Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Apparently, “the luck of the Irish” refers to optimism, stubbornness and hard work, qualities we gnusies share and/or at least admire. Besides, President Biden is of Irish descent, and anyway, I like green, so there you go.
In the GNRs, we have talked about the importance of optimism, because if you have no hope, you will not try, and you are much more likely to fail. We have talked about the importance of persistence (another way to describe stubbornness combined with hard work). Anyway, we need all these qualities in our quest to make this world a better place.
I missed Gnuville this week! I did not realize how much I count on GNRs to keep myself feeling optimistic. Maybe I’m as addicted to them as FOX News viewers are to that station.
Also, because Daily Kos was down so much this week, this offering may be a little shorter than other Friday offerings. Still, pour your favorite beverage, and come on in, and see what some of the optimistic, hard-working, stubborn people 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, March 16, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on Top Three Insulin Producers Lowering Prices
- Thursday, March 16, 2023: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meetings with Democratic Unionist Party Leader Jeffrey Donaldson and Sinn Féin Party Leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill
- Thursday, March 16, 2023: Remarks by Vice President Harris During Roundtable on Reproductive Rights
- Thursday, March 16, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
- Thursday, March 16, 2023: Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Meeting with State Legislators, Health Care Providers, Advocates, and Students on Reproductive Rights in Des Moines, IA
- Thursday, March 16, 2023: President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s ICBM Test
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves New York Disaster Declaration
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Democratic National Committee Finance Event
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Lowering Prescription Drugs Costs
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Biden-Harris Administration Proposes First-Ever National Standards to Combat PFAS in Drinking Water
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Lower High-Speed Internet Costs
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves New Hampshire Disaster Declaration
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023: FACT SHEET: Seniors Across the Country Are Saving Millions of Dollars in Health Care Costs Because of President Biden’s Prescription Drug Law
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Dr. Ibrahim Kalin, Spokesperson and Chief Advisor to the President of Türkiye
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Remarks by President Biden at a Democratic National Committee Reception
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Readout of White House Roundtable, Women Rebuilding America
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: On-the-Record Press Call on the Biden Administration’s New Actions to Lower Healthcare Costs for Americans
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes New Action to Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on February CPI Report
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saudi Arabia’s Historic Purchase of Boeing Aircraft
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Remarks by President Biden at a Democratic National Committee Reception
- Monday, March 13, 2023:Press Call By Vice President Harris on Reproductive Rights
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with Australia Prime Minister Albanese
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia Before Bilateral Meeting
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom Before Bilateral Meeting
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Remarks by President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese of Australia, and Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom on the AUKUS Partnership
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Sequestration Order for Fiscal Year 2024 Pursuant to Section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as Amended
- Monday, March 13, 2023: The White House Announces 2023 Springtime Events
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan En Route San Diego, CA
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Readout of White House State Legislative Convening on Equal Pay
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS
- Monday, March 13, 2023: FACT SHEET: Trilateral Australia-UK-US Partnership on Nuclear-Powered Submarines
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Background Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on the AUKUS Announcement
- Monday, March 13, 2023: A Proclamation on National Equal Pay Day, 2023
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on Maintaining a Resilient Banking System and Protecting our Historic Economic Recovery
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the United States Arctic Coast of the Outer Continental Shelf from Oil or Gas Leasing
- Monday, March 13, 2023: Statement by Press Secretary Kirsten Allen on Vice President Harris’s Travel to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia
- Sunday, March 12, 2023: Statement from President Joe Biden on Actions to Strengthen Confidence in the Banking System
- Saturday, March 11, 2023, Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on First U.S.-Canada Indo-Pacific Dialogue
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with President Salome Zourabichvili of Georgia
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Joint Statement from Mexico and the United States on the Launch of Phase II of the Bicentennial Framework for Security
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, OMB Director Shalanda Young, and CEA Chair Cecilia Rouse
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Worker Task Force Employers’ Roundtable
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Remarks by President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Before Bilateral Meeting
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Joint Statement by President Biden and President von der Leyen
- Friday, March 10, 2023: President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Remarks by President Biden on the February Jobs Report
- Friday, March 10, 2023: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves California Emergency Declaration
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on MAGA House Republican Attack on Medicare, Law Enforcement and Manufacturing
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Letters to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Iran
- Friday, March 10, 2023: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Iran
- Friday, March 10, 2023: FACT SHEET: The American Rescue Plan’s 2-year Difference
- Friday, March 10, 2023: The American Rescue Plan (ARP): Top 15 Highlights from 2 Years of Recovery
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
📫 Mail to be delivered in EVs Andy Corbley, Good News Network
The US Postal Service is going to try and reduce its carbon footprint by buying 9,000 new Ford electric vehicles.
To support the new EVs, the USPS will construct 14,000 additional charging stations in 75 different counties and municipalities.
“We are moving forward with our plans to simultaneously improve our service, reduce our cost, grow our revenue, and improve the working environment for our employees,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, in a statement.
Yeah, this news would be even better if it weren’t coming from DeJoy. Still, he has been forced to do the right thing, so that’s good.
🌊 🌵 🌊 Reservoirs moving in the right direction Susan Montoya Bryan, AP
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Parts of California are under water, the Rocky Mountains are bracing for more snow, flood warnings are in place in Nevada, and water is being released from some Arizona reservoirs to make room for an expected bountiful spring runoff.
All the moisture has helped alleviate dry conditions in many parts of the western U.S. Even major reservoirs on the Colorado River are trending in the right direction.
But climate experts caution that the favorable drought maps represent only a blip on the radar as the long-term effects of a stubborn drought persist.
Groundwater and reservoir storage levels — which take much longer to bounce back — remain at historic lows. It could be more than a year before the extra moisture has an effect on the shoreline at Lake Mead that straddles Arizona and Nevada. And it's unlikely that water managers will have enough wiggle room to wind back the clock on proposals for limiting water use.
Not out of the drought, but a little breathing room, and perhaps the fire season won’t be as bad this year.
✈️✈️✈️✈️ Four fighter jets heading to Ukraine.
Important for the truth!
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
Dozens subpoenaed in classified documents probe Katelyn Polantz, Paula Reid, Kristen Holmes, Casey Gannon CNN
At least two dozen people – from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump’s inner circle at the Florida estate – have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that’s investigating the former president’s handling of classified documents, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. ✂️
Smith has sought testimony from a range of people close to Trump – from his own attorneys who represent him in the matter to staffers who work on the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, including a housekeeper and restaurant servers, sources said.
The staffers are of interest to investigators because of what they may have seen or heard while on their daily duties around the estate, including whether they saw boxes or documents in Trump’s office suite or elsewhere.
“They’re casting an extremely wide net – anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” said one source familiar with the Justice Department’s efforts.
Certifiably crazy? Graham on tRump Joseph Pagliary, The Daily Beast
Former President Donald Trump was so detached from reality after losing the 2020 election that he would have believed aliens arrived on Earth and stole Republican ballots, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told an Atlanta-area grand jury last year. “He said that during that time, if somebody had told Trump that aliens came down and stole Trump ballots, that Trump would’ve believed it,” one grand juror told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which published a story Wednesday based on interviews with five members of the 23-person panel. The special purpose grand jury ultimately recommended that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seek indictments of several people involved in the GOP effort to overturn Georgia’s election.
The Rs are gunning for each other.
💣 Pence implies tRump is a bad Christian Olivier Knox, The Washington Post. Well, yes, he is, but so are many of his followers, so I’m not sure that’s a problem.
💣 DeSantis is having trouble on the campaign trail Jake Lahut, Zachary Petrizzo, The Daily Beast
At any given fundraiser or VIP room where he’s present, Ron DeSantis is usually easy to find—in the corner, keeping to himself.
Despite having a job that entails exchanging small talk and pleasantries on a daily basis, the Florida governor tends to brush off those obligations and struggles with basic social skills, according to a source close to DeSantis, several of his former staffers, and other GOP operatives who have worked with him and his team.
I’ve heard several podcasters opine that DeSantis will be taken out by tRump insults, that he will never weather them and will go the way of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, other Florida gopers.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
💉💉💉 Now all three major insulin providers are doing it at a reasonable price WH Briefing Room
As of this afternoon, all three of the leading insulin producers in America have agreed to substantially reduce their prices, following my calls to expand my $35 cap for seniors to all Americans. Sanofi is the latest company to recognize that charging hundreds of dollars for insulin that costs $10 to produce is just wrong, especially when the lives of so many children, parents, and grandparents depend on it.
My administration is working every day to bring working people and families more breathing room, and we won’t stop. Congress should still pass legislation to ensure everybody can get insulin for no more than $35 per month, along with a Junk Fee Prevention Act, and legislation to make childcare more affordable and accessible.
What Congress should not do is repeal laws like the Inflation Reduction Act, which would represent one of the biggest Medicare benefit cuts in history and raise costs for prescription drugs, health coverage, and home energy—all to give billionaires a tax cut.
Where Congress won’t work with me, I will continue to speak out and act on my own, just as I have to give millions of families life-changing breathing room on insulin costs. After the strongest two years of job growth and new small business applications in history, and with real progress against the inflation affecting countries around the world, I am more optimistic than ever that America’s best days are ahead.
Biden is using the budget to bludgeon Republicans Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
President Biden likes to say, “Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” Biden’s budget shows what he values. And by contrast to MAGA Republicans’ plans, he shows what they don’t value: crime-fighting, debt reduction and tax fairness. Budget comparisons might be among his most effective tools in setting the themes of the 2024 election season.
On Wednesday, deputy press secretary
Andrew Bates released a memo touting Biden’s “new, historic actions in the fight against violent crime, continuing to lead on a life and death issue that the American people demand be addressed.” Bates continued, “As President Biden has warned, the Freedom Caucus plan would defund the police by cutting 20% of federal funding for law enforcement, assuming their proposed cuts are spread evenly.” The White House does not hesitate to remind voters that “a slew of MAGA congressional Republicans advocate for abolishing the FBI and the ATF” and that “Republicans in Congress, joined by the Trump Administration, have spent years trying to defund the police by slashing funding for the COPS program — a key way the federal government supports state and local law enforcement.”
Republicans have not yet released their official budget, no doubt because they are bitterly divided over the extreme measures some right-wing members want to pursue. However, the White House is essentially daring Republicans to dig their own political graves with radically unpopular cuts:
The Biden-Harris administration proposes cleaner water: WH Briefing Room
Yesterday the Biden-Harris Administration announced new action to protect communities from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution. The first-ever national standard to address PFAS contamination in drinking water delivers on President Biden’s commitment to protecting public health and advancing environmental justice. And it builds on two years of action to ensure every community has access to clean drinking water, free of chemicals and pollutants that harm the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities.
EPA anticipates the first-ever PFAS drinking water standard would prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.
This morning, Americans in Michigan, Colorado, North Carolina, and elsewhere saw local coverage – including front page stories in more than three dozen local papers – of EPA’s new standard for “forever chemicals,” which clean water advocates are calling “a huge win for public health.”
Leaders from across the country praised the announcement. Here’s what they’re saying:
Clean Water Advocates
Mark Ruffalo, Climate Advocate and Actor: “After decades of delay, President Biden’s EPA has delivered a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS which, when finalized, will be the toughest in the nation. By proposing to regulate four other PFAS as a mixture, the Biden EPA is also putting our communities ahead of the polluters. President Biden and his team pledged to make PFAS a priority and he has delivered. No Administration has done more to address the urgent threat posed by these toxic forever chemicals than the Biden Administration. My message to polluters is simple: after poisoning your workers and neighbors for decades, it is time to make our public health, not your profits, our top priority. My message to communities devastated by PFAS pollution is equally simple: help is finally on the way.” [Statement, 3/14/23]
Speaking truth, not distraction:
💜 Unity? 💜
Joint REPO statement Press Release from the Treasury
WASHINGTON - Today, after a virtual meeting, the Deputies of the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force released the following statement on the group’s continued work. ✂️
In the year since Finance, Justice, Home Affairs, and Trade Ministers and European Commissioners launched the REPO Task Force, REPO members have:
- Blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians’ assets in financial accounts and economic resources.
- Ensured that Russian Central Bank and Russian National Wealth Fund assets in our jurisdictions remain immobilized, and cannot be used to support Russia’s war effort.
- Seized or frozen luxury real estate and other luxury assets owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians, valued in the many billions of dollars.
- Seized, frozen, or detained yachts and other vessels owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians, and conducted asset tracing activities to identify, locate, freeze and seize yachts, aircraft, and other property located around the globe. ✂️
- Effected the first forfeiture of assets of a sanctioned Russian, paving the way for the transfer of $5.4 million in funds as foreign assistance to Ukraine.
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
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 😈
Are we finally on indictment watch?
The Fulton County jurors heard even more phone calls than the one Raffensperger made to tRump.
Now, no one here is surprised; tRump was calling everyone he could pressure. But, like President Biden said during the the debate: “Will you just shut up, man?” I’m sure tRump’s lawyers feel the same way.
🚢 Guo was arrested this week. He’s the guy on whose yacht Bannon was when arrested by the USPS police.
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
This week we honor women standing up for reproductive rights in Texas. These are women who are telling their painful stories in order to make sure that other women are not pushed either to or through death’s door because of a cruel law. Acacia Coronado, AP
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Five women who said they were denied abortions even when pregnancy endangered their lives are suing Texas over its abortion ban, the latest legal fight against state restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
The lawsuit filed Monday in state court said the Texas law, one of the strictest in the country, is creating confusion among doctors, who are turning away some pregnant women experiencing health complications because they fear repercussions.
“Nobody should have to wait until they are at death’s door to receive health care,” said Nancy Northup, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is providing legal representation for the women. ✂️
According to the Texas suit brought by the five women and two doctors, one woman, Amanda Zurawski, was forced to wait until she developed blood poisoning before being provided an abortion. The four others had to travel out of state to receive medical care for pregnancy-related complications after doctors recommended an abortion because of the deteriorating condition of the woman, the baby or a twin — care that could not be legally provided in Texas.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
Dogs and wishes:
Haircuts for less:
📎Odds & Ends 📎
🌙 NASA reveals space suit that fits women better Rebecca Falconer, Axios
NASA and Axiom Space unveiled Wednesday the first prototype of a "next generation" spacesuit for humanity's return to the moon in 2025 during an event in Houston, Texas.
Why it matters: The suits will be key to NASA's plans to send people to the Moon and the space agency has pledged to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon on the Artemis missions.
Floating solar panels? Paige Bennet EcoWatch
Could floating solar panels be the energy source of the future? That’s what one team of researchers was determined to find out. As it turns out, floating solar panels covering portions of water reservoirs could provide enough energy to power thousands of cities around the world, according to a new study.
The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, found that local floating solar panels could theoretically provide enough energy to meet electricity demands of 6,256 cities in 124 countries. ✂️
Floating solar photovoltaic development could have another benefit as well: conserving water. Because the solar panels would cover around 30% of the water reservoirs, the researchers estimated these panels would reduce evaporation by about 106 cubic kilometers of water each year, an amount of water equivalent to the annual water consumption of around 300 million people.
🐦 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 sequels, Scavengers of Mind and the brand-new 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 — 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 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.