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Good News Roundup for Friday, May 26, 2023: The Extra Mile [1]
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Date: 2023-05-26
Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Sometimes it’s hard to keep on going, in the face of pushback, of criticism, and fatigue. When I don’t feel inspiring myself, it’s time to turn to the great words of others. So here are a few sayings that have come down to us.
Eleanor Roosevelt said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." So if someone is trying to put you down, refuse to accept this inferiority. They probably feel inferior, and just want company.
Aristotle said: "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." I don’t agree with Aristotle on many things, but for his time, he was a clever man.
Roger Staubach said: "There are no traffic jams along the extra mile." So maybe that extra mile won’t be as hard when we get there. (Staubach is a funny name, because it can be translated as “traffic jam creek”) I had to look up Staubach. He’s 81, a former football player, and was honored by the former guy, so he’s probably not someone I would generally admire. But still, the words are interesting. Sometimes we push and push, only to be joined by others on the same path — either because we have inspired them or because they found their own way to the light. Try to do a little extra for democracy, for the world, for your family, your friends or even for yourself today. Come on in, dear gnusies, and see what the good guys are doing despite pushback, criticism, and fatigue. And please, share your own news as well. 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 👍
Olathe Students force out principal Brian Dulle Fox 4 KC
OLATHE, Kan. — The principal at Olathe South High School has resigned following recent protests and a walkout at the school related to recent racial incidents. Olathe Public Schools made the announcement Monday that Dr. Dale Longenecker has resigned and would not be returning to Olathe South. “We recognize that this has been an especially challenging end of the school year for Olathe South and want to assure you that your administrative team and district leadership are committed to moving forward in the most productive way possible,” the district said in a letter sent to families of Olathe South. ✂️ Last Friday dozens of students at Olathe High walked out of class to support a Black classmate after he reported other students used racial slurs toward him. ✂️
In Florida: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has canceled the formal launch of his presidential campaign in his hometown of Dunedin today (dated yesterday)
x BREAKING:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has canceled the formal launch of his presidential campaign in his hometown of Dunedin today
I wonder why?.. 😏 — CoffeyTimeNews (@CoffeyTimeNews) May 25, 2023
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
Texas House Committee wants TX AG Ken Paxton impeached Talking Points Memo
Months after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) asked the Texas House to get him out of a lawsuit by appropriating funding for a legal settlement, it may be about to remove him instead. The Texas House’s General Investigating Committee on Thursday voted 5-0 to recommend impeaching Paxton over what are really the latest series of allegations of criminal wrongdoing against the state attorney general. Paxton has been under state-level indictment since 2015 for securities fraud, but by this point that’s water under the bridge. What set the House off is more recent, and goes to allegations from within Paxton’s office. Four fired aides filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton last year, claiming that he retaliated against them amid what appeared to be a crime spree undertaken from within the office of the Texas Attorney General. Among other things, the former employees accused Paxton of an unsavorily close relationship with troubled Austin real estate magnate and Paxton political contributor Nate Paul.
Paxton and other leaders in Texas want the House Speaker to resign for intoxication while legislating Summer Concepcion, NBC News
Infighting among top Texas Republicans spilled out into plain view after Attorney General Ken Paxton called on the state’s House speaker to step down over accusations that he was drunk during legislative proceedings — allegations that came a day before the chamber heard testimony about the criminal accusations against Paxton. Paxton, who remains under indictment over accusations of securities fraud charges from 2015, accused Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan of being “in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication” on the job after a video of Phelan appearing to slur his speech while presiding over the chamber Friday went viral.
Well, without knowing the Texas politicians intimately, I would cry, “Fie, a pox on both their houses!” and demand the removal of all the GOP people in office.
tRump such a loser that other candidates — for other offices, mind you — don’t want to run Evan Hurst, Wonkette
Well, this must be a blow to Donald Trump's already deficient self-esteem. It appears that the mere existence of Trump — likely the most hated, mockable and unpopular man alive in the world today — is now encouraging Republican candidates not to run for office. To be clear, this is isn't about other Republican losers running for president. We're not talking about potential opponents to Trump. We're talking about people running for senator or dogcatcher or official state fluffer, who don't want to be on the same ballot as Trump, because he's a loser who will drag them down. We guess that's what happens after a few cycles when you watch Trump just lose and lose and lose again, for himself and for the candidates he stains with his endorsement. Politico reports on the case of Joe O'Dea, who ran for Senate in Colorado and lost in 2022. Trump didn't endorse that guy. In fact, he actively trashed him, and O'Dea tried to avoid being associated with Trump. But Colorado is a blue state, and being cozy with Trump probably would just have made him lose harder. Now he's not entirely sure he wants to run for Congress in 2024 with Trump at the top of the ballot. Maybe.
And apparently that's just kind of the situation right now.
Politico also mentions David McCormick in Pennsylvania, who prominent Republicans want to run for the Senate there, saying according to their sources, the question of Trump on the ballot is part of his "calculus."
DeSantis has a problem:
x "It's just gonna keep crashing" - DeSantis has found his campaign slogan!
https://t.co/yO4uRsCx9s — Simon Rosenberg (@SimonWDC) May 24, 2023
Facts matter: more failed Republican-led investigations Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
We have two more vivid examples of MAGA Republicans’ fruitless and laughable efforts to turn Fox News conspiracies into real scandals. (Disclaimer: I am an MSNBC contributor.) Durham’s dud: In four years, special counsel John Durham, appointed by defeated former president Donald Trump essentially to investigate possible FBI wrongdoing and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, turned up virtually nothing. Two criminal cases he filed ended in acquittal. As the New York Times reported, “Mr. Durham’s 306-page report revealed little substantial new information about the inquiry, known as Crossfire Hurricane, and it failed to produce the kinds of blockbuster revelations accusing the bureau of politically motivated misconduct that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies suggested Mr. Durham would uncover.” In fact, Justice Department Investigator General Michael E. Horowitz had already plowed this ground. ✂️ The Comer crash and burn: Since the GOP won the House majority, it has labored to find some evidence of President Biden’s corruption or criminality, a futile effort to create a moral equivalence between Biden and the most corrupt, scandal-plagued and disgraced president in history (now facing multiple criminal indictments). The problem: a total lack of facts.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
President Biden’s Executive Order for Better Policing and Public Safety — a year later
One year ago, on May 25, 2022, President Biden signed a historic Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety . (EO 14074). The EO went into effect on the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.
Through EO 14074, the President put federal policing on the path to becoming the gold standard of effectiveness and accountability by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to: ban chokeholds; restrict no-knock warrants; mandate the use of body-worn cameras; implement stronger use-of-force policies, including with the duty to intervene and duty to render medical aid; provide de-escalation training; submit use-of-force data to the FBI’s Use-of-Force Data Collection; submit officer misconduct records into a new national accountability database; and restrict the sale or transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, among other things. The EO also directs the use of federal tools, such as guidance on best practices, technical assistance, and grantmaking to support similar reforms within state, Tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) law enforcement agencies. ✂️ Restrictions on Access to Certain Military Equipment: DHS, DOD, DOJ, GSA, and Treasury have taken steps to ensure that certain militarized equipment—including certain firearms and ammunition, bayonets, grenades and grenade launchers, explosives, and certain vehicles and aircraft—are not sold or transferred to STLT law enforcement agencies. These restrictions will strengthen public trust while ensuring state and local law enforcement agencies can access and use needed equipment for appropriate purposes, such as active shooter scenarios. ✂️ Chokeholds and No-Knock Entry Policy : Federal executive law enforcement agencies, including DOJ, DHS, and DOI, which encompass more than 90% of federal law enforcement officers, banned chokeholds and carotid restraints, unless deadly force is authorized, and limited the use of “no-knock” entries.
: Federal executive law enforcement agencies, including DOJ, DHS, and DOI, which encompass more than 90% of federal law enforcement officers, banned chokeholds and carotid restraints, unless deadly force is authorized, and limited the use of “no-knock” entries. Body-worn Cameras (BWC): Federal law enforcement agencies, including DOJ, DHS, and DOI, which encompass more than 90% of all federal law enforcement officers, issued policies requiring officers to wear and activate BWC recording equipment for purposes of recording their actions during a pre-planned attempt to serve an arrest warrant or other pre-planned arrest or the execution of a search or seizure warrant or order, and included a presumption that BWC recordings depicting conduct resulting in serious bodily injury or death of another will be released as soon as practical.
My favorite of the MSNBC pundits is Lawrence O’Donnell. He tends to have a more positive attitude than the other pundits. On Tuesday night, he had a segment where — and this is speculation — he wondered if maybe President Joe Biden and his team know what they’re doing with respect to the debt ceiling.
I honestly don’t know what to think. From reading the markets, the stocks have been down, but the US dollar has been a little stronger, at least against the Swiss Franc, in recent days. Also, I just listened to The Last Word from Thursday night, and O’Donnell said that there are indications that Biden is using this crisis to get som good stuff from the Rs.
💜 Unity? 💜
Tesla to open superchargers to Ford Joann Muller, Nathan Bomey, Axios
Ford electric vehicle owners will get access to Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. and Canada in a new partnership that appears likely to accelerate adoption of Tesla's preferred charging setup. Why it matters: Charging access is widely seen as crucial to speeding EV adoption — and Tesla has the largest network of chargers, although until recently it has been open only to Tesla owners. Tesla's plug is proprietary; other EVs use a different design.
Ford said it favors Tesla's technology and is encouraging other automakers and charging equipment suppliers to adopt it as the new industry standard. Driving the news: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley made the announcement Thursday in a live Twitter Spaces discussion.
📥 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 😈
18 Years! Hope that puts some fear into people like Mark Meadows
x BREAKING: Judge Amit Mehta sentences Oath Keeper founder and seditious conspirator Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison. — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 25, 2023
And some of what the judge said Pilar Melendez The Daily Beast
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta seemed to disagree. In a searing speech, he said Rhodes was not a political prisoner and a jury convicted him of one of the “most serious crimes an individual American can commit.” “It’s an offense against the government, to use force. It’s an offense against the people of the country,” he said. Mehta then said Rhodes presents an “ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic, and to the very fabric of our democracy.” “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous,” he said before handing down Rhodes’ sentence.
💰 E. Jean Carroll to get another chance to grab tRump by the wallet Liz Dye, Wonkette
If the purpose of damages in a defamation suit is to deter the defendant from libelslandering the plaintiff, the $5 million verdict in the case of E. Jean Carroll vs. Some Asshole failed spectacularly. The very next day after a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming the advice columnist, Donald Trump described her allegations as a "fake story," telling CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the network's ill-advised town hall, "This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is." He went on to suggest that Carroll was either too old — "about 60 years" — or perhaps too promiscuous to be sexually assaulted. ✂️ Clearly, the former president is not deterred. Luckily, Carroll is likely to get another crack at him because the first part of her defamation case appears finally to be coming back around.
🌵 Maricopa County seeking sanctions on Kari Lake and her legal team AZ Family
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has filed a motion against Kari Lake and her legal team, asking for sanctions and attorney fees for the rejected election lawsuit. On Tuesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in court paperwork her office would request the sanctions because Lake and her team “repeatedly made demonstrably false statements to this Court” and claimed the former TV news anchor brought weak arguments and claims to the trial. ✂️ Maricopa County officials also brought up the allegations Lake and her team have been echoing since her defeat to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs, calling the election “rigged.” “Lake not only failed to prove that the election was rigged by a clear and convincing evidence standard, but also she did not bother attempting to prove the election was “rigged” at trial,” the ruling read. Maricopa County also says Lake’s witness couldn’t testify that any ballots were improperly counted or if the election decision was swayed.
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
In one of the actions(form 13909!) I recommend for those wishing to save our country is contacting the IRS about organizations that have non profit status but should not. However, even though any of us send in a form, doing it is not so easy. And the IRS, which has been understaffed for years, has not been able to keep up.
This week I want to honor Elizabeth Schmidt, who has been investigating organizations that are fraudulent or extremist and that don’t deserve to be forgiven any taxes. Elizabeth Smith, Talking Points Memo
When someone mentions nonprofits, chances are you picture homeless shelters, free medical clinics, museums and other groups that you believe are doing good one way or another. ✂️ You might presume that the government would automatically refuse to grant tax-exempt status to white nationalist and anti-government groups. Yet as a scholar who has researched nonprofit accountability, I’ve seen the authorities struggle to draw the line between which organizations deserve to operate as nonprofits and those that don’t. ✂️ Until recently, the Oath Keepers had chapters scattered across the country, and the main group never became a 501(c)(3) organization. But the Oath Keepers Educational Foundation and several smaller affiliated groups did obtain that status. The foundation told the IRS when it sought charitable status that its primary purpose was “to give veterans an opportunity for continued involvement in community service.”
Out of curiosity, I checked to see what types of organizations the IRS permits to be tax exempt
Charitable Organizations Organizations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, educational, or other specified purposes and that meet certain other requirements are tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Churches and Religious Organizations Churches and religious organizations, like many other charitable organizations, may qualify for exemption from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3). Private Foundations Every organization that qualifies for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) is classified as a private foundation unless it meets one of the exceptions listed in Section 509(a). Private foundations typically have a single major source of funding (usually gifts from one family or corporation rather than funding from many sources) and most have as their primary activity the making of grants to other charitable organizations and to individuals, rather than the direct operation of charitable programs. Political Organizations A political organization subject to Section 527 is a party, committee, association, fund or other organization (whether or not incorporated) organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly or indirectly accepting contributions or making expenditures, or both, for an exempt function. Other Nonprofits Organizations that meet specified requirements may qualify for exemption under subsections other than 501(c)(3). These include social welfare organizations, civic leagues, social clubs, labor organizations and business leagues.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
Neighbors can be so important:
x If the world's got you down, just remember that once during a snowstorm in Canada, an ambulance couldn't get to a sick woman's home.
So neighbors shoveled the sidewalk, got her a chair, and put it on a sled — then slid her all the way to the ambulance!pic.twitter.com/EQtAzthB0i — Goodable (@Goodable) May 19, 2023
📎 Odds & Ends 📎
This is a good dog:
x When Grace was earning her degree, her service dog Justin was by her side at every class.
This week, they walked the graduation stage together.
The university even gave Justin his own diploma.
♥️🐶pic.twitter.com/9RbSAp1Nk5 — Goodable (@Goodable) May 25, 2023
Britain’s gardens made a difference to butterflies Andy Corbley Good News Network
Britain’s butterflies are bouncing back thanks in largest part to Britons’ gardens providing a safe haven, a new report reveals. The study was the first to look at butterfly trends in UK gardens separately from those in the wider countryside and found that half of the 22 species of butterflies surveyed experienced a faster population increase in gardens than in other habitats between 2007 and 2020. The study was conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and was carried out by nearly 8,000 volunteers in the BTO Garden BirdWatch scheme, which records other garden wildlife in addition to birds on a weekly basis.
To restore watersheds, be inspired by beavers Elizabeth Hewitt, Reasons to Be Cheerful
Along a small tributary of the Colorado River outside Crested Butte, Colorado, volunteers and workers in waders tromped out into the water and imitated beavers. On summer days, against a backdrop of Rocky Mountain peaks, they piled up larger branches and logs. Then, as water started pooling, they added smaller sticks and layers of sediment. “Everything about it is a little bit messy,” says Adde Sharp, Colorado River watershed project coordinator for the National Forest Foundation (NFF). Messiness is part of the point. These obstructions, built in 2021 and 2022, are not stopping the water in streams like this one from flowing to the Colorado River, but they are slowing it down, in an effort to maximize its benefits before it flushes downstream. The once-mighty river that hydrates and powers the American Southwest is in crisis. About 19 percent less water is flowing through the Colorado River compared to last century’s average. Some 40 million people in the US and Mexico rely on the river for drinking water. The two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are at or below a third of their full capacity. With no agreement among the seven affected states on a plan to manage the dwindling flow, the Biden administration earlier this year proposed imposing cuts on water usage.
Actually, there is an agreement, published after this article was written.
Report on Jimmy Carter a proponent of truth and love. Bill Barrow, Yahoo News
NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) — Three months after entering end-of-life care at home, former President Jimmy Carter remains in good spirits as he visits with family, follows public discussion of his legacy and receives updates on The Carter Center's humanitarian work around the world, his grandson says. He's even enjoying regular servings of ice cream. “They’re just meeting with family right now, but they’re doing it in the best possible way: the two of them together at home,” Jason Carter said of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, now 98 and 95 years old. ✂️ The longest-lived U.S. president, Jimmy Carter announced in February that after a series of brief hospital stays, he would forgo further medical intervention and spend the remainder of his life in the same modest, one-story house in Plains where they lived when he was first elected to the state Senate in 1962. No illness was disclosed. The hospice care announcement prompted ongoing tributes and media attention on his 1977-81 presidency and the global humanitarian work the couple has done since co-founding The Carter Center in 1982.
I think people who live lives full of truth and love end up living long because these traits are so good for us.
And Tina Turner, who was simply the best (Switzerland is mourning)
🐦 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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