Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
We have to stay focused, folks, on getting Biden elected and on making sure the election counts. Because of that I decided NOT to pay too much attention to the Republican convention. And it turns out that may have been wise: Washington Post (Jennifer Rubin)
A slew of Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans have, almost tearfully, taken to social media to plead their case: Do I have to watch the RNC? The answer is no, and you don’t even have to feel guilty about it.
Let’s begin with the notion that you should listen to the arguments of your ideological opponents. Well, that is a good idea, but that does not mean one must endure screaming, dog whistles and bullhorn appeals to White supremacy and abjectly ridiculous accusations (“
Joe Biden will destroy the suburbs!” “
Biden is a socialist!”). There is no agenda (just defend Trump, the
RNC’s platform says); thus, there are no arguments in defense of President Trump’s nonexistent policies. Moreover, you need not endure an hour or more each night of straight bile when responsible news outlets can give you the recap.
Moreover, there is something to be said for self-care in the Trump era. We have become numb after four years or so of lies, racism, xenophobia, narcissism and cruelty. You have to wonder if less consumption of President Trump and his cultists would help put his most egregious remarks in perspective. If you ever found yourself at the end of a week — or even a day — experiencing difficulty recalling the third- or fourth-most-recent outrage, you understand how more exposure does not necessarily make you more cognizant of the lying, norm-breaking, meanness and bigotry. The sheer quantity of his lies, outrages and attacks makes it all a blur. (Remember when he commuted Roger Stone’s sentence? That was only last month.)
Besides, not watching reduces the ratings.
In the meantime, we have work to do, so come in, get fortified, and then figure out what you can do. Just stay focused, folks, as Biden said. We have many, many, many people on our side. Each of us is one of them.
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 👎
TV ratings for the conventions: night one: The Mercury News
President Donald Trump often loves to tout his TV ratings. But even he might have trouble spinning the numbers coming out of the first night of the Republican National Convention.
Monday’s prime-time festivities attracted a significantly smaller audience than the Democrats did last week, with viewership down on every major broadcast and cable network except the Fox News Channel.
An average of 17 million viewers tuned in for the opening night of the convention, according to Nielsen, which based its stats on 11 channels. That fell short of the 19.7 million who turned out for the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Perhaps more alarming for the GOP: Monday’s viewership was a sharp drop of about 26 percent from Night 1 in 2016. That year, the Republicans drew an average of 23 million viewers to their opening night, according to Nielsen.
This is symptomatic of the lack of enthusiasm. Yes, there are fanatics and screamers, but people are not turning up for the tRump rallies. Not in Tulsa, although enough people showed up to kill Herman Cain. A New Hampshire event was canceled.
Jerry Falwell was owned by tRump Talking Points Memo (Josh Marshall)
Since I wrote the Falwell update below, Giancarlo’s story has been published and it’s about what most of us have long suspected: Giancarlo had a relationship with the couple in which he and Becki Falwell had sex while Jerry Falwell watched. Other than the hypocrisy and the payoffs (which were likely illegal since they used money from Liberty University) more power to them. But I want to zoom in on the 2016 endorsement that I mentioned in the previous post. ✂️
We know that Cohen struck up a relationship with Falwell as far back as 2011/2012. We know that he got involved in helping keep the couple’s secrets, including hushing up compromising photos of Becki. It was as late as 2015 when Cohen helped the Falwells deal with the photos — photos which were apparently connected to another fit young man close to the couple. ✂️
We also know that Michael Cohen brokered the January 2016 Falwell endorsement. This was reported long before any of the Cohen/Stormy Daniels/Giancarlo stuff was ever known. There’s really no doubt this happened.
I’m pretty sure there are lots of details still to emerge from this story. But let’s assume the above is it. Extortion is often left implicit. Often it doesn’t need to be stated outright — that is likely the root of Vladimir Putin’s hold over President Trump. Even if Cohen never reminded the Falwells what he knew about them … even if he said outright he’d never use it against them (perhaps especially if he said this), Falwell knew that Cohen (and almost certainly Trump) knew information that could destroy Falwell’s life. In other words, Cohen and Trump owned Falwell and Falwell certainly knew it.
The Jerry Falwell endorsement was significant in the 2016 election, giving millions of white evangelicals cover for voting for tRump.
🐊 Draining the Swamp 🐊
House Intelligence panel focusing on the tRump family Daily Kos
Following a Supreme Court ruling on the matter, the House Intelligence Committee has narrowed a subpoena request to focus more specifically on Donald Trump and the immediate members of his family: Eric Trump, Don Jr., and Ivanka Trump.
The subpoena, which was originally broader and issued to Trump's longtime lender Deutsche Bank, "no longer seeks financial records for any other members of President Trump’s family,” according to a memo released by the House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. Schiff added that the panel had taken action voluntarily in order to “accelerate resolution” of the matter.
According to TPM, the move came after the Supreme Court laid out a new test last month instructing courts to weigh congressional subpoenas targeting a sitting president against whether the information can be obtained elsewhere, how broad the subpoena is, its legislative purpose, and how burdensome complying would be for a president.
Trump had been fighting the original subpoena for over a year and will surely battle the newly abridged subpoena as well.
In the memo, Schiff said the financial records request were part of the panel's continuing investigation into “counterintelligence risks arising from the President’s foreign financial ties, including whether foreign powers possess financial leverage over the President.”
💙 Democrats Are Great 🌊
Republicans 🐘 Got Nothing 👎
People are preparing to fight Wonkette
During an interview on Showtime's "The Circus," Hillary Clinton, the people's president, gave some sage advice to Joe Biden that he would do well to heed: Don't give up. No matter what happens on Election Day.
CLINTON: Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don't give an inch and if we are as focused and relentless as the other side is.
Damn right. Hillary is now my honorary Sister Souljah.
Many Hillary Clinton supporters, including your humble narrator, are still annoyed that Barack Obama pushed her to concede to Trump on election night. After Wisconsin was called by Fox News (c'mon, man!), the White House started calling the Clinton campaign and telling them to get their white towels ready. The margins in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were ridiculously close.
Really important information about mail-in voting Washington Post
If you must sign your name, learn about signature matching.
Most voters will be asked to sign their name at least once to complete their mail ballot. Depending on the state, that signature could determine whether your vote counts.
That’s because some states verify your ballot by matching the signature to one or more signatures on file with the government, such as the signature on your driver’s license. In some cases, they use the signature from your original voter registration form, even if it is years or decades old. This can create a risk of rejection for people whose signatures have evolved over time.
To make sure your ballot is not rejected because of a false mismatch, find out the rules where you live. If a matching signature is required, sign your name while keeping in mind that election officials may be comparing it with an old signature. If you sign with your initials but your signature on file contains your full name, your ballot
might not be counted.
Avoid stray marks, tears and other accidental flubs that could disqualify your ballot.
To give your ballot the best possible chance of counting, it’s important to return it in pristine condition.
There is a lot more information at the article. Some of it is information you already know — apply for your ballot early and return it quickly and make sure it is received — but not all. Please, review it, and find a way to disseminate the information.
📣Let’s Honor Truth ☀️
This week we honor NY AG Letitia James, who has put a stake in the tRump foundation, has taken on the NRA and is now going after the tRump organization. Wonkette
New York Attorney General Letitia James did not come to play. She's well on her way to taking out the NRA, and yesterday she revealed that she's been hot on the trail of the Trump Organization for over a year now. Which is very good news, because if anyone can get the goods on these slippery bastards, it's AG James.
The investigation was made public yesterday when New York's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) sued to compel testimony by Eric Trump and force the Trump Organization to comply with document requests. Oh, how shocking that the very people who have engaged in four years of trench warfare to keep Trump's tax records under wraps don't want the OAG looking at the details of their business dealings! Said no one ever. ✂️
Because the vast majority of this investigation is happening outside public view, we have no idea how much illegal shit the AG has under her microscope. In fact, even the document numbers, which might provide some clue as to the scope, are redacted in yesterday's filings. And just for the sake of clarity, remember that this is a civil investigation, entirely separate from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's criminal inquiry.
What I don’t understand is why these people, who have been criming for many years, were not stopped before they were allowed into the White House. But that’s one more reason to pin a virtual medal on the great Tish James.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
We have had a lot of bad news out of Wisconsin. Here’s a story about a WI community (Sawyer County) coming together to look for a little girl and her dog. Good News Network
Before long, hundreds of local residents, led by the Department of Natural Resources, went out looking for a brown dog and a little girl known to be barefoot with a flowery shirt on. Others brought food, water, and supplies to help those out searching.
Just over a day later, at 7:20 p.m. the three-year old was found, having wandered through the woods into a nearby yard a little ways from her home.
Abigail had ”minor scratches, insect bites and dehydration during her 24 hours of being lost in the woods,” and was sent to a local hospital for a check-up before being released.
📎📎Odds & Ends 📎📎
Teens transform liquor store into grocery store Good News Network
“With a little help from their friends”, a galvanized group of young entrepreneurs transformed a gutted liquor store into Austin Harvest, a pop-up food market to provide healthy food alternatives for their underserved neighborhood.
The genesis of the project began with listening circles led by By the Hand Club for Kids. “What I heard coming out of that was that students wanted to take all those raw and powerful emotions and turn them into something good, and do something from a social justice standpoint,” the group’s executive director Donnita Travis told Book Club Chicago. ✂️
The project got enthusiastic backing from a number of professional athletes. Former Chicago Bears’ linebacker Sam Acho led the charge. “People care. It’s a time for people to show up. I think our world has changed,” Acho told BCC. “So for us to be able to come together and say we’re going to lead that change, it means something.”
Masks protect the wearers. Even if they do get sick, they are likely to be less sick. EcoWatch
(by Monica Gandhi) Masks slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by reducing how much infected people spray the virus into the environment around them when they cough or talk. Evidence from laboratory experiments, hospitals and whole countries show that masks work, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends face coverings for the U.S. public. With all this evidence, mask wearing has become the norm in many places.
I am an infectious disease doctor and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. As governments and workplaces began to recommend or mandate mask wearing, my colleagues and I noticed an interesting trend. In places where most people wore masks, those who did get infected seemed dramatically less likely to get severely ill compared to places with less mask-wearing.
It seems people get less sick if they wear a mask.
I am not surprised. I was only surprised when masks weren’t recommended for everyone at the beginning, and until I got official masks I used bandannas when going to the store. The initial arguments made no sense to me.
Dengue fever breakthrough the Guardian
Infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria dramatically reduces their ability to transmit dengue, according to a breakthrough study that could pave the way to eliminating the disease.
Research conducted in Indonesia, where dengue is endemic, found that releasing mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia into parts of Yogyakarta city reduced the number of dengue infections by 77% compared with untreated areas.
“We are really hopeful this will lead to local elimination [of dengue] in Yogyakarta city, and the next stage is to scale up beyond Yogyakarta to other parts of Indonesia,” said Dr Katie Anders, director of impact assessment at the World Mosquito Program, and one of the study’s lead researchers.
The same method is also being applied in other countries where dengue is prevalent, with the aim of eliminating the disease as a public health concern.
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.
