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GNR for Friday, April 4,2025: Make good trouble [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-03
Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Yeah, the news sucks some times, but this week we had some real wins. France! Wisconsin! Some court stuff! And more!
So, I urge everyone to keep at it. True, not everything we try will work, but some of it will. Here are some quotes:
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"Winners never quit, and quitters never win."
"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth
"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King
"Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going."
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
Celebrate this week’s victories, and, like Senator Booker, see what you can do next. Yes, like Senator Booker, it means standing up. It means going on longer than we thought we could.
Make good trouble. And if you can, mix it up and try something new. See if it works, and if so, try some more.
I also recommend investing in whatever you can to keep your household running — canned goods, toilet paper, medicines, even bottles of water — because the current government is not to be trusted.
But in the meantime, many people are standing up, and we have each other. Come on in, friends, and enjoy this safe space.
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, and the chaos. 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 and the planet from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know.
Remember:
💜 Although they lie all the time, reality matters. And our goals — based on reality — are more popular.
💙 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, make sure to protect yourself, your family and your friends, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.
🗽 Reports on Resisters 🗽
Senator Booker has to be the headline this week. At the end, he quoted the late great John Lewis Matt Brown AP
WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Cory Booker ended his record-setting speech the same way he began it, more than 25 hours earlier: by invoking the words of his mentor, the late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. “He endured beatings savagely on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, at lunch counters, on freedom rides. He said he had to do something. He would not normalize a moment like this,” Booker said of Lewis' work as a young activist during the Civil Rights movement. “He would not just go along with business as usual.” "He said for us to go out and cause some good trouble, necessary trouble, to redeem the soul of our nation,” Booker said.
Booker talked about how he didn’t know what to do, but he had to do something.
Other stuff has been happening too:
Tesla takedowns:
x Tesla takedown in Lisle Illinois — (@marg-a-rita.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T22:18:32.842Z
People are out supporting various federal agencies, such as the CDC:
x Happening now at #CDC! Rally to support CDC and federal employees. — Fired but Fighting (@firedbutfighting.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T21:05:58.321Z
💪 Get Ready to Fight 💪
🎩 Senator Cory Booker sets an example
x I’m not saying everyone needs to do *this*. But @booker.senate.gov figured out the biggest best thing HE could do right now. And then he did it. Everyone needs to do *that*. — Jess McIntosh (@jessmcintosh.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T23:08:00.079Z
Representative Jayapal and others are holding “resistance labs” to train people to fight tRump My Northwest
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle) says she’s holding “Resistance Labs” to help oppose President Donald Trump, saying it’s a way to help prevent the president from becoming a dictator via “nonviolent resistance.” “We decided is that we really need to help Americans understand what happens when democracies fall, when dictators take over,” Jayapal explained on MSNBC. “We’ve been pretty complacent in America. We haven’t had to really deal with this in any real way. And now I think people need to understand what are the lessons from other countries?” According to her website, Jayapal says the goals “are to help people turn anger, fear and frustration into action, and to help ensure we are strike-ready and street-ready.” What is being taught at these Resistance Labs? Jayapal said roughly 1,500 participants joined her Resistance Lab this past weekend, representing some 31 states. She says the curriculum was developed in collaboration with the Nonviolent Action Lab at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and other activist organizations. “We’ve developed a curriculum where we help people understand, how do you go after the pillars of support? Not necessarily the person at the top, but the pillars of support that allow that person to continue to have power, and how do you shift allies from being sort of passive opponents to being active supporters of taking down a dictatorship?” she said.
I love the idea of going after the enablers.
Tomorrow is the April 5 Hands off rally! Want information? Look here:
x Hands Off!! We are Marching!! www.mobilize.us/handsoff/eve... Click for Event Hub www.takeactionsandiego.org/hub/partners... and Updates secure.everyaction.com/p/fL8MQH_xAk... — Change Begins With ME - Indivisible (@bethechangesd.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T15:10:03.150Z
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
tRump’s tariffs are so bad on so many levels, that I don’t know where to start. I think he is really trying to wreck the economy. He has been threatening the poorer people in the country, what with threats to Medicaid and social programs. He has been threatening those dependent on Social Security. And, if the middle class thought they could depend on their investments, well the stock market is no longer a safe place?
Will people wake up to the fact that the GOP is really bad for business? Even if you could say they were OK in the past (they were not) could we admit they are terrible now?
The GOP keeps trying to ignore reality. Like, you know, the fact that vaccines work. Or, you know, numbers and basic math. And I may contact my R Rep to complain about the tariffs, because actually the Congress could do something about it.
As reality can be hard to ignore, tRump may be showing musk the door
x When you’re so shitty that the guy who owes you his presidency thinks you suck. www.politico.com/news/magazin... — Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2025-04-02T15:33:56.797Z
Amazing at how musk has gone down in the last few years.
Not based on final numbers, but still apt:
x When you go from a 30pt margin to something more like 10pts in a safe district it means your party is going to get its ass handed to them in swing races. Don’t let any R analysts tell you different. — Rachel Bitecofer (@rachelbitecofer.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T23:50:49.937Z
House fails to block bipartisan legislation that would allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely, Marianna Sotomayor, Mariana Alfaro and Hannah Dormido Washington Post
House Republicans on Tuesday failed in a bid to block bipartisan legislation that would allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely. The House, in a procedural vote, fell short of the votes needed to adopt a rule that included language blocking a proxy vote resolution led by Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colorado). Eight other Republicans joined Luna in protesting House GOP leadership’s move to kill the resolution by sinking the rule that included language barring Luna from ever bringing up a resolution that would allow for remote voting for new parents. The stunning rebuke temporarily halts the House from debating conservative legislation they wanted to pass this week that could change voter ID laws and block federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions.
Maga is as unhelpful to new parents as possible. Note this punishes women more than men. But it got blocked!
Not popular!
x "When he said, 'I have the highest poll numbers of any Republican for the last 100 years,' that wasn’t just wrong, it was the opposite of reality: At this point in their terms, every other GOP president since the dawn of modern polling has had more support than him." www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... — Rachel Maddow (@maddow.msnbc.com) 2025-04-01T19:43:04.124Z
And the poll numbers should keep going down:
x ECONOMY IN FREE FALL 📉 The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's GDPNow model now estimates real GDP growth for Q1 2025 in the United States to be -3.7% — plunging from its previous estimate of -2.8% on March 28. — MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-04-01T18:30:36.230Z
Sigh
x ECONOMY IN SHAMBLES U.S. job cuts hit 275,240 in March 2025, the highest since the pandemic peak in 2020, surpassing 2001 & 2008 recessions. Layoffs surge as federal cuts, led by DOGE, echo Covid-era losses. It's the third highest monthly total on record. — MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-04-03T15:40:23.836Z
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Cory Booker was so inspirational!
x WASHINGTON (AP) — Cory Booker breaks the record for longest Senate speech, previously held by segregationist Strom Thurmond. — Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T23:20:34.063Z
Beating segregationist Strom Thurmond
x Thurmond was the same age as Booker when he set the record Senator Cory Booker just broke. Thurmond was afforded a bathroom break and read from the encyclopedia. Booker held the floor the entire time and delivered a consistent, cogent speech for more than 24 hours. Incredible. — Andrew D Thaler (@drandrewthaler.bsky.social) 2025-04-01T23:43:38.902Z
*
We won in Wisconsin! I sent out 99 postcards supporting Judge Susan Crawford. Time and money well spent, unlike the time Musk spent in Wisconsin and the millions of dollars he spent trying to buy a state supreme court. He was so toxic that he got people out to vote against him.
And we overperformed in Florida. Here’s what Jessica Craven (Chop Wood, Carry Water) wrote about the special elections this week:
And what results they were! First, we won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by ten points. We literally defeated Elon Musk and his millions in an election he claimed “would decide the trajectory of not only the whole country, but perhaps all of ‘Western civilization’ and ‘the future of the world.’” He may have been right about that, but not in the way he thought. There’s no overstating the magnitude and importance of this victory alone. But that wasn’t it. We also held the Superintendent of Public Instruction seat in Wisconsin—this was a lesser known but critically important race on the same ballot. Jill Underly won by about 5 points, defeating a Republican school voucher proponent who would have been a disaster for public education. In Florida we didn’t win—no huge surprise—but we shrunk the Republicans’ margins by massive, massive amounts—16 points in the 6th district and 22 points in district 1. The latter is the largest overperformance by a Democrat in a special Congressional election since the Trump era began in 2016. HUGE. We should make sure to reach out to Gay Valimont and Josh Weil on social media and congratulate them on their extraordinary accomplishments. This is an instance where winning literally isn’t everything. This margin change, I guarantee you, is causing deep, deep concern in Republican circles. GOOD.
💜 Unity? 💜
Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out something interesting with respect to the Senator Booker filibuster. Not a single GOP senator tried to speak during it. No opposition showed up. Maybe they thought that a question would give him the chance to rest his voice (and that is what D senators did). And maybe some of them agree with him.
Grassley and Cantwell uniting Aaron Parnas Meidas Touch
Panic gripped global markets this morning as U.S. stock indexes plummeted in response to the escalating fallout from Donald Trump's controversial tariff policies. The economic tremors were amplified when auto giant Stellantis announced the temporary layoff of 900 employees and the shuttering of key operations in Canada and Mexico — a move directly linked to retaliatory tariffs and strained cross-border trade relationships. The immediate economic pain has sparked swift action on Capitol Hill. In a rare show of bipartisanship, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) unveiled new legislation just minutes ago that would require congressional approval for any new tariffs imposed by the executive branch. The bill represents a dramatic shift in congressional posture on trade, long dominated by executive discretion.
Yeah, a huge drop in stocks will get the attention even of Rs.
And the loss in Wisconsin and the underperformance of the GOP candidates in Florida shows that tRump’s grip is slipping.
This may be a way to stop these tariffs.
After all, we also had this:
x 🚨 51-48, Senate PASSES a measure to terminate Trump’s tariffs on Canada.Four Republicans join Democrats to deliver a rare rebuke to the president:Susan CollinsLisa MurkowskiRand PaulMitch McConnell — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) 2025-04-02T23:41:41.893Z
Anyway, some hope that some of the madness will be checked. I think it’s interesting that both senators from Kentucky joined the less conservative GOP ladies. Besides, Maine and Alaska both border Canada; Alaska borders nothing else, really. Maybe Kentucky Bourbon has something to do with it.
This was highlighted in a top recced story, but it’s so important that it bears repeating. Something that used to be so normal but that has not been in the era of tRump: Brad Schimel conceded to Susan Crawford.
Once common, now unusual: Conservative candidate publicly quashes shouts that the other side cheated Ali Swenson, Christine Fernando Associated Press
As the first news outlets began calling the Wisconsin Supreme Court election for the liberal candidate Susan Crawford, her opponent called her — to concede.
Minutes later Tuesday night, the conservative-backed Brad Schimel took the stage at his watch party to acknowledge the loss. Angry yells broke out. One woman began to chant about his opponent: 'Cheater.'
Schimel didn’t hesitate. 'No,' he responded. 'You’ve got to accept the results.' Later, he returned to the stage with his classic rock cover band to jam on his bass.
📥 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. Join with local communities to make a difference. It could be your local Dems. It could be your school board or your library. Reach out to people. We all need each other these days.
🏃 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 😈
Enjoyed Wisconsin this week! I think people are starting to notice that Elon is, well, just yucky.
Tesla is not doing well:
x TESLA SALES IN COLLAPSE Tesla suffered its biggest sales decline in the company’s history as sales fell 13% in the first quarter amid massive backlash against Elon Musk. Tesla delivered 50K fewer cars from a year ago, and fell 72K cars short of analyst expectations. — MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-04-02T13:51:57.747Z
Turns out that being a d*ck turns people off
Mike Flynn has been harassing Rick Wilson from the Lincoln Project.
x Losing Mike Flynn loses in the FL Supreme Court against me. We’re done here. — Rick Wilson (@therickwilson.bsky.social) 2025-04-02T21:53:49.235Z
Also, Marine Le Pen was convicted in France and Les nouvelles de France: OK, lots of funny stuff here, especially if you read French. Her quote: “I demand the strict and complete law be applied with zero tolerance.”
x Le Pen condamnée par Le Pen. — Paul Vannier (@paulvannier.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T11:01:13.718Z
Also:
x Breaking: Le Pen to go to le pen. — Missing The Point (@missingthept.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T14:04:15.652Z
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
SF law firm declares it will stand up to tRump Liz Pena 7 News (ABC)
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco law firm is taking a stand against the Trump administration. This is after several executive orders have targeted law firms and perceived political enemies. "His reasons for doing this is, in every case that they have represented people he doesn't like. They have taken a stance in cases he doesn't like. The First Amendment gives people the right to disagree with the president and the right to use the legal system to express their opposition to the president," said Matthew Coles, professor of law at UC Law San Francisco. At least five law firms are facing the removal of security clearances. Attorneys are being blocked from accessing federal buildings, and the administration is terminating some contracts. Some law firms are suing the administration, accusing it of targeting them for working on criminal investigations against the president. Coles views these actions as intimidation tactics and a violation of the First Amendment.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
Eagle love story
*
The two chicks that survived have been named (names voted on by local school kids). Sunny is the bigger chick and Gizmo is the smaller chick.
📎 Odds & Ends 📎
Well done, Canadians! Discreet way to make sure your drink has not been spiked Andy Corbley Good News Network
After 12 years of research and development, a team of Canadian chemists has created what could be the ultimate tool for detecting if your drink has been spiked. More discreet and accurate than anything else on the market, the simple, innocuous-looking drink stir comes with a tip that will change color if exposed to any of the common drugs used by predatory bargoers. Called Spikeless, the stirrer was envisioned by a team of brothers at the University of British Columbia and can detect common drink spiking drugs like GHB and ketamine, which are otherwise odorless and tasteless, within 30 seconds.
Yeah, the rapist in the WH might try to ban this or put big tariffs on it. But I hope all people, especially women who want to be able to enjoy a drink in a bar, get them.
So important! Good!
x BREAKING: A federal court ruled that Alabama cannot prosecute people for helping others travel across state lines to access abortion care. This is a win for our freedom of speech and our right to travel freely. — ACLU (@aclu.org) 2025-04-01T16:08:44.527Z
Rapid liver regeneration Andy Corbley Good News Network
Researchers at the National Cancer Research Centre in Spain (CNIO) have discovered a mechanism that is triggered just minutes after acute liver damage occurs—and it could lead to treatments for those with severe liver problems. The avenues for future treatments of liver damage include a diet enriched with the amino acid glutamate. “Glutamate supplementation can promote liver regeneration and benefit patients in recovery following hepatectomy or awaiting a transplant,” wrote the authors in a paper published in ‘Nature’. The liver is a vital organ, crucial to digestion, metabolism, and the elimination of toxins. It has a unique ability to regenerate, which allows it to replace liver cells damaged by the very toxins that these cells eliminate. However, the liver stops regenerating in cases of diseases that involve chronic liver damage–such as cirrhosis—and such diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent, associated with poor dietary habits or alcohol consumption. So activating liver regeneration is key to treating the disease.
Plant-based alternative to leather with no plastics Cristen Hemingway Jaynes EcoWatch
Alt. Leather, a startup based in Melbourne, Australia, has designed an entirely eco-based leather alternative made from natural fibers and agricultural waste that provides an animal-free option using zero plastics. The new material looks and feels like leather and is meant to replace conventional leather products used in the footwear, fashion, upholstery and automotive industries, a press release from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said. “Our material scientists have developed an innovative formula that meets global ISO standards for strength, abrasion resistance, flexibility and colour fastness,” Alt. Leather said on its website. “10% of our ingredients are upcycled from textiles and cellulose destined for landfill or incineration. 100% of our ingredients are derived from regenerative plants available in abundance globally. Designed with end-of-life in mind, we are currently testing the degradability and recyclability of our material.”
Real rats saving lives! Andy Corbley Good News Network
For most people, a rat is at best an unwelcome guest, and at worst, the target of immediate extermination. But in a field clinic in Tanzania, rats are colleagues—heroes even. Far from a trash bin-dwelling NYC street rat, the African giant pouched rat is docile, intelligent, easier to train than some dogs, and for East Africans, the performer of lifesaving tuberculosis diagnoses every day. 400,000 new cases of tuberculosis (TB) were estimated to have been prevented by these rats, whose sense of smell would make a bloodhound take notice. As the number-one killer among infectious diseases worldwide, many of those 400,000 can be translated into lives saved. ✂️ APOPO uses giant pouched rates to sniff out traces of TB in the saliva of patients. In parts of Tanzania, a saliva smear test under a microscope by a human may only be 20-40% effective at detecting TB. By contrast, a giant pouched rat like Ms. Carolina, a now-retired service rat who worked for APOPO for 7 years, raised the rates of detection on TB samples by 40% in the clinic where she worked.
This species of rat has also worked hard at clearing landmines.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings! Messing with the Myths: The Maxotaur and Messing with the Myths: The Book of the Living. Older offerings: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), a trilogy about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction: Hunters of the Feather, Scavengers of Mind and Familiars of the Flock (They’re really good! They’re really cheap! Buy and review or rate positively! And all available on Audible!) Other stories, based on Jane Austen novels — such as The Meryton Murders — and others based on history and Greek mythology, such as Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus, 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.
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.
I know it’s tough to see the path forward. And I can’t guarantee that there is a path forward. But people who are smarter and braver than I have seen ways to move ahead.
Their (the fascists’) plans really are dark, but many of them are also dumb, in the sense that they don’t make sense. So many of them cannot succeed.
Here are some quick hits.
Stay involved. Yeah, that’s tough. I want to look away too, but by taking simple actions you can make a difference. Keep contacting your representatives, both in DC and at home.
Support causes that will fight. Send money if you can. Also, spread their news with clicks and conversation.
Slow them down. Oppose and block at every turn.
Make tRump unpopular. Doing this weakens him. And it should not be that difficult. The GOP made a lot out of Biden is old and eggs cost too much. Well, tRump is older than Biden was at the beginning of his term and tRump has no policies that are going to bring down inflation. And a host of other problems, like he’s a convicted felon.
Divide the GOP from each other. They are a coalition based on contradictory promises, so there’s plenty to work with.
Keep telling the truth and showing love.
Make sure to pace yourselves in this marathon and to practice self-care.
Current projects:
Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters
And Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny Lessons:
(1) Do Not Obey in Advance; (2) Defend Institutions; (3) Beware the One-Party System; (4) Take Responsibility for the Face of the World; (5) Remember Professional Ethics; (6) Be Wary of Paramilitaries; (7) Be Reflective if You Must Own a Gun; (8) Stand Out (this means, speak up, even when others do not); (9) Be Kind to Our Language; (10) Believe in Truth; (11) Investigate; (12) Make Eye Contact and Small Talk; (13) Practice Corporeal Politics; (14) Establish a Private Life; (15) Contribute to Good Causes; (16) Learn from Peers in Other Countries; (17) Listen for Dangerous Words; (18) Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives; (19) Be a Patriot; (20) Be as Courageous as You Can
🌻
💙 President Joseph R. Biden: “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.” 💙
Sir Winston Churchill: When you’re going through hell, keep going.
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.
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