 100-day cash haul
The Democratic National Committee raised $15.4 million online during President Biden's first 100 days, beating its fundraising during either President Obama or President Trump's first 100 days, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The haul suggests the Democrats' stellar small-dollar numbers last year weren't solely dependent on opposition to Trump, as many in the party feared. The average donation was $23.
- During the start of Barack Obama's first term, the party raised $427,000; when Donald Trump kicked off his lone term, the DNC raised $4.7 million.
we are motivated!!!
Top Democrats Boast Unity As GOP Descends Into Latest Internal Battle
Top Democrats are making political hay of House Republicans’ latest effort to purge anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from leadership, using the intra-party turmoil as an opportunity to contrast their relative unity with the GOP’s more pronounced public divisions.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer predicted in a Washington Post Live interview Democrats will beat historical odds and gain seats in 2022, pointing to Cheney’s expected ouster and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) being booed at a Utah GOP event.
Hoyer said the GOP is “deeply divided” and called their pro-Trump litmus tests a “real weakness,” arguing that House Democrats, by contrast, “may have a slim majority, but it is a united majority.”
House Speaker Pelosi has gleefully seized the opportunity to bash the GOP, accusing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of “punishing truth, rewarding Lies, embracing extremism & bigotry” and “stabb[ing] Cheney in the back” in a statement on Wednesday.
which leads us to….
The Republican Party is a Freakin’ Mess
Nonetheless, Liz Cheney Persisted
Troublemakers. We need them in our personal lives, as well as in our politics. Not during normal times, when nice, normal people employing nice, normal solutions are sufficient and usually preferred. But during tumultuous times, when it takes a stubborn pain in the ass to punch a bully in the nose. Liz Cheney is the exact kind of troublemaker that the Republican Party desperately needs, but is too decadent to support.
We now have a Republican Party that is angrier at Cheney for saying there was an insurrection than at Trump for inciting one. We have a Republican Party where Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are beloved—and where Mitt Romney is booed and Liz Cheney is run out of her leadership position. During times like these, we all should applaud their “profiles in courage.”
Liz Cheney is standing athwart MAGA history, yelling “Stop!” Even if you’re a liberal, it’s worth acknowledging the stones that takes.
The Republican Party has latched on to ‘woke’ — because it has nothing else
The Republican Party has decided to make “woke” its public enemy No. 1, weaponizing the word against its political opponents.
Republicans have latched on to “woke” out of necessity. They know they need something, or someone, to blame — and fast — for President Biden’s popularity and their own failings. This is especially critical now that Republicans have come under fire from some smart people in their own party for sticking with Trump.
Former president George W. Bush went first, saying that if the Republican Party stands for “exclusivity” and “white Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, then it’s not going to win anything.”
By trying to shut down or marginalize people such as Romney and Cheney, it may soon fulfill Bush’s prophecy of extinction.
Trump's spell over the media broke once he lost his megaphones
Social media interactions about former President Trump have fallen 91% since January, according to exclusive data from NewsWhip.
Why it matters: When Trump lost his social media accounts, he lost his once-immense power to put himself at the center of Americans' attention.
Clicks to Trump stories fell 81% from January to February, another 56% from February to March and 40% from March to April, according to exclusive data from SocialFlow.
Other Good News
Derek Chauvin, three other ex-Minneapolis police officers indicted by federal grand jury
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers on charges of violating George Floyd's civil rights during the arrest that led to his death last year.
Chauvin, 45, Tou Thao, 35, and J. Alexander Kueng, 27, were each charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, according to the indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice. Thomas Lane, 38, was charged once with deprivation of rights under color of law.
A Minneapolis jury last month convicted Chauvin of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, after hearing evidence that he put his knee on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds.
Thao, Kueng and Lane go on trial later this year.
The pandemic has led to innovation. It’s a reason for optimism.
The United States is entering a post-pandemic era. This is happening primarily because of the one aspect of this pandemic that differentiates it from all previous ones in history — the triumph of science. Within a year of covid-19’s outbreak, the world saw the emergence of several high-quality vaccines. This is truly breathtaking. A decade ago, the scientific consensus was that it took 10 to 15 years — and a lot of luck — to produce a vaccine for a new disease.
Over half the adult population in the United States has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Daily infection and hospitalization rates are dropping fast almost everywhere; some states are even reporting zero daily covid deaths. Of course, there are still dangers. Vaccination rates are slowing down, and new variants are cropping up.
Yet even with those caveats in mind, we can look at the United States and imagine life after covid. The forecast is mostly sunny.
The most striking aspect of post-pandemic America is likely to be a big economic boom. Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic paralysis will probably be followed by a sharp rebound. That’s partly because of the differing nature of the crisis, but largely because Washington has flooded the economy with money, so both businesses and individuals have cash to spend.
On the lighter side
And finally, the strangest thing I found when I searched for reverse psychology on Youtube:
Want to be a reason for hope?
Here are some things you can do:
- Campaign Zero has ten evidence-based solutions to address police violence. Contact your city or town government representative(s) and police chief to advocate for these policies.
- Within the evidence-based solutions in #2, Campaign Zero has a project called 8Can’tWait, with eight specific policies to be prioritized to end police violence.
- If you or a friend is an educator, buy said friend books that feature POC as protagonists and heroes, no matter the racial make-up of the class. A few good lists are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. bell hooks, one of the heroes of our time, has authored five children’s books. You can purchase educational toys that feature POC, such as finger puppets, Black History Flashcards, etc for their classroom.
- Donate to anti-white supremacy work such as your local Black Lives Matter Chapter, the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, the NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, United Negro College Fund, Black Youth Project 100, Color of Change, The Sentencing Project, Families against Mandatory Minimums, A New Way of Life, Equal Justice Initiative, and Dream Defenders. Join some of these list-serves and take action as their emails dictate.
- Don’t buy from companies that use prison labor. Find a good list here.
- Find and join a local “white space” to learn more about and talk out the conscious and unconscious biases us white folks have. If there’s not a group in your area, start one.
- Join or start a Daughters of Abraham book club in your Church, mosque, or synagogue.
- Join your local Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) group. There is a lot of awesome work going on locally — Get involved in the projects that speak to you.
- Do deep canvassing about race and racial justice. Many SURJ groups are organizing them, so many people can do it through your local SURJ group. If they’re not already doing it, start it.
- Don’t be silent about that racist joke. Silence is support.
I am so lucky and so proud to be in this with you ✊🏾✊🏻♥💙💚💛💜🧡✊🏽✊🏻