Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Are the dams breaking?
Liz Cheney used that phrase in the most recent Jan 6 hearing, where she said the dam was finally breaking with respect to witnesses finally coming forward with the truth. The whole truth, for a change, instead of just part of it or bald-faced lies.
But this isn’t the only dam we have been waiting to crack. For years, we thought people would see the light on so many subjects: climate, guns, forced birthers, and what complete and utter ***holes so many Rs are.
We’ve been waiting for so long, many felt we might as well be waiting for Godot. But, think of the things that have happened recently:
- Kansas rejected the forced-birther movement. All this despite being bloody red Kansas, the vote scheduled for a primary when Ds don’t usually vote, and some lies told to make it unclear which way the pro choice people should vote.
- A gun safety bill — the first in 30 years. Yeah, it’s not nearly enough, but it was something.
- Climate investment bill with Manchin’s endorsement. And Sinema has apparently signed off as well.
- The Ds playing the Rs, only to have the Rs vote against the PACT Act (and reverse themselves this week).
- FOX news has been ignoring tRump. And they let Manchin call them liars.
- The DOJ is moving! In several areas!
- Some good headlines for Biden, too! Written up as good headlines!
But remember: if dams are breaking, it’s usually because we have been attacking them. You. Our allies. A chip here, a pick there, and although sometimes it seems futile, eventually the dams no longer hold.
Of course, we are not done. Evil will not give up without a fight, and the R primaries — made crazier by the more reasonable Rs departing from that party — are resulting in ever-worse, ever-more- dangerous-to-democracy candidates. We will have to keep on fighting and breaking down the damned dams, even as they attempt to rebuild. But in the meantime, welcome to the cracking dams, where some truth and love have already spilled.
Come into the GNR, dear gnusies, and quench your thirst.
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, August 4, 2022: Statement from President Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Meeting with Governor Baker, Massachusetts State Legislators, and Advocates on Reproductive Rights
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Notice on the Continuation Of The National Emergency With Respect To Export Control Regulations
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Remarks by President Biden in Roundtable with Business and Labor Leaders on the Inflation Reduction Act
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Letter on the Continuation Of The National Emergency With Respect To Export Control Regulations
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Remarks By Vice President Harris In A Roundtable Discussion With Massachusetts State Legislators On Reproductive Rights
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden SARS-CoV-2 Update
- Thursday, August 4, 2022: Statement by President Joe Biden on the Sentencing of Wrongfully Detained American Brittney Griner
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Readout by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson of National Security Advisor Sullivan’s Call with Iranian-American Human Rights Activist Masih Alinejad
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of the Republic of Fiji
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Statement from President Biden on Senate Ratification of the NATO Accession Protocols for Sweden and Finland
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Statement from President Biden on the Passing of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: President Biden Announces Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Colombia to Attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris at the First Meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, August 3, 2022
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Bills Signed: H.R. 1057, H.R. 1842, and H.R. 3359
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Executive Order on Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Healthcare Services
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Statement from President Biden on the Third Anniversary of the El Paso Shooting
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: President Biden Announces Nineteenth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden SARS-CoV-2 Update
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: FACT SHEET: White House Takes Action on Climate by Accelerating Energy Efficiency Projects Across Federal Government
- Wednesday, August 3, 2022: FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order at the First Meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, August 2, 2022
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: FACT SHEET: PACT Act Delivers on President Biden’s Promise to America’s Veterans
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Statement by President Joe Biden on Senate Passage of the Bipartisan PACT Act
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Secretary General of Japan’s National Security Secretariat Akiba Takeo
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: President Biden Announces Eighteenth Operation Fly Formula Mission
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Statement by President Biden on the Extension of the UN-Mediated Truce in Yemen
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Remarks by President Biden Marking the Signing of Governor Whitmer’s Executive Directive to Implement the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: April 2022 Visitor Log Records Posted
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves South Dakota Disaster Declaration
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: FACT SHEET: White House Summit on Building Lasting Eviction Prevention Reform
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022: Statement by President Joe Biden on All-Time Low Uninsured Rate
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Remarks by President Biden on a Successful Counterterrorism Operation in Afghanistan
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Remarks by Vice President Harris on Climate Resilience
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Readout of National Security Advisor Sullivan, Secretary of State Blinken, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Milley’s Call with Ukrainian Counterparts
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
- Monday, August 1, 2022: FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Safer America Plan
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden SARS-CoV-2 Update
- Monday, August 1, 2022: Readout of First Convening of Lawyers in Defense of Reproductive Rights and Justice
- Monday, August 1, 2022: President Biden Statement Ahead of the 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
- Monday, August 1, 2022: FACT SHEET: 10 Ways the Biden-Harris Administration Is Making America Resilient to Climate Change
- Sunday, July 31, 2022: Statement of President Joe Biden on the Passing of Nichelle Nichols
- Sunday, July 31, 2022: Statement by President Joe Biden On the Passing of Bill Russell
- Sunday, July 31, 2022: Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden SARS-CoV-2 Update
- Sunday, July 31, 2022: Readout of AUKUS Joint Steering Group Meetings
- Saturday, July 30, 2022: Statement by President Joe Biden Marking the 57th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid
- Saturday, July 30, 2022: Letter from Dr. Kevin O’Connor: President Biden SARS-CoV-2 Update
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, July 29, 2022
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Statement from President Biden on House Passage of Assault Weapons Ban
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Statement by NSC Spokesperson on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Foreign Minister Massaoudou Hassoumi of Niger
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: President Biden Announces Three New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys, One to Serve as U.S. Marshal
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: President Biden Names Twenty-Fourth Round of Judicial Nominees
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Statement from CEA Chair Cecilia Rouse on PCE Inflation Data
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Readout of White House Meeting on Wildfire Prevention
- Friday, JULY 29, 2022: Bill Signed: S. 144
President Biden still has covid. Get well soon, Mr. President! 💙
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
US kills al-Qaeda leader in Kabul Shane Harris, Dan LaMothe, Karen DeYoung, Souad Mekhennet, Pamela Constable Washington Post
The United States has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda and one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, who, alongside the group’s founder, Osama bin Laden, oversaw the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Biden announced Monday evening.
Zawahiri was killed in a CIA drone strike in Kabul over the weekend, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
When U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan last August, Biden administration officials said they would retain capability for “over-the-horizon” attacks from elsewhere on terrorist forces inside Afghanistan. The attack against Zawahiri is the first known counterterrorism strike there since the withdrawal.
More nice international news
And this!
DOJ charges 4 police officers in connection with death of Breonna Taylor Summer Concepcion Talking Points Memo
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced that the Justice Department has charged four former and current Louisville police officers in connection to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by officers carrying out a search warrant in her home.
“The federal charges announced today allege that members of a Police Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home and that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” Garland said in a news conference.
The charges are the first federal counts against any of the officers involved in the deadly raid in March 2020.
Meta (that’s Facebook and Instagram) shuts down a Russian troll farm Rebecca Falconer Axios
Meta announced Thursday it has shut down a troll farm with links to Russia's Internet Research Agency that spread disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign and a sanctioned Putin ally.
The big picture: The action was part of a wider social media crackdown on cyber espionage operations and other bad actors detailed in the Facebook and Instagram owner's Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report.
Driving the news: Meta said in the report that it detected a "physical troll farm operated out of an office building in St. Petersburg," known as Cyber Front Z, a month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, which targeted users on multiple platforms including Twitter and LinkedIn in addition to Facebook and Instagram.
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
DOJ in conversation with tRump lawyers re Jan 6 Katelyn Polantz, Kara Scannell, Gabby Orr and Kristen Holmes CNN
(CNN)Former President Donald Trump's legal team is in direct communication with Justice Department officials, the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021, accelerates, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The talks revolve around whether Trump would be able to shield conversations he had while he was president from federal investigators.
In recent weeks, investigators have moved aggressively into Trump's orbit, subpoenaing top former White House officials, focusing on efforts to overturn the 2020 election and executing searches of lawyers who sought to aid those efforts.
And it’s not just the Feds. There’s NY:
And there’s Georgia:
Crimes. And they know it.
Chaos. Showing that their stunt to vote against PACT was stupid, most Rs vote for it on Tuesday. Unnecessary chaos, an unforced error, but hey, they provided attack ad fodder for the Ds in November. Charles R Davis, Yahoo News
Eleven Republican senators voted Tuesday against a bipartisan measure, the PACT Act, that is designed to help veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals while deployed abroad.
The bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 86-11 a week after 41 Republicans elected to stall the final passage of the measure, citing concerns over its cost. Twenty-five Republicans who voted against the bill last week voted for a nearly identical version of the legislation in June.
The effort to block the legislation caused an uproar among veterans groups, with critics arguing that aid for veterans was being held hostage over GOP opposition to another measure, the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes significant amount of money to combat climate change and lower health care costs.
💙 Democrats Deliver 💙
Biden’s Success Story Mike Allen Axios
First, it’s amazing that they used those words in the headline. The article — worth reading — is about how Biden has invested in the US, and in a good way, remaking the economy. Here are a few paragraphs:
At the same time, the re-engineering of specific sectors is highly consequential — and expensive. Soak up the specifics:
- The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act — which Biden will sign soon, after the House and Senate passed it last week — provides grants, tax credits and other incentives to manufacture computer chips in the U.S. The White House says it'll eventually lower the price of cars, dishwashers and computers.
- Biden could get another huge win with the climate plan secretly negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin. The package would provide new tax credits for buying EVs — plus rebates for buying efficient appliances and weatherizing homes, and tax credits for heat pumps and rooftop solar panels.
- Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill to rebuild roads, bridges and rail is one of the biggest packages signed by a president ever.
🐔🐔🐔 I don’t like to count chickens 🐔 before they hatch 🐔, but here’s a DKos diary 🐔 (AKALib) saying that Sinema has signed off on the Inflation Reduction Act. Which would be a BFD, to quote my favorite president! 🐔
🐔 And yes, she took out the carried interest thingy to protect her patrons. 🐔 I heard some talking heads 🐔 speculating that the carried interest provision 🐔 was put into 🐔 the original bill so that 🐔 Sinema could feel important 🐔 by taking it out. 🐔🐔🐔
How many chickens is that?
Governor Sisolak (Nevada) promotes Promises Made, Promises Kept Press Release
Notable accomplishments in the last six months include:
- $500 million “Home Means Nevada” initiative for affordable housing developments
- $50 million investment into the “Nevada Child Care Fund” to lower out-of-pocket costs for families and expand eligibility to assistance
- $20 million to fund Nevada’s Crisis Stabilization Centers to ensure emergency behavioral health care centers are available to Nevadans in need
- Invested $75 million to ensure schools will provide universal free school meals for all Nevada public schools for the 2022-2023 school year
- Phase 1 of High Speed NV launched in May, with more than $500 million to be invested for broadband infrastructure
- The Governor created the extreme heat leadership and environmental justice teams to create a statewide strategy to deal with extreme heat and ensure equitable solutions to the impacts of climate change
Governor Edwards (Louisiana) announces investments in hurricane preparedness Press Release
BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) announced that an additional $253 million dollars has been allocated to 25 Louisiana parishes impacted by Hurricane Ida through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). This round of HMGP funding will be used to support ongoing recovery and mitigation projects and is in addition to the first installment of $85 million that was allocated earlier this year.
“Thanks to our state, local and federal partners we were able to secure this funding, and I am grateful for all of their hard work,” said Gov. Edwards. “Hurricane Ida devastated our people and our coast nearly one year ago, and while the recovery process is often long and complicated, we will use these funds to not only further the restoration efforts still underway but also on projects designed to minimize the impacts of future storms.” ✂️
Working with our local partners, the goal is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property by lessening the impact of a disaster. Examples of mitigation work include residential elevation, reconstruction or acquisition of flood prone structures and converting land to green space, localized drainage improvements, safe room construction, wind retrofit of structures and emergency power for critical facilities. Hazard mitigation is the only phase of emergency management specifically dedicated to breaking the cycle of damage, reconstruction and repeat damage.
This needs more volume:
This seems too good to be true? NOTE THAT IT IS NOT TRUE. SORRY. MOKURAI RESEARCHED IT AND CRIST IS UP ONLY BY 1%. WHICH, AS HE POINTS OUT, IS GOOD FOR FL.
Kudos to the D Senate for not letting this go:
The FBI did not follow up on literally thousands of tips. Maybe it’s time to re-open this investigation? And it’s time to replace Christopher Wray.
💜 Unity? 💜
Well, close to unity.
How much is Russia paying Hawley, I wonder? Note that Mitch McConnell and Tom Cotton both rebuked Hawley afterwards. Here’s McConnell:
🦞 Here’s something the entire senate can agree on:
Although I’m sure lobster sellers are happy about this, there are so many other priorities.
And, something I appreciate:
📥 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 😈
Alex Jones fined $4.11 million dollars in damages; punitive amount still TBD Justin RohrlichThe Daily Beast
The Texas jury that conspiracy theorist and InfoWars founder Alex Jones publicly referred to as “extremely blue collar folks” who “don’t know what planet they’re on,” found the online pseudo-celeb liable on Thursday to the tune of $4.11 million for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting.
The verdict means Jones now must pay damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress to the mother and father of Jesse Lewis, a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 massacre. After Jones insisted repeatedly on his show that the attack was a so-called false flag meant to gin up support for stricter gun control laws, the late child’s parents were subjected to years of abuse and harassment from InfoWars fans. ✂️
Jurors will consider punitive damages, which cannot exceed 10 times compensatory damages, against Jones and his company on Friday [TODAY].
Note that other trials are pending.
And this trial has been full of schadenfreude moments at the Alex Jones trial. Jones’s phone is the most amusing, and may be the most consequential, both for perjury and possibly even Jan 6.
Maybe they really don’t have the best lawyers. Or maybe the lawyers did it accidentally on purpose? Anyway, there’s a treasure trove of information. I have seen headlines about the J6 committee and the DoJ being interested in this stuff. Here’s a tweet:
And here’s some more:
What the heck is meant by intimate?
And Alex Jones’s ex-wife:
And, some snark:
Just for fun: ⚡️ Joe Manchin calls FOX Host a liar. News Corpse Daily Kos. This happened when Manchin was defending the Inflation Reduction Act.
And
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
This week I want to honor all the pro choice activists — not just in Kansas, but in other parts of the country. Because the people want choice. John Nichols The Nation
But the first statewide vote on abortion rights since the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe didn’t go as the right had planned. Kansans voted 59-41 to maintain legal barriers to Republican efforts to ban abortions. Hailing a “huge and decisive victory,” Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, which successfully promoted a “no” vote in Tuesday’s election, announced, “The people of Kansas have spoken. They think that abortion should be safe, legal and accessible in the state of Kansas.”
Pundits who are now treating the Kansas vote as “a stunning upset” and “a surprising victory” had assumed that conservative voters would support what was widely understood as an effort to clear the way for an abortion ban. But while the pro-choice margin was striking, the win for abortion rights was not exactly a shocker. In fact, it followed a pattern that’s been noted for decades by savvy observers of voting trends.
When reproductive rights issues are on the ballot, even in Republican-leaning states, well-organized and unapologetic pro-choice campaigns have established a winning record. That’s what happened in South Dakota in 2006, when voters rejected a sweeping abortion ban by a 55-45 vote, and where they did the same thing two years later—in a presidential election year—by roughly the same margin. That’s what happened in Mississippi in 2011, when voters opposed a so-called “personhood” amendment to the state Constitution, which sought to eliminate reproductive rights, by a 58-42 vote. That’s what happened in Florida in 2012, when, by a 55-45 margin, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited the state from spending public funds for abortions or health insurance that covers abortions. That’s what happened in North Dakota in 2014, when voters rejected a so-called “right-to-life amendment” by an overwhelming 64-36 margin.
Note the piece refers to “well-organized and unapologetic pro-choice campaigns”. These do not happen without a lot of work. Zerlina Maxwell, subbing for O’Donnell on the August 3 Last Word, had some young women on to talk about their organizations.
Unapologetic is important, too. So many people don’t realize how necessary abortion procedures are for good health, partly because we don’t talk about them. So, here’s my story. I had a miscarriage many years ago, and nearly bled to death. Then, I got pregnant again. They realized something was wrong — the pregnancy was not viable — but because they gave me abortion medication, the second miscarriage was physically much less traumatic.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
For more than 6 decades, he donated blood once a week.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
Australia passes climate bill to cut emissions Rebecca Falconer Axios
Australia's House of Representatives has passed the federal government's bill by 89 votes to 55 to cut the country's emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Why it matters: The landmark bill enshrines into law the Labor government's election pledge for the world's driest inhabited continent — where fossil-fuel exports have been in high demand in recent years as Australians faced a series of climate-change related extreme weather events, from deadly wildfires to flooding.
More good news from Down Under
Life cycle emissions for EV vehicles much lower than gas vehicles Bridget Reed Morawski EcoWatch
Although you don’t need to pay for gasoline to fuel up an electric vehicle, driving one still comes with a carbon emissions price tag. However, according to a science advocacy nonprofit, the emissions associated with an electric vehicle throughout its lifetime — meaning production to driving to disassembly and disposal — are still dramatically lower than their gasoline-powered relatives.
In a recently released report, the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed emissions data to determine that for almost the entire population of the U.S., driving an average electric vehicle would be less emissions-intensive than an average vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Just 3% of Americans would be better suited with an average gasoline-fueled vehicle, although the report did not make clear which areas that included.
But even if you drive in the highest-efficiency, gasoline-fueled vehicle currently available for purchase, more than 90% of Americans live in an area where driving the average electric vehicle would still produce lower emissions.
Saving people during floods in KY
UK Supermarket to scrap “best-before” dates to reduce food waste Cristen Hemingway James EcoWatch
In an effort to reduce food waste, UK supermarket chain Waitrose is getting rid of best-before dates on packaged fresh fruits and vegetables. Starting in September, the staff-owned grocery stores will do away with dates on fresh foods like cucumbers, lettuce and peppers in the hopes that customers will use their own discretion in determining whether food has gone bad, The Guardian reported.
The expectation is that the strategy will keep consumers from discarding food that is still good, thus reducing food waste, Waitrose said.
“UK households throw away 4.5 million tonnes of edible food every year, meaning that all the energy and resources used in food production is wasted,” said Marija Rompani, director of sustainability and ethics at Waitrose’s parent company John Lewis Partnership, as reported by The Independent. “By removing best before dates from our products, we want our customers to use their own judgment to decide whether a product is good to eat or not, which in turn will increase its chances of being eaten and not becoming waste.”
Hiding in Haiti’s inaccessible ravines:
🐦 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.