Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Thursday’s Roundup of Good News!
Friends, I start some travel later today, and asked Mokurai to trade places with me this week. Thanks in advance, Mokurai! Also, because of the travel, this GNR is a little lighter than usual. Although that might be a relief.
“Keep calm and carry on,” is easier said than done.
Earlier in the week, I was exhausted with the news, especially with the concentration of the media on bad polls. OK, I know with my head that polling has been off for a while, and I can tell myself that, but the media unsettles me when they only talk about the bad polls. I’m tired, too, of the previous guy’s face being everywhere (including here).
And I think many of us have some post traumatic stress. Or maybe we’re just sensible, because MAGA is still out there.
But although I could not be as happy as I would like to be — and I kind of don’t trust happy yet — thanks to this group here, I was calm. And I was able to carry on. This has not always been something I could do. When the former guy won, I could not get out of bed for an entire day. And while we were waiting for the results in 2020, I mostly wanted to hide under the covers.
I don’t think I’m the only one. Many of us have learned to keep calm and to carry on. And this past Tuesday was just fine. Damned fine.
Come on in, dear gnusies, and see what the good guys 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 six days’ posts at the White House briefing room.
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with College Athletes
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at a Pittsburgh Workforce Hub Convening
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023: A Proclamation on World Freedom Day, 2023
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at an Augusta Workforce Hub Event
- Wednesday, November 8, 2023:FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Holds Workforce Hub Convenings in Augusta and Pittsburgh, Announces Commitments to Expand Pathways into Good-Paying Jobs
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris on Ohio Issue 1 Reproductive Freedom Ballot Initiative
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on Ohio Issue 1
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on 150th Judicial Confirmation
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Call with President Isaac Herzog of Israel
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Iran
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Iran
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Bilateral Meeting Between President Joe Biden and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: FACT SHEET: Historic Biden-Harris Administration Investments in Child Care Recovery Lowered Costs for Millions of Families, Helped Speed the Return to Work of Hundreds of Thousands Mothers, and Grew the Child Care Workforce
- Tuesday, November 7, 2023: A Proclamation on Veterans Day, 2023
- Tuesday, November, 2023: Statement from President Biden Marking Five Years Since the Thousand Oaks Shooting
- Tuesday, November, 2023: Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on United States’ Suspension of the CFE Treaty Alongside NATO Allies
- Tuesday, November, 2023: Statement from NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s Participation in the Pacific Islands Forum
- Monday, November 6, 2023: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Call with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain
- Monday, November 6, 2023: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Call with President Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates
- Monday, November 6, 2023: Remarks by President Biden Highlighting How Bidenomics and his Investing America Agenda are Fixing Longstanding Infrastructure Needs | Bear, DE
- Monday, November 6, 2023: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Monday, November 6, 2023: Readout of President Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel
- Monday, November 6, 2023: FACT SHEET: As President Biden Announces Historic Transportation Investments, Extreme House Republicans Try to Slash Infrastructure Funding
- Monday, November 6, 2023: FACT SHEET: President Biden Advances Vision for World Class Passenger Rail by Delivering Billions in New Funding
- Saturday, November 4, 2023: Remarks by President Biden Paying Respects to Victims and Thanking Frontline Responders
- Saturday, November 4, 2023: Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials to Preview the Americas Partnership Leaders’ Summit
- Saturday, November 4, 2023: Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on Israel and Gaza
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Press Release: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China.
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Brunswick, ME
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Remarks by President Biden Before the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Message to the Congress — Notification to the Congress Consistent With Section 8 of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967, as amended (22 U.S.C. 197)
- Friday, November 3, 2023: FACT SHEET: President Biden Hosts Inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit
- Friday, November 3, 2023: East Room Declaration of the Leaders of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity
- Friday, November 3, 2023: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at a White House Historical Association Gala
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
Welcoming migrants! Andy Corbley Good News Network
Last Wednesday, WBEZ (91.5 FM) reported that a civic leader of St. Louis visited the Chicago Mayor’s Office to discuss a program whereby migrants from Venezuela could be brought to the Gateway to the West in order to ease the migrant crisis gripping the Windy City just as winter temperatures arrive.
It’s estimated that 20,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, have arrived in Chicago this year, and finding them places to stay has been challenging.
The WBEZ report details that St. Louis is currently in a decline of population and employees, and some in the city believe the migrants and the city would be better off long-term if they moved there.
Judges! Good judges!
Productivity is up Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal seemed almost apologetic about its gloom-and-doom forecasts. “It is easy to make fun of other people’s past forecasts, but considering the hurdles the economy has had to clear, it really is striking that it has done so well,” the Journal intoned. “Add that inflation has cooled despite the addition of 2.4 million jobs so far this year, and gross domestic product is expanding much faster than economists expected,” the report added. The economy even overcame “a regional bank crisis, a sharp increase in both short- and long-term borrowing costs, and the resumption of student-debt payments.”
Less discussed is why this is happening.
One data point emerged last week that might explain how we are simultaneously getting strong growth and reduced unemployment and inflation. The Labor Department reported, “Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 4.7 percent in the third quarter of 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today … as output increased 5.9 percent and hours worked increased 1.1 percent.” Moreover, the report found, “The increase in labor productivity is the highest rate since the third quarter of 2020, in which productivity increased 5.7 percent. From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023.” ✂️
The Federal Reserve chair has taken notice. Reuters reported, “A recent surge in U.S. productivity has underscored Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s emerging narrative for how inflation may continue to decline even amid sustained job and economic growth.” The report continued, “The best-of-both-worlds outcome would rely on the U.S. finding a new balance between the demand for and the supply of goods and services less by ‘destroying’ demand — the way Fed interest rate increases typically play out — and more through improvements in the economy’s capacity.”
“Bidenomics” bet on American workers’ ability to increase productivity, given the proper training and aided by strategic investment. And, lo and behold, with a gusher of public and private investment, it seems that the dream scenario — higher output, higher wages and declining inflation — might just be attainable. If so, Bidenomics might finally get its due.
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
By the time this goes live, the Rs will have debated on NBC. But I won’t cover it unless something extraordinary happens.
I don’t like all polls, but I like this one!
And there’s this:
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Beshear won re-election in deep red Kentucky. Here’s his victory speech:
Bidenomics doing well!
Ds can now deliver voters to the polls!
Apparently this law was around 130 years, and maybe when controls were not as good as they are now, that was reasonable. But this is great.
And some polls are encouraging:
And Biden is less down
💜 Unity? 💜
Actors get a deal! AJ McDougall The Daily Beast
The 2023 Hollywood actors’ strike will come to an end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday after SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative agreement with the studios on a new three-year contract.
A statement from the guild noted that the contract, “valued at over one billion dollars,” had been approved unanimously by the negotiating committee.
Though it did not delve into the specifics, the union posted a thread on X outlining some of its biggest wins, including “‘above-pattern’ minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus.”
The tentative contract is also expected to better fund the union’s health and pension plans, “outsize” compensation increases for background actors, and stronger protections for diverse communities, according to the thread.
The other bits here are about how the country wants the same stuff (mostly) but not about working across the aisle.
The kids are all right:
Feels like unity to me! 😄 💙
Most people don’t like book banning. Hence we see this:
It’s not just PA:
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
!!! Virginia ballots can still be cured! Know any voters in Virginia? Their votes can be cured through November 13. Too many were rejected.
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. Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to 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.
🔎 Want to check out what’s going on with campaign contributions? Check out this diary. 👀
🐍 Schadenfreude 😈
Some Freude and some Schadenfreude
Another J6 guy already in prison…
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
This week I want to honor Hunter Biden, who has had to be more honest than anyone else about his addictions. USA Today
I am not a victim. By any standard, I grew up with privilege and opportunity, and fully accept that the choices and mistakes I made are mine, and I am accountable for them and will continue to be.
That is what recovery is about.
What troubles me is the demonization of addiction, of human frailty, using me as its avatar and the devastating consequences it has for the millions struggling with addiction, desperate for a way out and being bombarded by the denigrating and near-constant coverage of me and my addiction on Fox News (more airtime than GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis) and in The New York Post (an average of two stories a dayover the past year).
The science of addiction and recovery has made great strides in just the past decade. However, far too few will ever experience the miracle of recovery unless we change the stigma around addiction.
For those of us who live in recovery and for those who love someone in recovery, we know how hard fought our newfound lives are in letting go of the shame and making amends.
I’m not saying Hunter Biden is a saint, but he’s been scrutinized way more than most. I also think the death of Matthew Perry has been bothering me too. We need to help addicts and not stigmatize them.
Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, I understand, apologized to each other for the problems they have caused each other. Hunter would not have been so exposed if his father were not in politics. And Joe would not have the albatross of this investigation.
I’m luck that my addiction is coffee and does not seem to cause real problems.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
A great story, although I think many lawns should not be mowed. But there are neighborhoods where they do look better.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
In 2024, in the US, solar predicted to generate 14% more than hydroelectric Paige Bennett EcoWatch
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is forecasting that in 2024, electricity from solar energy will exceed the amount of energy coming from hydropower sources by about 14%. The prediction has been published in EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook report.
EIA attributes this prediction to continuing growth around the U.S. in both utility-scale and small-scale solar facilities. Earlier this year, EIA said it expected about 54% of electricity-generating capacity to come from solar energy in 2023 as developers had plans to add a total of 54.5 gigawatts of utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the U.S. power grid.
Hope this is not due to drought! At any rate, knocking on wood, my own house should get solar early next year.
The EU and Ukraine:
Cigarette-style warnings could get people to eat less meat Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch
Graphic warning labels on cigarettes that show the health risks of smoking are enough to help some people quit, so would the same tactic work for meat consumption?
A new study from the Department of Psychology at Durham University found that cigarette-style warning labels could help reduce people’s consumption of meat.
Researchers demonstrated that using pictorial warnings on meat options has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint in the UK and improve public health, a press release from Durham University said.
Eat legumes: beans, chickpeas, peanuts, soy, peas and lentils… good for the planet, good for your budget, and really good for your health.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), a trilogy about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction: Hunters of the Feather, Scavengers of Mind and Familiars of the Flock (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 — such as The Meryton Murders — and others based on history and Greek mythology, such as Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus, 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 say something nice to friend or a stranger.
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.