Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Hope everyone could find this GNR, even though I changed the picture for today! Of course, anyone who is here has found it; I need to be worried about those who have not, but I don’t know how to reach them. (If you’re not following us GNR authors, follow us , and we will be in your [Activity] Stream.)
I am an introvert. It’s not that I am exactly shy, but that interacting with living human beings is tiring. On the other hand, there’s more power in actions when we do them with others. When it’s important enough, I act.
And that is what we are seeing. The introverts have arrived. The introverts are here to stay.
Now, apparently the introverts are not getting polled; the polls have been way off, even internal polls used to strategize and not designed to skew the averages at 538.
Maybe we’re not getting polled, but the introverts are donating money. That’s why the Biden campaign has so much more money. The introverts are postcarding, texting and emailing. When they have a vote, they use it and they bring their friends (yes, introverts have some friends).
The introverts are complaining when something happens, like when NBC hired a criminal to lie for them.
Also, the GOP is full of criminals and chaos, and although some people think it makes good TV, WE DON'T LIKE IT AND WE WANT IT TO STOP. We want to get back to doing other things.
But until it stops, we are here, and one thing introverts know how to do is to focus.
Come on in, dear gnusies, and see what the good guys are doing! And a good Good Friday to those who are Christian.
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, March 28, 2024: On-the-Record Press Gaggle by White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Stabbing Attack in Rockford, Illinois
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on the Passing of Former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen the Recognition of Women’s History
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Queens, NY
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Statement from President Biden on the Passing of Esther Coopersmith
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Statement from National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on Fourth Quarter 2023 GDP and March Consumer Sentiment
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Readout of Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force Meeting
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces OMB Policy to Advance Governance, Innovation, and Risk Management in Federal Agencies’ Use of Artificial Intelligence
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: Press Call by Vice President Harris On Artificial Intelligence
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: White House Announces Theme and Activities for the 2024 Easter Egg Roll
- Thursday, March 28, 2024: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Landmark Rule to Protect Americans from Junk Health Insurance
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden Congratulating Bassirou Diomaye Faye as President-elect of Senegal
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: Executive Order on Recognizing and Honoring Women’s History
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Deputy Commandant for Operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at Cancer Insurers Roundtable
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: As Part of the Cancer Moonshot, First Lady Jill Biden, Leading Health Insurers & Oncology Practices Nationwide Highlight New Actions to Expand Patient Navigation
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Kamala Harris, Administration Officials Launch “SAVE Day of Action” to Highlight Cross-Sector Actions to Boost Enrollment in the SAVE Plan
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with National Security Advisor Akiba Takeo of Japan
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris on Lowering Healthcare Costs | Raleigh, NC
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Readout of White House Roundtable with Survivors on Guns and Domestic Violence
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre En Route Raleigh, NC
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Readout of White House Convening with Mothers Affected by Gun Violence
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to South Sudan
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Press Release: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to South Sudan
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Remarks by President Biden on the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Press Release: Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities
- Tuesday, March 26, 2024: Fact Sheet: As House Republicans Release Budget to Increase Health Care Costs and Take Away Coverage, President Biden and Vice President Harris Fight to Lower Health Care Costs and Protect and Strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Roundtable with Central America Forward Stakeholders
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Remarks By Vice President Harris and President Bernardo Arévalo of The Republic of Guatemala Before Bilateral Meeting
- Monday, March 25, 2024: FACT SHEET: Update on the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America
- Monday, March 25, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces Public-Private Partnership Has Generated More Than $5.2 Billion in Private Sector Commitments for Northern Central America
- Monday, March 25, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces New Initiatives to Strengthen the U.S.-Guatemala Relationship and Address the Root Causes of Migration from Guatemala
- Monday, March 25, 2024: FACT SHEET: 80% of House Republicans Propose Defunding COPS as President Biden Insists on Funding the Police
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Readout of Vice President Harris’s Meeting with President Arévalo of Guatemala
- Monday, March 25, 2024: FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Announces Month of Action on Care with New Actions to Support Small Businesses
- Monday, March 25, 2024: On-the-Record Press Gaggle by White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Monday, March 25, 2024: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland
- Sunday, March 24, 2024: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the Human Rights Campaign 2024 Los Angeles Dinner
- Saturday, March 23, 2024: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Terrorist Attack in Moscow
- Saturday, March 23, 2024: Press Release: Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate: Designation of Funding as Emergency Requirements in Accordance with Section 6 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024
- Saturday, March 23, 2024: Statement from President Joe Biden on the Bipartisan Government Funding Bill
- Saturday, March 23, 2024: Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 2882
- Saturday, March 23, 2024: FACT SHEET: Vice President Kamala Harris Announces Two Gun Safety Solutions While Continuing Efforts to Keep Schools Safe from Gun Violence
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Readout of Communities in Action: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Readout of White House Meeting with Council of Chief State School Officers
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Press Release: Bills Signed: S. 992, S. 1278
- Friday, March 22, 2023: President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with President-elect Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’a Al-Sudani of Iraq to the White House
- Friday, March 22, 2023: A Proclamation on Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy, 2024
- Friday, March 22, 2023: Readout of Women’s History Month Labor Roundtable with the AFL-CIO
- Friday, March 22, 2023: FACT SHEET: On World Water Day, Biden-Harris Administration Builds on Historic Progress to Protect Clean Drinking Water, Restore Our Nation’s Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, and Wetlands
- Friday, March 22, 2023: FACT SHEET: During Visit, Vice President Kamala Harris to Highlight Biden-Harris Administration’s Historic Investments and Partnerships That Have Helped Lead to Puerto Rico’s Economic Comeback
- Friday, March 22, 2023: FACT SHEET: House Republicans Endorse a National Abortion Ban with Zero Exceptions in Latest Budget
👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍
👎 Biden administration finalizes reversal of the tRump Endangered Species Act rollback Zack Budryk The Hill
The Biden administration on Thursday announced a finalized update to Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules that advocates say reverses some Trump administration rollbacks but fails to fully restore them.
In 2019, the Trump administration made a number of alterations to the ESA rules, including adding language to protection criteria to allow consideration of economic impacts on industry for the listing.
👎 ⚡️ Ronna Romney McDaniel is out at NBC. Hunter, Daily Kos. See more on this below, in the Unity section.
👍 Louisiana sheriff wins, at last Associated Press
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — Months after his disputed one-vote victory in a Louisiana sheriff’s race was tossed by a court, a career law enforcement officer was decisively elected on his second try Saturday.
Democratic candidate Henry Whitehorn got 53% of the vote in Saturday’s election in northwest Louisiana’s Caddo Parish. He’ll be the parish’s first Black sheriff.
Returns from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office show Whitehorn defeated Republican John Nickelson — this time by more than 4,000 votes.
Turnout was considerably higher in the second race. State figures show 65,239 people voted in Saturday’s sheriff’s race — up from 43,247 in November.
Whitehorn is a former head of the Louisiana State Police and former Shreveport police chief. He won by a single vote in November but courts ordered a new election after finding evidence that two people illegally voted twice and four others voted despite being ineligible.
Super close and a few irregularities: an election that needed to be redone. Well done, team blue! In LOUISIANA!
👍 ⚡️ Marilyn Lands won her special election in Alabama. bilboteach, Daily Kos. ALABAMA!!!! See more below.
Bibi caves and wants to reschedule trip he canceled to DC Zach Montague New York Times
A White House spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the Israeli government had agreed to try to reschedule a visit by a group of officials whose trip to Washington to discuss a possible assault on a key southern city in Gaza was scrapped over the U.S. decision not to veto a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
President Biden had asked Israel to send a delegation to Washington to discuss alternatives to a ground offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million people have sought refuge. But Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called off the delegation’s trip at the last minute after being angered by the U.S. decision to abstain from a vote on the resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Monday.
“The prime minister’s office said that they want to reschedule this meeting so that we can talk about the Rafah operations,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters. “We welcome that. And we’re going to work with their teams to make sure that happens.”
This is a sign of President Biden’s strength. He won the game of chicken.
💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣
tRump is hawking Bibles. Newsweek
Former President Donald Trump's latest venture selling Bibles has sparked the fury of Christians.
Trump, who became the presumptive Republican nominee earlier in March, posted a video on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday urging his supporters to buy the "God Bless the USA Bible," inspired by country singer Lee Greenwood's patriotic ballad
Even tackier than those gold-sprayed shoes. And tacky in more than one way, as apparently the pages stick together. He really is little more than a televangelist at this point.
🌵 Kari Lake (ugh) is a candidate for the senate in Arizona. But she and tRump and the other liars have an expensive defamation problem Aaron Blake, Washington Post
For the second time in eight months, a top Donald Trump ally has, extraordinarily, declined to try to prove they didn’t defame an election worker. Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake (R) has joined former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in that distinction.
The news comes even as Trump owes more than $86 million after losing a pair of defamation cases against a woman, E. Jean Carroll, whom he has arguably continued to defame.
Throw in the $787.5 million Fox News agreed to pay a voting machine company over bogus theories it aired bolstering Trump’s stolen-election claims and the $148 million judgment against Giuliani, and the combined bill is north of $1 billion — and potentially growing, thanks to Lake’s capitulation and
other lawsuits.
The Trump political movement has long had a truth problem. That has now manifested itself as a very expensive defamation problem.
Isn’t it great to see truth winning?
It also means that Ruben Gallego can use this against her in his senate campaign.
🌵 More on this story Edward Montini Arizona Republic
On Tuesday, Lake said she would forfeit her right to defend against Richer’s suit, no doubt terrified of what would come out during discovery. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Richer responded, “Kari: You lied ... It was all B.S.”
One of his attorneys, Ben Berwick, added, “It is extraordinary to see a defendant in civil litigation concede like this.”
Earlier, one of Lake’s attorneys said that Lake was not going to allow Richer to impede her free speech.
But it wasn’t her free speech Richer was going after. It was the unproven claims of misconduct and election tampering made against Richer in order to grift gullible MAGA suckers, without seeming to care, at all, about the potential harm she was doing to Richer’s reputation.
It seems that most illegal voting occurs in team red. Mark Neese Atlantic Journal Constitution
A judge ruled Wednesday that the Georgia Republican Party’s first vice chairman, Brian K. Pritchard, violated state election laws when he voted nine times while serving probation for a felony check forgery sentence.
Pritchard, a conservative talk show host, must pay a $5,000 fine and receive a public reprimand from the State Election Board, according to the decision by Administrative Law Judge Lisa Boggs.
🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚
A comparison between the candidates:
See more about tRump and golf in the Odds and Ends section below.
Three presidents pull in a $25 million haul: President Biden’s fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton raised over $25,000,000. It is the most successful political fundraiser in American history. And this is the report Thursday morning; it’s taking place Thursday evening.
Note that tRump has been unendorsed by his VP and much of his cabinet. Of prior R presidents, candidates and VPs and VP candidates, he only seems to have the blessing of Sarah Palin.
Look how wrong the polls are (seriously, I think they’re missing the intensity of us introverts): An internal poll in December from the Republican campaign showed Powell winning 47.7%-36.8%.Even the Democrat’s internal polling showed a tight race, with Lands up just 43%-40%. Reminder: The Democrat, Lands, won by 25.
Beau of the Fifth Column believes this has a lot to do with the fact that Lands ran in Huntsville, which lost the Space Command because service members don’t trust Alabama with respect to reproductive freedom. But that can be used elsewhere, too.
💜 Unity? 💜
As mentioned above, Ronna McDaniel never got to MSNBC and has already been kicked out of NBC. This happened because of a coordinated rebellion at NBC and MSNBC. People spoke up. Even the on-air talent dared to criticize the hiring decision while on the air.
Maddow (see clip below) made it clear that it was the concerted outrage and pushback by the MSNBC hosts and staff that made the MSNBC bosses reverse their positions and tell them that Ronna McDaniel will not appear on MSNBC. As you know, McDaniel will also not be appearing again at NBC.
Here’s the clip:
McDaniel appeared on Meet the Press, and Chuck Todd (!!!) came out against her, saying that if she was ready to lie for the RNC, to “take one for the team,” who could trust her now? Wouldn’t she just be saying whatever NBC wanted her to say?
McDaniel lied for tRump. Yes, she probably feared she would lose her job if she did not lie. But she was going to lose her position eventually anyway. Now she has been fired because she is a liar. Yes, NBC will have to shell out some dough, but they deserve it for making such a terrible decision.
In a discussion in another diary about this, I posted the email address for reaching Rachel. Someone else replied that complaining was a waste of time. But that is not true. These complaints are what support the hosts and their staff in their protests.
Our united efforts matter.
I expect there was coordination among the on-air talent and their staffs. Imagine if, after Jan 6, more GOP officials stood up and said Biden won, tRump lost, and if they had convicted tRump in his impeachment. But that would take courage that too many Rs do not have (note that some do, some have said they will not support him this year).
Also, our efforts did not use death threats, doxxing or swatting. We just let Comcast and its management know we want truth tellers, not liars, on the station. We just wanted her fired.
If she deserves more, that’s up to justice departments and not to NBC.
📥 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 😈
Sam gets 25 year sentence! Noah Kirsch, The Daily Beast
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ecoriated FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during his sentencing hearing on Thursday, declaring that the convicted fraudster had perjured himself on the stand and attempted to commit witness tampering. Kaplan then sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison, capping a stunning downfall for the former public face of crypto.
Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on seven fraud and conspiracy counts in November, has been locked up since August, when Kaplan got fed up with his pretrial antics and remanded him into custody.
ETTD: My pillow is in trouble! Not only is he being evicted from his My Pillow warehouse because he owes over $200K in unpaid rent, he owes Fox News more than $8 million in unpaid ad fees and his lawyer dropped him as a client over $ millions in unpaid legal fees.
Man sentenced to 2.5 years prison for threatening AZ election workers DOJ press release
An Ohio man was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for sending death threats to an election official in the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office during Arizona’s primary and general elections.
“If you threaten violence against the public servants who administer our elections, there will be consequences,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The right to vote, which is the cornerstone of our democracy, relies on the ability of election workers and election officials to perform their duties without fearing for their lives. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who threaten these public servants.”
According to court documents, between Aug. 2, 2022, and Nov. 15, 2022, Joshua Russell, 46, of Bucyrus, left a series of voicemails threatening the life of an election official with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office (Victim‑1).
The first message, which was sent on the day of the Arizona primary elections, accused Victim-1 of failing to protect the 2020 election and committing election fraud. Russell then said, “You’re the enemy of the United States, you’re a traitor to this country, and you better put your sh[inaudible], your [expletive] affairs in order, ’cause your days [inaudible] are extremely numbered. America’s coming for you, and you will pay with your life, you communist [expletive] traitor [expletive].”
“The defendant made multiple death threats against an Arizona election official during the state’s elections. This conduct is an attack on the democratic process itself, and today’s sentence shows that perpetrators of such egregious, unlawful conduct will be held to account,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division will not tolerate threats of violence intended to undermine our free and fair elections.”
Russell left another voicemail for Victim-1 on Sept. 9, 2022. In that message, Russell called Victim-1 a terrorist and a criminal, and then said that “[y]ou have a few short months to see yourself behind bars, or we will see you to the grave. You are a traitor to this nation, and you will suffer the [expletive] consequences.”
“Thorough reporting leads to prompt charging and timely deterrence of those who would disrupt democracy,” said U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona. “Here, a threat reported during the August 2022 primary election was charged before the end of the calendar year. Thanks to the Office of the Arizona Secretary of State for making a detailed initial report, and to the FBI for its efficient and detailed investigation.”
Finally, on Nov. 15, 2022, Russell left a voicemail accusing Victim-1 of committing crimes against America and once again threatened Victim-1’s life. In relevant part, Russell said, “[w]e will not wait for you to be drugged through court. A war is coming for you. The entire nation is coming for you. And we will stop, at no end, until you are in the ground. You’re a traitor to this nation. You’re a [expletive] piece of [expletive] communist, and you just signed your own death warrant. Get your affairs in order, cause, your days are very short.”
Russell pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of making a threatening interstate communication.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI Boston Field Office.
It’s important, not just to punish these people, but for the DOJ to announce it. Because without enough publicity, there is no deterrence.
And, you may have already seen this, but repetition is good! Eastman is in the find out stage of things and is recommended for disbarment:
📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️
Saving the education of girls in Afghanistan Kanika Gupta The Daily Beast
Robina Azizi was only 16 years old when her country was overrun by Taliban soldiers. She and her family had left their town, Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of Afghanistan’s northwestern province of Balkh, only a week before, as news of the Taliban’s arrival was already widespread. Azizi was supposed to be at her 10th-grade exam the next day—but she would never finish her schooling.
“When I returned home from school, my mother asked me to pack my things as I was leaving for Kabul,” Azizi told The Daily Beast. “I protested because I still had my exam the next day. But my mother told me that if I didn’t leave now and if the Taliban came, they would force me to marry them.” ✂️
When Azizi moved to the capital of Afghanistan just weeks before the country’s fall, she found herself in an online school. Seeing the struggles of girls in different provinces with their online classes, she decided to step in and help them navigate through courses and find suitable schools. ✂️
Inspired by her experiences, Azizi founded Girls on the Path of Change (GPC) in April 2023. Utilizing social media, she quickly spread the word, launching the first session and inviting girls from across the country to share their stories in an online community. ✂️
A month later, GPC launched its online courses with 10 volunteers in her team from around the world, and hundreds of students joining from all parts of Afghanistan. What began as a solo effort has now evolved into a more extensive team of 10 volunteers, with more than 600 students graduating from GPC classes in 2023.
🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️
❤️ This father lost his 16-year old son in a car crash. He decided to donate his organs, including his heart. Later the recipient sent him a surprise gift — a teddy bear with a recording of his son’s heartbeat.
An oldie but a goodie: In 1996, an 8-year-old boy fell into the Gorilla Enclosure at the Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago, Illinois. What happened next was incredible. Gorillas are notoriously territorial and will fiercely protect their territory from any outsiders. This means maiming, harming, or even killing any other animals that enter their protected space, including humans. When the boy fell, a female gorilla saw it happen. Her name is Binti Jua which means "daughter of sunshine." As soon as she saw the boy fall into the enclosure, she quickly went over to him making sure to get there before any other gorillas could arrive. Rather than harming the child, she picked him up, gently cradled him in her arms, and brought him to the edge of the enclosure. When she got there, she waited patiently for zookeepers to come and collect him. She did it all while carrying her own child, who was clinging to her back.As a result of Binti Jua's actions, the boy's life was saved.
📎Odds & Ends 📎
⛳️ You gotta laugh: Highlights of Trump's 23 "championships"...*wins 12 while being only entrant*wins a 2-day tourney despite only playing 1*wins one in FL while he's in North Korea*wins one in NJ while he's playing in Philly. (Called in his score.)
Some of the kids — even in Russia — are really good people Andy Corbley Good News Network
Two Russian schoolboys, working as cloakroom attendants when the recent terrorist attack occurred at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, have been hailed as heroes for assisting in the rescue of hundreds of fleeing concertgoers.
Islam Khalilov, 15, and Artyom Donskoy, 14 were awarded medals for bravery in a ceremony by Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights.
On March 22nd, gunmen stormed the Crocus and began firing on those attending a rock concert and setting fire to the theater.
Khalilov—an immigrant from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, told reporters he thought that some workers were doing “noisy” repair work in the hall, but realized something was wrong when people came running.
He and Donskoy helped lead the fleeing attendees away from dead-end hallways and locked maintenance doors and out through the exits.
Belarus’s Lukashenko contradicts putin (!!!) and says Ukraine not behind the attack in Moscow The Hill
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that the alleged perpetrators in the Moscow concert hall attack were initially fleeing toward Belarus, not Ukraine, in the aftermath of the massacre on Friday.
Lukashenko’s remarks contradict assertions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has tried to suggest Ukraine was involved in the attack, in part, by claiming that the gunmen were fleeing in the direction of Ukraine following the attack.
Long overdue. Hope they arrest that GOP guy in Georgia:
Montana Supreme Court strikes down multiple voter suppression laws for violating the state constitution.
McKenzie, since divorcing Bezos, has now given away 16.5 billion to charities Andy Corbley Good News Network
Here’s a hypothetical: You want to give away $640 million, but you want to give it away to many different groups. How do you find the groups? How do you process value judgments between charities and non-profit organizations and decide who to uplift and who to ignore?
Billionaire philanthropist McKenzie Scott has figured it out, as part of her commitment to relinquish all the money she received in her divorce settlement with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
She had already given away billions, but wanted to hone the process in time for her next distribution.
An organization set up to help her navigate this problem, Yield Giving, recently completed an open call process for a grant money giveaway wherein Scott donated double the millions she originally earmarked—in the end, helping 361 charities and nonprofits with grants of one to two million dollars each.
Yeah, I always am a little nervous when making donations: can I trust these people or not?
A tribute to Navalny. As the Russian-speaking friend who alerted me to this wrote: Zemfira (Russian pop star), Noize MC (rapper), Vera Polozkova (poet and actress), Leonid Parfenov (journalist) and others released a song in memory of Navalny on the 40th day after his death. It’s sub-titled in Russian and English, and quite hopeful. Thanks, PW!
🐦 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.
