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Good News Roundup for Friday, May 5, 2023: The Relay Relies on All of Us [1]
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Date: 2023-05-05
Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Sometimes, I get tired. I mean, why do we have to still see the disgraced former guy? Why do we have to argue about the debt ceiling? Why do we have to deal with people who deny basic facts? Why do we have to deal with people who are against truth and love?
When I get tired, I am so grateful for the rest of you. As others have said, this is a relay. We let others take over when we are tired.
And others are hard at work, fighting the really tough fights. We fight when we can. We rest when we must.
Come on in and see what the good guys are doing! And, also, happy Cinco de Mayo!
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.
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
Kremlin propaganda preparing for defeat Allison Quinn, Yahoo News, based on Meduza, also in The Daily Beast
After spending the last year reassuring Russians that victory is inevitable in the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin is now frantically working to lower expectations—and rolling out a contingency plan to lessen the impact of a humiliating defeat. A new manual prepared by Russia’s presidential administration and distributed to the Kremlin’s army of propagandists contains some surprising instructions: Do not “underestimate” Ukraine’s impending counter-offensive and do not spread the idea that Kyiv is somehow “not ready” for it. That’s according to the independent news outlet Meduza, which says it obtained a fresh copy of the manual and spoke to sources close to the Kremlin about it. ✂️ But perhaps more importantly, the sources explained, if the Ukrainian military manages to take back territories and claim battlefield victories “with the help of weapons from the U.S. and Europe,” Russia’s losses will be understandable—after all, they were up against the “entire West.”
Hope that’s not too good to be true! But Meduza is pretty reliable.
Good news from Wisconsin:
x Good news on ivermectin:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin Supreme Court: Hospital can't be forced to give deworming drug popular with conservatives to COVID patients. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 2, 2023 Note this reasonable decision took place before the Judge Janet, the reasonable Democrat we helped elect, took her seat. Note this is growth, and not everything. But this is how we do it: x “2022 is likely to mark a turning point when global fossil fuel electricity generation peaked and began to fall. The thinktank forecasts that, by the end of 2023, more than 100% of the growth in electricity demand will be covered by low-carbon sources.”
https://t.co/hWV9zfg38J — David Wallace-Wells (@dwallacewells) May 1, 2023 New vaccine for those who collect them! x Breaking News Alert:
After 60 years of efforts, the FDA has approved the first vaccine for RSV.
The vaccine, designed for adults 60+, has shown to be 83% effective at preventing respiratory tract disease caused by RSV, and 94% effective at preventing severe disease in seniors. pic.twitter.com/2f3eM4VVi7 — Goodable (@Goodable) May 4, 2023 Good news from Democracy Docket! x BREAKING: Federal court BLOCKS Kansas voter suppression law that prohibited organizations from sending personalized mail-in ballot applications to voters. Voting rights groups argued that the law violated the U.S. Constitution and limited their work.
https://t.co/zqwxd887gH — Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) May 4, 2023
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
I’m not sure if these stories belong here or in the Schadenfreude section. There’s a lot of overlap.
Proud Boys Found Guilty! Spencer S. Hsu, Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman, Hannah Allam Washington Post
Former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and three other members of the extremist group were found guilty Thursday of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. A jury deliberated for seven days in Washington before finding Tarrio, 39, and other defendants guilty on 31 of 46 counts. The jury returned not guilty verdicts on four counts and continued deliberating on 11 remaining counts. The result was another decisive victory for the Justice Department in the last of three seditious conspiracy trials held after what it called a historic act of domestic terrorism to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.
x Not too shabby, Garland.
https://t.co/8Bwj2kKVnb — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 4, 2023
And the SCOTUS stinks even more:
x I told you the drip drip of SCOTUS corruption would keep getting worse.
https://t.co/sZCIzAkIkn — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 4, 2023
Scammed by Herschel Walker! Roger Sollenberger, The Daily Beast
When Herschel Walker emailed a representative for billionaire industrialist and longtime family friend Dennis Washington in March 2022, he seemed to be engaging in normal behavior for a political candidate: He was asking for money. But unbeknownst to Washington and the billionaire’s staff, Walker’s request was far more out of the ordinary. It was something campaign finance experts are calling “unprecedented,” “stunning,” and “jaw-dropping.” Walker wasn’t just asking for donations to his campaign; he was soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars for his own personal company—a company that he never disclosed on his financial statements. Emails obtained by The Daily Beast—and verified as authentic by a person with knowledge of the exchanges—show that Walker asked Washington to wire $535,200 directly to that undisclosed company, HR Talent, LLC. And the emails reveal that not only did Washington complete Walker’s wire requests, he was under the impression that these were, in fact, political contributions.
I guess some billionaires are not that smart. And Herschel Walker is not that dumb.
We’re not doing an IQ check on Boebert, but the FEC is checking her transactions:
x BREAKING - Lauren Boebert has admitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that she used campaign donations to pay her personal rent and utilities. This is a clear violation of federal election law. The FEC is now considering “punitive action” against Boebert. — Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) September 23, 2021
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
The DOJ is doing much more than people realize. This one’s important:
x Another big, but very quiet, success for DOJ's civil rights division, which has been pushing forward effectively on multiple fronts.
https://t.co/Sa9R54BJfm — Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 4, 2023
Blue wave in Lincoln, Nebraska! NebraskaDemocrat, Daily Kos
The results are in and the Lancaster County Democrats won a landslide victory in the Lincoln city elections. It wasn’t even close. Incumbent Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird defeated former state senator Suzanne Geist by a 54% to 46% margin. Most political prognosticators predicted a close election. Lincoln has had close mayoral elections in the past. ✂️ The Nebraska Democratic Party issued the following statement regarding the Lincoln General Election results: “Lincoln voters soundly rejected the MAGA Republicans and millions dumped into the races by the Peed and Ricketts families. Nebraskans do not want our elections bought by millionaires nor do they want constant lies told by the Republican Party. The elections were won tonight because Mayor Leirion and her fellow Democrats put forward their positive ideas to continue building a welcoming Lincoln for all. ”
Well, “Peed” and “Ricketts” are not the best names, are they? Anyway, congrats to the blue spot in Lincoln, Nebraska — may it spread!
Working on renewable energy for aviation Press release
PARAMOUNT – With unprecedented state investments supporting the state’s transition away from fossil fuels, Governor Gavin Newsom visited a renewable fuels facility in Paramount today to spotlight California’s nation-leading transition to clean fuels and broader commitment to green jobs. Governor Newsom toured World Energy – a renewable fuels company that converted a petroleum refinery to become the world’s first producer of sustainable aviation fuel and is currently building out the facility to produce clean hydrogen – to see California’s clean energy transition at work. World Energy has received millions of dollars in grants from the state to support their clean energy projects, and is one of hundreds of companies that have received state funding. Already, World Energy Paramount has produced 150 million gallons of renewable fuels – the equivalent of taking 250,000 cars off the road – and represents the broader success of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which has dramatically reshaped the state’s fuels market. Since its inception in 2009, LCFS has doubled California’s use of clean fuels.
Maine plans to expand abortion access Patrick Whittle, AP
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A proposal that would give Maine one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the country came up for debate Monday while passage seemed all but assured because of Democratic control of the state’s legislature. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has proposed changing the state’s standard to permit women to get abortions later in pregnancy. If the proposal passes, state law would change to allow abortion after fetal viability if it’s deemed necessary by a physician.
Note it requires physician approval, so it will usually happen when something is seriously wrong with the mother or the fetus.
New bill aims to simplify recycling of dead batteries Antoinette Alexander, South Sound Business
It will soon be simpler to safely recycle your dead batteries under a new bill that Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign into law. Washington currently offers a voluntary program and residents are urged to take batteries to recycling drop-off locations. However, the new bill aims to make it easier to recycle batteries and expand the number of recycling sites.
💜 Unity? 💜
There is improvement in how Rs and Ds are working together to deal with drugs: less emphasis on crime, and more emphasis on reducing harm. German Lopez, The New York Times. (Note this is from my Thursday morning newsletter from them, but I don’t have a subscription, so I am not supplying a link.)
For decades, the U.S. focused on trying to scare people away from drugs, instituting tough criminal penalties and emphasizing law enforcement over addiction treatment. But a major change is underway. The old approach failed to prevent an overdose crisis that now kills more than 100,000 Americans a year. Policymakers have awakened to the urgency of the problem and shifted resources, namely funding, toward treatment. While criminal penalties for drugs remain, many states, led both by Democrats and Republicans, have lessened them. Lawmakers now often discuss drugs as a problem of public health, not just criminal justice. Some lawmakers have even embraced a once-radical strategy called harm reduction. The approach focuses on mitigating the potential dangers of drugs, not necessarily encouraging users to abstain. Republicans, whose party historically opposed harm reduction, are among those backing some tenets of it. The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives voted last month for a bill that would decriminalize test strips to check drugs for fentanyl, the potent opioid that is often mixed into heroin, pills and other drugs. Republican strongholds, including Kentucky, Utah and Mississippi, recently decriminalized the test strips.
📥 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 😈
Attacking the Mouse has not helped DeSantis
x How in the world did DeSantis think he could take on Disney and win?
His national favs/unfavs are now officially in the danger zone. Mid 30s, -11 is badness for him this early. pic.twitter.com/8zyv7Gs8Ca — Simon Rosenberg (@SimonWDC) May 4, 2023
🌵 Well done, AZ Supreme Court!
x
https://t.co/gilw3uIroN
AZ Supreme Court has issued their ruling. — Alyndrial (PhD) (@Alyndrial1) May 4, 2023
I think the attorney should be disbarred, but that’s not up to the AZ Supreme Court.
musk getting pantsed by NPR Evan Hurst, Wonkette
ICYMI this week, Elon's new pathetic whiny ass titty manbaby thing is to threaten NPR that if they don't start tweeting again, he's going to take their account and give it to a whole different NPR (somebody named "Neil Patrick Rimjob" probably, if we had to guess). This follows his pathetic whiny ass titty manbaby thing with falsely labeling NPR as state media, which is what led them to stop tweeting in the first place. But now he wants them to come back! He didn't mean actually leave! Waaaaaaaaah Elon is upset! His abusive and controlling predator behavior isn't working on the people with the pledge drives and the tote bags and everybody is making fun of him again! Waaaaaaaaaah! Elon made the threats in emails to an NPR reporter, who promptly wrote about it: Elon Musk has threatened to reassign NPR's Twitter account to "another company."
In a series of emails sent to this reporter, Musk said he would transfer the network's main account on Twitter, under the @NPR handle, to another organization or person. The idea shocked even longtime observers of Musk's spur-of-the-moment and erratic leadership style. They must not be familiar with how business geniuses think. In an unprompted Tuesday email, Musk wrote: "So is NPR going to start posting on Twitter again, or should we reassign @NPR to another company?"
Under Twitter's terms of service, an account's inactivity is based on logging in, not tweeting.Those rules state that an account must be logged into at least every 30 days, and that "prolonged inactivity" can result in it being permanently removed.
Musk did not answer when asked whether he planned to change the platform's definition of inactivity and he declined to say what prompted his new questions about NPR's lack of participation on Twitter. Well because we imagine he hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "Our policy is to recycle handles that are definitively dormant," Musk wrote in another email. "Same policy applies to all accounts. No special treatment for NPR."
tRump loses again
x NEW: A judge has thrown out Donald’s lawsuit against the New York Times, and has ordered Donald to pay all legal costs and attorneys’ fees.
https://t.co/JLLJI6JYV7 — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 3, 2023
He also sued his niece, Mary Trump, at the same time. That has not yet been ruled upon.
This guy found guilty:
x MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis ex-officer Tou Thao, who held back bystanders in George Floyd killing, convicted of aiding manslaughter. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 2, 2023
A couple extra months in prison:
x UPDATE: Judge sentences Jan 6 defendant Deborah Sandoval to FIVE MONTHS in prison. Feds recommended only 3 months.
While handing down sentence, judge references next year's election and warns democracy is "fragile"
==>
https://t.co/dJalWBQEQE — Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 1, 2023
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
This week we honor Amanda Zurawski, who spoke the difficult truth about her need for an abortion. Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
Last week, I wrote a pointed column criticizing Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and his fellow Democrats for not playing hardball with increasingly recalcitrant Republicans. I wrote that, while the committee held a hearing last summer on the legal ramifications of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , it hadn’t brought forward women and doctors to testify about the disastrous, real-world consequences of abortion bans that followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade. On Wednesday, the committee held just such a hearing, inviting a Texas woman who nearly died because of her state’s abortion ban; an esteemed law professor; a practicing OB/GYN; a doctor from an antiabortion group; and a senior research associate from Notre Dame — a Catholic university. The most compelling and heartbreaking testimony came from Amanda Zurawski, who lives in Texas. During her prepared remarks, she explained that after sending out invitations to her baby shower she began experiencing symptoms, her membranes ruptured, and she was “told by multiple doctors that the loss of our daughter was inevitable.” However, her doctors “didn’t feel safe enough to intervene as long as her heart was beating or until I was sick enough for the ethics board at the hospital to consider my life at risk and permit the standard health care I needed at that point — an abortion.” In a matter of minutes, I went from being physically healthy to developing a raging fever and dangerously low blood pressure. My husband rushed me to the hospital where we soon learned I had developed sepsis — a condition in which bacteria in the blood develops into infection, with the ability to kill in under an hour. Several hours later, after stabilizing just enough to deliver our stillborn daughter, my vitals crashed again. In the middle of the night, I was rapidly transferred to the ICU, where I would stay for three days as medical professionals battled to save my life. I spent another three days in a less critical unit of the hospital — all because I was denied access to reasonable health care due to Texas’s new abortion bans.
These stories need to be told. Over and over. Repetition is good. Repetition is good. Thanks, Ms Zurawski.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
Weekly letters. For years to this man wrongly imprisoned. Andy Corbley, Good News Network
Lamar Johnson served 28 years for a murder he didn’t commit—when he was finally released after years of work by an advocacy group, there was one person he knew he wanted to see first. It was a pen pal who wrote to him faithfully through nearly all the years of his imprisonment and came to all his court proceedings, pleading for his release on the strongly-held belief he was innocent. Rewinding 20-some years back, one day a letter arrived in the hands of a congregant of Mary, Mother of the Church in St. Louis County named Ginny Schrappen. It was a letter addressed from the Jefferson City Correctional Center, to whomever at the church decided to open it. Schrappen described herself as being “blown away” by Johnson’s elegant longhand script, and she decided to reply; with small details at first, but to say hello to a human who was obviously intelligent.
📎 Odds & Ends 📎
New York to require public energy provider to source 100% clean energy by 2030 Paige Bennett, EcoWatch
The state of New York has passed legislation in its latest budget that will require its public power provider to source 100% clean energy for electricity production by the end of this decade. The move boosts renewable energy and could give the public more control over their energy. The legislation allows New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build renewable energy projects as well as own and operate them, which could move more utilities away from private companies.
Papa stork brings mama stork a blanket to keep her warm!
x Papa stork brings a blanket to keep mama stork warm...𓅥❤️ pic.twitter.com/CQmNDtRCEs — 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) May 2, 2023
Adorbs:
A star for a star that died too young:
x Today, Carrie Fisher was posthumously honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
May the 4th be with you, Carrie.pic.twitter.com/nWiCVFDCno — Goodable (@Goodable) May 4, 2023
Al fresco concert appreciated by the herd:
x If you stop to watch one thing today, let this be it.pic.twitter.com/lxRzhcGt6k — Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) May 2, 2023
Funny cats:
x I lub kitty cats they funny too #CatsOfTwitter pic.twitter.com/u4Bh73KFCN — Boogie (@IamBoogie) April 27, 2023
Watch colorblind people see color for the first time
They’re not in Kansas anymore! Maybe an ad for the glasses but still heartwarming.
🐦 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
🌹 🌹 🌹
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