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Save Democracy With A Click on a Website: Saturday's GNR [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-07-15

Remember when I used to hit you up regularly for money to save the House, or the Senate, or get Trump out of the White House?

I do! Because you all gave and we WON! The vast majority of races we supported WON! We made a difference.

In the words of a wise and wonderful man, I am once again asking for your financial support. :-)

Let’s get Biden re-elected!

In the wise words of Chris Jackson:

Thanks to @POTUS @JoeBiden, we now have an unemployment rate lower than Trump's, an inflation rate lower than Reagan's, and a NATO alliance more united than ever in world history. He has achieved all of this despite a daily onslaught against him and his family and with a press that flatly refuses to cover anything remotely positive happening in our country. He never whines or complains; he just wakes up every day and does his job with honor, character, and competence. If you are a Democrat, be proud of this record! Republicans almost unanimously stand behind a twice indicted man who had a record of failure. Surely, we can unite behind this good and decent man who is achieving more than any Democratic president has in half a century! When people you talk to bring up the president's age, you bring up his record. The job of president is to get things done, not score style points.



We can't turn back.

When Ronald Reagan was airing soft-focus ads touting “Morning in America” in 1984, unemployment was over 7 percent, and the American economy created a measly 5 million jobs during Reagan’s first term. Yet Biden has seen the creation of more than 13 million jobs in the past 2½ years. No president created that many over an entire four-year term, going back as far as government data exist, to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. 13 million

That is exactly why we need to do all we can to help him win next November!

We have set up an ActBlue so that we, as a good news community, can pool our money and get Biden re-elected!

Thanks! Now onto the good news!

Democrats are great

Biden administration forgives $39 billion in student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers The Biden administration announced Friday it would automatically forgive $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers. “For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. To bring people over the line for forgiveness, the Biden administration counted payments for borrowers who’d paused their payments in certain deferments and forbearances and those who’d made partial or late payments.

x This action builds on the Administration’s record forgiving $78 billion in student debt relief. As of today, this includes:



- 653,800 public servants through Public Service Loan Forgiveness

- 491,000 borrowers who have a permanent disability

- 1.3 million borrowers taken… — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 14, 2023

Inflation drops to lowest levels since March 2021

A year after inflation soared to the highest level in four decades, price increases are returning closer to normal levels, with families and businesses feeling the difference as wages rise faster than prices and policymakers debate how much more to slow the economy. Government data released Wednesday showed a notable drop in inflation: Prices rose 3 percent in June compared with the year before, and 0.2 percent compared with May, the smallest 12-month increase since March 2021. Meanwhile, wages have grown faster than inflation for four straight months. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4 percent from May to June, outpacing inflation by 0.2 percent, according to a separate BLS report released Wednesday.

Biden’s Democratic Party is to the left of Obama’s. Thank a progressive

FDA approves first over-the-counter birth control pill in U.S.

Federal regulators Thursday approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill available in the United States, a milestone in decades-long efforts to make oral contraceptives easier to obtain, especially by teenagers and women who don’t regularly see a doctor. The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Opill, made by the consumer health giant Perrigo, comes six decades after daily birth control pills were introduced in the United States, drastically changing the lives of countless women and American society. And it means the country will join about 100 other nations that allow the sale of nonprescription birth control pills.

EPA unveils $20 billion to finance the fight against climate change

Today the Environmental Protection Agency launches two grant competitions aimed at financing clean-energy projects across the country, particularly in disadvantaged communities that have struggled to attract private investments. The grant competitions will dole out $20 billion under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly known as a “green bank,” established by the Inflation Reduction Act. They come as the EPA races to stand up the green bank despite several obstacles, including depleted staffing levels and House Republicans intent on repealing the spending.

How Biden learned to stop apologizing and love the economy

Something has come over President Biden and his White House. Rather than talking about the economy in their usual tone of apology and nuance lest someone think they haven’t acknowledged the feelings of anyone who might be unhappy, the “Bidenomics” push has become positively triumphal. The common Democratic impulse to make sure everyone’s pain is validated has been set aside, at least for now. Instead, through Biden’s speeches and a wave of media appearances by administration officials, the White House has gone on something of a victory tour. It’s as though Democrats have finally realized how to frame a debate: If you want the press to tell everyone how great the economy is, you have to start by saying the economy is great.

I thought this part of his speech was great

x "Putin thought our unity would shatter at the first testing. He thought democratic leaders would be weak. He thought wrong. I mean that, our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes.” - @POTUS pic.twitter.com/MNjuoVVuIP — The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 14, 2023

That is exactly why we need to do all we can to help him win next November!

Bad News for Bad Guys

Prosecutors Ask Witnesses Whether Trump Acknowledged He Lost 2020 Race

Federal prosecutors investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election have questioned multiple witnesses in recent weeks — including Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner — about whether Mr. Trump had privately acknowledged in the days after the 2020 election that he had lost, according to four people briefed on the matter. The line of questioning suggests prosecutors are trying to establish whether Mr. Trump was acting with corrupt intent as he sought to remain in power — essentially that his efforts were knowingly based on a lie — evidence that could substantially bolster any case they might decide to bring against him. Others in Mr. Trump’s orbit who interacted with him in the weeks after the 2020 election, who have potentially more damaging accounts of Mr. Trump’s behavior, have been questioned by the special counsel’s office recently. Among them is Alyssa Farah Griffin, the White House communications director in the days after the 2020 election. Repeating an account she provided last year to the House select committee on Jan. 6, she told prosecutors this spring that Mr. Trump had said to her in the days after the election: Can you believe I lost to Joe Biden? “In that moment I think he knew he lost,” Ms. Griffin told the House committee.

x Remember the unnamed guy who helped Walt Nauta move the boxes in and out of the storage room? He's gotten a target letter from Jack Smith for obstruction, meaning he's in serious criminal jeopardy and unless he's lost his senses, will soon tell all he knows about Nauta and Trump — Harry Litman (@harrylitman) July 14, 2023

The Case That Could Be Fox’s Next Dominion

Tucker Carlson, before he was sidelined by Fox, repeatedly endorsed a conspiracy theory about an Arizona man, who may sue for defamation. Legal experts say it would be a viable case.

x The solicitor general has to give her permission for a govt's appeal like this. Sentencing appeals are unusual (judges have considerable discretion) & while the govt can object to procedural or substantive flaws at sentencing, the cases are hard to win. Strong sign DOJ wants… https://t.co/cDOtQt69lM — Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 13, 2023

x that if they have evidence that Trump or people in his circle were ringleaders -- or even aiders and abetters or inciters (see @eisen et al new pros memo re §2283), they would have similar resolve to go after them, constitutional complications be damned. — Harry Litman (@harrylitman) July 14, 2023

Fox News sued for defamation by man named in Jan. 6 conspiracy theories

Fox News, which recently settled two separate high-profile legal challenges for approximately $800 million, is now facing a defamation and false-light lawsuit from a man who said the network presented him as a “scapegoat” for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Ray Epps attended the pro-Trump rallies in Washington in January 2021 but was not among the people found to have breached the Capitol building and has not been charged for his conduct. In subsequent weeks, then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson highlighted a video clip of the Arizona man outside the Capitol to suggest that Epps might have been a government informant — a notion that Epps and the FBI have strongly denied. “Fox, and particularly Mr. Carlson, commenced a years-long campaign spreading falsehoods about Epps,” the lawsuit charges, claiming that Epps and his wife, Robyn, have had their lives “destroyed” by those false claims.

x The party blew $300,000 on "legal consulting," much of which focused on overturning Trump's 2020 defeat.



All they have to show for it are a Democratic governor and U.S. Senate delegation. https://t.co/aazlBObdYr — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 9, 2023

Buckle up: The federal Jan. 6 indictment might be around the corner

Special counsel Jack Smith has been toiling away for months, calling witnesses before grand juries and litigating against claims of privilege in his investigation of twice-indicted former president Donald Trump. Given the accelerated pace of his investigation, the inner-circle witnesses from whom Smith has obtained testimony and the expected state indictment in Georgia on a portion of the plot to overthrow the 2020 election, some experienced prosecutors — including former Justice Department lawyers — think Smith is likely to bring an indictment before Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani T. Willis pulls the trigger. Out of concern for controlling evidence and keeping witness testimony under wraps, federal prosecutors generally don’t like other proceedings to precede their own cases. If so, we might then see an indictment in the federal Jan. 6 case before the second week in August, when Willis has advised the courthouse in her county to make way for a substantial case. What will the case look like? The boatload of evidence — much of which has come to light in only the past few months — is jaw-dropping.

Target letter to Trump Organization staffer signals new push in classified docs probe

The special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents has taken new steps to examine possible efforts to obstruct the probe, threatening potential charges against a Trump Organization employee who is suspected of lying to investigators, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Special counsel Jack Smith in recent weeks transmitted a target letter to the staffer indicating that he might have perjured himself during a May appearance before the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the classified documents probe, the sources told ABC News.

Arizona escalates probe into alleged efforts to swing election for Trump

Arizona’s top prosecutor is ramping up a criminal investigation into alleged attempts by Republicans to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state by signing and transmitting paperwork falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner, according to two people familiar with the investigation. This is one of several investigations into attempts to overturn the election results. There is a federal criminal probe being led by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to examine the sprawling efforts in several states intended to reverse Trump’s loss. Smith’s team has interviewed and subpoenaed about a dozen Arizonans. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) has spent more than two years investigating efforts by Trump and others to overturn his narrow loss in the state, and she is expected to announce a charging decision this summer.

x After being in this race for only a month, we’ve received over 40k individual donations to our campaign and met all RNC requirements to reach the debate stage. Americans are ready for someone to stand up to Donald Trump, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.



Get your popcorn🍿 pic.twitter.com/HcilCP0nfi — Chris Christie (@GovChristie) July 13, 2023

Boy those bad guys sure are bad! You know what we can do to fight them…..

Other Good News

Good news for climate comes from the world’s greatest user of coal

In a season of record temperatures, fires and floods, there’s a glimmer of hope that averting the worst of climate change might still be possible. China, the world’s top carbon emitter and greatest user of coal, is rolling out renewables at breakneck speed. This year alone, China could add more solar power than the cumulative total in place in the United States. Last year, the increase in China’s solar and wind power nearly matched the amount of electricity used in many of the world’s major economies, including South Africa, Australia and Spain. This dizzying pace means China’s carbon dioxide emissions will peak years ahead of its 2030 target. And where one global power leads, others are compelled to follow.

On the Lighter Side

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