Good Day, Gnusville! So the Lester Holt/AG Garland interview didn’t really have any news in it, but what it did have was a full-throated and emphatic promise that ANYONE who is found to be responsible for obstructing the peaceful transfer of power WILL BE prosecuted. Garland also reiterated that the rule of law means that investigations by the DOJ must remain under wraps unless and until indictments are made for the protection of the people being investigated and to protect the case being prepared. Leaks can sink airtight cases (!) because the evidence can be ruled tainted and/or co-conspirators can be tipped off. The AG and the DOJ are determined to see this investigation through to a successful conclusion — and they will not give in to the immense public pressure to act rashly.
So.
As frustrating as it can be to wait for the Justice Department to charge the hidden figures behind the attempted coup, we are going to have to wait as patiently as possible. Premature announcements and premature indictments can mean really terrible people getting away with it. If you hate fascism, then you cannot demand a fascist approach to this. That’s really hard to accept in the darker moments, but in the light of democracy we all know it is the truth.
🚨 HANG ON! <taps earpiece> what’s that? Ah, breaking news! 🚨
There you have it — the DOJ and the J6 Committee are doing their jobs. Let’s keep putting our energy into the things WE CAN do! I’ll include the action section as always near the bottom of this post, to give you ideas. Scroll through, pick something that seems to suit your talents and get to work, patriot!
But first, how about a whole bunch of good news to encourage you? Coming right up! (right after some Wednesday theme music!).
🎶 Opening Music — Let’s GO! 🎶
💙💉 Good News about POTUS’s health 💉💙
President Biden feels well enough to exercise after five days of COVID treatment, physician says, Maureen Groppe, USAToday, July 26, 2022.
WASHINGTON – After five days of treatment for COVID-19, President Joe Biden's symptoms are almost completely gone and he feels well enough to resume exercising, his doctor said Tuesday.
Biden's pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature "remain absolutely normal" and his lungs remain clear, Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a statement.
Biden will continue to isolate, following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He's expected to be tested for COVID on Wednesday to see if his isolation can end.
🏋🏾♀️ 💙 🏋🏻♂️ Democrats Deliver 🏋🏿♂️💙🏋🏻♀️
Biden poised for big wins in Congress, Yasmeen Abutaleb and mike DeBonis, Washington Post, July 26, 2022.
The first major prescription drug legislation in nearly 20 years. More than $50 billion to subsidize computer chip manufacturing and research. A bill that would enshrine protection for same-sex marriage. ✂️
“Democrats now seem to be hitting a stride where they’re about to rattle off three meaningful victories in a short amount of time, and for really the first time have an open field to politically gain from that,” said Kurt Bardella, a former Republican who now consults for Democrats. “On the health-care bill, this is stuff everybody generally understands. This is not a complex, nuanced policy situation where you may not feel the benefit for 5 to 10 years.” ✂️
Biden advisers said the bills, if they all pass, will help the president draw a contrast between Democrats’ agenda and what they portray as an increasingly extreme GOP that is out of step with most Americans on issues ranging from abortion to same-sex marriage to gun control. But those advisers said they are not yet assuming the bills will become law, and caution there is work ahead. ✂️
Still, the various pieces of legislation could help boost Biden’s public standing, which has suffered as he has faced one crisis after another over the last year-and-a-half. Biden took office as the coronavirus pandemic was raging and killing thousands of people a day, and he saw much of his coronavirus agenda struck down by the Supreme Court.
Opinion Democrats could pass a huge achievement — if they rally behind this measure, Catherine Rampell, Washington Post, July 26, 2022.
Thanks partly to the fickle judgment of Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), the legislative package formerly known as BBB is now, apparently, a health-care bill. Technically, it was a health-care bill last year, too, but it was perceived as mostly a lots-of-other-things bill.
The excision of those many other things (climate, child care, etc.) has been disappointing, to be sure. But a monumental health-care milestone is nearly at hand: virtually universal eligibility for health coverage, which all other rich countries already guarantee. ✂️
Democrats’ ongoing budget negotiations are widely reported to include some other health-care measures. Chief among them is a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for certain expensive drugs, which would save the government money. Another proposal would expand subsidies for individual-market insurance coverage, making these plans more affordable for lower- and middle-income Americans. (This is an extension of a temporary policy change included in last year’s covid relief bill.)
Manchin has reportedly indicated his support for both of these broadlypopular changes. But the fate of those 2.2 million Americans unlucky enough to live in states that didn’t expand Medicaid remains in limbo.
( 😁 sounds good to me!)
SUCCESS Act is bearing fruit
Reminder of the sometimes overlooked benefits of Democratic-led budgetary priorities:
CHIPS bill closer to passage
Let’s hope they use the CHIPS money for new semi-conductor producers and don’t send it all to corps like Intel who posted enormous profits last year and yet did not increase production to meet US needs:
A bill to reduce reliance on China for semiconductors moves closer to a Senate vote, Barbara Sprunt, NPR, July 26, 2022.
The Senate is one step closer to passing a major piece of legislation aimed at supporting domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips that power the nation's smartphones, cars, computers, medical equipment and weapons systems. The upper chamber cleared a procedural vote Tuesday morning, teeing up a final vote this week.
The CHIPS bill, short for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, would provide $54 billion in grants for semiconductor manufacturing and research, tens of billions to support regional technology hubs and a tax credit covering 25 percent of investments in semiconductor manufacturing through 2026. ✂️
The legislation also authorizes roughly $100 billion in spending over five years on scientific research, including more than $80 billion for the National Science Foundation. ✂️
If the Senate passes the bill, it will then move to the House — where there is already strong bipartisan support, including Reps. Michael McCaul, the ranking Republican and the Foreign Affairs Committee, and John Katko, the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee.
It’s really about the science, tho...
Also, Dems and other have some fun with it 😁
Dems are Just Great
Yes, hold their feet to the fire (and kudos for announcing to the public exactly what’s at stake if the voters return R senators to congress):
Dem Sens Call On GOPers To Go On Record About Support For Right To Contraception, Summer Concepcion, Talking Points Memo, July 26, 2022.
Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) on Tuesday demanded that their Republican colleagues go on record about whether they support the right to contraception, a day before Democrats are set to push the Right to Contraception Act through the upper chamber. ✂️
After stressing that the public needs to realize that access to contraception is under threat, Hirono called on Republican senators to go on the record about where they stand on the issue.
“We need to put every single Republican on the record on whether they support the right to contraception and, indeed, the right to bodily autonomy,” Hirono said.
During the presser, Senate Health Committee chair Pat Murray (D-WA) also said the Democratic senators will try to get the bill on the floor through unanimous consent.
Markey said he expects Republicans to object to unanimous consent for the bill. He said that if a GOP senator does object, then that will signal to the country that Republicans intend on giving the conservative-majority Supreme Court permission to repeal the right to contraceptive care.
House Dems also pressing GOPers to go on record
Democratic chairs call for inspector general to recuse in Secret Service texts probe, Whitney Wild and Jeremy Herb, CNN, July 26, 2022.
(CNN)Two top House Democrats are calling for the Department of Homeland Security inspector general to recuse himself from the investigation into Secret Service text messages, saying they lost confidence after he failed to inform Congress for months that messages around January 6 may have been erased.
House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson -- who also chairs the House January 6 committee -- wrote to DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari Tuesday, saying his failure to tell Congress the Secret Service wasn't providing records "cast serious doubt on his independence and his ability to effectively conduct such an important investigation."
"These omissions left Congress in the dark about key developments in this investigation and may have cost investigators precious time to capture relevant evidence," the Democrats wrote. "There must be no doubt that the Inspector General leading this investigation can conduct it thoroughly and with integrity, objectivity and independence. We do not have confidence that Inspector General Cuffari can achieve those standards."
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) Introduces BUILD Act
Senator introduces bill to modernize VA medical centers, other infrastructure, Sara Samora, Stars and Stripes, July 26, 2022.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Tester on Tuesday proposed legislation designed to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical centers and other infrastructure after he and 11 other senators last month blocked a nearly $2 trillion VA plan to close, consolidate and upgrade agency facilities across the country.
The bill, dubbed the “Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver [or BUILD] for Veterans Act of 2022,” would require the VA to develop plans and workforce hiring strategies to complete new facility projects, examine infrastructure budgeting, and provide Congress with its plans and performance data for enhanced accountability.
“When it comes to delivering new hospitals, clinics, cemeteries, benefits offices, and other facilities for veterans and the employees that serve them, we’ve got to set VA up for success,” said Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “The BUILD for Veterans Act pushes VA to modernize and manage its current and future infrastructure needs through common-sense provisions that’ll save taxpayer dollars in the process.”
Vpotus!
🎶💙 Democrats 💙 🎶
Republicans in Disarray
Trump Returns to D.C. and His Minions Can’t Wait to Knife Each Other, Zachary Petrizzo and Roger Sollenberger, Daily Beast, July 26, 2022.
Former President Donald Trump’s first return to Washington, D.C., since leaving office last January has reanimated the backstabby factions within the MAGA faithful—rival groups who have spent the time since his departure planning a way back to power, and who are intent on keeping others out.✂️
“People are using Trump’s good name to defeat him,” Navarro further said of the “incompetent” group of “grifters.” “Trumpism without Trump coup d’état.”
That remark didn’t sit well with AFPI’s communications chief Marc Lotter, who fired back at Navarro when reached by The Daily Beast.
“It is unfortunate to see Mr. Navarro, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, turning into the DC swamp creature he once abhorred,” he said. Lotter further directed Navarro to visit AFPI’s website “for reams of research that build on the Trump administration’s successes, including tough stances on China and continuing President Trump’s China tariffs.”
Publications that usually carry water for TFG and his benighted R party, turning away...
Could it be because of this?
More 👀
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Is Testifying In Probe Of Trump's Bid To Overturn Election, Mary Papenfuss, HuffPost, July 26, 2022.
Kemp was scheduled to present testimony on Monday to prosecutors to reveal what he knows about the former president’s pressure campaign to try to wrangle a change in Georgia votes after his loss, both Bloomberg and The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported.
January 6th Investigations
J6 Committee still hard at work
Ginni Thomas likely will be subpoenaed
DOJ is working hard, too
Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe, Carol D. Leonnig, Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, July 26, 2022.
Prosecutors who are questioning witnesses before a grand jury — including two top aides to Vice President Mike Pence — have asked in recent days about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, according to two people familiar with the matter. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021; his pressure campaign on Pence to overturn the election; and what instructions Trump gave his lawyers and advisers about fake electors and sending electors back to the states, the people said. Some of the questions focused directly on the extent of Trump’s involvement in the fake-elector effort led by his outside lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, these people said.
In addition, Justice Department investigators in April received phone records of key officials and aides in the Trump administration, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, according to two people familiar with the matter. That effort is another indicator of how expansive the Jan. 6 probe had become, well before the high-profile, televised House hearings in June and July on the subject.
‘Kind of Wild/Creative’: Emails Shed Light on Trump Fake Electors Plan, Maggie Haberman and Luke Broadwater, New York Times, July 26, 2022.
Previously undisclosed emails provide an inside look at the increasingly desperate and often slapdash efforts by advisers to President Donald J. Trump to reverse his election defeat in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack, including acknowledgments that a key element of their plan was of dubious legality and lived up to its billing as “fake.”
The dozens of emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates of Mr. Trump show a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim — with no basis — to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost.
In emails reviewed by The New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time, one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly used the word “fake” to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump’s allies in Congress a rationale for derailing the congressional process of certifying the outcome. And lawyers working on the proposal made clear they knew that the pro-Trump electors they were putting forward might not hold up to legal scrutiny.
I still think Pence and his staff were complicit in the coup attempt (they just didn’t know about the other super secret backup plan — the one where Pence and all of them would be thrown to the wolves) and are afraid of implicating themselves. I guess we will eventually learn the truth about Pence, too.
Judge hands down tough sentence to insurrectionist
Man’s 63-month prison term matches longest for Capitol riot, Michael Kunzelman, AP, July 26, 2022.
A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions.
Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he “got caught up” in the chaos that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, and “didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”✂️
That was three months longer than the prison sentence requested by prosecutors. And it’s the same sentence that Chutkan gave Robert Palmer, a Florida man who also pleaded guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol. ✂️
“This is not ‘caught up,’ Mr. Ponder,” she said. “He was intent on attacking and injuring police officers. This was not a protest.”
Funny, I was just wondering what’s become of Mad Caw…
This looks like theft:
Ugh, this assh*le:
🎩 to Andrew Cockburn who posted a link to this story in Sunday GNR comments:
These 16 Republican congressmembers helped Trump try to overturn the 2020 election, Steve Reilly, the Grid, July 21, 2022.
🎶 Music for Josh Hawley and the Co-conspirators 🎶
👀📖 The Deeper Story 📖👀
I found a couple of “deeper dive” stories so I’m going to put them in here for your perusal if you’re interested!
First,
The John Roberts Rehab Tour Won’t Work
It seems that CJ John Roberts is trying to save his “legacy” — or rather gaslight the public about what his legacy actually is. Frankly, I do not think the gambit will work, but his biographer Joan Biskupic, was willing to give it a go. I am including this story not to bring you down but to plant a thought (well, actually a question) — why would CJ Roberts feel the need to try to whitewash his public image right now?
Here is my take: Roberts is undoubtedly behind this article in some way — at the very least he gave permission for it to be published. My guess is that he sees the writing on the wall and he is hoping to get out in front of personal disaster (which for a man well-known for his obsession with his own reputation and legacy would be if he were to be exposed as complicit in the utterly partisan, nakedly unconstitutional theocratic push behind this illegitimate SCOTUS), even if he cannot save the current makeup of the illegitimate SCOTUS and possibly may not be able to save his own position. I think it’s likely that Roberts will stay on as CJ of a court which will have some sort of different makeup within the next year. Either through SCOTUS expansion or (more likely, in my opinion) because of resignations, followed by confirmations of new justices who will not be on his side of the partisan divide.
Pure speculation on my part, but I think it’s very possible. Anyway, on to the article. It’s so cute how Biskupic phrases it as “how Roberts failed to save abortion rights”, as if he had ever tried to save them! 😅😭
Since he joined the partisan SCOTUS majority that voted to overturn Roe v Wade, I think we can assume that CJ Roberts “failed to save abortion rights” because he voted to not save abortion rights. He, in fact, succeeded in eliminating abortion rights with his vote, and that appears to have been one of his career goals — along with eviscerating voting rights and eliminating representational democracy.
The inside story of how John Roberts failed to save abortion rights, Joan Biskupic, CNN Opinion, July 26, 2022.
Multiple sources told CNN that Roberts' overtures this spring, particularly to Kavanaugh, raised fears among conservatives and hope among liberals that the chief could change the outcome in the most closely watched case in decades. Once the draft was published by Politico, conservatives pressed their colleagues to try to hasten release of the final decision, lest anything suddenly threaten their majority.
Roberts' persuasive efforts, difficult even from the start, were thwarted by the sudden public nature of the state of play. He can usually work in private, seeking and offering concessions, without anyone beyond the court knowing how he or other individual justices have voted or what they may be writing. ✂️
In the end, Roberts wrote alone. He concurred in the majority's decision to uphold Mississippi's 15-week ban but called its repudiation of Roe "a serious jolt to the legal system."
CJ Roberts will not escape the judgement of the ages on his true legacy, no matter how many people he gets to write (falsely) about how he is an institutionalist, only called “balls and strikes” (lol), or that he respected precedent and respected the constitution. His actions speak louder than all of those lying words.
Still, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when Thomas (and possibly Kavanaugh and Barrett) are forced to resign for egregious professional misconduct. 🤞🏻🍿👀
How Does the Economy work, anyway??
US economy sending mixed signals: Here’s what it all means, Paul Wiseman, AP, July 26, 2022.
Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.
In the midst of it all, prices have accelerated to four-decade highs, and the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to douse the inflationary flames with higher interest rates. That’s making borrowing more expensive for households and businesses.
The Fed hopes to pull off the triple axel of central banking: Slow the economy just enough to curb inflation without causing a recession. Many economists doubt the Fed can manage that feat, a so-called soft landing.
Bottom line: it’s true that a recession is possible, but not inevitable. My money’s on a blue wave election, followed by a BBB and then a big blue booming economy. A girl can dream, can’t she? 😁
🗳 Speaking of the Midterm Elections… 🗳
I’m not a big fan of FiveThirtyEight, and in this bit of good news, I’d like you to know that even this modest Republican lead in the cgba is fueled by two Republican-friendly/funded polls.
Democrats are meeting the electoral battle on the field we have been presented with:
Beto is a natural and does the work:
🎶 Music for Beto and the Democrats 🎶
Democrats have a Sense of Humor
These are serious times (like all times in human history) but it helps to hang on to our perspective. It’s uniquely human (and resilient!) to be able to tickle the funny bone in times of stress. Since human existence is virtually never stress-free, it may very well be an evolved coping mechanism. Hooray for humor!
Sorrow in Choco Taco town after summer treat is discontinued, Michelle Chapman, AP, July 26, 2022.
Choco Taco, a favored poolside cuisine for generations, will soon be no more after owner and ice cream maker Klondike decided to discontinue the summer treat.
“Over the past 2 years, we have experienced an unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio and have had to make very tough decisions to ensure availability of our full portfolio nationwide,” said a Klondike representative in an email. “A necessary but unfortunate part of this process is that we sometimes must discontinue products, even a beloved item like Choco Taco.” ✂️
The Choco Taco may not be found on many grocery store shelves, but it is a mainstay at community pools and ice cream trucks. Taco Bell sold the treat years ago and recently brought it back for a limited time and select locations.
Laughter also has political power
As Goody rightly pointed out last Saturday, laughing at the wrong wingers is smart politics!
John Fetterman's trolling could win him a seat in the U.S. Senate, Hayes Brown, MSNBC Opinion, July 25, 2022.
There’s a lot of trolling in politics these days, and it often includes inflammatory statements focused on race or immigration status. In a marvelous subversion of those smear tactics, Fetterman’s team argues that Oz is an immigrant who doesn’t connect with the history and culture of Pennsylvanians and doesn’t understand the values of the people he seeks to represent. Not because Oz’s parents were born in Turkey. That’s not a problem. The problem is Oz is from New Jersey.
Oz as a New Jerseyan is a theme the Fetterman campaign and its supporters have hammered hard on the past few weeks. There was the video from “Jersey Shore” star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi wishing Oz luck on his move to Pennsylvania to “look for a new job.” There was the compilation of Oz’s mansions, not one of which is in Pennsylvania. And most recently, there was a video of Fetterman launching a petition to get Oz inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. ✂️
It’s a mistake to think, though, that the campaign only has gimmicks in the tank. The tweets are just a part of an overall strategy that has helped keep Fetterman afloat even as he’s been mostly out of sight. When the pieces are put together, it’s clear that the Fetterman campaign has a solid shot at helping the Democrats hold control of the Senate, if not expand their majority.
🌏🌎 International News 🌎🌍
‘Nazi’ talk: Orbán adviser trashes ‘mixed race’ speech in dramatic exit, Lili Bayer, Politico EU, July 26, 2022.
Just four days after Orbán startled European leaders by declaring countries were “no longer nations” after different races blend, one of the prime minister’s own longtime advisers, sociologist Zsuzsa Hegedüs, quit on Tuesday. ✂️
Hegedüs’s resignation letter — filled with ire — was instantly leaked, turning it into a public excoriation of Orbán’s speech.
“That you are able to deliver an openly racist speech would not occur to me even in a nightmare,” marveled Hegedüs, who has been working for Orbán for over a decade. ✂️
While the remarks drew the predictable opprobrium from a smattering of other European officials, Tuesday’s backlash from within the close ranks around Orbán was unexpected. Resignations are uncommon in Orbán’s circles, and open dissent from allies is even more unusual
Zelenskyy earns Churchill award:
Biden administration doing good work — again:
Here’s Hertling’s assessment of the war (click on the bluebird for the whole thread — well worth it):
If you want to keep up to date on the war without the gloom and doom of corporate media, I highly recommend you watch for updates from Kos, like this one from last night. Markos often points to Russia’s incompetence over logistics — they literally keep running out of gas and cannot keep themselves supplied!
Ultimately, I think Russia will not just not conquer Ukraine, but will actually be routed — and sent back over its own (pre-2014) borders with its stumpy bear tail between its legs.
🎶 Music for Russian invaders 🎶
🔭🌱🔬 Science, Health and the Environment 🔬🌱🔭
It’s about time the medical community — and society in general — took another look at this fraught (and often outrageously cruel) topic:
Obesity was long considered a personal failing. Science shows it's not. Karen Weintraub, USA Today, July 26, 2022.
The vast majority of people find it almost impossible to lose substantial weight and keep it off.
Medicine no longer sees this as a personal failing. In recent years, faced with reams of scientific evidence, the medical community has begun to stop blaming patients for not losing excess pounds. ✂️
To try to understand why, USA TODAY spoke with more than 50 nutrition and obesity experts, endocrinologists, pediatricians, social scientists, activists and people who have fought extra pounds. The reporting resulted in a six-part series, which explores emerging science and evolving attitudes toward excess weight.
The experts pointed to an array of compounding forces. Social stigma. Economics. Stress. Ultra-processed food. The biological challenges of losing weight.
They agree people need to take responsibility for eating as well as they can, for staying fit, for sleeping enough. But simply promoting individual change won't end the obesity epidemic – just as it hasn't for decades.
It's time to rethink obesity, they said.
Mangroves could save Miami
Go read this fabulous article in National Geographic. There’s way too much great work in there for me to adequately quote here under fair use, but here’s a taste:
Can restoring mangroves protect Miami from rising seas? Laura Parker, National Geographic, July 26, 2022.
The 21st century vision of the future is different: City leaders see a resilient Miami Beach at the front lines of climate change, adapting to rising seas and worsening storms by installing massive pumps, elevating streets—and, yes, bringing back the lowly mangrove, nature’s buffer against storm tides. Next week, volunteers plan to plant 680 mangrove trees in the city’s largest park to create a “living shoreline” along the same stretch where mangroves were hacked down a century ago.
Mangroves may have been destined for eradication back then, but today they stand almost unequaled for their benefits to the environment. They’re still not an easy sell here though—even after Miami-Dade County recently rejected a proposal by the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a massive seawall. The county put forward no alternative plan—but mangroves, goes the argument, would spoil the view. (...and mosquitoes) ✂️
Yet the mangrove forest’s ability to buffer against the energy of hurricane-force winds and surging waves is well documented. Mangroves annually shield 15 million people globally from harmful violent storms and save $65 billion in property damages, according to 2020 research published in Scientific Reports. A dramatic confirmation of their value occurred in 2004, when a giant tsunami, one of the deadliest in history, swept through the Indian Ocean. Villages in India and Malaysia that stood behind mangroves suffered less damage and had fewer deaths. In 2005, the Indian government banned deforestation of mangroves.
Even small stands of mangroves can stabilize coastlines against erosion and cleanse polluted water of toxins. Mangroves also act as a nursery for birds, fish, shellfish, and even sharks by providing food, shade, and protection from predators, tidal surges, and heat. As a bonus, mangroves store copious amounts of carbon emissions, as much as five times more, acre for acre, than terrestrial forests.
Promising Covid Research
I’m still rooting for rail!
Montana rail authority leads push for new passenger service, Laura Lundquist, Courthouse News, july 26, 2022.
MISSOULA, Mont. (CN) — More than 40 years have passed since travelers last rode the rails through southern Montana. In the meantime, Montana’s roads have gotten busier while it’s become increasingly clear that vehicle emissions must be drastically reduced to have any chance of averting the worst effects of climate change. Arguing that the time has come for cleaner, easier transportation, Montanans are trying to drum up enough money and clout to revive the passenger line.
In mid-July, that effort got a big boost when the Montana Department of Transportation signed on as a member of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. The department joins Amtrak, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway, three Montana Indian reservations and 18 of 26 counties along the proposed line, in backing the almost two-year effort to bring passenger trains back to some of the more populated towns of the Treasure State.
“Neither BNSF nor Amtrak would be at the table if this were perceived as a flash in the pan or not a serious effort,” said Dave Strohmaier, Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority chair. “The Montana DOT is an important player because we are talking about transportation. I think it’s an important signal to the credibility of the rail authority.’”
Hubble still has stuff to show us, though the Webb is spectacular!
🎶 Music for the World 🎶
💙🐩 CG’s Picks 🐩💙
Hello Everybody! It’s me, Curlygirly! Today, I am going to put in some stories about good humans.
Good Humans
This boy did a really good thing and hard work, too! Good job, Dom! 💙🐾💙
A town didn’t have a veterans memorial. So this teen designed and built one. Cathy Free, Washington Post, July 26, 2022.
A local crew volunteered to pour the concrete if Claseman would purchase the supplies. Then his dad walked across the wet cement in his Army boots to complete a walk of honor with 21 footprints, Claseman said. A granite company from Richmond, Minn., was hired to create the benches and the stone monument.
Then he and his family joined other members of his Scout troop to put in the landscaping and install 280 inscribed granite pavers along the walkway. It took them three weekends, he said. “There were about 10,000 pounds of rock, so, yeah, it was a lot of work,” Claseman said.
After two years of fundraising, designing and sweat equity, the monument was dedicated this year on Memorial Day. The community was impressed that a teenager had pulled off such a big achievement, said Jon Hawkinson, mayor of Olivia. “Dom’s project proved to us that when creativity meets ambition, wonderful things can happen,” he said.
Paddy “the Baddy” is not a Baddy!
I think Paddy should change his stage name to Paddy “the Goody”!
UFC'S PADDY PIMBLETT — EMOTIONAL OVER FRIEND'S DEATH... After Fight Night Win, TMZ Sports, July 23, 2022.
Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett gave a powerful speech about mental health after his big win at UFC Fight Night in London ... revealing he found out on Friday his friend took his own life. ✂️
"There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk," he added. "Listen, if you’re a man, and you’ve got weight on your shoulders, and if you think the only way you can solve it is by killing yourself, please speak to someone. Speak to anyone."
"People would rather, I know I rather they cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week. Men start talking." ✂️
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. (Nifty note: the national 988 hotline is now up and running — so people can simply dial 988 for help).
Christian Smalls started something BIG!
This awesome teenager was being targeted by Matt Gaetz and she told him, “LOL Get rekt!”
These people all worked together to get a little girls’ balloon off the ceiling! 💙🐾💙
Last thing — this made Mama laugh so maybe it will make you laugh, too! 💙🐾💙
⚡️Lightning RoundUp ⚡️
⚡️DK diarist explains the economics it’s excellent! Too Damn Much! The Hidden Reason Health Care And Higher Education Are Unaffordable, Mage11an, DailyKos, July 26, 2022.
⚡️ And l👀k! A growing number of Americans are questioning the value of going to college, Pooja Salhotra, NPR, July 26, 2022.
⚡️ 🤞🏻: Gavin Newsom’s plan to save the Constitution by trolling the Supreme Court, Ian Millhiser, Vox, July 25, 2022.
⚡️ Cue the usual G&D caveat, but it’s a decent explainer: US economy sending mixed signals: Here’s what it all means, Paul Wiseman, AP, July 26, 2022.
⚡️ You’re Going to Miss the Deep State When It’s Gone, David Rothkopf, Daily Beast, July 26, 2022.
⚡️ Here, have a really nice interview: How one author is aspiring to make sex education more relatable for today's kids, Tonya Mosley, NPR, July 26, 0222.
⚡️ Another explainer: The Filibuster Is a Direct Threat to American Democracy, Josh Marshall, TPM, July 26, 2022.
⚡️ Probably not: Could Genetics Be the Key to Never Getting the Coronavirus? Katherine J. Wu, the Atlantic, July 25, 2022.
⚡️ Reimagining suburbs after covid: What if the suburbs were just a first draft? Addison del Mastro, Vox, July 26, 2022.
💗 How Can You Help Build Our Democracy Back Better? 💗
Put your beautiful bleeding liberal heart into it! 🥰
Democratic litigation hero, Marc Elias was the legal eagle behind the 60 Big Lie losses after the election. Here’s his website, Democracy Docket. You can find information about current cases he is fighting to defend voting rights around the country, as well as actions you can take to help fight voter suppression at the link!
Write to voters around the country with Postcards to Voters. Progressive Muse usually posts an update on current campaigns in the comments and you can also check out the website. It’s easy, fun and it really works to GOTV!
🎩 Also, Goody posted a great list of links and I am going to borrow it because it’s great! 🎩
The only way they can win is by keeping people from voting. They are working like heck to make that happen and we need to do all we can to keep 2022 from being a year when they grab the Senate and House back from us.
How do we do that? Fight voter suppression!
What can you do?
HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT CONGRESS:
U.S. House of Representatives:* Telephone: 202-225-3121
* Website: http://www.house.gov/
U.S. Senate:* Telephone: 202-224-3121
* Website: http://www.senate.gov/
Find your member of Congress and contact him or her:
Let them know what matters to you!
Contact your Representative
Contact your Senator
And remember, all politics is local and personal! Let’s work to flip state and local elected positions Democratic!
Sister District Project — organization that is working to help Dems win state legislature races.
NEW!! Goody set up this place to donate to elect Democrats in tossup House and Senate races:
Did you donate yet? C’mon… it’ll make you feel great! 😁
ALSO NEW!! The States Project
Finally, whenever you feel your hope fading, read this again:
The 3.5% rule: How a small minority can change the world — and recall that we are a majority.
Also check this out:
The Albert Einstein Institution’s 198 Methods of Non-Violent Action
There’s a multitude of people all over this country — in both so-called “red” states and “blue” — who feel just as strongly as you do about this world and its future. We can do this!
Here’s a visual to help us keep our eyes on the prize:
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
Tuesday was pretty lit, Gnusies, you have to admit! I’m sure there is plenty of more news I have failed to include because although — in the immortal words of my dad — “I’m still hungry, but my jaws are tired”. I’ll have to stop here for now but feel free to add all the news you can find to the comments!
We’ve still got miles to go, my friends, so remember to take good care of yourself. Get some rest, eat nutritious food and try to get outdoors every day for a few minutes at least if you can. A little fresh air, a little change of scenery can really lift your spirits, freshen your perspective and shake off the cobwebs. If you are not able to go outside, I hope you can sit by a window for awhile and look up at the sky.
I’ll be reading your comments for the first hour after this goes live, but then I have to vamoose for an appointment. But, even if I haven’t seen your comments in the morning, I will read every single one of them when I get back late this afternoon! Thank you!
That’s it from CG and me for another week. Happy Wednesday, Gnusville!
Here’s your classical music!