Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
I heard some pundits discuss about how so much of our country is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) these days, what with covid, shootings, climate problems, inflation, and racism. I’d argue that we can drop the P, because we’re not post at all; so much of it is going on right now.
In these days, hope is not just a feeling; hope is an act. Having hope is SO important. Even if you don’t feel hopeful, do something hopeful. Do something that will make the world a better place. From Psychology Today:
Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Research shows that, on average, human beings are hardwired to be more optimistic than not.
To many psychologists, optimism reflects the belief that the outcomes of events or experiences will generally be positive. Others contend that optimism is more an explanatory style; it resides in the way people explain the causes of events. Optimists are likely to see the causes of failure or negative experiences as temporary rather than permanent, specific rather than global, and external rather than internal. Such a perspective enables optimists to more easily see the possibility of change.
Come in, dear gnusies, and see what those acting with hope 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, July 7, 2022: Statement from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on the Retirement of United States Secret Service Director Jim Murray
- Thursday, July 7, 2022: Biden Administration Announces Nearly $1B in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Improving Airport Terminals across U.S.
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Remarks by President Biden on the American Rescue Plan’s Special Financial Assistance Program
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate providing notice of the President’s intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: President Biden Announces Fifteenth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Kate Bedingfield to Depart the White House after Over 3 Years Leading the President’s Communications Operation
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: President Biden Announces Fourteenth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Cleveland, OH
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Call with Cherelle Griner
- Wednesday, July 6, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris After Meeting with Firefighters
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris on the Highland Park Shooting
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the National Education Association 2022 Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Historic American Rescue Plan Pension Relief for Millions of Union Workers and Retirees
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: Proclamation on Honoring The Victims Of The Tragedy In Highland Park, Illinois
- Tuesday, July 5, 2022: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Launches National Effort to Support Student Success
- Monday, July 4, 2022: Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at Independence Day Celebration
- Monday, July 4, 2022: Statement from President Biden on the Shooting in Highland Park, Illinois
- Monday, July 4, 2022: Statement from President Biden on the Shooting in Highland Park, Illinois
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Conversation With Keke Palmer at Essence Festival
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: What They are Reading in the States: Biden-Harris Officials Lead a Nationwide Economic Travel Blitz
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: Letter to Certain Congressional Committees on the Republic of Finland’s Accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: Letter to Certain Congressional Committees on the Kingdom of Sweden’s Accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: Remarks by President Biden During a Virtual Meeting with Governors on Reproductive Rights
- Saturday, July 2, 2022: Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on National Wildland Firefighter Day
- Friday, July 1, 2022: March 2022 Visitor Log Records Posted
- Friday, July 1, 2022: ICYMI: President Biden Pushes Forward on Tackling Climate Crisis Despite Supreme Court’s Attempt to Take Country Backwards
- Friday, July 1, 2022: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at Richmond and Henrico Health District’s East Clinic
- Friday, July 1, 2022: Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
- Friday, July 1, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Friday, July 1, 2022: President Biden Announces Thirteenth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Friday, July 1, 2022: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with Governors on Reproductive Rights
- Friday, July 1, 2022: 2022 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff
- Friday, July 1, 2022: Statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law Taking Effect
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
👍 Federal judge restores endangered species act provisions rolled back by tRump Oliva Rosane EcoWatch
A federal judge on Tuesday restored a wide swath of Endangered Species Act protections gutted by the Trump administration.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Northern California comes as the Biden administration is working on replacement rules for the Trump rollbacks and means the protections will be restored while the review process continues, AP News explained.
“The court spoke for species desperately in need of comprehensive federal protections without compromise,” Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said in a statement from the plaintiffs emailed to EcoWatch. “Threatened and endangered species do not have the luxury of waiting under rules that do not protect them.”
👎 Boris Johnson is out — and Eugene Robinson thinks this shows the limits of shamelessness. Washington Post
BoJo has finally lost his mojo. The United Kingdom’s mendacious, buffoonish prime minister is gone, or at least going. The question historians will ask is how he ascended so high in the first place.
The quick and easy answer is that he used his superpower, which is complete and utter shamelessness. But his rise and fall suggest a deeper — and, perhaps, ultimately encouraging — explanation that involves the allure, but also the limits, of red-meat populism. ✂️
“Them’s the breaks,” Johnson said in his not-terribly gracious resignation speech, insisting he will stay ensconced at 10 Downing Street until the party picks his replacement.
I dearly hope that those are the breaks. I hope Republicans in this country, and politicians elsewhere who are surfing the global populist wave, learn a lesson from Johnson’s demise. Truth eventually caught up with him. Facts ultimately mattered. Performance routines finally wore thin.
Brexit was entirely botched, and the Brits will be paying with higher inflation and other problems for years. Just as we have to recover from the tRump disaster.
More than 50 ministers have resigned...
👍 Making plans to rebuild Ukraine France 24
Leaders from dozens of countries, international organisations and the private sector gathered in Switzerland Monday to hash out a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will take part virtually, warned Sunday that the work ahead in the areas that have been liberated alone was "really colossal". ✂️
The two-day conference, held under tight security in the picturesque southern Swiss city of Lugano, had been planned well before Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24.
It had originally been slated to discuss reforms in Ukraine, but once the Russian bombs began to fall it was repurposed to focus on reconstruction.
A little easier for many...
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
🍑 It’s not just the J6 committee — Fani Willis in Georgia is coming for these folks!
And it’s not just the Georgia DA — the federal DOJ is on it as well. Summer Concepcion, Talking Points Memo
Republican operatives who have ties to a scheme to put forward fake Trump electors amid the then-President’s refusal to concede last year are reportedly set to turn over information to the Justice Department as soon as this week, according to CNN.
In recent weeks, the DOJ has issued numerous subpoenas seeking information in all seven battleground states where the Trump campaign assembled the fake electors as part of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results. Sources familiar with the investigation told CNN that some of the subpoenas to Republicans connected to the unsuccessful scheme have been asked to provide documents by Friday.
The DOJ’s subpoenas indicates an expansion of its sweeping investigation into Jan. 6 beyond the Capitol insurrectionists. It also comes as special grand jury in Georgia this week subpoenaed several advisors and members of Trump’s legal team who played a role in his effort to subvert the 2020 election results: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was also subpoenaed by the grand jury.
This little story shows both crime and chaos as Idaho tRumper’s refusal to comply with the law messes up her own paycheck Bob Brigham Raw Story
"Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin deferred most of her June 24 paycheck to balance her office’s budget, leaving the budget with less than $1 left before the 2022 fiscal year closed Thursday," the Idaho Statesman reported Friday. "McGeachin faced a shortfall after using her taxpayer-funded operating budget to pay for $29,000 in legal fees. Most of the expenses covered attorney fees for the Idaho Press Club, which successfully sued McGeachin last year when she declined to hand over public records." ✂️
The Idaho Press Club last year won a lawsuit that sought the release of public records regarding McGeachin’s education task force, which was looking for indoctrination in Idaho schools. Reporters had requested responses to a Google Forms survey that McGeachin circulated earlier in the year soliciting public feedback, as well as additional records," the newspaper reported. "A judge mandated that McGeachin release the records and pay the Idaho Press Club’s legal costs. McGeachin eventually asked that taxpayers fund what her office was forced to pay, 'due to unforeseen legal bills related to a lawsuit from the Idaho Press Club after the attorney general’s office failed to properly represent' her."
Her office ended the fiscal year with only $0.72.
More chaos: Herschel Walker lied to his own campaign about his secret kids Roger Sollenberger The Daily Beast
When Herschel Walker’s campaign aides approached him this winter to discuss whispers that Walker had a secret child, the Georgia GOP’s Senate candidate told his campaign the rumors were false.
Walker’s aides already knew he was lying.
They had expected him to lie, and had obtained documents in advance of that conversation verifying that Walker did indeed have another child, The Daily Beast has learned. They handed the documents to him, and after some more back and forth, Walker finally admitted it was true. His aides asked if there were any other children they needed to know about. Walker insisted this was it. ✂️
Emails and texts show advisers discussing how they don’t trust Walker—both to tell the truth to them and to handle campaign events properly—and harboring concerns that he isn’t mentally fit for the job.
He spouts falsehoods “like he’s breathing,” this adviser said—so much so that his own campaign stopped believing him long ago.
💙 Democrats Deliver 💙
Democrats demanding standards Brett Molina USA Today
A trio of U.S. senators is urging support for a universal charging standard for smartphones and mobile devices after the European Union recently agreed on new rules.
In a letter sent Thursday to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont press for a plan to tackle the lack of a universal charger, which they say creates a financial burden for consumers and creates more electronic waste.
"We cannot allow the consumer electronics industry to prioritize proprietary and inevitably obsolete charging technology over consumer protection and environmental health," reads an excerpt from the letter.
I would love this. I am convinced that my chargers and my power cords move together when I am not looking, because I am always dealing with “Kabelsalat” — knots that form when I am absent.
💉 We have talked about this before, but, hey, repetition is good!
Too good to be true? Still, encouraging. Note this is registered voters, not likely voters.
More good news:
💜 Unity? 💜
Majorities across the land don’t agree with SCOTUS Roe decision Nicole Lafond Talking Points Memo
The percentage of Americans who don’t support the death of Roe hasn’t shifted much since Pew conducted its last poll on the issue — 62 percent, overall, said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
But interestingly, a slim majority disagree with the Supreme Court even in the states that have outlawed abortion in recent days and in states where lawmakers are scrambling to pass new restrictions and bans in the wake of Roe’s demise.
(Pew based its assessment of the status of abortion legislation in various states on the New York Times’ tracker.)
Here’s the breakdown:
In the 17 states where abortion is either newly banned or may soon be, adults surveyed were divided almost 50-50 — 52 percent indicated they disapproved of the SCOTUS decision. Pew surveyed 6,174 Americans between June 27 and July 4 to gather this data.
Here’s some information out of Texas Jennifer Rubin Washington Post
If forced-birth activists thought this situation would be popular, they have greatly miscalculated. A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds only 37 percent of the state’s residents support the new law; 54 percent oppose it. Contrary to the new law, the poll reports, only 8 percent and 13 percent of Texas voters would ban access to abortion in the cases of rape and incest, respectively.
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
DONATE TO GNR SAVES DEMOCRACY!
newish!!! Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots 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 😈
Wow. Even Joe Rogan doesn’t like tRump...
Judge holds real estate firm in contempt over tRump case Jose Pagliary The Daily Beast
Cushman and Wakefield, the real estate firm used by Donald Trump to allegedly inflate the value of his real estate properties, has been ordered by a New York judge to pay a daily $10,000 fine for failing to turn over evidence to state investigators.
On Tuesday afternoon, a clearly irked Justice Arthur F. Engoron signed an order ripping into the real estate behemoth for missing a deadline to turn over documents—after having two months to meet it.
Karma feels so good!
More Karma Kicks! This is from the FBI raid a little while back, but the visual is so satisfying! Hey, DOJ, there are some others I would like you to do as well! Nothing like some humiliation to get these guys to think a little harder about what they’re doing.
tRumps no longer on Truth Social Board Josh Kavensky Talking Points Memo
Former President Donald Trump, his son Don Jr., and other Trumpworld figures made quiet exits last month from the board of a troubled social media venture launched to give the former president an online outlet. ✂️
Filed on June 8, the document shows the company seeking to amend its application for authorization to do business in Florida. It specifically sought to remove Trump, Don Jr., Kash Patel, and Wes Moss from the company’s board. It also sought to remove Scott Glabe as the company’s general counsel and Andrew Northwall as its chief operating officer.
TRUTH Social, owned by TMTG, issued a statement on the platform calling the reports “fake news” and disputing that Trump had departed.
“Donald Trump remains on the board of Trump Media and Technology Group,” the statement read in part.
Lots of speculation as to exactly why. Here’s some, quite likely:
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
An Atlanta Grand Jury and Fulton County Fani Willis are pursuing the truth Josh Kovensky Talking Points Memo
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and several members of the legal team that sought to keep former President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election were issued subpoenas from a Georgia grand jury on Tuesday.
The subpoenas went to Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, in addition to Graham. Attorneys who worked on Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, including John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell were also sent the documents.
A Fulton County grand jury empaneled to investigate Trump’s effort to block President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia issued the subpoenas on Tuesday, with a superior court judge signing off on them the same day.
You go, Ms. Willis, you go, girl!
⚡️ And, as most people here know, Pat Cipillone is testifying today to the Jan 6 committee. And the next scheduled live hearing is Tuesday, June 12.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
The Carters celebrate 76 years of marriage… sometimes with that first kiss, you just know Joyce Lupiani, 46 News
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter have been married 76 years.
According to Biography.com, Rosalynn Carter was a close childhood friend of Jimmy’s sister Ruth. But it wasn’t until 1945 that Jimmy noticed Rosalynn.
Carter was in his final year at Annapolis and had returned home for a visit.
Rosalynn was a freshman at nearby Georgia Southwestern College.
One night when Jimmy’s plans fell through with another girl, he impulsively asked Rosalynn to the movies. They shared a kiss afterward and Jimmy told his mother that he had met his future wife.
The couple were married on July 7, 1946, at the Plains Methodist Church just weeks after Jimmy’s graduation.
Puppies protecting newborn kittens
📎Odds & Ends 📎
New California law could reduce plastic waste Paige Bennett EcoWatch
A newly signed law in California, SB54, is set to reduce amounts of plastic waste, improve recycling rates, and place more responsibility on producers rather than consumers to curb plastic pollution.
The new law requires a 25% decrease in single-use plastics entering the market over the next 10 years, and nearly half of that reduction must come from eliminating plastic packaging or switching to reusable, refillable systems rather than swapping plastic for other single-use materials, like paper. According to Ocean Conservancy, this requirement could prevent an estimated 23 million tons of plastic by 2032, or about 26 times the weight of the Golden State Bridge.
Hooray to rhinos!
🌻 If you missed this, please take a moment. Tears pricked my eyes when I watched this.
🐦 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.