Good Day, Gnusies!
Do you feel it? Can you feel the shift over the month of April? I feel it. It is as if all the moving parts in a kaleidoscope are coalescing into a coherent shape. The atmosphere of chaos and conflict that has characterized the past 8-10 years seems to be subtly shifting to a new focus. An era of accountability, of a genuine effort toward peace and reconciliation and working toward a better life for ordinary people: in short, building a better world, patiently, wisely and with love instead of hate.
Joe and the Democrats are getting things done, even in Congress with a Republican House majority! The President’s various secretaries in all the government departments continue to take giant steps of progress in so many areas that matter to regular Americans. Joe’s experience and wisdom is making a difference in world events.
I literally have so much good news and so much I want to write about that it is too much for one GNR. And I cannot even fully articulate the coherent shape that I can see events taking. I can only say that I feel a change in the air as though some dam is starting to burst and I think this year 2024 is going to be one of the most significant in this century.
Come read the news and although I have it broken into sections for ease of reading, I encourage you to look at the whole picture. Look at how many corners of the country — how many varied groups of people — are doing surprising things. Pay attention to the global trend toward progress; I am catching a glimpse of the real possibility of a better world.
Today is the last day of National Poetry Month, so before I post the opening music, here are the lyrics/poetry:
There's a New World Coming
And it's just around the bend
There's a new world coming
This one's coming to an end
There's a new voice calling
You can hear it if you try
And it's growing stronger
With each day that passes by
There's a brand new morning
Rising clear and sweet and free
There's a new day dawning
That belongs to you and me
Yes a new world's coming
The one we've had visions of
Coming in peace, coming in joy, coming in love
(Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann)
🚚 Democrats Deliver 🚛
April was a busy month for President Biden. He has been dealing with international crises, various domestic challenges, and getting really important regulatory stuff done. Our indefatigable President Joe Biden not only kept all of these critical balls in the air, but he has been doing all of that while also campaigning all over the country and finding time to be funny and engaging in interviews and at the WHCC dinner. The man is a dynamo! Not only that, but Joe has been not just doing all of this all at once, he has an eye to the future, too. He is taking steps to safeguard our progress from future bad actors. How good it is to have such an experienced and competent leader in the White House!
Why Is the Biden Administration Completing So Many Regulations? Gerard Edic, The American Prospect, April 23, 2024.
Nearly every day for the past month, the Biden administration has made an announcement about a finalized regulation. They have completed a minimum staffing ratio for nursing homes, conserved 13 million acres in the Alaskan Arctic, designated “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances, invested in rooftop solar panels in low-income communities, banned most noncompete agreements at U.S. businesses, directed federal agencies to purchase sustainable products, and closed the “gun show loophole,” to name just a few.
Why has April been a month of regulatory action? The administration surely wants to show key constituencies that they have made progress. But policymakers are also racing to get regulations done to protect them from being overturned in the next Congress.
The threat depends on the outcome of the 2024 election. If Donald Trump and the Republicans sweep back into power, they would have the ability to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a 1996 law that allows Congress to overturn federal agency rules through a streamlined process. Unlike most legislation, CRA resolutions can pass with a simple majority in the Senate, giving a future Republican majority a path to quickly show progress early in 2025.
But because of the timeline outlined in the CRA, any rule finalized before late May (roughly speaking; this is a moving target) is safe from being reversed by Congress. So agencies have clearly been told to get their most important rules out the door now.
Of course, if Democrats sweep in November (we are working on that, right, Gnuville?), there won’t be any threat to these excellent policies and regulations. Joe Biden and the Democrats are confident, but certainly not complacent about victory. We will work like heck to succeed in November — and we definitely like our chances! — but Joe is making sure the progress we’ve already made is protected no matter what the outcome in November. Smart!
Pro-Union Prez and Democratic Leadership are good for workers
“the seven days between Friday, April 19, and Thursday, April 25, saw a succession of worker victories that was almost breathtaking in its scope.”
This next story details the labor wins that I talk about in other sections below, but in this section I want to highlight the part about how Democrats delivered for American workers:
A Great Week for American Workers, Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect, April 29, 2024.
But the other dimension of workers’ historic week comes straight out of the Biden administration’s regulatory agencies. Last Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission banned noncompete agreements—a vestige of indentured servitude that has somehow managed to extend its life from 17th-century colonial America straight through to the 21st. Under these noncompetes, roughly 30 million American workers were contractually forbidden to leave their current employer if they took a new job in the same field or dared to start a company of their own in that field. Violating these contractual terms could compel them to pay major fines to their employer.✂️
On the same Tuesday, the Department of Labor issued a rule raising the minimum salary threshold for workers who presumably make so much that they’re exempt from overtime pay. For decades, one’s eligibility for overtime ceased if that person’s annual salary exceeded a level set in 1975 that went unchanged for decades. In 1975, according to yet another EPI study, 63 percent of salaried workers were entitled to collect overtime if they worked more than 40 hours weekly, but by 2023, as that 1975 cutoff level remained in place, only 9 percent were covered. The DOL’s new standard—raising the bar to $58,656 in two steps, to be adjusted every three years—will entitle approximately four million more workers to be paid at overtime rates for time on the job that exceeds the 40-hour weekly standard.
On that same Tuesday, the DOL also issued a new rule that protected workers saving for their retirement from being victimized by advisers who promote retirement vehicles that disproportionately reward those advisers. The new rule requires those advisers to promote only those plans that are in the best interest of the retirees and prospective retirees.
One day earlier, last Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a new rule that requires nursing homes to provide a minimum number of staff hours per resident, and to have a registered nurse available at all times. This not only sets a long-overdue standard for patient care but will also lead to the hiring of many tens of thousands of new workers. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 1 in 5 nursing homes currently meet the new standard.
There’s more, believe it or not! But fair use prevents me from quoting any more (I already went a bit farther than usual). Please go to the link and read the whole thing!
USDA ANNOUNCES NEW SCHOOL MEAL STANDARDS, (Good food for school children! Thanks, Sec. Vilsack!)
New federal rules on airline refunds require cash instead of vouchers, (Real refunds for travelers! Thanks, Sec. Buttigieg!)
Raimondo: Commerce Dept. will allocate all of the CHIPS Act grant money this year, (Funding for research and technology! Thanks, Sec. Raimondo!)
Democrats have an outstanding speaker waiting in the wings
This NYT article goes in depth into how skillfully Hakeem Jeffries handled the Speaker and House Republicans over the past several months. Go read the full article (no paywall) to get a sense not only of Jeffries’ deftness on policy and procedure, but also his ease with people and his understanding of what makes other people tick. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I cannot wait for the USA to have Speaker Jeffries in charge!
Jeffries’s Hint of a Lifeline Bolstered Johnson on Ukraine. Will He Need It? Carl Hulse, New York Times, April 29, 20204. (gift link)
When Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, was in Munich in mid-February for the annual international security conference, Representative Michael R. Turner, the Ohio Republican and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, quietly sought him out with a request. ✂️
the Ohioan also felt it would help stiffen the speaker’s spine if Mr. Jeffries could make it clear in some way that if Mr. Johnson were to do the right thing, Democrats would not let him be ousted by rebellious ultraconservatives, as they had when Kevin McCarthy faced a mutiny last year. Mr. Jeffries said he would take the idea under advisement.✂️
Over months, Mr. Jeffries kept in consultation with the speaker as well as Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader. He also engaged in White House sessions and conference calls in which he joined Mr. Biden and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, in keeping the pressure on Mr. Johnson over Ukraine. They sought to impress upon him the urgency of the moment from a global perspective, a message that ultimately seemed to carry some weight.✂️
In the end, House Democrats provided both the votes necessary to push the foreign aid package out of the critical Rules Committee and to the floor over a right-wing blockade and the majority of votes to pass the Ukraine aid bill itself — which a majority of Republicans opposed. The votes offered another example of the de facto coalition government that has seen Congress through major fights the past 18 months.
Now Mr. Jeffries and House Democrats may have to bail out the speaker again, a prospect that could save the House from further chaos but also potentially weaken the speaker if he is seen as indebted to Democrats.
“Republicans will have to work that out on their end,” Mr. Jeffries said. “The reality of this particular Congress is that we are functioning in a manner consistent with a bipartisan governing coalition in order to get things done for the American people.”
⚖️ Law and Society ⚖️
The attempted coup investigations continue
Justice takes time because these investigations are complex, but it is happening. The January 6 attempted coup is not going to be ignored:
Michigan Attorney General Executes Search Warrants on Google and X in Ongoing 2020 Fake Trump Electors Probe, WTTW via CNN, April 29, 2024.
CNN) — Google and X, formerly Twitter, recently provided hundreds of files to Michigan prosecutors for their 2020 election subversion probe, complying with search warrants that investigators obtained after CNN revealed secret social media accounts belonging to pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a major role in the fake electors plot.
The previously unreported warrants gave prosecutors access to new Chesebro emails and his private direct messages on Twitter. The warrants make clear that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is still gathering new information in her probe, nine months after she charged the state’s fake electors with forgery and other crimes for signing certificates falsely claiming Donald Trump won the state in 2020.✂️
When Chesebro met with Nessel’s investigators in December, they asked about his social media accounts. In addition to concealing his secret Twitter account, Chesebro told investigators that he didn’t use social media applications to send and receive private messages.
That denial is undercut by the materials X gave to investigators, which contain more than 160 sent messages and more than 25 received messages between 2014 and 2021, with most of them amid the 2020 election fallout.
As if we didn’t already know this, here is yet more proof that the courts really matter. Thankfully, President Biden has been working to fill vacant federal seats as quickly as possible with solid judges.
Court says state health-care plans can’t exclude gender-affirming surgery, Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, April 29, 2024.
A federal appellate court in Richmond became the first in the country to rule that state health-care plans must pay for gender-affirming surgeries, a major win for transgender rights amid a nationwide wave of anti-trans activism and legislation.
The decision came from a set of cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia, where state officials argued that their policies were based on cost concerns rather than bias. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected that argument, saying the plans were discriminating against trans people in need of treatment.
Judge Roger Gregory, writing for the majority, called the restrictions “obviously discriminatory” based on both sex and gender.
It’s the second ruling in favor of trans rights this month from the 4th Circuit, a once-conservative court that has become a trailblazer in the realm of transgender rights. The court was the first to say trans students had a right to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity and the first to recognize gender dysphoria as a protected disability. Earlier this month, the court said a federally funded middle school could not ban a trans 13-year-old from playing on the girls’ track and field team.✂️
Seventeen Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia urged the court to rule for the coverage, saying their “experience demonstrates that protecting access to gender-affirming care improves health outcomes for our transgender residents at little cost.”
Supreme Court won’t help Elon Musk avoid oversight
Supreme Court rejects Elon Musk's challenge to SEC agreement to vet his social media posts, Lawrence Hurley, NBC, April 29, 2024.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's attempt to challenge the terms of an agreement he reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission that require a lawyer to review some of his social media posts.
The justices rejected Musk's appeal of a ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the government agency.✂️
The SEC cracked down on Musk after he posted tweets in 2018 saying he had secured funding to take Tesla private, which came as a shock to the market and initially sent the company's shares surging. The agency said the tweets were "materially false and misleading" in violation of securities law.
Musk agreed to settle a civil securities action brought by the SEC. As part of that agreement, he signed off on the social media provision.
Hunter Biden fights back after years of being the rightwing media punching bag
I’m glad he’s doing this:
Hunter Biden Threatens Fox News With Defamation Suit, Roger Sollenberger, the Daily Beast, April 29, 2024.
According to the letter, a detailed 14-page missive that Biden’s counsel sent to Fox Corporation on April 23, the right-wing network has engaged in a years-long conspiracy to defame the president’s son in the name of profit.
The notice demands that Fox News—whose obsessive coverage has mentioned Hunter Biden more than 13,000 times in the last four months alone—take immediate steps to remedy scads of coverage over the last five years that Biden’s attorneys say has falsely maligned him.
They specifically mention hundreds of articles and broadcast segments based on now-debunked bribery allegations from an indicted FBI informant, a fictional mock-trial series, and the promulgation and exploitation of racy images of Biden which, according to the letter, violate laws against “revenge porn.”✂️
“For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain. The recent indictment of FBI informant [Alexander] Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise,” Biden’s counsel told The Daily Beast in a statement. “We plan on holding them accountable.”
ETA: Lots more detail here:
Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News 'imminently', Sarah Fitzpatrick, NBC, April 29, 2024.
Something I think gets lost a little bit in the commotion: Hunter Biden is in recovery. He has had a lot of challenges to overcome and this campaign of attacks on him is uniquely cruel and vicious when you consider that (but in line with the Republican playbook — ruthless power grasping). And yet, Hunter has stayed upright through this unimaginably awful ordeal. And I think it is not a little thanks to the steadfast love that Joe has never hesitated to show his son, both privately and publicly. And clearly, in spite of the lingering effects of his childhood trauma, Hunter has a core of character that has withstood this terrible test.
🎶 Musical Break 🎶
💪🏼💪🏾 Labor News 💪🏽🦾
It took a long time to turn the ship around, but as the union momentum picks up steam, I think we will see good change across the country — even in the south! Unionization is going to turn the tide on 40+ years of widening wealth inequality. And Joe Biden and the Democrats helped make that happen. In particular, the support of the most pro-union President in history was almost certainly a big factor. Starting with the rail workers (remember that? It fell off the news but guess who now have paid sick days?) all the way to auto workers, building tradesmen and teamsters — Joe has been a stalwart union guy from start to finish.
Daimler Truck reaches deal with United Auto Workers, averts U.S. strike, CNBC via Reuters, April 27, 2024.
Daimler Truck agreed to a new labor contract on Friday with over 7,300 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) at six facilities in the U.S. South, averting a strike at the 11th hour.
“For months, we said that record profits should mean a record contract with no concessions,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a late-night appearance on YouTube from Charlotte, North Carolina, near where the company has plants.✂️
Under Friday’s deal, Daimler Truck workers will receive a minimum 25% general wage increase over the four-year contract, Fain said. That would match what workers at the Detroit Three received.
When the deal is ratified, Fain said members will receive an immediate 10% pay raise, followed by 3% increases six months and 12 months later.
They also will receive cost-of-living adjustments to offset inflation and profit-sharing, both for the first time at Daimler Truck, as well as the end of wage tiers that paid those building buses less than those building heavy trucks, he said.
I’m repeating this excellent story because it is just so important. And the interview embedded below is such an eye-opener (and so encouraging! Things ARE changing!):
UAW Wins Historic Volkswagen Union Election in a Landslide, Mike Elk, Payday Report, April 19, 20204.
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE – The NLRB announced tonight that UAW won a historic union election at Volkswagen in Chattanooga Tennessee. The union won with 73% as workers voting in favor of the union.
It was the third time in ten years that the UAW tried to unionize, losing narrowly in two previous efforts. Now, with a victory in Chattanooga, it opens the door to more unionizing across the South.✂️
“A lot of the people who’ve been staunchly anti-union are from an older generation,” says 32-year-old Caleb Michalski, a safety lead, who was previously anti-union, but became pro-union. “A lot of the younger generation, through a combination of social media and education and stuff like that, they realize, like, hey, it doesn’t make sense.”
Many of the workers like him say that they were encouraged to vote for the UAW after seeing how the union had reformed itself and changed, winning the “Stand Up” strike.
“Seeing the current president clean up house, address corruption issues, and stand up for the workers. That was what instantly piqued my curiosity,” said Michalski.
Workers at the plant say that they were inspired watching the waves of strikes that happened following the pandemic.
“Seeing the writers go on strike and standing up for the rights that was, I was so excited about that,” says Michalski. “In the back of our minds was like, “Man, I wonder if auto workers, if we’re going to start seeing something like that here.’ And then once the UAW went on strike, and a lot of us are feeling a lot more hopeful, something positive is happening here as well.”
😡 Republicans in Disarray 😩
They are so busy attacking each other
GOP In-fighting so bad some House members want to scrap policy decisions until election, Sarah K Burris, Raw Story, April 29, 2024.
“My recommendation is we stop trying to bend the policy for the year because there’s really nothing we can do with this majority right now,” said the Republican lawmaker in a swing district. “So, now the focus is on us keeping the majority and figuring our s--- out internally as a family because we may keep the majority, but it may only still be by one to four seats. So we’re going to have this problem.”
There are deadlines before the election that the country faces in which policy decisions are needed, however. On May 11, Congress needs to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. They also have to figure out how to fund the government for 2025. By Sept. 30, Congress must pass a farm bill reauthorization, which will significantly impact members' own districts in an election year.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) explained that the nature of the House and Senate lends itself to bipartisan coalitions and legislation that both sides can agree to. Instead, he said, this year has seen hardliners raging over any agreement.
Gaetz will have to defend his spot on the ballot
He will probably make it (he is inexplicably popular in his district), but this challenge means he has to work at it/spend money/spend time in the district:
Matt Gaetz gets last-minute primary challenger, Juliegrace Brufke, Axios, April 29, 2024.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) got a last-minute primary challenger for his seat as allies of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) look to exact revenge on the eight lawmakers who voted to oust the California Republican last fall.
Why it matters: McCarthy-aligned former naval aviator Aaron Dimmock filed to run against Gaetz on Friday, just ahead of the Sunshine State's deadline.
And of course TFG has turned on Kari (this is inevitable for everyone, Rs take note)
Tensions grow between Trump and Lake in Arizona race for Senate, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Josh Dawsey and Liz Goodwin, Washington Post, April 29, 2024.
So far, there has been no public schism between Trump and Lake, and the Senate candidate was at Mar-a-Lago again this month for a fundraiser. But Trump’s frustration with Lake has only increased over the past year, heightening the tension between the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and one of his most prominent followers — casting doubt on whether Republicans can present a sufficiently united front to win a key U.S. Senate contest and a presidential battleground state.
Trump has now all but ruled out Lake as a vice-presidential pick, remarking to multiple advisers that he would not choose her as vice president because she lost the 2022 gubernatorial race in Arizona, which he believed was winnable. “She didn’t win,” he told one political ally over dinner at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.
Trump’s top advisers were furious after a Lake ally released a recording of then-Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit encouraging her to stay out of the Senate race, which embarrassed the party chairman and led him to resign.
Trump was more surprised than angry when told about the January incident, according to three people familiar with his reaction. “She tapes everything?” he asked, sitting in a New Hampshire hotel suite before taking the stage on the night he won that state’s primary. “That’s good to know.” (👀)
Turns out RFKjr is more of a threat to TFG than Joe
Nearly any sane person could have predicted this:
RFK is now openly gunning for Trump voters — and Republicans are starting to worry, Amanda Marcotte, Salon, April 29, 20204.
Zombie COVID-19 conspiracy theories? False and defamatory accusations? QAnon-style rhetoric designed to overwhelm and bamboozle the reader? These abusive tactics are all the red flags of MAGA communication. To be certain, fundraising emails across the partisan spectrum can be alarmist and hyperbolic, but accusing innocent people of crimes and spreading lies about deadly diseases are lines most candidates don't cross. The exception, of course, is Donald Trump and his imitators, like Arizona Republican Kari Lake, who's now running for Senate after losing the gubernatorial race in 2022. But outside of the MAGA universe, such tactics are frowned upon for two reasons. One, it's downright evil. Two, it wouldn't work on voters who are outside of the MAGA bubble, as normal people tend to be turned off by slander and overt disinformation.
But curiously this email did not come from Trump or Lake or any other figures associated with the ethics-free world of MAGA campaigning. It came, readers may not be surprised to learn, from the campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate. The conventional wisdom in Washington has long been that Kennedy is running a spoiler campaign against President Joe Biden, trying to siphon off enough Democratic votes that Donald Trump wins the election. After all, Kennedy used to be a Democrat and his name is so famous his family had to hold a presser disavowing his candidacy. ✂️
For months, polls have shown that Kennedy is taking away more voters from Biden than Trump, based mostly on Democrats who are dissatisfied with Biden and who knew little about Kennedy besides his name. That's shifted recently. A new NBC News poll shows Biden is two points behind Trump in a two-way race, but two points ahead of Trump if Kennedy is an option. In a Marist poll, Biden's three-point lead widens to five points if Kennedy is on the ballot. It appears the more voters learn about Kennedy — that he's anti-vaccine, a conspiracy theorist, and an all-around weirdo — the more Democrats are turned off and the more MAGA voters are intrigued.
LOL and TFG is rattled
The Xits reek of desperation (LIBERAL! He’s a LIBERAL! 😩)
Trump Tears Into RFK Jr.’s Family and Begs MAGA Not to ‘Waste’ Votes on Kennedy, Dan Ladden-Hall, the Daily Beast, April 29, 20204.
With no other Republican presidential candidates left in the race to regularly rib and ridicule, Donald Trump is apparently channeling his energy into taking down independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Amid GOP fears that Kennedy could end up siphoning crucial votes from Trump’s base in November, the former president issued a clarion call to his followers Sunday: “Don’t waste your Vote on Kennedy!”✂️
Earlier Sunday, Trump had made other attacks on Kennedy while offering his take on Bill Maher’s “really boring interview with RFK Jr.” that aired Friday. Trump said he’d concluded that “Junior’ is far more LIBERAL than Maher and, in fact, far more LIBERAL than anyone running as a Democrat.”
😵💫 ETTD 😵
People who think they can gain something by being close to TFG just never learn: everything TFG touches dies, as the Republican strategist said.
The National Enquirer was the go-to American tabloid for many years. Donald Trump helped change that, David Bauder, AP, April 26, 2024.
Even by National Enquirer standards, testimony by its former publisher David Pecker at Donald Trump’s hush money trial this week has revealed an astonishing level of corruption at America’s best-known tabloid and may one day be seen as the moment it effectively died.
“It just has zero credibility,” said Lachlan Cartwright, executive editor of the Enquirer from 2014 to 2017. “Whatever sort of credibility it had was totally damaged by what happened in court this week.”✂️
For all the ridicule the tabloid received from “serious” journalists, Enquirer reporters hustled and broke some genuine news. A memorable picture of the married Sen. Gary Hart enjoying a tropical holiday alongside a woman he was involved with destroyed a presidential candidacy and brought politicians into the Enquirer’s celebrity world. The tab was considered for a Pulitzer Prize after revealing a sex scandal involving U.S. Sen. John Edwards in the early 2000s.
During his celebrity days in the 1990s, Trump was a fixture in its pages, and often a source for news. When Pecker bought the Enquirer in 1999, one of his first calls was from Trump, who said, “Congratulations — you bought a great magazine,” the former executive testified this week.✂️
The Enquirer averaged 238,000 newsstand sales each week during the last six months of election year 2016, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. During the last six months of 2023, its sales averaged just under 56,500. It limps along: The lead story on its website Thursday was “The Untold Story: Marko Stout’s Journey From Obscurity to Art World Phenom.”
“It’s really a shadow of its former self,” Cartwright said. “David Pecker’s legacy will be that he totally destroyed that tabloid.”
🎶 Music Time 🎶
🌎 World News 🌏
Poland
There’s no way I can do justice to this excellent and informative article in an excerpt. I encourage you to go to the link and read it. I think you will find it encouraging!
Poland Shows That Democracy Can Triumph. Here’s How. John Austin, Lucas Kreuzer, and Kamil Lungu, Washington Monthly, April 24, 2024.
Tusk’s Polish Civic Union and the other opposition parties campaigned to defeat Law and Justice, painting its tenure as a dark and damaging chapter to be moved past in favor of pro-democratic change and a bright and sunny future. Tusk went so far as to frame the election as “a battle between good and evil.” They also emphasized political and cultural moderation and an improved relationship with the E.U.
Tusk and coalition partners also tapped the values of tolerance and forward-looking orientation, particularly of young Polish voters. All this resulted in a voting turnout in which young voters (18-29) overwhelmingly favored the Civic platform, and voters between the ages of 30 and 49 expressed a slight preference for the Civic platform. In contrast, voters over 50 strongly preferred the populist Law and Justice.
Other elections have seen the promise of hope and optimism defeat the politics of fear, repression, and resentment. In 2021, Chile saw a new government sweep to power, with a record voter turnout pushing for a more equitable, inclusive, and participatory democracy. President Barack Obama won the presidency twice on a clear message of hope over fear. Similarly, while likely to be tested again in 2024, the U.S. electoral system held and pro-democratic forces defeated Trump-sponsored election deniers in 2020 and 2022.
Czech Republic
Czechs expand rights for same-sex couples, Agence France-Presse, April 29, 2024.
The new legislation grants shared property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples in the EU member of 10.9 million people.
It also allows the partner of a biological parent to adopt their children. ✂️
Previously, Czech same-sex couples were allowed to enter into "registered partnerships" with more limited freedoms.
GAZA
It seems that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in the Israel/Gaza conflict. I am so thankful we have competent leadership right now. Time will tell if anything good comes out of this, but there is definitely something going on, and there is a whiff of hopefulness:
Parties see hope for a Gaza cease-fire: ‘Maybe this time it will work’, Steve Hendrix, Claire Parker and Loveday Morris, Washington Post, April 29, 2024.
JERUSALEM — Mediators expressed hope Monday, once again, that Israel and Hamas were inching toward an agreement to halt fighting in Gaza and release dozens of Israeli hostages, a last, best chance to prevent a return to full-scale war.
The signs of optimism came after Israel presented terms to negotiators last week that softened its position and “broke new ground,” according to an Israeli official familiar with the deliberations. “There is hope,” a Hamas official in Turkey told The Washington Post, but he cautioned that key points require clarification. Like others quoted in this report, the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and ongoing diplomacy.✂️
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the talks in a phone call late Sunday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel on Wednesday as part of a renewed regional push to secure the long-sought breakthrough.✂️
The latest efforts come amid fast-shifting circumstances, including a looming Israeli assault on Hamas’s final stronghold in Rafah, rumors of imminent international arrest warrants for Israeli leaders* and ongoing efforts by Washington to broker a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.✂️
Under mounting international legal pressure, Israel has stepped up efforts in recent weeks to deliver humanitarian relief to Gaza, Lieblich said. U.S. officials have touted the progress but say they are pushing for more.
“It is not enough,” Blinken said Monday. “We still need to get more aid in and around Gaza.”
*Apparently, rumors abound that it is possible that the International Criminal Court in The Hague may be preparing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and some other people as a result of investigation into possible war crimes by Israel and Palestinian militants. (see the Lightning RoundUp for a link to an explanation of the ICC and its role here).
🔬 💉 Science and Health 🩺 🧪
Good News about climate change!
We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realized, Umair Irfan, Vox, April 25, 2024.
Earth is coming out of the hottest year on record, amplifying the destruction from hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, and drought. The oceans remain alarmingly warm, triggering the fourth global coral bleaching event in history. Concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have reached levels not seen on this planet for millions of years, while humanity’s demand for the fossil fuels that produce this pollution is the highest it has ever been.
Yet at the same time, the world may be closer than ever to turning a corner in the effort to corral climate change.
Last year, more solar panels were installed in China — the world’s largest carbon emitter — than the US has installed in its entire history. More electric vehicles were sold worldwidethan ever. Energy efficiency is improving. Dozens of countries are widening the gap between their economic growth and their greenhouse gas emissions. And governments stepped up their ambitions to curb their impact on the climate, particularly when it comes to potent greenhouse gases like methane. If these trends continue, global emissions may actually start to decline.
Climate Analytics, a think tank, published a report last November that raised the intriguing possibility that the worst of our impact on the climate might be behind us.✂️
The inertia behind this trend toward lower emissions is so immense that even politics can only slow it down, not stop it. Many of the worst-case climate scenarios imagined in past decades are now much less likely.
Sounds like we may have dodged the worst of that climate disaster bullet, and let’s keep up the good work, reducing emissions, converting to clean energy, being good stewards of our one and only planet earth. 🌎💙
Cool laser science
32 times lasers revealed hidden forts and settlements from centuries ago, Owen Janus, Live Science, April 26, 2024.
Lasers are being used extensively in archaeology for recording and discovering sites as well as analyzing artifacts in great detail. One laser technology that is particularly good at discovering new sites is lidar (light detection and ranging).
In this technique, pulsed lasers are emitted (usually from an aircraft) and the reflected light is used to map out the landscape. This technique can be especially useful when there is a large amount of vegetation covering a site.
In this countdown, Live Science looks at 32 examples of forts and settlements that have been revealed by lasers. (story at the link!)
Health News you can use!
There have been some thrilling developments in medical research recently — especially with mRNA research — and I’m super excited about the potential for lifetime vaccines and possible cancer cures.
While we await these world-changing cures and treatments, though, let’s not overlook some ordinary but quite effective ways that we can improve our own odds of longer, healthier lives. No need for expensive gym memberships or to carve out time every week for special exercise sessions: this small life hack with the big payoff is available, at no cost, to most people:
Elevator or stairs? Your choice could boost longevity, study finds, Allison Aubrey, NPR, April 29, 2024.
A new meta-analysis presented at a European Society of Cardiology conference finds that people in the habit of climbing stairs had about a 39% lower likelihood of death from heart disease, compared to those who didn't climb stairs. They also had a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.
"I was surprised that such a simple form of exercise can reduce all-cause mortality," says study author Dr. Sophie Paddock, of the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust in the UK.✂️
The moment you start climbing steps, your body responds. "Your heart rate goes up, your cardiac output goes up, and your circulatory status improves," explains Dr. Manish Parikh, chief of cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. "And all of those we know have positive impacts," he says.
So, how much stair climbing is enough? One study found climbing six to ten flights a day was linked to a reduced risk of premature death. And another study found climbing more than five flights a day lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20%.
7 diet changes that can boost your energy naturally, Sharon Liao, Washington Post, April 29, 2024.
Americans frequently vow to adopt better eating habits. But despite making a sincere effort, most don’t reach their goal. Why? Often it’s because they think that eating healthier means overhauling everything.
The truth is, even little tweaks in your meals can have significant impacts on your energy, mood and overall well-being. “Small, manageable changes are sustainable, and they give you a sense of success that keeps you motivated,” says Dolores Woods, a registered dietitian at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
The rewards can be huge. A study published in 2021 in the journal Nature Food found that trading just 10 percent of your daily calories from beef and processed meats to more nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans and fish, can increase your healthy life span. So you may not only live longer but also extend the amount of time you live free of serious illness. For someone eating 2,000 calories, that means trading just 200 calories — roughly one snack or side dish a day. Want to try this and our other expert-advised ideas? Here’s how to make a few small changes every day.
(nifty note: Go to the FREE gift link above for the details!)
The sun is super active right now. Here’s how it can affect electronics on Earth, John Yang and Harry Zahn, PBS, April 28, 2024.
To most people, the sun is a steady, never-changing source of heat and light. But to scientists, it’s a dynamic star, constantly in flux, sending energy out into space. Experts say the sun is now in its most active period in two decades, causing potential disruptions to radio and satellite communications. John Yang speaks with Bill Murtagh of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to learn more.✂️
We had what's called the Carrington event in 1859, which was an extraordinary eruption. We have a an astronomer in England, watching the sun leaves doing his little spot drawing and all of a sudden he sees these big white things on his son's drawing. He was looking at a major flare.
And just 19 hours later, that coronal mass ejection made its way to Earth impacted the Earth. And it surprised a lot of people because you know, our friends up in the north and Canada and Alaska, Scandinavia, they're used to seeing the Northern Lights. What was it like in September of 1859, when the folks in Cuba and Central America looked up and could see the northern lights?
🎶 Music Time! 🎶
🐩💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩
Hello Everybody, it’s me Curlygirl! How is everybody? I hope you are well-rested because I have a lot, I mean A LOT of stories for you today! Let’s start with some bird stories!
🐦 Rare Bird Rescue!
Wow, I thought the story last week about the Trumpeter Swans was probably the best one I’d ever find about large white birds in North America. But on Saturday, Mama flipped open the morning newspaper and this astounding story was on the front page!
Apparently, there are these extremely rare birds called Whooping Cranes. They are so rare that there are only about 830 of them in the whole wide world and in North America, only the California Condor is rarer. And in our neighboring state, Wisconsin, there’s a group that is working really hard to help their numbers increase.
If you go to the link, you can read all about how the humans dress up in white outfits to hide their actual species and have a long-beaked bird puppet on their arm so they resemble a crane and the hatchlings won’t imprint on humans. It is really cool how much care they take! Anyway, this little not-even-1-year-old Whooping Crane was migrating back to Wisconsin and got lost in Chicagoland,. But luckily some alert humans saw it and called the Whooping Crane people in Wisconsin. And they came with the white outfit and the crane puppet and soon had the young crane on its way back to the Wisconsin nesting grounds. HOORAY!!
Whoops! Rare crane rescued in Wilmette, returned to Wisconsin, Kade Heather and Mary Norkol, Chicago Sun✶Times, April 26, 2024.
One of the rarest birds in North America made an unexpected stop in Wilmette this week.
A nearly 1-year-old whooping crane making her first migration north to Wisconsin lost track of her four companions and suddenly found herself wandering a neighborhood in the northern suburb Tuesday morning.
Luckily for her, a local birder spotted the whooping crane and alerted the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin.✂️
“We appreciate local residents and the Chicago birding community for alerting the Foundation of the bird’s location,” the International Crane Foundation wrote in a post on Instagram. “It takes a village.”
Lacy said there are about 75 whooping cranes in the eastern migratory population, which is raised in Wisconsin. Estimates say only 831 whooping cranes are alive worldwide.
🐦 IMANI is BACK!
Oh boy! Mama and me have been keeping our eyes peeled for news about Imani and were hoping, hoping, hoping that he would come back to Chicago this year! And in Friday morning’s paper, the news arrived — IMANI is BACK!! So far, it’s just him, but last year there were some plover chicks who had been orphaned on another beach and they were released on Montrose Beach after they had been raised for a bit by wildlife humans. So maybe one of them will return to Montrose Beach this year, too!
Piping plover Imani returns to Montrose Beach, Jessica Ma, Chicago Sun✶Times, April 26, 2024.
Piping plover Imani returned home to Montrose Beach on Thursday, leading Chicago birders to wonder if the eligible bachelor will find a mate this year.
Imani is the son of beloved couple Monty and Rose. Imani, Searocket, Prickly Pear and Wild Indigo headed south for the winter around the beginning of August.
Birder Matthew Dolkart spotted Imani at 5:30 a.m., according to Tamima Itani, the lead volunteer coordinator of Chicago Piping Plovers.✂️
Birders hope Imani will find a girlfriend. Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released three chicks at Montrose Beach. Itani hopes a female will return and mate with Imani.
There’s no sign of the other chicks so far, but I remember when Monty and Rose were at Montrose beach, Monty always got there first in the spring. I think the boy birds get here first to spruce the place up before the girl birds arrive to start the family! Anyway, paws and fingers crossed that a girl plover arrives this year!
🐙 Weird Animal News
Sometimes I like to share news that is a little weird or sometimes even scary! I mean, I am a pretty dedicated reporter dog and I even report about BEARS! 😬 and LIONS 😱 even though I am a little bit afraid of those animals.
Anyway, here is another scary creepy interesting story about an animal I have to admit I have never seen in my life. Not in the actual flesh. And if I am completely honest (I am always honest!), I don’t think I ever want to see one in the flesh because they look kind of like water spiders but with big sucker things on their eight arms and that is SCARY! INTERESTING!
But I am a dedicated reporter dog, so here is the story!! A boy was fascinated by octopuses and so his father bought him one. Lo and behold! The octopus laid eggs! They figured the eggs would not be fertilized but they were! And 50 baby octopuses hatched!
🐻🐻 Speaking of Scary Bears
These little fellows are not as scary as some of the bear stories I have found for you in the past. Although that Mama bear does look a teensy bit scary!
B.C. man captures video of 2 bear cubs waking from winter slumber, Andrew Kurjata, CBC, April 27, 2024.
Wolf and his family were hiking through the woods in January when his four-year-old daughter noticed a hole in the ground.
"I thought immediately, well, it has to be a den," Wolf said.
His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a slight whining noise coming from inside, prompting him to think that "those must be cubs." (CG says RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! 😱)
He set up a trail camera to keep tabs, but wasn't sure he would be successful in seeing the animals emerge — though he did see a wolf examining the den, "which was really exciting."
It was also a reminder nothing was guaranteed: The animals could be attacked by another predator or die of natural causes.
On March 19 a sow bear emerged, yawning and eating some snow.
Things stayed quiet until April 10 when the mother bear emerged again, followed by a pair of small cubs.
🦓🤡🦓 Zany Zebra story
I think this story is not so much weird as ZANY! There’s a clown and everything! I’m only sorry they didn’t capture any video of the clown, but it’s still a fun story!
Police and public capture runaway zebras in Washington state, but one is still missing, Patrick Smith, NBC, April 29, 2024.
Law enforcement officers and the public in Washington state came together Sunday to take a rare hazard off the roads: Runaway zebras.✂️
He said the animals escaped while their owner stopped to secure their trailer. The privately-owned animals were being taken to Montana.✂️
One local who helped to usher one of the zebras into someone's yard, posted video footage on Facebook and wrote: "I can now add zebra wrangler to my resume."✂️
The bizarre rescue effort involved a rodeo clown, who happened to be passing, local Whitney Blomquist told KOMO.
"They had a rodeo clown who was on his way, I guess to a rodeo, and they were using him to help corral," Blomquist said. "We got zebras on the loose, we’ve got a rodeo clown. I’m like, 'Cool, we’ve officially turned into a zoo here.'"
Regular Animal News
🐈⬛ 📦 Cat shipped in Amazon box!
This sounds like a real nightmare and I feel so badly for Galena the cat! Luckily, she was not hurt at all after this misadventure! And thank the stars for pet microchips! (Sorry no picture of pretty Galena for the article — but you can see her in the linked article! She is a very pretty multi-colored cat).
Utah cat found in Amazon warehouse a week after sneaking into a return box, Doha Madani, NBC, April 28, 2024.
Galena mysteriously went missing on April 10, but her owners couldn't figure out how the indoor cat could disappear without a trace, Carrie Clark told NBC affiliate KSL. A week later, the couple got a notification Galena's microchip had been scanned and they were soon on a call with a veterinarian in Los Angeles.
Galena survived for six days without food or water after she was accidentally shipped out with an Amazon return. The indoor cat has a penchant for playing in boxes, according to Clark, and is particularly skilled at hiding.
Clark told KSL she was able to speak with the Amazon warehouse worker, Brandy, who found Galena. The Amazon employee told Clark over the phone that she took care of the feline friend before taking her to the vet the next day. Upon getting the call, Clark and her husband booked a flight to California to reunite with their cat.
🐩 🎂 Reporter Dog celebrates Birthday!
Yes! The reporter dog is ME and tomorrow is my birthday! I will be 10 years old and I feel great!
Hey Everybody, this long CG section today is my birthday present to YOU. 🥰 Believe it or not, I still have more stories! Even a LION story! 😱 But I think I’d better save the rest for next time because Mama says my section is getting a bit too long! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
Thanks for reading! Bye for now! Luv, CG 💙🐾
⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️
Note: All links in the Lightning RoundUp are free or gift links, unless otherwise noted.
⚡️ For fun: 5 new mysteries and thrillers for your nightstand this spring, Bethanne Patrick, NPR, April 17, 2024.
⚡️ What is the ICC, the global court Israel fears may indict Netanyahu? Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, April 29, 2024.
⚡️ Remember SCOTUS — Presidential Immunity Would Apply to Joe Biden, Too, Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, April 29, 20204.
⚡️ Our Workforce Needs More Immigrants, Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, April 29, 2024.
⚡️ Why Biden and Most Americans Should Welcome the Latest GDP Report, Robert J. Shapiro, April 26, 2024.
⚡️ A lovely essay on hope: Why Hope Is Different Than Optimism, Kendra Thomas, Yes Magazine, April 19, 20204.
⚡️ A nice long biographical article: THE GODFATHER OF AMERICAN COMEDY, Adrienne LaFrance, the Atlantic, June 2024.
💗 How Can You Help Build Our Democracy Back Better? 💗
Put your beautiful bleeding liberal heart into it! 🥰
Share Goody’s Boosting Biden series on social media — Boosting Biden Series
Democratic litigation hero, Marc Elias was the legal eagle behind the 60 Big Lie losses after the election. Here’s his website, Democracy Docket. You can find information about current cases he is fighting to defend voting rights around the country, as well as actions you can take to help fight voter suppression at the link!
Write to voters around the country with Postcards to Voters. Progressive Muse usually posts an update on current campaigns in the comments and you can also check out the website. It’s easy, fun and it really works to GOTV!
🎩 Also, Goody posted a great list of links a while ago. I am borrowing and adding the latest ones to it 🎩
Fight voter suppression!
What can you do?
HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT CONGRESS:
U.S. House of Representatives:* Telephone: 202-225-3121
* Website: http://www.house.gov/
U.S. Senate:* Telephone: 202-224-3121
* Website: http://www.senate.gov/
Find your member of Congress and contact him or her:
Let them know what matters to you!
Contact your Representative
Contact your Senator
And remember, all politics is local and personal! Let’s work to flip state and local elected positions Democratic! ↓
Sister District Project — organization that is working to help Dems win state legislature races.
Donate to re-elect Joe Biden!
Oh, and don’t forget!…. Share Goody’s Boosting Biden series on social media —
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
That’s it from me and CG for another week, Gnusies.
Remember to take good care of yourself. We have so much to do this year and I believe we will have so much to celebrate as a result of the hard work! Make sure you are in the best health you can be, so that you can be a witness to history and a participant in building back a better country and world.
Get some rest. Eat nutritious food. And every day — if you possibly can — spend some time outdoors. Even if you can only grab 10 minutes on lunch break. Or find a few moments by an open window in the midst of a hectic day. The sky and earth and air and trees, wind, rain, sunshine, grass — all of these will fortify and restore you.
Thanks for reading. Happy Tuesday, Gnuville!
(I can’t remember if I’ve already given you this one, but even if it’s a repeat, it is well worth hearing again!)
🎶 Music for Your Tuesday 🎶