Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
We’re doing a re-run of 2020. Dejà vu all over again. The same candidates, but we know them even better. President Biden has been fantastic, beating my expectations, and tRump out of office has been as disgusting as ever.
Before we get to the buffet of nourishing good news, I want to serve up a few warnings. Yes, the Ds are in better shape as long as the elections are fair, or, at least as fair as the current state of gerrymandering and the Electoral College permit.
However, they will not necessarily be fair. Although I believe enthusiasm has waned among some magas, there are others who are desperate, including tRump, putin, and all who support them. And these guys do NOT play fair.
So, we must roar and vote in numbers too big to ignore. To quote tRump — and he can turn a phrase — we must vote in numbers too big to rig. And work against the shenanigans. And then, although I’m sure there will be outcries when he loses, maybe, at long last, we can stop hearing about the creep all the time.
Come on in, dear gnusies, and enjoy some good news before getting on with your Friday! And, as I am currently in Arizona, there’s a lot of Arizona news.
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 7, 2024: Remarks of President Joe Biden — State of the Union Address As Prepared for Delivery
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: Announcement of the Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: Excerpts from President Biden’s State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: Background Press Call on Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Ahead of the State of the Union
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden Welcoming Sweden to NATO
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Plan to Lower Housing Costs for Working Families
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: Press Call by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard and Senior Administration Officials Previewing President Biden’s State of the Union Address and Economic Agenda
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Continues the Fight for Reproductive Freedom
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: The White House Announces Guest List for the First Lady’s Box for the 2024 State of the Union Address
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Is Fighting to Reduce the Deficit, Cut Taxes for Working Families, and Invest in America by Making Big Corporations and the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
- Thursday, March 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Is Taking Action to Lower Costs for Families and Fight Corporate Rip-Offs
- Wednesday, March 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order: Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums
- Wednesday, March 7, 2024: Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Readout of White House Roundtable on Lowering Healthcare Costs and Bringing Transparency to Prescription Drug Middlemen
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the National PTA 2024 Legislative Conference
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Remarks by President Biden and Members of the Competition Council Announcing New Actions to Lower Costs for Hardworking Families by Fighting Corporate Rip-offs
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Venezuela.
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Press Release: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Venezuela
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Remarks by President Biden Before Boarding Air Force One | Hagerstown, MD
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Protects Stability and Sustainability of Colorado River Basin, Advances Water Conservation Across the West
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris On the Graduation of NASA Astronaut Group 23
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: Biden-Harris Administration Announces the Application Period for Fall Session of the White House Internship Program
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Lower Costs for Americans by Fighting Corporate Rip-Offs
- Monday, March 4, 2024: On-the-Record Press Gaggle by White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the 18th Annual International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Meeting with Member of Israeli War Cabinet Gantz
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Remarks by Vice President Harris in Press Gaggle
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Letters to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Ukraine
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Press Release: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Ukraine
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on Progress on Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
- Monday, March 4, 2024: Statement by National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on U.S. Sanctions on Zimbabwean Individuals and Entities
- Sunday, March 3, 2024: Remarks by Vice President Harris Commemorating the 59th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday | Selma, AL
- Saturday, March 2, 2024: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Vermont Disaster Declaration
- Saturday, March 2, 2024: Background Press Call on the Humanitarian Assistance Airdrop into Gaza
- Saturday, March 2, 2024: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on AstraZeneca v. Becerra
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Readout of White House Roundtable on Increasing Tribal Access to CapitalFriday, March 1, 2024: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Meloni of the Italian Republic
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Letter to Certain Congressional Committees Regarding the Annual Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the United States’ use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on Access to Medication Abortion Through Major Retail Pharmacies
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Remarks by Vice President Harris on Historic Investments in Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Increasing Access to Capital, and Supporting Small Businesses | Durham, NC
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 7463
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on Major Retail Pharmacies Becoming Certified to Dispense Safe and Effective Medication Abortion
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Readout: White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention Hosts Briefing on Mental Health with Department of Education and HBCUs
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Remarks by President Biden After Operation Briefing | Brownsville, TX
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Proclamation on Read Across America Day, 2024
- Friday, March 1, 2024: A Proclamation on National Consumer Protection Week, 2024
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Readout: In Wake of Alabama Supreme Court Ruling That Has Halted Access to IVF, White House Hosts Convening with Advocacy Groups to Discuss Importance of Work to Protect Access to Fertility Services
- Friday, March 1, 2024: Vice President Harris Announces Tens of Millions of Dollars for Historically Underserved Entrepreneurs in North Carolina as part of Administration’s Strategy to Invest in American Small Businesses
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
👍 🏠 President Biden wants to help people buy a house: (about tax credits)
👍 EPA posts requests for bids to clean up the air in ports EPA Website — an example of how the Inflation Reduction Act is being implemented
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides EPA with $3 billion to fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning at U.S. ports. This new funding program will build on EPA’s Ports Initiative that helps our nation’s ports, a critical part of our infrastructure and supply chain, address public health and environmental impacts on surrounding communities.
EPA has announced two separate Notices of Funding Opportunities to disburse the allocated $3 billion - the Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition AND the Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition. The two NOFOs will be used to fund approximately $2.8 billion in zero-emission technology deployment at ports, as well as approximately $150 million for climate and air quality planning. Both NOFOs are open now, until the application deadline at 11:59 PM on May 28, 2024. EPA anticipates notifying selectees by September 2024 and awarding the grants by December 2024.
Note they want to award the grants by the end of this year, so they’re in progress even if there is a change in government.
👎 Alabama back pedals and decides to protect IVF Talking Points Memo
As you know, Alabama created a firestorm last month when the state’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos in IVF clinics are the legal equivalent of minor children. This ruling sent shockwaves through the United States, pushed a new dimension of the Dobbs/abortion debate to the top of the national election debate and temporarily shuttered the state’s IVF fertility clinics. In response Alabama has now passed a law which appears to have created enough legal assurance to allow the state’s clinics to reopen. This is not just a win for reproductive rights in the state. Numerous couples had their ongoing fertility treatment halted by the ruling.
But as in-state critics have made clear, the new legislation is at best a band-aid rather than a solution.
👎 Senator Sinema decides not to run for the Senate — 8 reasons to celebrate, Walter Einenkel Daily Kos
I’m not citing paragraphs from this as the reasons are at this site, but as she is my senator, I wanted to add a few words. I knew nothing about Sinema when she was elected to the senate, but I knew a lot about Martha McSally, as McSally represented my district before she was appointed to the senate after John McCain died.
McSally was awful, and Sinema was a great step forward, and although she didn’t help us get all we wanted, she helped us get a lot done. She was great in getting the Respect for Marriage Act passed, and she was a vote we needed on many of the judges. She helped with a few really important bills. She was working hard on the border deal, and if that had passed, she might have stayed in the race.
But her intransigence prevented other important things from getting done. She wasn’t alone; she decided to ally herself with Joe Manchin, and they stopped Build Back Better and held up a lot of Biden’s agenda, including increasing the minimum wage and reproductive rights. We would be in much better shape if things had been passed in 2021 instead of 2022.
I respected some things, such as her choice to take her oath of office on a law book and not on the Bible. And I think some outrage against her was misplaced. A memo was leaked about how she begged staffers not to call her after 8 pm unless it was an emergency. Well, I sympathize with that, as well as her hatred of getting into airplanes. Those are perfectly normal things for her to tell her staff.
And when she decided to go independent, she made her announcement shortly after the 2022 midterms. People complained about the timing, but really, if she was going to do it, that was the best moment in terms of doing the least harm to the D party.
Still, she could have been so much better! Mark Kelly has been an unabashed D. So, Sinema, we won’t miss you and your weirdness.
👍 Department of Energy finalizes standards for washers and dryers Paige Bennett EcoWatch
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced finalized energy efficiency standards for washing machines and dryers.
According to the DOE, the new standards could save U.S. households a total of $2.2 billion annually on utility costs, with savings of up to $39 billion on energy and water bills over 30 years. Additionally, the measures are expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 71 million metric tons.
“With these rules in place, Americans can be confident that they are saving money, water, and energy with every cycle. The broad support for these rules shows that efficiency standards are a winner all around,” Joe Vukovich, staff attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement. “These standards will make sure our washers and dryers are not needlessly wasting energy, while also cutting carbon pollution by a combined 71 million metric tons over 30 years.”
The Biden-Harris government, quietly at work, making the world better.
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
An Op Ed Jim Young The Oklahoman
I believe that Joe Biden and his followers in Washington have been in the top five of the worst political leaders we have ever seen in this country’s history. Outrageous mismanagement of the southern border, historic levels of inflation, existentially dangerous, out-of-control spending and government debt are his legacy. ✂️
However, recently, for some reason, I purchased and downloaded a book by Liz Cheney titled "Oath and Honor, a Memoir and a Warning." This book was published in late 2023, and it details Mrs. Cheney’s involvement as a senior leader behind the investigation of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. It is extremely detailed and very well organized. Liz goes to great pains to be objective, factual and fair in her description of how the committee was formed and how it operated for about 18 months from June 2021 to December 2022. ✂️
I was very surprised and proud of myself having read the entire book! More surprising is what an impact it has had on my thinking about Trump’s role in the whole process of attempting to overturn the results of the election and the incitement of the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol. I even went further after finishing Liz’s book. I was inspired to read the entire Executive Summary of the official finding of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, which is about 100 pages of a pdf document not including about 800 footnotes! Finally, I have read the actual indictment filed by the Justice Department against Mr. Trump. All three documents, the book, the findings and the indictment are very clear, well documented and all tell a very consistent story. ✂️
After reading Liz Cheney’s book, the committee findings and the DOJ indictment, I do not understand how Donald Trump can possibly be considered as a legitimate candidate for the most important job in the world. Frankly, I don’t understand how he is not in jail right now.
Having subjected you to my own opinion I will go no further than to implore you, before you cast a vote or support Donald Trump, please take the time to read Liz Cheney’s book, or the committee findings or the DOJ indictment. The future of our society depends on it.
Glad Cheney was able to persuade at least one voter — who we can see needs to go to other sources so he understands what great things Biden has done. But hey, it’s a great step in the good direction.
Most GOP politicians are pretending they adore tRump. But here’s an honest look:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch can’t bring itself to endorse Biden but they swing hard against tRump Editorial Board
Republicans and conservatives of good conscience who can’t bring themselves to vote for President Joe Biden — fine — should at least consider any alternative that doesn’t give a vote to this unstable, malicious man and his dangerous movement.
The threat here goes far beyond policy or partisanship. That should be evident to anyone who has paid attention to Trump’s entire political career, but especially its arc since he tried to overthrow the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.
He followed that irredeemable violation of his oath with suggestions that the Constitution should be suspended to return him to office, that his political enemies should be executed, that the American military should be used against American protesters, and that he should enjoy “complete and total immunity” — for life — for crimes committed while in office.
None of this is wild speculation from Trump’s political enemies. These are all publicly expressed notions from Trump’s own mouth, his social-media thumbs and his defense strategy in criminal court.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Handsome Joe did great at the SOTU!
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America. Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. “
“Now some other people my age see a different story. An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.
That’s not me.”
Others agree that President Biden did great:
Also, maybe the right should stop calling Joe Sleepy and lowering expectations?
Endorsement from a previous mayor of Cleveland, Ohio
🌵 Governor Hobbs is retiring medical debt in Arizona Press Release
This is being reported by others as adding up to 2 billion dollars of medical debt relief
Phoenix, AZ - Today, Governor Katie Hobbs announced that she is partnering with non-profit RIP Medical Debt to launch Affordable Arizona: Tackling Medical Debt for Working Families. The program will forgive medical debt for up to one million working class Arizonans.
“Like many Arizona families, I have experienced the stress and burden of financial ups and downs. As Governor, I take seriously my duty to protect vulnerable Arizonans from falling into medical debt, and make healthcare more affordable,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “Hard-working, middle class Arizonans should not be forced to have those difficult kitchen table conversations because of medical debt from conditions they cannot control. Arizonans deserve a break, and they deserve a government that fights for them, helping ensure that medical debt is not going to torpedo their lives.”
The contract signed by the Governor’s Office with the non-profit organization is the largest medical debt relief effort by a State in history. The state will make up to $30 million dollars in COVID relief funds available to RIP Medical Debt to purchase debt from providers for pennies on the dollar, and cancel the balance. Debt owed by Arizonans earning less than 400% or below the Federal Poverty Line or who owe more than five percent of their annual income will be eligible for forgiveness.
💜 Unity? 💜
President Biden at SOTU:
I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it.
I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms, not take them away.
I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes.
I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.
Above all, I see a future for all Americans! I see a country for all Americans! And I will always be a president for all Americans!
Because I believe in America! I believe in you, the American people.
President Biden: "Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign. I know there is a lot we won't agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America's adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground."
I am not sure where to put this so I am putting this here: Sarasota Moms target the Moms for Liberty Kate Briquelet The Daily Beast
The School Sanity Project launched this advertisement on Tuesday ahead of yet another board meeting that attracted protests against Ziegler, a Moms for Liberty co-founder, and demands for her resignation.
Organizers of this new political action committee told The Daily Beast that they’re coming forward to battle not only Ziegler, whose term ends in 2026, but her colleagues’ extremist ties. Her ally Karen Rose is up for re-election this fall, as is the board’s lone liberal member Tom Edwards, who is openly gay and faced hate speech from right-wing residents.
For some parents, Ziegler’s scandal served as a tipping point against the conservative board’s policies, including a redistricting and near approval of a district contractor associated with a private Christian college. On Tuesday, the board green-lit a new for-profit charter school in a 4-1 vote despite public opposition, saying they didn’t want to risk legal fees and their hands were tied since the company met criteria for approval.
Kay Mathers, a Sarasota mom and volunteer organizer, said she and other parents contacted political strategists behind another group, Agenda PAC, which helped to defeat Moms for Liberty-backed candidates last fall in Pennsylvania.
📥 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 😈
Apparently,Truth Social crashed during the SOTU. Too many people trying to look? Anonymous? Or just a lousy platform?
tRump must pay legal bills for steele dossier lawsuit Dan Magnan CNBC
A British judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay legal fees of $382,000 to a company he unsuccessfully sued in London over the infamous “Steele Dossier” that came to light after his 2016 election.
The order, reported by multiple news outlets, came after the judge last month dismissed Trump’s suit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a firm founded by former British spy Christopher Steele, saying the complaint was “bound to fail.”
CPAC also leaking money, especially after Schlapp sex abuse allegations Roger Sollenberger The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast obtained the latest long-form tax return for ACU, CPAC’s parent organization, filed last month to cover April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. (ACU files on a federal schedule that bleeds across the calendar year.) The document, which was first obtained by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and shared exclusively with The Daily Beast, shows negative revenue on the year, and despite some newly adopted changes to the group’s accounting methods, reflects a notable drop in CPAC returns and steep losses across the board.
In fact, the ACU board itself took a massive hit.
Twenty names vanished from the prior year’s list of officers and key employees, leaving just five holdovers on the roster. The form also omitted the names of more than a dozen officers and board members who served throughout the covered reporting period. Some but not all of them left the organization later, many in protest of Schlapp.
Well before CPAC 2023 opened, it was clear from media coverage that attendance and sponsorships both suffered after the assault allegation and lawsuit. Less than two months before the event—billed as “the most influential gathering of conservatives in the world”—former Herschel Walker campaign staffer Carlton Huffman went public with his story, telling The Daily Beast in early January that Schlapp had “pummeled” his crotch against his will while Huffman chauffeured the conservative icon back to his hotel in October, following a late night of drinking in Atlanta.
Ronny Johnson got demoted! And we did not even know! Dan Diamond and Alex Horton Washington Post
Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician turned GOP congressman, regularly touts his military bona fides.
“As a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with nearly three decades of military service I understand the commitment and sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen to serve our country,” the two-term Texas representative writes on his congressional website, posted to a page listing his work on veterans issues.
But Jackson is no longer a retired admiral. The Navy demoted him in July 2022 following a damaging Pentagon inspector general’s report that substantiated allegations about his inappropriate behavior as a White House physician, a previously unreported decision confirmed by a current defense official and a former U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive personnel move.
Jackson is now a retired Navy captain, those people said — a demotion that carries significant financial burden in addition to the social stigma of stripped rank in military circles.
Arizona prosecutors in recent weeks issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple people linked to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, a sharp acceleration of their criminal investigation into efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
The new steps, first reported here, are a sign that Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, is nearing a decision on whether to charge Trump’s allies in the state, including GOP activists who falsely posed as presidential electors in December 2020.
Note: nothing was done before Mayes was elected in 2022. The state was run by Rs.
🌵 More news from Arizona — Kari Lake is in trouble:
Kari Lake is in big trouble. Her motions to dismiss @stephen_richer's defamation case were denied by the trial court, the appellate court and the AZ Supreme Court. Now she faces discovery which includes testifying under oath herself plus depositions of her team and others. She will be forced to turn over her emails, texts and documents about her strategy, speeches, plans, etc, which may include indications she knew what she said about Richer were lies. She will be forced to turn over audio recordings, which we now know she keeps, of conversations with others about her conspiracy theory lies. Richer's legal team is huge & the same attorneys who secured a $148 mil verdict against Rudy Giuliani. They are good lawyers and know what they are doing. Statements made by Kari are provably false, and frankly obviously false, and she kept making them even after courts told her it was lies.Kari Lake is in big trouble.Kari Lake's specious speech may soon make Stephen Richer richer-er https://azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2024/03/06/kari-lake-defamation-trial-make-stephen-richer/72861898007/… via @azcentral
Here’s the tweet, but I thought you would like the whole thing as above
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
You may know Barbara McQuade from her frequent appearances on MSNBC. She’s a lawyer based in Michigan and often gives opinions and insights into what’s going on in legal cases.
But the reason she’s in this section is because she just published the book, Attack from Within. It’s about how disinformation (also known as lying) has divided us and is threatening democracy, Much of it will be familiar, because we have experienced it, but it's till good to see it presented so clearly. But what I find helpful are her suggestions on how to fight for the truth, especially in the Chapter Nine: “We Alone Can Fix It: Proposed Solutions.” The chapter contains the sections:
- Reduce Disinformation from the Supply Side: Amend Section 230; Regulate online publishers like other industries; Prohibit anonymous users and bots; Require disclosure of funding sources; Regulate algorithms; End “sponcon” (sponsored content)
- Subsidize Paywalls: Strengthen local journalism; Equal time and the Fairness Doctrine; Create a code of ethics for social media platforms
- Reduce Disinformation from the Demand Side: Conduct public service campaigns; Use and improve online tools; Promote civic engagement
- Mitigate the Harms to Democracy: Reform campaign finance; Protect election machinery; Ranked-choice voting
- Mitigate the Harms to Public Safety and National Security: Prevent political violence; Police violent content online; Change laws; Restore the ban on assault weapons
- Counter Harms to the Rule of Law: Enforce laws against paramilitary activity; Combat corruption
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
This story is about a widow, Ruth Gottesman who discovered her husband had invested in Berkshire Hathaway and had inherited about a billion dollars with the only proviso, “Do what you think is right.” She gave the money to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, so that not only the current students won’t have big debts to pay, but all students in the future.
Here’s more about it from Beau of the fifth column.
Have to think doctors will do better when they aren’t worried about big debts. This donation will spread goodness throughout generations.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
Crime is way down, especially homicide Andy Corbley Good News Network
The FBI’s most recent Quarterly Uniform Crime Report data for Q3 2023 shows that nearly all crime in the US is going down; some to pre-pandemic levels, some to multi-decade lows.
This includes a violent crime average, as well as murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery property crime, burglary, and larceny, with quarterly data showing the largest percentage declines ever recorded for the violent crimes.
It rubs against the public perception of rising crime in America driven, some suspect, by more widely distributed media content than ever before. This is particularly true for larceny, or petty theft and shoplifting, which got out of hand in San Francisco after a 2020 law removed it as a misdemeanor crime. ✂️
“Detroit is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1966 and Baltimore and St Louis are on pace for the fewest murders in each city in nearly a decade,” Asher writes on his Substack. “Murder is down 13.4 percent in cities under 100,000 with data in the sample and it’s down 12.6 percent in cities with 250,000 or more.”
Asher begs caution since the Unified Crime Report looks backward in a lag, and we won’t know for sure what kind of year 2023 was like until the final quarter is accounted for.
Many people here have already seen reports on the above, but I love the fact that it’s being reported in the Good News Network, which seems non partisan. Besides, repetition is good!
Some EU countries reaching their sustainability goals early Paige Bennett EcoWatch
Multiple countries in the EU are already hitting their sustainability goals set for 2030, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed EU countries’ progress on certain goals laid out by the “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” resolution adopted in 2015 by the UN. The resolution set 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water, clean energy, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
The study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, reviewed progress toward Sustainable Development Goal No. 7, which is to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” according to the UN website.
The study authors outlined seven indicators they used to analyze progress toward the overall SDG 7 goal from 2010 to 2021: 1) primary energy consumption; 2) final energy consumption; 3) final energy consumption in households per capita; 4) energy productivity; 5) share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption; 6) dependency on energy imports; and 7) share of population unable to keep their homes adequately warm.
🐦 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.
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💙 “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
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TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.