Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
I admit, sometimes the news scares me.
There’s a lot of evil in the world. When I look at Hamas, when I look at Russia, when I look at Iran and the Taliban in Afghanistan — and when I look at what some Americans want to do to other Americans — it’s impossible to ignore. I now better understand the phrase “ignorance is bliss.” There are things that would be easier not to know.
But you know what? The evil has always been there; I was just too privileged to experience it. And now I am wearing big girl pants and I am brave enough to face it — and the fear it creates. Because if we face the fear, sometimes we can fight the evil.
Here are some quotes that helped me. Maybe they will help you.
- Fear has its use, but cowardice has none. -Gandhi
- Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it. -Judy Blume
- Everything you want is on the other side of fear. -Jack Canfield
- Do one thing every day that scares you. -Eleanor Roosevelt
Remember, the news is often chosen to scare us. Sometimes just for clicks, and sometimes to keep us from working to make things better.
Because a lot of people are working to make the world a better place. I sometimes take my fear with me and stomp on it (see the odds and ends section below). Othertimes I use the fear to goad myself into action.
Come on in, gnusies, and see what the good guys are doing.
Regular Scheduled Programming
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the many who are fighting to destroy our country. Some of us expected it: the cheating, the lying, the chaos, and yes, even the attempts to cling to power despite the clear will of the people. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know. Remember:
💙 There are more of us than there are of them.
💛 They are terrified when we organize. THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE TERRIFIED!
💔 They want us to be demoralized. The best way to keep up your spirits is to fight. So, take the time to recharge your batteries, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.
🗽 Biden as President! 🗽
Biden, Harris and their administration have been hard at work. Here are the last week’s posts at the White House briefing room.
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Mountain View, CA
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris Honoring the 2023 WNBA Champions, the Las Vegas Aces
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: Nominations Sent to the Senate
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: President Biden Announces Key Nominees
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: A Proclamation on Military Spouse Appreciation Day, 2024
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: Readout of White House Convening on Advancing a Climate-Ready Workforce
- Thursday, May 9, 2024: FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities Across the Country
- Wednesday, May 9, 2024: Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Moderated Conversation on Reproductive Freedoms with Sheryl Lee Ralph
- Wednesday, May 9, 2024:Remarks by Vice President Harris at the EMILYs List We Are EMILY National Gala
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at National Teacher Appreciation Day Call
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Readout of White House Celebration of Women’s History
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Remarks by President Biden on His Investing in America Agenda | Racine, WI
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Central African Republic
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Central African Republic
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Actions of the Government of Syria
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Message to the Congress on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Actions of the Government of Syria
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Memorandum on Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 1245(d)(4)(B) and (C) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Milwaukee, WI
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Fact Sheet: Third Ministerial Meeting on the Los Angeles DeclarationOn Migration and Protection in Guatemala
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with President Iohannis of Romania
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with CEOs
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at Event to Honor Memory of World War I Service Members
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Remarks by President Biden and President Iohannis of Romania Before Bilateral Meeting
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Remarks by President Biden at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Bills Signed: H.R. 292, H.R. 996, H.R. 2379, H.R. 2754, H.R. 3865, H.R. 3944, H.R. 3947, S. 474
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at Cinco de Mayo Reception
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Advocates, Leaders Applaud Administration’s New Action to Expand Affordable, Quality Health Care Coverage to DACA Recipients
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces $5.5 Billion to Boost Affordable Housing, Invest in Economic Growth, Build Wealth, and Address Homelessness in Communities Throughout America
- Tuesday, May 7, 2024: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Ramps Up Actions to Counter Antisemitism on College Campuses and Protect Jewish Communities
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Remarks by Vice President Harris During the Nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports
- Monday, May 6, 2024: The White House Announces Public Tours and Media Preview of the White House Gardens on Mother’s Day Weekend
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Remarks by President Biden at Presentation of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Army Black Knights
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Statement by Vice President Harris on Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of President Iohannis of Romania to the White House
- Monday, May 6, 2024: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel
- Monday, May 6, 2024: WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: President Biden Expands San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
- Monday, May 6, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces More Than $100 Million to Support American Auto Workers and Small Auto Suppliers
- Sunday, May 5, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on Orthodox Easter
- Saturday, May 4, 2024: Readout of White House State Workforce Day Convening
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Remarks by President Biden at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on Record Decrease in Violent Crime in 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on National Hurricane Preparedness Week, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on National Teacher Appreciation Day and National Teacher Appreciation Week, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on Public Service Recognition Week, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: A Proclamation on National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, 2024
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Message to the House of Representatives — President’s Veto of H.J.Res. 98
- Friday, May 3, 2024: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Nebraska Disaster Declaration
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the April Jobs Report
- Friday, May 3, 2024: President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on Final Rule to Expand Health Coverage for DACA Recipients
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Expands Health Coverage to DACA Recipients
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on Final Rule to Expand Health Coverage for DACA Recipients
- Friday, May 3, 2024: Statement by President Joe Biden on the Occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2024
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
👍 US completes construction of Gaza aid pier Agence-France Presse
(tuesday) Washington (AFP) - The US military has completed construction of its Gaza aid pier, but weather conditions mean it is currently unsafe to move the two-part facility into place, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The pier -- which the US military started building last month and which will cost at least $320 million -- is aimed at boosting deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which has been ravaged by seven months of Israeli operations against Hamas.
"As of today, the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS -- the floating pier and the Trident pier -- are complete and awaiting final movement offshore," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists, using an acronym for Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, the official name for the pier capability.
"Today there are still forecasted high winds and high sea swells, which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS components to be moved. So the pier sections and military vessels involved in its construction are still positioned at the port of Ashdod," in Israel, Singh said.
👎 UBS predicts US inflation will come down Sarah Min CNBC
Stocks have come under pressure this quarter after a string of hotter inflation reports spurred investor concerns the Federal Reserve will stay higher for longer, with rate cut expectations coming down to just two for the year starting in September.
However, UBS anticipates upcoming inflation data will start to trend lower, starting with the April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) that’s set for release next week. The firm cited recent data indicating moderating housing costs, and lower consumer spending going forward.
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
In the current NY criminal trial of tRump, one of the election fraud things for which Michael Cohen is reimbursed is the manipulation of online polls. I think there’s manipulation in other polls as well. I may do more on that later, but here’s an observation from Spiro’s Ghost:
I know people freak out daily over meaningless polls of ~900 people that show too close of a race but actual votes show Trump has a massive, massive problem.
Not only is it impossible for such polls to measure the fact many millions of angry women focused on the topic of abortion will come out & vote, but they cannot measure how he has an absolutely catastrophic problem within his own party. 10-25% of the Republican party *does* realize he is a dangerously deranged lunatic unfit for any public office after his behavior post 11/3/2020. If they do not vote at all or vote for Biden, he will be destroyed to pieces.
This is what another massive protest vote against him tonight shows, where he loses 21-22% to Haley who dropped out so long ago. Early voting in Indiana started AFTER she dropped out so there is no way to bullshit out of this disaster for him.
Kristi Noem discovers her problem: she isn’t tRump Matt Lewis The Daily Beast
✂️ For example, Noem said that she asked her publisher, Center Street (disclosure: Noem and I share the same publisher) to remove the North Korean dictator’s name once she “became aware” of his inclusion in the book. The
only problem? Noem recorded the audio version of her book long before the decision to exercise mentioning the dictator.
When asked about that, Noem refused to discuss this discrepancy.
Eventually, friendly outlets started turning against her. This created a permission structure where she became fair game, even for conservative hosts. A feeding frenzy ensued, leading Noem to pull the plug on subsequent interviews.
We can only speculate as to why Noem a) volunteered damaging information in her book to begin with, and why she b) so badly botched the subsequent crisis management. ✂️
A big clue to Noem’s thinking can be found in the title of her book, No Going Back.
During the Trump era, there is a sense that one can lie with impunity, so long as you never let them see you sweat, and never back down. Being a MAGA Republican, in other words, means never having to say your sorry.
One problem with this philosophy is that while bluster and belligerence can sometimes work, they are merely one tool in the communicator’s toolbox.
Sometimes, the public can be persuaded by a good explanation. Sometimes, the public is willing to accept a heartfelt apology. But when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The even bigger problem is that Trump’s Teflon magic isn’t transferable to mere mortals.
By his example, Donald Trump has trained a generation of Republicans that acting like a bully always works, and that if you're explaining you're losing. While that is often true, what’s also true is that if you're not explaining… you're not explaining.
Trump’s “always-on-offense” style might work for him, but his example should come with a warning label for the Kristi Noems of the world: “Do NOT, under any circumstances, attempt this at home.”
After almost two weeks’ of shoveling Trumpian B.S., Noem, it seems, has finally stopped digging.
It’s a great relief to see that other Rs have trouble getting away with this, and that even traditionally conservative media outlets are ready to pounce. Truth has a chance.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
Stock markets have 7th winning day CNBC live updates
Stocks rose Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average claiming a seventh winning day, as new jobless claims data rekindled hope for Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year.
The 30-stock Dow jumped 331.37 points, or 0.85%, to close at 39,387.76 and notch its longest win streak since a nine-day run in December. The S&P 500 added 0.51% to close at 5,214.08, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.27% and ended at 16,346.26.
Home Depot and Caterpillar led the Dow higher as the stocks gained more than 2% each.
Fresh weekly jobless claims data came in at the highest level since August, raising expectations that central bankers might cut interest rates at some point this year.
Not quite at the all-time high, which was about two months ago, but something that should reassure suburban voters with stock portfolios.
Investing in Wisconsin and Investing in America. Again and again I am amazed at how much the Biden-Harris is getting done. This is just a small portion of the fact sheet about investments in Wisconsin. White House Briefing Room
Today’s announcement is part of President Biden’s broader effort to invest in industries of the future and American workers in communities across the country. Already, his Investing in America agenda has unleashed $866 billion in private sector investments in clean energy and manufacturing, and the Administration has announced 51,000 infrastructure projects across the country. These investments are creating an environment where companies are building lasting relationships in communities like Racine. Under the President’s agenda:
- The Department of Commerce designated the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub as a Tech Hub under the CHIPS and Science Act. The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, serving the Madison and Milwaukee-Waukesha regions, aims to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine, an emerging healthcare approach that tailors tests, treatments, and therapies informed by a patient’s unique genetic code, medical record, and environment.
- Milwaukee has been named an Investing in America Workforce Hub—an initiative to bring together state and local elected officials, community leaders, and federal staff to drive evidence-based partnerships for place-based workforce development programs.
- Wisconsin has received $6.9 billion from the President’s Investing in America agenda for infrastructure and clean energy. That includes $1.06 billion to replace the Blatnik Bridge — a 1.5-mile-long bridge that connects Duluth, MN and Superior, WI that cannot currently carry large or heavy trucks, causing lengthy detours for regional freight — $1.6 billion to deliver internet to everyone in Wisconsin, and $811 million to provide clean water across Wisconsin.
- The Grow Milwaukee Coalition was selected as one of 22 finalists for the Department of Commerce Recompete Distressed Area Pilot Program to invest in revitalizing Milwaukee’s historic 30th Street Industrial Corridor and connecting the historically segregated Black community to economic opportunity across the city. Grow Milwaukee will compete for $190 million in total funding for locally-led economic development plans.
- Wisconsin has seen an influx of investments from industries of the future, including clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
- Last summer, thanks to President Biden’s Made in America policies and commitment to ensure internet access for all Americans by 2030, Nokia announced a new partnership with Sanmina Corporation to create 200 jobs and manufacture fiber-optic broadband electronics in the United States for the first time in the company’s history. The investment was in part spurred by the Biden-Harris Administration’s investment of $1.1 billion to connect every home and business in Wisconsin to high-speed internet through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- Ingeteam, a clean energy manufacturing company with a plant in Milwaukee, will begin manufacturing electric vehicle fast chargers this year, driven by the Made in America requirements for U.S.-made EV charging infrastructure funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
🌵 Address to Democrats Abroad (DA) by AZ AG, Kris Mayes. Want to report that on Monday, I attended a zoom presentation to DA by Arizona’s AG. It was so refreshing to listen and to watch quiet competence that gets ignored by the clickbait MSM (like focusing all that attention on another Kris, puppy murderer Kristi Noem). Mayes addressed what they’re doing on abortion access and election security, especially with respect to the election workers who quit because of death threats (AZ is prosecuting those death threats). I learned about her consumer advocacy, prosecuting some corporations that have been keeping prices, especially rents, artificially high.
Kris Mayes won her election by only 280 votes. The Democrats Abroad sent in 18,000 votes.
Each vote counts. And Arizona will be especially important this November.
After listening to her I felt as if I had had a nourishing meal instead of the junk food provided by repeating every “truth” of the former guy.
💜 Unity? 💜
Marjorie Taylor Greene booed as her attempt to oust Speaker Johnson fails Paul Kane, MaeganVazquez, Marianna Sotomayor, Mariana Alfaro, and Theodoric Meyer Washington Post
They heckled her and shouted boos as she rose to speak, and some hissed at her — and those were the voices from the same side of the aisle as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Greene tried to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from leadership on Wednesday, but Republicans overwhelmingly opposed her bid. And that effort proved to be the final straw for many of her GOP colleagues who have expressed a growing distaste for her antics during her three years in Congress. It even led to a rare admonishment by one of her most ardent supporters — former president Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, 196 Republicans — most of the conference — rejected her bid and voted with 163 Democrats to procedurally block her motion.
She just had 10 GOP colleagues vote with her, and a half-dozen of them waited until the very end of the roll call to post their votes, mostly as a symbolic vote of warning toward Johnson but one that made clear they did not want to be associated with Greene.
Most of the Rs are sick of the chaos, too.
Note that after the vote, tRump blessed Mike Johnson (although he praised Greene too). Why? My guess is that he didn’t want to look like a loser, so he had to pretend that this is what he wanted all along.
Just like he has to pretend that no one is showing up to protest his trial by pretending that thousands are being turned away by the police (not happening).
Even FOX News is swooning at the good Biden news in Racine, Wisconsin: WOW, Fox News smacks Trump's FAILED Foxconn plant in Racine County, WI -- the same place where President Biden is announcing today a $3.3 billion investment that will create THOUSANDS of jobs. Pro-Biden content on Fox? You love to see it.
Country over party: Republican former lieutenant Governor of Georgia, @GeoffDuncanGA, says he’ll be voting for Joe Biden in November: “Unlike Trump, I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass.”
He’s got a piece in the Atlantic-Journal Constitution, but I am overseas and cannot access it. However, you can see more here irontortoise Daily Kos
📥 Actions You Can Take 📤
Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying?
Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are), you can support and contact these organizations:
ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union
Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.
Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams
🌱Grass roots. Biden and Harris can do the top-down stuff, but we have to support from the bottom. I don’t know how to deprogram 75 million people, but some things have been written about, such as deep canvassing, and lots of people are talking about this. If you know someone (who did not storm the Capitol), then see if you can be pleasant. Instead of trying to reason with them (logic is obviously not their strong point) distract them with something else. We need to remove the sources of lies and to take down the temperature. If we get more of the Rs to wear masks and to get vaccinated and to vote for Ds, the country will be a better place. We need to coax some of them out of the rabbit holes and diffuse the anger and the crazy.
🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help. Note: they are especially planning to target the 57 Rs in local governments who participated in the insurrection.
👎 Defund the seditionists. Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.
🔎 Want to check out what’s going on with campaign contributions? Check out this diary. 👀
🐍 Schadenfreude 😈
Defense Contractor pleads guilty to money laundering and more Justice Press Release
Yuksel Senbol, 36, of Orlando, pleaded guilty to 25 felony counts in Florida federal court, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, seven counts of money laundering, conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), four counts of violating the ECRA, and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act.
According to court documents, beginning in approximately April 2019, Senbol operated a front company in the Middle District of Florida called Mason Engineering Parts LLC. She used this front company to assist her co-conspirators, Mehmet Ozcan and Onur Simsek, to fraudulently procure contracts to supply critical military components to the Department of Defense. These components were intended for use in the U.S. Navy Nimitz and Ford Class Aircraft Carriers, U.S. Navy Submarines, U.S. Marine Corps Armored Vehicles, and U.S. Army M-60 Series Tank and Abrahams Battle Tanks, among other weapons systems.
To fraudulently procure the government contracts, Senbol and her co-conspirators falsely represented to the U.S. government and to U.S. military contractors that Mason Engineering Parts LLC was a vetted and qualified manufacturer of military components, when in fact, the parts were being manufactured by Ozcan and Simsek in Turkey. And, as Senbol knew, Simsek’s involvement had to be concealed from the U.S. government because he had been debarred from contracting with the U.S. government after being convicted of a nearly identical scheme in the Southern District of Florida.
In order to enable Ozcan and Simsek to manufacture the components in Turkey, Senbol assisted them in obtaining sensitive, export-controlled drawings of critical U.S. military technology. Using software that allowed Ozcan to remotely control her computer – and thus evade security restrictions that limited access to these sensitive military drawings to computers within the United States – Senbol knowingly facilitated the illegal export of these drawings. She did so despite having executed numerous agreements promising to safeguard the drawings from unlawful access or export, and despite the clear warnings on the face of each drawing that it could not be exported without obtaining a license.
Once Ozcan and Simsek manufactured the components in Turkey, they shipped them to Senbol, who repackaged them – making sure to remove any reference to their Turkish origin. The conspirators then lied about the origin of the parts to the U.S. government and a U.S. government contractor to receive payment for the parts. Senbol then laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds back to Turkey through international wire transfers.
This scheme continued until uncovered and disrupted by federal investigators. Parts supplied by Senbol were tested by the U.S. military and were determined not to conform with product specifications. Many of the components supplied to the U.S. military by Senbol were “critical application items,” meaning that failure of these components would have potentially rendered the end system inoperable.
Senbol faces up to 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to defraud the United States offense and for each count of money laundering. She faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the ECRA, violating the ECRA and violating the Arms Export Control Act. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6. Alleged co-conspirators Mehmet Ozcan and Onur Simsek are fugitives.
This case was investigated by the FBI; General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security; Air Force Office of Special Investigations; Homeland Security Investigations; and Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
Jan 6 cases now more than 1400!
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
This week we honor Anne Applebaum, who has a new piece out in the June 2024 The Atlantic, describing how China and Russia work to demonize democracy.
✂️ In the aftermath of these events, the Chinese concluded that the physical elimination of dissenters was insufficient. To prevent the democratic wave then sweeping across Central Europe from reaching East Asia, the Chinese Communist Party eventually set out to eliminate not just the people but the ideas that had motivated the protests. In the years to come, this would require policing what the Chinese people could see online. ✂️
While we were still rhapsodizing about the many ways in which the internet could spread democracy, the Chinese were designing what’s become known as the Great Firewall of China. That method of internet management—which is in effect conversation management—contains many different elements, beginning with an elaborate system of blocks and filters that prevent internet users from seeing particular words and phrases. Among them, famously, are Tiananmen, 1989, and June 4, but there are many more. In 2000, a directive called “Measures for Managing Internet Information Services” prohibited an extraordinarily wide range of content, including anything that “endangers national security, divulges state secrets, subverts the government, undermines national unification,” and “is detrimental to the honor and interests of the state”—anything, in other words, that the authorities didn’t like.
✂️ Even in a state where surveillance is almost total, the experience of tyranny and injustice can radicalize people. Anger at arbitrary power will always lead someone to start thinking about another system, a better way to run society. The strength of these demonstrations, and the broader anger they reflected, was enough to spook the Chinese Communist Party into lifting the quarantine and allowing the virus to spread. The deaths that resulted were preferable to public anger and protest.
Like the demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin in Russia that began in 2011, the 2014 street protests in Venezuela, and the 2019 Hong Kong protests, the 2022 protests in China help explain something else: why autocratic regimes have slowly turned their repressive mechanisms outward, into the democratic world. If people are naturally drawn to the image of human rights, to the language of democracy, to the dream of freedom, then those concepts have to be poisoned. That requires more than surveillance, more than close observation of the population, more than a political system that defends against liberal ideas. It also requires an offensive plan: a narrative that damages both the idea of democracy everywhere in the world and the tools to deliver it.
The article has a lot more to it. And I know, not all can get into The Atlantic.
And I also know that it may not seem like good news, to highlight how other regimes are fighting against the ideals of democracy on a global basis. It means we can expect to stay in this fight for a long time. But we gnusies do not hide our heads in the sand.
It also means that when our fellow citizens and humans in other lands spout such strange and illogical and cruel positions — we don’t have to think they are irredeemable. No, many of them are ignorant. They have been lied to. So if we make an effort to tell them the truth, some can be persuaded to join our side.
Also, I want to honor Anne Applebaum for her work.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
I don’t usually do romantic love, but this was just too wonderful! Goodable: She thought they were going to see a DIsney movie. Instead he rented out the theatre, hired an animator, and made it a movie about their life. The he proposed.
And, another example where a little prompting was needed — a coworker arranged to remind a husband that it was a wedding anniversary.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
Today’s theme reminded me of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which the fear demon — although it had a terrifying shape — was about the size of an action figure.
Giles: "Oh, bloody hell. The inscription."
Buffy: "What's the matter?"
Giles: "I should have translated the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar."
Buffy: "What's it say?"
Giles: "Actual size."
⛵️ Sailing community creates platform to fight plastic pollution and climate change Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch
A new initiative, SailGP vs Plastic, aims to combat the climate crisis by raising awareness through a group of individuals who have a special relationship with the ocean — the sailing community.
Launched by Parley for the Oceans and the Australian SailGP Team, the campaign aims to fight plastic pollution and its connection to climate change through a free, centralized platform designed to educate, engage and inspire action.
“Together with Parley, we’re aiming to start an impactful movement within the SailGP community and among ocean lovers nationwide, to advocate for a low-carbon future, promote sustainable solutions, and ultimately protect the environment,” said Tom Slingsby, Australia Team CEO, in a press release from Parley for the Oceans and SailGP. “While it’s about raising awareness of the current climate challenges both locally and globally, we also want to inspire real action against plastic pollution and encourage eco-friendly practices, ensuring our oceans thrive for years to come.”
The platform, developed by Parley experts and educators, offers educational materials along with information about community and collaborative activities like local beach clean-ups. On the site, visitors have the opportunity to discuss issues and solutions related to climate change while learning more about them.
🚚 Quick thinking of truck driver in China prevents more deaths Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country’s mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Wang Xiangnan was driving Wednesday along the highway in Guangdong province, a vital economic hub in southern China. At around 2 a.m., Wang saw several vehicles moving in the opposite direction of the four-lane highway and a fellow driver soon informed him about the collapse, local media reported.
Reacting swiftly, Wang, a former soldier, positioned his truck to block the highway, effectively stopping dozens of vehicles from advancing into danger, Jiupai News quoted Wang as saying. Meanwhile, his wife got out of the truck to alert other drivers about the situation, it said.
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: 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 Hunters is also 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.
Current projects:
Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters
And some other ideas:
You can relax and recharge.
You can join protests and freeway blog.
You can help register new voters.
You can smile.
You can say something nice to friend or a stranger.
You can get out the vote for special elections.
You can reach out to upset Republicans. We need to win some back.
You can share your ideas below.
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💙 “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.” 💙
President Joseph R. Biden
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TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.