Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Last week my opening was a little too down. I know this because of all the virtual hugs I received in the comments. Thank you, dear gnusies!
Yet, I always knew this difficult time was coming. The other side is truly desperate, because they have so much to lose. We are desperate, too, and even more determined — and there are many more of us. It will be a fight down to the wire (unless tRump has a stroke on camera, which is not impossible) and we have to keep on fighting. (If you want to read an upbeat take on our situation, see Mokurai’s GNR from yesterday.)
As an ex-pat, I’m not currently in a position to engage in Postcards to Voters or in freeway blogging. So what can I do, besides writing these diaries and donating money?
I reached out to the one elderly American in my area to make sure he is registered to vote. It turns out, he had let his registration lapse, and so I have started by sending the link to Vote.org. His wife (born in Canada, and a dear friend, and totally disgusted with tRump) assured me they had a conversation with the registrar of the county where he used to live. I have offered to assist if they need it, such as if they want help scanning something so that it doesn’t have to rely on the mail.
So that’s one nail in the tRump coffin. 😄
I expect this goes without saying, but I have learned that too many things, when they go without saying, simply go. It turns out they need to be said! Anyway now is the time to reach out to friends who might be elderly or young or simply very busy and to make sure they are positioned to vote and to help them through the process if they need it. Do a mental tally of family, friends, and acquaintances and consider if there’s anyone you can assist. And ask them if there’s anyone they know who might need assistance.
When the time comes, I will research things like drop boxes for people who don’t want to rely on the mail and help them check to make sure their votes are counted.
Put your ideas and deeds in the comments. We need every one of us to be out there.
Regular Scheduled Programming
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the very bad stuff that is happening. 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. We have to keep demoralizing them. Name, blame and shame! IT IS WORKING! WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE 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.
💙 Toxic 🍄 Trump Matters 👎
Finally, a reporter ask tRump about his constant lies. As this time it was a guy who spoke, tRump didn’t get into insults.
Why haven’t they been doing this all along? To be fair, some have.
🔎 One thing that we’re not hearing much about is the Senate Intelligence Report, which is documenting the stuff that Russia did in the 2016 election. The redacted version is being prepared for the public 👀 . The Hill
“Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to adopt the classified version of the final volume of the Committee’s bipartisan Russia investigation,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a joint statement Tuesday.
“In the coming days, the Committee will work to incorporate any additional views, as well as work with the Intelligence Community to formalize a properly redacted, declassified, publicly releasable version of the Volume 5 report,” Warner and Rubio added. “We want to thank the Committee’s Russia investigative staff for their years of diligent, hard work on this critical matter.”
The committee has already released four previous reports on Russian efforts to target election infrastructure in 2016, the use of social media to sway the election, the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference efforts, and a review of the Intelligence Community’s assessment of Russian election interference.
It is 1000+ pages. Oh, and you know who has seen the unredacted version? All the Ds on the Senate Intelligence Committee, such as Mark Warner. And Kamala Harris.
If you want some speculation on this, here’s a podcast with some interesting ideas:
Here’s something to laugh at … and to remind us that some people quietly working on the inside are on “our side” — or at least on the side of the USA and the constitution. Do you worry they are not there? Consider how leaky the tRump government is:
Someone who has turned against tRump is Michael Cohen, whose book is coming out. The Guardian
In the book’s foreword Cohen, 53, mentions writing in his federal prison cell in upstate New York in his green inmate uniform.
He details his feelings of bewilderment at falling foul of the president of the United States after years of being “Trump’s first call every morning and his last call every night”.
“In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man,” he writes, calling Trump a con man, a predator, a racist, a bully and a liar.
Worried about mail-in votes? People already have good habits Washington Post
“In order to make sure my ballot is received in time to be counted, I’m going to do two things. First, if my absentee ballot doesn’t arrive in early October as expected, I’m going to keep calling the elections office until it arrives,” Miss Sylvia told me when I followed up via email. “Second, once my absentee ballot arrives, I’m going to complete it, drive to the elections office, put on a mask, go inside, and hand-deliver it to the elections clerk.” Which might not be a bad idea, since Charleston saw record mail-in and absentee voting in the June 9 U.S. Senate primaries.
Miss Sylvia isn’t alone. According to a 2017 white paper from the Election Assistance Commission, “In the states where election officials mail ballots to all registered voters, recent data shows the majority of those voters do not return their ballots in the mail. They either drop them off at designated locations or at drop boxes.” That report also highlighted a 2015 presentation by the director of elections in Denver, who said she calls mail-in voting “ballot delivery” because in their experience “most voters actually return their ballot in person, as opposed to using the Post Office to mail it back.”
🐊 Draining the Swamp 🐊
We’re going to need a bigger prison … oh, wait, we can free all the innocent and just jail the guilty! And let the babies out of cages! Anyway there’s this guy in the tRump administration, Daily Kos
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A report by the Interior Department Inspector General reveals that President Trump’s top Interior Solicitor, Daniel Jorjani, illegally withheld public documents prior to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Senate confirmation hearing and then “perjured himself under oath,” according to a statement by the Western Values Project.
Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the Westlands Water District and big oil companies, is currently promoting a plan to increase Delta water exports to the Westlands Water District and other corporate agribusiness interests in California’s San Joaquin Valley while fast-tracking a plan to raise Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River.
The raising of Shasta Dam will inundate the remaining sacred sites of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe on the McCloud River and will spell disaster for imperiled Sacramento winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead populations.
An analysis by Western Values Project details Jorjani’s perjury. “This is nothing short of a criminal act, and Trump’s political appointees need to be held accountable,” said Jayson O’Neill, Western Values Project Director. “Withholding public documents, filtering potentially incriminating communications, and then lying about it under oath should result in Jorjani's immediate removal, but that seems unlikely in President Trump’s and Secretary Bernhardt’s corrupt swamp.”
💙 Democrats Are Great 🌊
Republicans 🐘 Got Nothing 👎
Kamala Harris! She is who I expected Biden to pick (even though I kind of wanted her for AG, not an insult; AG is very powerful) and in many ways I think it’s good that Biden is not doing surprising stuff. Here’s Rubin on the Harris pick Washington Post
The adage still holds that a vice president cannot win an election, only lose one. Certainly, Harris will not lose any voters for the ticket. She will be prepared for the debate. We know she can throw punch after punch. (Just ask Attorney General William P. Barr and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.) The media vetted her for a year during her presidential run. She is expert and effective on TV. She is unlikely to be tripped up by an aggressive interviewer or a heckler.
The irony is that the woman considered “too risky” for the presidency is actually the safe choice for VP. She comes with no surprises. She is versed in foreign policy. She is not running for office for the first time. Perhaps now, Democrats and Republicans alike will understand that raw political talent, brains and, yes, ambition are what you look for in national leaders.
I think we also have to admire how Biden picked Harris. Here’s some analysis from Axios, which talks about Harris always being at the top of the list and how there were no leaks. Possibly because Biden kept the decision to himself until he asked Harris But I liked this bit a lot:
3. Biden's selection process raised the profiles of several other women of color who are now set up to star in a new chapter of American politics: Susan Rice, former U.N. ambassador and national security adviser, was considered one of the final two by Biden confidants, and now is the favorite to be Secretary of State if he wins.
- Because they were viewed as contenders, think how much more airtime has gone to Georgia's Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Rep. Val Demings of Florida, Rep. Karen Bass of California and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
- And because Biden had promised to pick a woman, think how much more attention has been paid to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren has stayed in the news.
Imagine, a president who doesn’t try to upstage everyone, who tries to share credit. A president who doesn’t try to get his face on Mount Rushmore.
And although I wasn’t sure if her race mattered, it turns out, it does Washington Post
Donna Edwards first writes about how she was prepared to accept any VP pick. And then Biden chose Harris.
By the most important metrics, Harris fits the bill perfectly. The senator from California is a great campaigner and will be an asset connecting with voters. She has demonstrated her command of policy issues from foreign affairs to criminal justice reform during her time in state office, in the Senate and on the campaign trail. Without a doubt, Harris is prepared to be president on day one.
But another metric that counts has never been reflected on a major party’s presidential ticket: Black women. It’s about time.
The Democratic Party is a broad and diverse coalition, but Black women represent its most loyal voting bloc. In 2016, we cast 94 percent of our votes for Hillary Clinton, while a majority of White women chose President Trump. We punched above our weight in 2018, turning out above the national average. This year, Biden experienced the power of Black women firsthand. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he owes his come-from-behind primary victory to us; in the pivotal South Carolina primary, Black women accounted for fully a third of the vote, and two-thirds chose Biden. ✂️
I thought it didn’t matter — until it did.
Oh, and on the Wednesday edition of The Last Word, O’Donnell pointed out that Kamala Harris is tRump’s worst nightmare — a strong black woman and a prosecutor. heh heh heh… In fact, how Harris makes the case against tRump and Pence is a thing to watch. Or read. I took this from Wonkette
We're gonna say it right now. You ready for us to say it? We're just gonna say it. Joe Biden picked a badass running mate.
Consider this passage spoken by Harris. Read every word and inject it into your veins and put it on a yard sign and make it your work email signature until November 3:
HARRIS: When other countries are following the science, Trump pushed miracle cures he saw on Fox News. While other countries were flattening the curve, he said the virus would just poof, go away, quote, like a miracle. So when other countries opened back up for business, what did we do? We had to shut down again. This virus has impacted almost every country, but there's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start, his refusal to get testing up and running, his flip flopping on social distancing and wearing masks, his delusional belief that he knows better than the experts.
All of that is the reason. And the reason that an American dies of COVID-19 every 80 seconds. It's why countless businesses have had to shut their doors for good. It's why there is complete chaos over when and how to reopen our schools. Mothers and fathers are confused and uncertain and angry about childcare and the safety of their kids at school. Whether they will be in danger if they go, or fall behind if they don't. Trump is also the reason millions of Americans are now unemployed. He inherited the longest economic expansion in history from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground.
And that, loves, is what the vice presidential candidate is supposed to do. Beat the shit out of them. She is going to make Trump and Mike Pence look like absolute clowns.
Where is the race these days?
Anecdotal, but still worth a look:
And this…
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
Harbinger of things to come?
From the article:
A South Carolina Democrat has flipped a state House seat in a special election, stirring excitement in the party as the November general election approaches.
Spencer Wetmore handily defeated Republican candidate Josh Stokes by 20 points in Tuesday's election, according to The Associated Press. The seat was long held by Republicans and became a target for Democrats after former state Rep. Peter McCoy resigned earlier this year to become South Carolina’s U.S. attorney.
Illinois governor gets to keep the masks and to protect the people of his state Chicago Sun-Times
Not Pritzker, and not the way you’re supposed to wear a mask, but I started laughing...
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s expanded masking enforcement rules for businesses survived a challenge in Springfield on Tuesday as health officials announced another 1,549 people have tested positive for COVID-19 across Illinois.
The new rules announced by the Democratic governor’s office last week give local authorities leeway to fine businesses up to $2,500, or hit them with a misdemeanor charge, if they don’t enforce Pritzker’s statewide face covering mandate or social distancing guidelines.
Six state lawmakers on the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted to suspend the rules they complain offer “extraordinary discretion,” two votes shy of wiping Pritzker’s rules off the books.
The governor said his edict will “provide multiple opportunities for compliance before any penalty is issued and will help ensure that the minority of people who refuse to act responsibly won’t take our state backward.
💛 Some R governors these days are deeply unpopular KCRG News
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - A tracking poll from a multi-university consortium shows that the approval rating of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ handling of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic is the lowest in the United States.
The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Police Preferences Across States, a survey taken monthly in all 50 states, showed that the approval rate of Reynolds in regards to the pandemic has fallen from 52% in late April to 28% in late July. That is the lowest of any state, with the next lowest being Arizona’s Gov. Doug Ducey at 30%.
The survey for Iowa’s respondents carries a margin of error of +/- 6%.
On average, state governors have higher approval ratings than those for President Donald Trump. Governors average a 51% approval, while Trump’s handling of the pandemic is only approved by 32% nationwide. Reynolds joins the governors of Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri in having lower approval ratings for pandemic handling than the president, with 29% of Iowans approving of Trump’s job at it so far.
Have to hope that the discontent with the governors in these states — especially IA, AZ, and GA — leads to blue states and blue senators.
Mississippi rejects the mosquito as its new emblem The Guardian
Mosquitoes are great pollinators, too
The state department of archives and history (MDAH) said on Tuesday that a design featuring the blood-sucking insect had slipped through the screening process and should not have been among the selections posted online on Monday.
Mississippi recently retired the last state banner with the Confederate battle emblem that is widely condemned as racist. A nine-member commission will recommend a replacement flag that, by legislative mandate, cannot include the Confederate symbol and must have the phrase “In God We Trust”.
Those pesky mosquitoes slip in sometimes.
Trump has been fuming to aides about the coronavirus surge, lately blaming Florida governor Ron DeSantis for the exploding numbers. “He thinks Ron has made it a lot worse,” said a Republican who spoke to Trump about the Sunshine State. According to a campaign adviser, Trump is pushing the campaign to figure out a way for him to hold rallies. The current thinking is to plan them outdoors. On Monday, Trump floated that he might hold his convention acceptance speech at Gettysburg. “Rallies are his jam,” the adviser said. “Trump won’t be happy until he is doing multiple rallies a day.”
Of course, the main reason deSantis let the coronavirus get out of hand was because he was following tRump’s advice.
🐍 Schadenfreude 🍎
It’s going to make it a little harder for tRump to attack Harris (who was not a corruptible AG, unlike Pam Bondi of FL)
I have been trying to figure out exactly which store this is...
📣Let’s Honor Truth ☀️ ️
This week, perhaps a little late, we honor high school student Hannah Watters, who sent out pictures of her ridiculously crowded high school in North Paulding, Georgia. She got suspended for her trouble, which gave her the time to appear on CNN, much to the chagrin of the school’s administrators, and to avoid the potential coronavirus hotspot. Which we now know it is. From Wonkette
Last week, North Paulding High School in Georgia made the news after several pictures of its crowded hallways went viral. The first thing the school district did in response was to immediately suspend Hannah Watters, the concerned student who posted them. Surely, they imagined that a grateful nation would breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that justice was done and that this whole matter was handled properly, but that is not what happened. Rather, suspending Watters garnered them even more negative attention and they ended up having to un-suspend her to save face.
And that would have been the end of that, had Watters not been absolutely correct about the fact that a bunch of maskless teens in a crowded hallway being an extremely bad idea! Since the picture was posted, nine people at the school have tested positive for COVID-19. Whoops!
Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
"At this time, we know there were six students and three staff members who were in school for at least some time last week who have since reported to us that they have tested positive," says a letter from North Paulding High School Principal Gabe Carmona to parents Saturday. A spokesman for the Paulding County School District gave a copy of the letter to the AJC.[...]
The letter to parents does not include information on whether any other students or staff who were exposed have to quarantine or whether any classrooms will be closed. "Our custodial staff continues to thoroughly clean and disinfect the school building daily, and especially affected areas," the letter says.
Angie Franks said both her nephews who attend the school have tested positive for COVID-19. One came home from school Monday unable to smell, she said in an interview with the AJC. His mother took him for testing and the results the next day showed him positive, Franks said. By then, his brother was exhibiting symptoms and was also tested. His positive results were returned Wednesday.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️ ️
📎Odds & Ends 📎
We’re not alone in working to make our country better.
And there’s this, which is unfortunately too close to Russia
North Carolina won’t let a pipeline grow Ecowatch
Happy duck, bringing you the following news
It's been a bad summer for fracked natural gas pipelines in North Carolina.
First, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would have ended in the state, was canceled by its owners following years of legal challenges. Now, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) has denied a key water permit for a project that would have extended the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) 75 miles into the state.
"Today's announcement is further evidence that the era of fracked gas pipelines is over," Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative for the Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Joan Walker said in response. "We applaud the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for prioritizing North Carolina's clean water over corporate polluters' profits. Dirty, dangerous fracked gas pipelines like Mountain Valley threaten the health of our people, climate, and communities, and aren't even necessary at a time when clean, renewable energy sources are affordable and abundant."
Here’s some more good news for birds Audubon
Wood thrush
NEW YORK - “Like the clear crisp notes of the Wood Thrush, today’s court decision cuts through all the noise and confusion to unequivocally uphold the most effective bird conservation law on the books--the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” said Sarah Greenberger, Interim Chief Conservation Officer for the National Audubon Society. “This is a huge victory for birds and it comes at a critical time - science tells us that we’ve lost 3 billion birds in less than a human lifetime and that two-thirds of North American birds are at risk of extinction due to climate change.”
United States District Court Judge Valerie Caproni ruled today that the legal opinion which serves as the basis for the Trump administration rollback of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does not align with the intent and language of the 100-year-old law. In her ruling, Judge Caproni found that the policy “runs counter to the purpose of the MBTA to protect migratory bird populations” and is “contrary to the plain meaning of the MBTA”.
Today’s decision comes as a result of a series of lawsuits brought in 2018 by Audubon, several other conservation groups, and eight states.
“With today’s court decision, the administration should abandon the regulatory process it started to make this illegal bird-killing policy permanent,” said Greenberger. “With the legal basis for its actions over the past year defeated the administration should expect more defeats in court if they try to lock-in their attempt to roll back the MBTA.”
Feel like dancing? This bird does:
I do a lot of other writing. Most recent offering: Hunters of the Feather, a story about a thinker-linker crow who wants to save birdkind from extinction. (It’s really good! It’s really cheap! Buy it!) My less recent stories, based on Jane Austen novels and others on Greek mythology, can be found here.
💙 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. However, given that we have taken back the House, the tactics moving forward need to be different. Indivisible has ideas to share.
Indivisible 2.0
This Guide is for what comes next. The 2016 Indivisible Guide was about using constituent power to defend our values, our neighbors, and our democracy. This Guide is about using our constituent power to go on offense.
Offense is exciting, but it’s more complex than defense. We have the opportunity to use congressional oversight to hold Trump and his cronies accountable. We can set the legislative agenda with a bold progressive vision rooted in inclusion, fairness, and justice. But none of this is automatic — we have to demand it of Congress.
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. Remember, a lot of them crossed over in the midterms! Get them to feel good about being blue.
You can share your ideas below.
🌻
🍀 “My experience has been that work is almost
always the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.” 🍀
Eleanor Roosevelt
🔥 If you’re going through hell, keep going! 🔥
Winston Churchill
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.
