(C) Daily Kos
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Good News Roundup for July 18, 2023 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-07-18
Here are four key takeaways from I-95 that can help Americans capitalize on the federal investment.
The playbook we developed shows that Americans can do big things again. And thanks to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, states and cities now have billions of dollars to spend on everything from highway and bridge repair to broadband expansion and clean energy.
After a critical stretch of Interstate 95 — one of the nation’s busiest highways — collapsed in Philadelphia in June, experts told me it would take months to get traffic flowing again. Instead, state and local leaders and project managers on the ground made decisions quickly, thought creatively and worked together to rebuild and reopen the highway in just 12 days.
A great example of Democratic governing principles at work. Do click the gift link to read it in full.
There was one moment of rancor: Zelensky threw a fit upon learning that the Western leaders would not set a timetable for his country’s ascension to NATO membership. But really, this was never in the cards; the many reasons why had been explained to him repeatedly. … In any case, Zelensky quickly dropped his sour mood and thanked the NATO members for their stalwart support. Even so, this one unpleasant moment hardly reflected “divisions” within the alliance, as none of NATO’s leaders called for Ukraine’s ascension to membership now (or by any specific date). The only frustrated people quoted by the Times’ very able reporter, Steven Erlanger (who almost certainly did not write the headline), were former diplomats with no connections to current officials.
No NATO summit in recent memory has accomplished so much, and with almost no controversy.
This from a summit where Turkey finally (and, to most observers, surprisingly) relented to Sweden’s bid for NATO membership; the alliance members created a NATO-Ukraine Council, which President Volodymyr Zelensky attended; the G7 nations agreed to massive long-term security assistance to Kyiv; Germany and others swelled their lists of heavy weapons to be exported to the Ukraine army; and all the NATO nations revised their long-stated pledges to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense from a “target” to a “minimum.”
President Biden’s trip to Europe this week produced some of America’s biggest diplomatic triumphs in years. Yet news reports were mixed, with the harrumphing led by this New York Times headline: “Despite Successes at NATO Summit, Divisions Remain.”
Subheadline: “But you might not know it from the headlines.” Note that the author, Fred Kaplan, singles out the NY Times on their coverage, which put a classic bothsides headline (“Despite Successes at NATO Summit, Divisions Remain”) on what was otherwise a well-written piece. As Kaplan notes, “The only frustrated people quoted by the Times’ very able reporter, Steven Erlanger (who almost certainly did not write the headline), were former diplomats with no connections to current officials.” Applause to Kaplan and Slate for setting their readers straight.
“Consumers have absolutely noticed that inflation has slowed down,” said Joanne Hsu, director and chief economist of University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. “The labor market is still strong, incomes are high, and that’s helped support robust consumer spending.” For many Americans, that means bank accounts are more flush than usual. Tony Oxx, a manager at a transportation company in Louisville, has nearly tripled his savings since the pandemic took hold. He’s gotten two raises in that period and his overall pay, including commission and bonuses, has jumped more than 50 percent.
Americans are far more optimistic, after more than a year of feeling particularly downbeat about inflation and giving the Biden administration low marks for its handling of the economy. Consumer sentiment spiked in July to its highest level in more than a year and a half, according to a closely-watched metric from the University of Michigan.
Taken together, the data helps explain the big mystery behind how the U.S. economy has managed to avoid a recession that many economists had forecast: Consumers, supported by a strong labor market, have been able to keep spending despite inflation and a sharp rise in borrowing costs. ✂️
Despite a year when inflation pushed prices to new heights, Americans are still better off now than before the pandemic, with nearly 10 to 15 percent more in their bank accounts than in 2019, new checking and savings account data shows. However, households are rapidly spending down that extra cash they’d socked away during the pandemic. Median account balances are at their lowest levels in roughly three years and have dropped as much as 41 percent from their peak in April 2021, when Americans were flush with government stimulus money and tax returns, according to a JPMorgan Chase Institute analysis of the bank accounts of 9 million Chase customers.
WaPo reporter Abha Bhattarai ties herself into knots here, claiming on the one hand that “Median [consumer bank] account balances are at their lowest levels in roughly three years and have dropped as much as 41 percent from their peak in April 2021” but on the other hand “For many Americans, that means bank accounts are more flush than usual.” It seems to me that given the rise in consumer confidence, the latter point is more valid.
Americans are still better off, with more in the bank than before the pandemic
A separate report from the University of Michigan on Friday showed its consumer sentiment index jumped 12.7% to 72.6 this month, the highest reading since September 2021. Economists had forecast a preliminary reading of 65.5.
In the 12 months through June, import prices tumbled 6.1%. That was the biggest year-on-year decline since May 2020 and followed a 5.7% drop in May. Annual import prices have now decreased for five straight months. The government reported this week that consumer and producer prices rose moderately in June. Though consumer inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, the pace of increase has slowed sharply since peaking in June 2022, giving consumers some relief.
With the inflation environment improving considerably, Americans are growing more optimistic about the economic outlook. Consumer sentiment vaulted to the highest level in nearly two years in July, other data showed on Friday. ✂️
U.S. import prices fell for a second straight month in June as an increase in the cost of fuels was more than offset by declines elsewhere, the latest indication that inflationary pressures in the economy are abating.
From Reuters (🎩 to WineRev for mentioning this article in his History Corner on Saturday):
3) Even as the media keeps trying to portray Joe Biden as unpopular, too old, washed up, whatever they’re hyping this week, he’s busy setting fundraising records. Americans are overwhelmingly lined up behind Biden for 2024 and they’re already voting with their dollars. We’ve come to accept that election polling is increasingly off base. It’s time we acknowledge that approval rating polling has likely veered just as far off base, and that Biden is likely far more popular than approval rating polls suggest. The midterm elections were an overwhelming show of support for Biden. Fundraising hauls now also suggest Biden has enthusiastic support. It’s time we acknowledge that Joe Biden is a broadly popular President.
2) Even though Trump is polling well ahead of other Republican candidates, he’s not being taken seriously. Biden is out-fundraising Trump by a two to one margin. When a guy is going to have three or four criminal trials before the next election, he’s obviously not going to end up being a viable candidate. So no one wants to put their money behind Trump. Not only is his presence in the race keeping other Republicans from fundraising at all, he can’t really fundraise either. Trump is holding the entire Republican primary race hostage on his way to prison.
1) Trump’s continued presence in the race really is keeping the other Republicans from getting any traction. The sheer number of Republicans in the race makes clear that they all know Trump is headed for prison, and they each want to be the one who gets the nomination instead. But for now, because Trump hasn’t been hauled off yet, they can’t even fundraise.
In the most recently reported quarter, Joe Biden has out-fundraised the entire 2024 Republican field combined, by a substantial margin. That tells us three things:
Note this important point, which we need to spread far and wide: “We’ve come to accept that election polling is increasingly off base. It’s time we acknowledge that approval rating polling has likely veered just as far off base, and that Biden is likely far more popular than approval rating polls suggest.” As Mokurai and others here have frequently pointed out, approval rating polls erase the difference between those who feel Biden’s policies go too far (Republicans) and those who feel he isn’t going far enough (some Progressives). This does not mean that Progressives won’t support Biden and the Dems over their toxic R opponents.
Speaking of hope, I’ve found almost too many hope-filled stories to fit into one GNR. So make sure you have a big mug of your favorite morning beverage in hand before you wade into today’s ocean of good news.
This is an article of faith for most of us, but it’s worth restating as often as possible.
In progressive spaces it feels lately as though we've lost the ability to paint a picture of that world worth living in, with all the doom bearing down on us. But it's essential: "Not hoping for anything will kill you for sure."
“I’m not saying we’ll live to see some sort of paradise. But just fighting for change makes you stronger. Not hoping for anything will kill you for sure. Take a chance... You’re already wondering if the world could change. Try imagining a world worth living in, and then ask yourself if that isn’t worth fighting for.”
I recently came across this Leslie Steinberg quote from "Stone Butch Blues" for the first time via the writer Alexander Chee:
Good morning, Gnusies! My opening today leapt out at me from the email newsletter of one of my favorite fellow miners for gems on the internet, Laura Olin :
🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿
The MAGA persecution complex is eating itself to death
Setting the bar for Congressional hearings as low as the Benghazi clown show, which Sargent does here, shows how far into the muck the Rs have sunk.
From Greg Sargent in The Washington Post (gift link):
Stephen K. Bannon, a spiritual leader of the Trumpist right, infamously declared in 2018 that the secret to political warfare was “to flood the zone with s--t.” For many observers, this quote continues to capture the perils of our “post-truth” moment: Our democratic culture remains deeply vulnerable to being swamped by disinformation. But with Donald Trump out of the presidency and his allies in Congress mired in infighting, we’re now seeing what happens when the zone gets so flooded with excrement that it threatens to drown the MAGA movement itself. ✂️ After months of [Jim Jordan’s] hearings, it’s painfully clear they lack anything close to the focus of the congressional investigations into the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, during Barack Obama’s presidency. As a result, these proceedings are unlikely to produce the political benefits that the Benghazi hearings did. Blame it on the “MAGA persecution complex” — the vast array of outlets in the right-wing media ecosystem that incentivizes GOP lawmakers to pander to conservative victimization and grievance. It’s feasting on so many claims of persecution that it’s essentially eating itself to death. ✂️ “Good oversight may start with a theory, but it gathers facts before reaching conclusions,” Brendan Buck, a former senior House GOP leadership aide, told me. “These committees are starting with conclusions and then trying — and mostly failing — to find facts to support them.”
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The media misbehaving
The latest brilliant cartoon from Dan Perkins (aka Tom Tomorrow) totally nails the collusion of mainstream media in the prominence of RWNJ narratives. You won’t find a better explanation of why conservative framing has a stranglehold on the media.
“There Hasn’t Been Empathy”: NYT Staff Frustration Spills Over After Sports Desk Closure
And lest you think that bothsidesism is the worst of the NYT’s sins, here’s a peek at how little they care about the welfare of their own staffers.
From Vanity Fair:
What was supposed to be a routine all-company meeting at The New York Times turned into a contentious grilling Thursday, as employees pressed management for answers about the paper’s recent decision to disband the sports section. The move left the newsroom disheartened and worried, with many angry about the company’s plan to subcontract certain sports coverage through The Athletic, the subscription-based sports website the Times acquired last year. “There is sincere concern in the newsroom that if this is left to stand, they could do this to any section, and nothing they said at the meeting made us feel otherwise,” one Times staffer tells me. During the meeting, Terri Ann Glynn, the senior newsroom operations manager for the sports desk, made an emotional address about the way staffers in the department learned their section had been cut. Sports staff were invited to a morning meeting on Monday, and the news alert that the sports desk was shuttering came out before executive editor Joe Kahn had said the words aloud to the room, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting. Glynn noted that staffers were receiving texts from family and friends about the news, while they themselves were still getting briefed on the situation. Kahn acknowledged that the “choreography” was not perfect and called it a difficult situation. “It was a crappy response. Just fucking apologize,” one Times staffer says. “There hasn’t been empathy, and there also just hasn’t been honesty,” says another, noting that the sports desk has been “begging for information” for months. “All of us are completely dumbfounded. It just feels like they made the wrong decision at every point.” ✂️ “...we want to emphasize that there are no plans for layoffs, and everyone affected on the current sports desk has been offered roles on other desks in the Times newsroom,” Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said in a statement to Vanity Fair, adding that the company has added more than 1,000 journalism jobs in recent years, even as other companies were forced to cut staff. Thursday’s meeting was packed with people wearing Guild shirts and stickers that said, “Subcontracting Sports Isn’t Fair Play.” The Guild has said it intends to challenge the Times’ plan to outsource union jobs to The Athletic’s nonunion workers.
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Good news from my corner of the world
Federal judge says Oregon’s new gun rules don’t violate US Constitution
This is Oregon’s biggest recent news. Wine Rev mentioned it in the intro to his History Corner on Saturday, and I promised to provide more detail today. BTW, the article mentions that Immergut is a former U.S. Attorney for Oregon who was appointed to the federal bench by tfg, but she also had the support of Sens. Wyden and Merkley. So not all of tfg’s court packing has resulted in conservative decisions.
My favorite part of Judge Immergut’s ruling is this: “Large capacity magazines ‘are not commonly used for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment’...” This is the first time I’ve seen that commonsense observation made by a judge.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
In a 122-page written order issued late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut found banning large capacity magazines and requiring a permit to purchase a firearm are in keeping with “the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety.” Immergut’s order comes after a weeklong trial in early June testing the constitutionality of Oregon’s new gun laws, which voters approved last fall. ...✂️ Large capacity magazines “are not commonly used for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment,” Immergut wrote. “The Second Amendment also allows governments to ensure that only law-abiding, responsible citizens keep and bear arms.” She ruled that Ballot Measure 114′s permitting system does not violate the Second Amendment and therefore does not deprive Oregonians of their liberty. ✂️ Ballot Measure 114 passed in November with 50.6% of the vote. Since its passage, firearms groups, sheriffs and gun store owners filed lawsuits challenging the law. In January, a state court judge blocked the law from going into effect. The law would ban future purchases of so-called “large capacity magazines” that can carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. It also requires those wishing to buy a firearm to get a permit first. Permits will require applicants to complete a safety class and a federal background check. The federal trial focused almost exclusively on the magazine restriction portion of the law. Days before the trial, Immergut set aside the aspects of the case that dealt with Measure 114′s permitting process, calling arguments against it “unripe” because any potential harm was in the future.
In Oregon Timber Country, a Town Buys the Surrounding Forests to Confront Climate-Driven Wildfires
As usual, local activism turns out to be the key to finding real solutions.
From Inside Climate News:
Butte Falls, ...once a logging powerhouse, is still struggling to provide residents with good-paying jobs more than 40 years after the local timber industry began its long decline. Almost 10 percent of Butte Falls residents left town between 2010 and 2021. Conventional wisdom in the region would have Butte Falls try to reclaim its former glory as a logging hub. But community leaders have hatched an ambitious plan to protect their future by looking to the forest itself as a source of protection as much as prosperity. The town government recently purchased a ring of privately owned timberland surrounding Butte Falls. Instead of harvesting the land—which could provide an immediate, short-term boon to the town economy—locals want to grow an older and biodiverse forest that they say will better protect the town from wildfires, while attracting outdoor tourism. Conservationists and the state’s top politicos say the small project playing out in a remote corner of Pacific Northwest forest can teach other communities how to adapt to climate disasters and hard times. The 2018 blaze that killed at least 85 people in Paradise, California was a wakeup call for Linda Spencer, who was the mayor of Butte Falls at the time. At that point, Butte Falls was completely surrounded by about 400 acres of timberland that didn’t have much value for the community itself. Modern timber companies had rejected the practice of sustainable harvesting—low-intensity logging that provided a dependable supply of timber for future generations and, crucially,steady paychecks. A string of companies since the 1980s intensively harvested parts of the land or let it grow wild, resulting in a dangerously dense and young forest on the community’s doorstep, a serious fire risk, according to Mike Smeltz, a veteran local forester. Smeltz, Hamann and Spencer shared a new vision for the land. The logger, forester and former mayor believed that, if the town bought the forest, it could thin and burn unwanted foliage to cultivate open groves of old-growth trees resilient to wildfire and drought. It’s a strategy some environmentalists want to implement across U.S. forests to sequester carbon, promote biodiversity and blunt severe wildfires—and one recently planned in Paradise itself as it rebuilds in California. The Butte Falls Community Forest on Saturday, June 10, 2023. The stand of 100-year-old Douglas Fir trees had the underbrush thinned earlier this year.
For Grand Ronde tribes, reclaiming land is a way of healing
More local activism, as practiced with ingenuity, persistence, and heart by a tribal community.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
The Grand Ronde people lost nearly all of their land to broken treaties with the U.S. government and a termination policy that stripped the tribe of federal recognition in 1954. ✂️ The land near Willamette Falls is a prominent example of how the Grand Ronde are reclaiming their place on Oregon’s landscape. The tribes purchased the 23-acre Blue Heron Paper Mill site in 2019 with $15.29 million in profits from Spirit Mountain Casino, buying their way back to an area their ancestors were forced to leave after signing the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855. Now, on a site that was surrounded by tribal villages before white settlers moved in, the Grand Ronde are moving quickly to demolish the industrial buildings that displaced them. ✂️ The Willamette Falls site is among thousands of acres of land in the Willamette Valley the Grand Ronde tribes have purchased in recent years in an effort to reestablish traditional land management practices. They’ve developed programs to return cultural burning, native plants and Indigenous hunting and gathering practices to a landscape where housing, industry and agriculture have replaced key staples of their culture. Through land purchases, donations and partnerships, the tribes are rolling back colonial developments to ensure tribal traditions continue.
Oregon could be oldest site of human occupation in North America, UO find indicates
From The Oregonian:
A pre-historic stone tool unearthed by educators and students at the University of Oregon’s Archaeological Field School suggests that people were living in Oregon 18,000 years ago. That is far earlier than scholars previously thought, and more than 1,000 years before the Clovis culture, once seen as the oldest in the Americas. The University of Oregon team, working with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), announced Thursday that a blood residue analysis revealed animal proteins on a human-crafted scraper tool extracted from Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in southeastern Oregon. The animal was likely the Pleistocene species Bison antiquus, an extinct ancestor of the modern buffalo, according to a BLM news release. The team, which has been excavating the rockshelter site near Riley since 2011, discovered the tool made from orange agate in 2012. The tool was preserved well under a layer of undisturbed volcanic ash from a Mount St. Helens’ eruption more than 15,000 years ago. Also found were fragments of tooth enamel from a Pleistocene camel, a species that went extinct about 13,000 years ago. In 2015, the team found another crafted scraper under ash. Experts believe the tools with a created serrated edge were used for butchering animals and scraping hides. The tooth enamel, the tools’ positions within the site’s stratigraphy and other data suggest that Rimrock Draw Rockshelter could be the oldest site of human occupation in North America, say experts. Radiocarbon-dating analysis on the tooth enamel in 2018 and 2023 by Dr. Thomas W. Stafford Jr. of Stafford Research and Dr. John Southon of University of California, Irvine, dated the objects as 18,250 years old (14,900 radiocarbon years), stated the news release.
Portland drag performers break world record for longest continual drag show
Portland is a longtime Pride city. The participants in this record event came from all over the country, and the consensus was that Portland was the only city that could have hosted it. Darcelle (Walter Cole) was a civic philanthropist as well as a world-famous drag performer and was known and loved by almost everyone in Portland.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
Over 60 drag performers from around the country strutted the stage at the historic Darcelle XV Showplace last week with one goal: break the Guinness world record for longest continual drag performance. And that they did, by a comfortable margin of more than 11 hours. The clothing company Wildfang worked with Darcelle XV to put on the marathon Drag-A-Thon show. Organizers wanted to support the queer community after a slew of legislation was introduced across the country targeting gay rights, and drag performers in particular. ...The event sold out — with more than 4,900 tickets sold. Each ticket covered a two-hour block of performances. ✂️ The Darcelle XV Showplace is a Portland landmark; legendary drag artist Darcelle XV founded the venue in 1967. Darcelle, the stage name of Walter Cole, was a gay rights activist and pioneer. She also held her own Guinness record — for being the world’s oldest drag performer. Darcelle died in March at 92 but her legacy continues at the showplace. “Darcelle knew of this event and gave us her blessing, so she is with us here tonight,” co-host Eden Dawn said to the crowd on the first night.world The previous record length for a drag show was 36 hours, 30 minutes and 40 seconds at a 2017 drag-a-thon in Australia. ✂️ “Darcelle was a Guinness World Records title holder. To come back to this place that she started, that’s such a piece of the community, was so exciting because we’re continuing that legacy,” [Guinness World Record representative Michael] Empric said. ...Along with breaking the Guinness record, the drag event raised $296,000 for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that supports LGTBQ+ youth. x YouTube Video
Woman Who Lost Eye As Baby Wears Glitter Eyeballs to Own Her Difference
As you may know, the most popular bumper sticker in Portland reads “Keep Portland Weird.” This cheery story is one reason why.
From Good News Network:
Rachel Mayta was just 18 months old when her doctor spotted a white glow in her eye which led to her retinoblastoma diagnosis, or cancer of the eye. The cancer was so advanced doctors made the choice to remove her eye in a two-hour operation, but far from donning an eyepatch and feeling sorry for herself, she filled a prosthetic eye with glitter to create an unforgettable persona, and now helps others “own” their difference. Rachel with her glitter eye. Rachel grew up without any concern for the missing eye, but after surgery in her 20s made the prosthetic eye more apparent, she began to lose her confidence a little. As an eventual remedy, she began to look for fun or creative prosthetics, rather like a quirky piece of jewelry, to transform her disability into a bit of “bling.” “They are full bling,” said Rachel from Portland, Oregon of her more than 20 fake eyes. “I just get to focus on being me rather than looking normal.” ✂️ Part of Rachel’s collection of “bling” prosthetic eyes. ...she got the idea to find someone who would make her a gold eye—instead of a regular-looking prosthetic, since there was no movement in her eye anyway and it was always quickly noticed to be a fake. ✂️ Rachel set up a Facebook group called ‘ One-eyed and Wonderful ’ and began connecting with others who had one eye like her, as well as hosting fundraisers to buy fun fake eyes for people who want them. She also helps raise awareness for retinoblastoma in children and helps educate people on the early signs of the disease. She set up the fun eye fund with her ocularist Christina King and between them have helped fund 43 eyes. She also helps raise awareness for retinoblastoma in children and helps educate people on the early signs of the disease.
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Good news from around the nation
U.S. destroys last of its declared chemical weapons, closing a deadly chapter dating back to World War I
Jeez...about time.
From PBS:
The last of the United States’ declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, ...a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons. ✂️ The weapons’ destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It’s also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide. The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent — a deadly toxin also known as sarin — that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s. By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven’t joined the agreement, military experts say.
Duke University to Cover Full Tuition for Carolina Students with Family Incomes Below $150,000
Let’s see more universities do the same!
From Diverse:
Duke University will be offering full tuition grants to students from the Carolinas with family incomes below $150,000, effective Fall 2023. The program will also give those with family incomes of $65,000 or less financial assistance for housing, meals, and some course materials or other campus expenses. All qualifying current undergrad will be eligible, and qualifying first-year students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors will receive financial aid statements by Jul. 1 that reflect this change. “One of the reasons that we are doing this plan is that we know that students from these income backgrounds, they tend to choose colleges that are close to home and many of these students, when they graduate will choose to make their homes here in the region,” Gary Bennett, Duke University Dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, told Yahoo Finance. “So we think of this as both a commitment to our students and our families, but also to the communities where they live.”
'Messing with the wrong lady:' 93-year-old South Carolina woman fights off developers
Meet a true heroine.
BTW, updates on this story have brought the good news that Tyler Perry and other deep-pocketed supporters are making sure Ms. Wright will prevail.
From USA Today:
Ninety-three-year-old Josephine Wright’s home has been in her family since the end of the Civil War. Now more than 150 years later, developers who tried to buy her out have filed a lawsuit against her, built a road about 20 feet from her front porch and show no signs of letting up. But Wright is putting up a fight. She has countersued the developers, enlisted the help of a civil rights attorney and so successfully argued her case in national media, she’s got celebrities like Tyler Perry and Kyrie Irving lining up to help. An online fundraising effort for Wright had brought in more than $167,000 by Tuesday. "They're messing with the wrong lady," Wright's granddaughter, Charise Graves, told USA TODAY. "She is not going anywhere." “This has always been a sanctuary,” Wright told USA TODAY. That is until last year. … Bailey Point Investment owns land on every side of Wright's 1.8-acre property after acquiring it in 2014, and is developing a 147-home subdivision in the area. The company tried to buy Wright's property a few years back, offering just $39,000, she said. The situation escalated in February, when Bailey Point Investment sued Wright in local court. The lawsuit said that Wright's screened-in porch, a shed and a satellite dish were encroaching on the company's property, causing a nuisance, lowering property values and delaying their development plans. ✂️ Wright and her family believe the lawsuit was an intimidation tactic. If it was, it didn't work. Wright obtained an attorney and filed a countersuit against Bailey Point, denying all the company's claims and asserting that Bailey Point Investment had been engaging in "a consistent and constant barrage of tactics of intimidation, harassment, trespass, to include this litigation in an effort to force her to sell her property." A hearing has been set for Sept. 14 for both lawsuits. x YouTube Video
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Good news from around the world
The United States and Sesame Workshop Partner to Support Ukrainian Children and Families Affected by Russia’s War Against Ukraine
The Sesame Workshop has a very successful track record in helping refugee children in Syria and other war-affected parts of the world. They’ll make a huge difference for traumatized kids in Ukraine.
From USAID:
The U.S. government announced [on June 30th] a new partnership with Sesame Workshop to support children and families affected by Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Through funding provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State, Ukrainian children and families will now have access to new Sesame Street content in Ukrainian language, as well as tools and resources to help children, caregivers, and teachers process the trauma of conflict and displacement. These resources include animated videos and teacher training workshops. With USAID support, PLUSPLUS – Ukraine’s leading animation channel for children and families – is broadcasting 140 animated 5-minute video segments designed to bring playful early learning to children while paying particular attention to the unique needs and experiences of those affected by conflict and crisis. These engaging and entertaining videos promote math, science, and social-emotional skills, as well as health and safety lessons – all tailored for children ages 3-8. In addition to being broadcast on PLUSPLUS since March 27, this new content is also available for streaming on demand on the Kyivstar TV platform. In addition to the videos, Sesame Workshop developed and hosted, in partnership with USAID, a Virtual Facilitator Training in Ukrainian and worked with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to align their program with the Ministry’s Preschool Education Skills. This new partnership between the U.S. government and Sesame Workshop will soon expand, with the support of the U.S. State Department, to include programming for internally displaced people (IDP) in the network of U.S. cultural centers in Ukraine, known as American Spaces. This programming will also add in-person elements to help caregivers support their own emotional well-being, provide psychosocial support to children, and foster creative play and early learning at home. This announcement builds on USAID’s work to help prevent and mitigate the impacts of Russia’s aggression particularly among children. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, USAID has worked with partners to provide a range of services, including gender-based violence prevention and response activities and mental health and psychosocial support services, to help millions of children and other vulnerable groups. Sesame Workshop has a proven track record of delivering critically needed early childhood development opportunities to families affected by conflict and crisis through its Welcome Sesame Initiative, which builds on the groundbreaking work of Ahlan Simsim which was launched in the Syrian response region more than 5 years ago. This announcement adds to the nonprofit’s efforts to help Ukrainian children cope with the devastating effects of conflict and displacement.
Day Care for Less Than $10: How Canada Is Easing the Burden for Parents
Okay, can we please do something like this??
From The New York Times (gift link):
..an ambitious day care plan expanding across Canada, intended to drastically cut fees that supporters say will address one of the most vexing problems facing many working parents. ✂️ The national day care plan was introduced two years ago by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government with a goal of steadily pushing down child care costs so that, by 2026, tens of thousands of child care slots would be available at daily fees of 10 Canadian dollars, roughly 200 dollars a month, or less. ✂️ Working with the country’s provinces, which are responsible for delivering education and child care services, the federal government plans to spend up to 30 billion Canadian dollars to create a total of 250,000 new low-cost child care spaces, mostly in nonprofit or public day care centers and family-based providers. Child care providers use government financing to reduce their fees over time until they reach the 10 Canadian dollars a day threshold. Day care centers in five of Canada’s 13 less populated provinces and territories have already lowered fees to that level, while the remaining provinces, including Ontario, have cut their fees by half on the road to reaching 10 dollars per day. So far, about 52,000 reduced-cost child care slots have been created across the country under the program.
The UK Retailer That Recruits Its Employees from Prisons
Another enlightened policy worth copying.
From Reasons To Be Cheerful:
“Hi, I’m sorry that I can’t respond to your email. I’m currently in a prison, recruiting more amazing colleagues for our business.” That’s a standard out-of-office reply for Darren Burns, who, as director of diversity and inclusion for well-known UK service retailer Timpson, spends a lot of time interviewing candidates from within prisons. CEO James Timpson made his first prison visit in 2002, during which he struck up a rapport with a young man named Matt. When Matt was released, Timpson offered him a job. Now, around 12 percent of Timpson’s 5,000 strong workforce across 2,076 branches either has a criminal conviction or has been directly recruited from custody. While you might expect that the ex-offenders and serving prisoners Timpson recruits would mostly be stereotypical white collar criminals, such as those who have committed tax fraud or other financial crimes — and some are — the workforce currently includes 16 people serving life sentences for crimes such as murder, who are employed as part of a day release program. Others have been convicted of crimes like theft, drug-related offenses and assault. “Return on temporary license (ROTL), or day release, is the safest way to reintegrate somebody back into society following a long prison sentence. Because you think about the alternative — after years in prison, they open the door, get pushed out, and they’re pretty much on their own. Whereas we provide them with a safe working environment, and an opportunity just to get back up to speed with life,” says Burns.
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Good news in medicine
Simple Urine Test Could Detect a Deadly Brain Tumor that Can Kill Within 12 Months
The amazing news in medicine just keeps coming.
From Good News Network:
Glioma tumors in the brain have a survival rate of 12-18 months when advanced, but now, a simple urine test which could be administered in routine check-ups can detect the cancer even in its earliest stages. ...Brain cancers are often detected late and so are difficult to remove using surgery. ✂️ Led by a team at Japan’s Nagoya University, scientists were able to successfully detect IDH1 mutation, a characteristic genetic mutation of gliomas. The team, whose findings are published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, suggest their invention could be used in routine physicals to catch early signs of the disease. “The detection of these cells as a non-invasive way to check for cancer has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for cancer screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer progression and treatment response,” said Professor Takao Yasui, a member of the research group. The test works because brain tumors release small DNA particles as they grow and although much is cleaned up by the body, excess particles are excreted in urine. “However, a major bottleneck is the lack of techniques to isolate these particles, known as cfDNA efficiently from urine, as the excreted cfDNA may be short, fragmented, and low concentration,” details Yasui. The team came up with a solution in the form of a catch-and-release method on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire surfaces to capture cfDNA and extracellular vesicles from gliomas. ZnO was chosen because water molecules adsorb on the surface of ZnO nanowires. These water molecules then form hydrogen bonds with any cfDNA in the urine sample. The bonded cfDNA can then be washed out, allowing researchers to isolate trace amounts of it in a sample.
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Good news in science
Glorious New Saturn Image: JWST Has Now Captured All 4 Giant Planets
From Science Alert:
With the addition of Saturn, the James Webb Space Telescope has finally captured all four of our Solar System's giant worlds. JWST's observations of the ringed planet, taken on 25 June 2023, have been cleaned up and processed, giving us a spectacular view of Saturn's glorious rings, shining golden in the darkness. Saturn in near-infrared wavelengths, using a filter that blocks emission from methane in Saturn's atmosphere. JWST's image of Jupiter in near-infrared. Neptune in near-infrared, showing its rings for the first time in over 30 years. Uranus as seen in near-infrared, showing its bright pole, clouds, and rings.
Canadian lake selected as site to mark the start of the Anthropocene
The article also notes that “Not everyone is convinced that the Anthropocene needs to be defined as a geological epoch. ...others propose that we define the Anthropocene as an event.” The working group also needs to determine the exact year the Anthropocene began, “which will probably be between 1950 and 1953.”
From New Scientist:
Geologists have selected a lake in Canada as the best site to mark the start of a new epoch dominated by humanity’s influence on Earth, known as the Anthropocene. The announcement marks a big development in a long-running effort to declare that we have entered a new geological epoch, although there are three more votes before the site can be formally ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences. Earth’s current epoch, the Holocene, began when the last glacial period ended around 11,700 years ago. Human civilisation has thrived during this time, but since the middle of the 20thcentury, our impact on the planet has grown dramatically – a shift known as the Great Acceleration. Some scientists believe that this event heralds the beginning of a new epoch dominated by humans. For the past few years, a team of researchers called the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) has been trying to pinpoint the place on Earth that offers the best geological evidence for the Anthropocene. “We looked at a very diverse array of natural environmental archives, from a coral reef in Australia to a peat bog in Poland,” says Simon Turner at University College London, secretary of the AWG. At the International Congress of Stratigraphy in Lille, France, on 11 July, the group announced that Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada, is their chosen site. The layers of sediment at the bottom of the lake, which sits in a protected area and remains undisturbed by the outside world, record precise data about the time during which they were deposited. “Crawford Lake has this annual chronology that has a very nice record of markers that we’ve suggested tie into the Great Acceleration,” says Turner. Sediment cores from the lake show a spike in plutonium-239, the radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing, dating back to the early 1950s that coincides with the surge in human activity at the time.
The myth that men hunt while women stay at home is entirely wrong
Well, duh.
Although my first reaction was snarky, I have to say that it’s great news that the misogynistic filter that’s been affecting anthropology from its inception is finally being discarded. Of course, it took a woman anthropologist to do this research.
From New Scientist:
The idea that men hunt while women stay at home is almost completely wrong, a review of foraging societies around the world has found. In fact, women hunt in 80 per cent of the societies looked at, and in a third of these societies women were found to hunt big game – animals heavier than 30 kilograms – as well as smaller animals. These findings are likely to be representative of all foraging societies past and present, says Cara Wall-Scheffler at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We have nearly 150 years of ethnographic studies sampled, we have every continent and more than one culture from every continent, and so I feel like we did get a pretty good swathe of what people do around the world,” she says. There was already growing evidence that women hunted in many cultures in the past. For instance, of 27 individuals found buried with hunting weapons in the Americas, nearly half were women, a 2020 study found. Yet researchers have been reluctant to conclude that these women were hunters. “There is a paradigm that men are the hunters and women are not the hunters, and that paradigm colours how people interpret data,” says Wall-Scheffler. Her team looked at a database called D-PLACE that has records on more than 1400 human societies worldwide made over the past 150 years. There was data on hunting for 63 of the foraging societies recorded and, of these, 50 described women hunting.
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Good news for the environment
Vacant Office Near D.C. Turns Into Indoor Farm–Using Empty Buildings to Grow Food
This needs to happen everywhere.
From Good News Network:
Arlington, Virginia is like a gateway to the city of Washington D.C. Part of the Metro line, but across the Potomac, it’s nevertheless a busy area and not the kind of place you’d expect to be able to get minutes-old, farm-fresh produce. But Area 2 Farms is growing greens, herbs, and root vegetables in a vertical farm thanks to the dearth of traditional office tenants. With high-rise office space remaining vacant even after the end of the pandemic, landlords are open to ideas. Jackie Potter and Tyler Baras pitched the idea of an indoor farm and it was obviously a good one because Area 2 is already well-established in the Arlington area such that they offer subscription delivery of fresh veggies to fellow urbanites starting at $40 per week. Area 2 Farms uses a sophisticated conveyor belt system called Silo to cut down on the more laborious hours of indoor farming. It’s not a hydroponic system—there is soil inside Area 2 Farms which means they can grow root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and radishes. When executed correctly, vertical farming can produce as much as traditional farming but with a lot less space, and no concern over weather or pests. Obviously as well it can be done in the center of a city, where land is at a premium. Ciara O’Brien at Modern Farmer did some research in an article covering Area 2 Farms and found that 20% of office space in the US is unoccupied, and that by 2030, about 300 million square feet across the country’s cities will simply be obsolete because of companies that couldn’t make it out of the government-enforced or voluntary closures of their businesses during COVID, coupled with the fact that many people are more content working remotely. “Cities are changing every day,” Potter tells Modern Farmer. “There’s a really great economic opportunity as well. Our farms create new green jobs, they beautify spaces and provide fresh food to local communities. That’s something that’s really precious.”
Brazilian leaders praise a 34% drop in the rate of deforestation in the Amazon
Thank you, Lula!
From NPR:
Brazil's national government announced last week that the rate of deforestation in the Amazon dropped about 34% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year. The decrease coincided with the new administration of leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office in January and pledged to protect the rainforest and reverse ballooning deforestation. Da Silva's ascendance follows the controversial tenure of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost his bid for another term and was later blocked from running for office again until 2030 for abuse of power during last year's election. While president, Bolsonaro eliminated some of Brazil's environmental protections and encouraged agricultural production and mining in the Amazon. Illegal deforestation is often caused by people taking land and razing it to sell for soybean farming and cattle grazing. A small minority of farmers is responsible for most of the destruction.
Deforestation Fell 26% in Colombian Amazon Last Year Since Peace and Reconciliation with Rebels in FARC
And thank you, President Petro — what a difference a progressive government makes in Latin America!
From Good News Network:
Chiribiquete National Park in Guaviara State After its first-ever left-wing presidential administration took charge of negotiating permanent peace with the socialist FARC rebels, Colombia’s forests are feeling the effects with a 26% reduction in deforestation in the conflict areas. These dense, biodiverse rainforests that are a part of the Amazon in places, and independent of it in others, have been one of the many victims of the country’s civil war. However, President Gustavo Petro is conducting peace negotiations that put the environment first with around 20 splinter factions of the FARC guerillas, who have responded positively. De-facto leadership in the conflict areas in the forested state of Gauviare has instituted its own deforestation moratorium, and an estimated 50,000 hectares of rainforest have been saved as a result. ✂️ Often flying under the radar when compared to its neighbor Brazil, Colombia is the second-most biodiverse country on Earth, and the most biodiverse in terms of bird life.
Your next BBQ could feature an electric grill
These are pretty spendy now, but are likely to come down in price as they take over more of the market.
From Canary Media:
Switching to an electric grill is a way to jettison yet one more foothold of the fossil fuel industry out of people’s homes and lives. Yet despite their climate advantages and on-par performance, electric grills haven’t yet broken into the public imagination in the U.S. Of grillers surveyed every two years from 2015 to 2021 by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, only 3 to 4 percent owned an electric grill. Most people instead cook with grills that burn something: usually charcoal or fossil fuels, namely fossil gas (mostly methane, or CH4) or propane (C3H8). Grills that consume methane gas require owners to keep a gas line to their homes that they can run out to the grill. For propane grills, cooks purchase propane tanks and switch the gas connection every time the tank runs empty. As carbon-based fuels, burning methane and propane releases planet-warming CO2into the atmosphere. What’s worse, fossil gas lines that are fitted incorrectly can leak their methane, a greenhouse gas that’s shorter-lived than CO2 but has a climate impact that’s a striking 84 to 87 times more potent over a 20-year timeframe. ✂️ [Mark] Begansky said he uses his electric grill once or twice a week when the weather’s warm. It’s perfect for his family of four, spacious with enough room to cook 12 burger patties at a time, and can heat up to 550˚F, albeit in about 20 minutes. Begansky is thrilled he doesn’t have to lug around a 37-pound propane tank anymore and can ditch the worries that come from using gas: that he might accidentally burn something down or run out of fuel when the chicken’s half done. The electric grill he bought was more expensive upfront — it’s currently listed for $399, whereas the comparable Weber Q 2200 propane gas grill costs $329. But the operating costs are lower. Begansky doesn’t have to spend $50-plus on propane for a summer of grilling, and, at the same time, said he hasn’t seen any increase in his electric bill. That fits what Weber, the best-selling U.S. grill maker, has found: that it only costs about 10 to 14 cents to run one of its electric grills for a 45-minute cooking session. ✂️ What makes grilled food so delicious? With gas grills, Atinaja explained, it’s the food’s juices and grease falling into the flame, sizzling and vaporizing. Inside a closed grill, this smoky cloud bathes the food in flavor. Electric grills can be tuned to create this flavor sauna too, according to Atinaja. Weber’s engineers, he said, have tweaked the electric grills’ designs in pursuit of this effect, including figuring out the grate spacings to let the right amount of juice drip onto the heating element and how fast to ventilate away the vaporized drippings so they don’t make the food too greasy.
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Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rosy, Nora, and Rascal.
Rosy chose this very important story. Of course, none of us want to even think about the dog meat trade, but it’s wonderful news that it appears to be on the verge of ending for good.
South Korea Introduces Bill To Ban The Dog Meat Trade, Hailed As “Historic Moment For Animal Welfare”
From World Animal News:
South Korean Democratic Party Assembly Member Jeoung-ae Han has just introduced legislation that seeks to eliminate the dog meat industry by outlawing the breeding and slaughter of dogs for human consumption, including prohibiting dog meat farms, dog slaughterhouses, and the sale of dog meat throughout South Korea, and supporting dog farmers to transition to alternative businesses. The bill, called a Special Act, comes after Humane Society International (HSI)/Korea has been working behind the scenes with Korean lawmakers on a dog meat ban. Since 2015, HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program has worked with dog farmers to permanently close down 18 farms, rescue more than 2,700 dogs, and help farmers transition to alternative livelihoods, such as, water delivery or chilli plant cultivation. The Special Act―supported by 11 bipartisan sponsors―comes at a time of increasing public and political support for ending the dog meat industry in South Korea. First lady Kim Keon-hee has openly called for a ban, and latest opinion surveys by Nielsen Korea, commissioned by HSI/Korea, show that 87.5% of the population doesn’t eat dog meat or won’t in the future, and 56% support a legislative ban. In December of 2021, the government formed a task force to bring forward recommendations on the issue, but after repeated delays, Assembly member Han and HSI/Korea have come together to advance this Special Act to accelerate a phase out.
Nora’s choice is this story. She feels that the message is already abundantly obvious but that it’s worth repeating.
Owning Cats Is Actually Good For Your Health
From Glam:
While dogs are famously considered "man's best friend," cats deserve a moment in the spotlight as well. Due to their more reserved nature, cats tend to be misunderstood. But they can be some of the most loving and loyal pets, even when they're ruling the household and climbing your curtains. Cat owners sometimes get a bad rap, too, but we think it's time to put that negative "cat lady" archetype to rest. In fact, there's scientific proof that being a cat owner is good for you, both mentally and physically. These fluffy companions have the power to keep our minds and hearts healthy, from lowering blood pressure to giving us a better outlook on life. If you're not a cat person, we hope to open your mind and convince you just a little bit. And if you're already a cat person, this might make you love them more, if that's even possible. Cats lower our stress ...The effects that pets have on stress levels is something that scientists have studied for decades, and research has shown that cats can significantly lower the stress of their human pals. ✂️ Good for the heart ...According to a 2009 study in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, there was a decreased risk for death due to cardiovascular diseases like stroke or heart attack in people who owned cats. ✂️ Cats as emotional support animals Though cats are not legally recognized as service animals like dogs are, they can qualify as emotional support animals for therapeutic purposes. Cats can help people feel better after panic attacks and bring relief for those with mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the US Service Animals website. ✂️ The power of the purr ...Veterinarian and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society Dr. Gary Weitzman spoke with BBC Future to explain the healing power of a cat's purr. "Purrs at a frequency of 25-100 Hz correspond with established healing frequencies in therapeutic medicine for humans," he explains. "Bone responds to 25-50Hz and skin and soft tissues to around 100 Hz according to researchers." ✂️ Catching Z's with your cat Sleeping with your cat can be a peaceful bonding experience. In the same way a weighted blanket might help with insomnia and anxiety, a cat sleeping on your body might have a similar effect. ✂️ A sense of purpose ...caring for a pet gives us motivation to start the day. They are counting on us to take care of them, and when we feel needed, it makes us want to take better care of ourselves, too. Bringing a cat into your life will give you a new sense of purpose and responsibility to keep them safe and healthy.
Here’s Rascal’s choice, a story I absolutely adore. What smart and sassy birds these are!!
Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find
From The Guardian:
One of the magpies’ nests made from anti-bird spikes. Birds have never shied away from turning human rubbish into nesting materials, but even experts in the field have raised an eyebrow at the latest handiwork to emerge from urban crows and magpies. Nests recovered from trees in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium were found to be constructed almost entirely from strips of long metal spikes that are often attached to buildings to deter birds from setting up home on the structures. The discovery prompted researchers at the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden to scour the internet for further examples, leading to the identification of another anti-bird spike nest in Glasgow. One of the reviewers of the study then flagged a fourth nest in Enschede in the Netherlands. “I really thought I’d seen it all,” said Kees Moeliker, the director of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, who studied the crow’s nest found during tree maintenance near the city’s main railway station. “I didn’t expect this. These anti-bird spikes are meant to deter birds, they are supposed to scare them off, but on the contrary, the birds just utilise them.” ✂️ It is not the first time birds have been found to incorporate urban materials into their nests. In 1933, a South African museum reported a crow’s nest fashioned from hard-drawn copper, galvanised iron and barbed wire. Nails, screws and even drug users’ syringes have all found their way into birds’ nests. About 25 years ago, Moeliker collected a pigeon’s nest from an oil refinery in Rotterdam harbour, a place he described as having “nothing green, only industry, concrete and bad air”. The nest was made not from twigs but chicken wire. As an example of birds’ ability to adapt to the urban environment, he considered it the ultimate. “It turns out that it wasn’t,” he said, in view of the latest crow and magpie nests.
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