Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Usually I do most of the Friday GNR before Friday — a lot of it before Thursday, even.
But this week I could not. Anticipation of the first Jan 6 committee prime time presentation meant that anything I wrote would be obsolete.
So I’m doing much of this in your wee hours, before the GNR goes live at 7 am on the East Coast. And I don’t have enough time to process it completely, mainly because watching several hours of programming takes several hours.
But I have noticed that some people are already trying to discount the impact of the hearings, even before they happen. Apparently the let’s-quit-before-the-race-starts David Brooks was on Morning Joe yesterday morning saying just that — “the Jan 6th committee has already blown it” (I’m not going to link, but I’ve given you enough information to find it). And there are various comments scattered around Daily Kos saying that it won’t impact anything.
But let me quote Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, who reminds us this is part of the GOP playbook:
Republicans have played this game before. They insist that exposing an indefensible deed committed by one of their own “won’t matter” because those who have made up their mind (i.e., themselves) won’t be swayed. (Tautology alert!) The media repeats this talking report to sound “balanced” or sophisticated. Polls after the proceedings show that opinion has not shifted much. Republicans then exult: See, we were right! (Funny how they never voiced this argument regarding the Benghazi hearings.)
Such inane and irrelevant commentary is now coursing through mainstream media today regarding the House select committee’s hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection, even though the hearings involve the fate of our democracy and the worst betrayal by an American president in history. Giving the party responsible for the attack on the Capitol veto power over whether the investigation “matters” is, sadly, what much of the news coverage has come to. The only thing worse is pronouncing investigations into hugely important topics “boring.” Ignore it.
That’s their playbook. And some will fall for it. I am telling you not to. Some shocking information — the GOP congressmen asking for pardons — has already come out. And some people may be moved. There’s evidence that people can be moved. And remember, repetition is good. Repetition is good.
However, we can’t assume that this will be the thing that moves people, so keep working in every other way as well. Suggestions on what to do are below; please add your ideas below.
Remember, we are gnus of truth and love and democracy. We matter. We are working, not just to save ourselves, but the whole damned world.
Come in, my friends, and see what others are doing.
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. 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, June 9, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by President Biden and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil Before Bilateral Meeting
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by President Biden at the Opening Plenary Session of the Ninth Summit of the Americas
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Commitments to Advance Food Security in the Western Hemisphere
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris During Meeting with Leaders of Caribbean Nations
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada Before Bilateral Meeting
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Meeting With Leaders of Caribbean Nations
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Remarks by President Biden at the Fourth CEO Summit of the Americas
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Launches the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030)
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: Background Press Call on the Administration’s Operational Plan for Vaccinating Children Under Five Against COVID-19
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: FACT SHEET: Tackling Climate Change and Creating Clean Energy Jobs in the Americas
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Announces Operational Plan for COVID-19 Vaccinations for Children Under 5
- Thursday, June 9, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Proposes New Standards for National Electric Vehicle Charging Network
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Remarks by President Biden at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Ninth Summit of the Americas
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Inaugural Ceremony of the Ninth Summit of the Americas
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris After Tour of Dream Big Children’s Center
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Readout of White House Meeting with Young Leaders on Reproductive Justice and Civil Rights
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan En Route Los Angeles, CA
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Call with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Readout of White House Meeting with Labor Leaders on Health Care and Workers’ Rights
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the CEO Summit of the Americas
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Andrzej Duda of Poland
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials Previewing the 9th Summit of the Americas Economic Deliverables
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Memorandum on Delegation of Authority Under the European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Letter to the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates World Ocean Day with Actions to Conserve America’s Deepest Atlantic Canyon, Cut Plastic Pollution, and Create America’s First-Ever Ocean Climate Action Plan
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on President Biden’s Travel to G7 and NATO Summits
- Wednesday, June 8, 2022: Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Action on COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Improving Health Systems and Health Security in the Americas
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Roundtable with Business Executives as Part of the Call to Action for Northern Central America
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Roundtable with Women Leaders
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at Los Angeles City College’s 2022 Commencement
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS AT A CALL TO ACTION ROUNDTABLE WITH CEOs
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the “In Her Hands” Launch
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Matthew McConaughey
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Remarks by President Biden at Signing of Nine Bipartisan Bills that Honor and Improve Care for Veterans
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Amendments
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Bills Signed: S. 1760, S. 1872, S. 2102, S. 2514, S. 2533, S. 2687, S. 3527, S. 4089, and S. 4119
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Advances Democratic Renewal Agenda at the Ninth Summit of the Americas
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $25 Billion in American Rescue Plan Funding to Help Ensure Every American Has Access to High Speed, Affordable Internet
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Bipartisan Senate Vote to Advance Toxic Exposure Legislation
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Statement from President Biden on Trade in Goods and Services
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on the Vice President’s Engagements Regarding Root Causes of Migration
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces More Than $1.9 Billion in New Private Sector Commitments as Part of Call to Action for Northern Central America
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: Fact Sheet: Vice President Harris Announces the Central American Service Corps (CASC)
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces New Commitments Supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment in Latin America
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Dinner with Business Executives and Leadership of the Call to Action for Northern Central America
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Meeting with Faith Leaders on Reproductive Rights
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Roundtable with Faith Leaders on Reproductive Healthcare
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, June 6, 2022
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Fact Sheet: Biden Economic Plan Delivers Robust Progress in all 50 States
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate
- Monday, June 6, 2022: President Biden Announces Five New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys, Two to Serve as U.S. Marshals
- Monday, June 6, 2022: President Biden Announces Fifth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on Insulation
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on Electric Heat Pumps
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on Transformers and Electric Power Grid Components
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on Solar Photovoltaic Modules and Module Components
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on Electrolyzers, Fuel Cells, and Platinum Group Metals
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Louisiana Abortion Bill
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Declaration of Emergency and Authorization for Temporary Extensions of Time and Duty-Free Importation of Solar Cells and Modules from Southeast Asia
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Bill Signed: H.R. 4426
- Monday, June 6, 2022: FACT SHEET: President Biden Takes Bold Executive Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing
- Monday, June 6, 2022: Readout of White House Meeting with Health Policy and Advocacy Groups
- Friday, June 3, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris Before Air Force Two Departure
- Friday, June 3, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the 90th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
- Friday, June 3, 2022: Readout of White House Meeting with State Legislative Leaders on Reproductive Rights
- Friday, June 3, 2022: Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority Under Sections 1209 and 1236 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, as Amended
- Friday, June 3, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Friday, June 3, 2022: Remarks by President Biden on the May Jobs Report
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
👍 Chipping away at inequality
👍 Nine new trails joining the national trail system this month! Olivia Rosane EcoWatch
As the sun comes out and temperatures rise across the country, June is the time to celebrate the wonders of nature in the U.S.A. The month is recognized as Great Outdoors Month and hosts National Trails Day on its first Saturday.
In honor of both occasions, the Biden Administration’s Department of the Interior announced that it was adding nine new national recreation trails to the National Trails System.
“The National Trails System, which includes national scenic, historic and recreation trails, offers an abundance of opportunities to experience the breathtaking landscapes of our country, all while supporting outdoor recreation activities and boosting local economies,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a press release emailed to EcoWatch. “These new trails will help expand community connections to green spaces where children can play, families can connect, and a love and appreciation for the outdoors can be nurtured.”
👍 Mexican woman in space!
👍 Ford adding more jobs than people realize:
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
After Jan 6, multiple GOP congressmen sought pardons — suggesting consciousness of guilt Tim Dickinson Rolling Stone
Cheney then alleged that a notable GOP lawmaker had similarly rebuffed the committee about his actions to support the house clearing at DOJ: “Rep. Scott Perry, who was also involved in trying to get Clark appointed as Attorney General,” Cheney said, “has refused to testify here.”
Cheney then dropped a bombshell, suggesting consciousness of guilt — not just by Perry but by other GOP representatives:
“As you will see, Rep. Perry contacted the White House in the weeks after Jan 6. to seek a presidential pardon,” she said. Cheney then added: “Multiple other Republican congressmen also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.”
The Jan 6 committee can’t punish tRump directly. But it could help bankrupt him. Jose Pagliary The Daily Beast
The Jan. 6 Committee begins its highly anticipated national reckoning Thursday night by calling attention to the brutality Capitol Police officers faced 18 months ago and diving into details about one of the gangs leading the violence on that dark day.
While it’s doubtful the hearings will meet the sky-high expectations of those who believed the committee would expose open-and-shut wrongdoing from some of the nation’s top officials, the prime-time hearings will deliver one thing: evidence for many of the lawsuits seeking to make former President Donald Trump and other election denialists actually pay for the violence.
“What the committee can't do is hold people accountable. But that’s where criminal prosecutions and civil litigation comes in,” said Edward G. Caspar, an attorney representing injured and traumatized Capitol Police officers who are suing Trump after the violence insurrection.
FBI arrests a top GOP contender for the governorship Matt Shuham Talking Points Memo
FBI agents have arrested one of the leading contenders for the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan over misdemeanor charges related to his actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Ryan Kelley, a frequent right-wing protest leader who attended the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, was one of the few remaining gubernatorial candidates on the Republican side left standing after a massive signature forgery scandal wiped out the race’s previous slate of top contenders.
Kelley was arrested at his home in an FBI raid, where agents also presented a search warrant, local outlets reported. He’s due to appear in federal court in Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon.
“Ryan Kelley, 40, of Allendale, Michigan, was arrested this morning on misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach,” Bill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in an email.
Boebert used campaign donations to pay her own bills. We are not surprised:
At least she was paying back taxes, and not buying herself a golden toilet.
💙 Democrats Deliver 💙
Thanks to climate change, putin’s war, and price gouging, the cost of food is going up most places. Now, some of us really ought to tighten our belts, so that, you know, we could tighten our belts, but this is a real problem that’s bad and that’s going to get worse. The Biden-Harris administration is addressing this. White House Briefing Room
The United States is expanding investments in key social safety nets to help reduce poverty and food shocks in the region and to contributing more funding for humanitarian and food security needs that will improve the quality of life for peoples across the region. The United States is a leader in the global campaign to improve food security, from our work last month as chair of the Global Food Security Call to Action Ministerial meeting, to our pledges at the UN Food Systems Summit and the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, and our recent assumption of the co-chairmanship of the Global Agricultural and Food Security Program (GAFSP). We are working closely with the International Financial Institutions to accelerate the response to food insecurity in key areas including: (i) supporting vulnerable people; (ii) promoting open trade; (iii) mitigating fertilizer shortages; (iv) supporting food production now; and (v) investing in climate-resilient agriculture for the future. We also welcome the prompt implementation of commitments outlined in the International Financial Institution (IFI) Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity.
Joint Declaration of Agriculture Exporters: One-third of the world’s food is produced in the Americas, and the current global food crisis is an opportunity and responsibility for the region to step up to supply a greater share of the world’s commodities. ✂️
Food Security and Humanitarian Assistance: The Administration is announcing approximately $331 million in assistance to support food security needs and to provide humanitarian assistance across the hemisphere.
One of the many problems plaguing the country, thanks to Rs.
Governor Grisham reduces administrative paperwork in education Press Release
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order directing the New Mexico Public Education Department to reduce burdensome reporting requirements by 25%, enabling school leaders to spend more time educating students and less time on paperwork.
“Our kids should be the focus of everything we do at New Mexico schools, and teachers and administrators did not choose these professions to spend their days filling out paperwork,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “While we need robust data reporting and collection to track our students’ progress, we have a responsibility to streamline those requirements and ensure they are not overly burdensome. I hope this executive order has education professionals breathing a sigh of relief today.”
Executive Order 2022-058 sets two directives:
- The department must complete a comprehensive review of administrative reporting requirements for schools and school districts;
- By the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year in August, the department must streamline those requirements in a way that cuts the amount of time spent by teachers and administrators to meet them by 25%;
I know this may seem like a small thing, but I believe that one big reason that the cost of colleges and universities has gone up so much is because many educational institutions are overloaded with administrative leeches, who pay themselves outrageous salaries and who then come up with extra work for the faculty. Yes, the press release refers to earlier education, but the principle is the same.
More on education. Governor Evers improves WI school standing. Joe Zepecki, Up North News
During the last year of former Republican Governor Scott Walker’s tenure, Wisconsin’s education system was ranked just 18th in the country according to the gold standard US News & World Reports rankings.
Just three years later, after two full years under Democratic Governor Tony Evers, Wisconsin schools are back in the top ten, ranking
8th best in the nation.
Evers, the former State Superintendent of Public Instruction and an educator himself, made strengthening public education a cornerstone of his 2018 campaign. Since taking office, Evers has delivered a number of accomplishments in the education space.
You can find the USNW rankings here. It’s good Grisham is taking some action, because NM is dead last in education.
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
DONATE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY! GNR SAVES DEMOCRACY!
newish!!! Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. This has been filled out for the NRA, but, hey, you can use it for a lot of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying?
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 😈
🎻 a tiny violin for Peter Navarro...
🎩 maru
I just liked this:
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
Of course, this week I have to honor the Jan 6th committee and its staff, the people who have interviewed more than a thousand witnesses. Here’s a link to six takeaways Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
In arguably the most important congressional hearing since Watergate, the House Jan. 6 select committee conducted its first prime-time proceedings on Thursday into defeated former president Donald Trump’s attempt to overthrow the 2020 election results. It was gripping, shocking and, at times, frightening. ✂️
#2: The whole plot. The challenge for the committee is to tell a coherent story of the entire plot and to dispel the myth that the coup attempt was only about the Capitol assault. The committee has so far succeeded. Its initial telling of the far-flung plot — peppered with new, damning tidbits of Trump’s willful pursuit of power — was breathtaking. ✂️
#3 The evidence of Trump’s ‘corrupt’ intent. If Trump is ever to be held criminally accountable for the coup attempt, prosecutors will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew what he was doing was wrong and unjustified. Here, the committee demonstrated there may be ample evidence of that.
And here’s a bit of an interview with Bob Woodward on CNN Bob Brigham Raw Story
Woodward was interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper following the select committee's first prime-time hearing.
"Was there anything really new tonight? For minds that are already made up, was there anything new that would convince people to look at this in a new light?" Cooper asked.
"Oh, yes," Woodward replied.
“I think what happened tonight was historic. I think it's a brilliant, truly brilliant presentation by Benny Thompson and by Liz Cheney. Listen to the detail and the — they have it, they have it cold as best I can tell and from my own reporting," he said.
Take that, David Brooks (mentioned in the intro)! I feel good about having refused to read a book by him in my reading group; I would not give him, the let’s-surrender-guy, any royalties.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
There’s dust in my eyes…
📎Odds & Ends 📎
Spain cracks down on food waste Cristen Hemingway James, EcoWatch
In an effort to curb food waste, Spain will require bars and restaurants to provide
“doggy bags” for customers to be able to take their leftovers home if they request it, and will fine supermarkets that discard leftover food. Similar legislation has already been passed in Italy and France.
Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Environmental Affairs Luis Planas said the new bill is meant to reduce the around 2,866,009 pounds of food scrapped across the country each year, reported The Guardian.
“This is a pioneering legal instrument to prevent wastefulness,” said Planas, as the Daily Mail reported.
All entities that sell, distribute or produce food will have to come up with a plan to circumvent food waste, reported The Local. Fines of about $2,148 to $64,445 could be imposed on those that engage in “serious” food waste, and up to more than $500,000 for those whose waste of food is “very serious.”
Food waste accounts for a huge percentage of emissions. I’m glad Europe is finally accepting the doggie bag. Of course, food packaging — I’m thinking of foam containers and many, many bags — can lead to other problems.
🚫 🔫 🚭 I haven’t addressed the gun problem much, possibly because it’s too depressing or because mass shootings don’t seem to happen on Thursdays. But I found this article, with ideas about how to send guns the way of cigarettes, really interesting. Kate Riga Talking Points Memo
An object, cloaked in an aura of glamor and cool, is, or at least feels, ubiquitous in American society. The object is a clear threat to public health — though that fact often gets eclipsed by arguments emphasizing the rights of those who like to use the object. Powerful, monied and well-connected special interest groups stand behind the object, and work fervently to thwart regulation and restrictions on it.
Today, that object is a gun. In our recent past, it was a cigarette.
Cigarette smoke clouding public spaces — airplanes, restaurants, offices — was the norm for decades. For a long time, there was no organized resistance to its pervasiveness.
The federal government was completely unmoved by the pleas of anti-tobacco activists — most of whom, especially in the movement’s nascent years, were women — and took decades to get meaningfully involved. The Food and Drug Administration didn’t even get the authority to regulate tobacco until 2009.
Despite the government’s inertia, the anti-cigarette movement was incredibly successful. In 2020, the most recent year for which the Centers for Disease Control has public data, 12.5 percent of Americans over the age of 18 smoked. That’s a dramatic plunge from the 42.4 percent of adults who smoked in 1965, with the trendline largely sloping down since then.
⚡️ We’re not alone. CEOs demand Senate do something to end gun violence. jamess Daily Kos ⚡️
☕️ 😄 ☕️ Yet ANOTHER reason to drink coffee Good News Network
If you need another reason to start the day drinking a cup of joe, a recent study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has revealed that consuming at least one cup of coffee a day may reduce the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) when compared to
those who do not drink coffee.
The findings show that those who drank any quantity of coffee every day had a 15% lower risk of AKI, with the largest reductions observed in the group that drank two to three cups a day (a 22%–23% lower risk).
“We already know that drinking coffee on a regular basis has been associated with the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease,” says study corresponding author Chirag Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nephrology and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We can now add a possible reduction in AKI risk to the growing list of health benefits for caffeine.”
I’m beginning to think coffee is a health drink. I’m choosing to think that.
We’re still fighting covid, but the good news is that some people are still working hard on it Erin Dogherty Axios
Moderna said Wednesday that preliminary data show that its bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster gives a "superior antibody" response against the Omicron variant.
Driving the news: The bivalent booster candidate generated an eight-fold increase in immunization against Omicron, Moderna said.
- The bivalent booster, called mRNA-1273.214, "was generally well-tolerated," with side effects comparable to the current booster dose, per Moderna.
- The booster contains the original vaccine with an updated version that specifically targets the Omicron variant.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: Hunters of the Feather, a story about a thinker-linker crow who wants to save birdkind from extinction, and the sequel, Scavengers of Mind. (They’re really good! They’re really cheap! Buy and review or rate positively! And Hunters is also available on Audible!) Other stories, based on Jane Austen novels — including a new one for lovers of Pride & Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet’s Advice to Young Ladies — and others on Greek mythology, can be found here. All titles are available through Kindle Unlimited, but I only get paid if you turn the pages.
💙 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.