Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Good News Roundup! We are all aware of the bad news out there, but this is where we come to refresh our spirits and gird ourselves so we’re ready for the fights we need to keep fighting. So come on in!
Due to time zones, I have to write this the day before and then hope that I queue it properly. So I may miss overnight stuff. If you have more good news to share, put it out there! Or just stop in and say howdy!
💙 💛 💙 Russia, Russia, Russia 🌹 🌹 🌹
💙 Mueller is following the rubles
Mueller’s team has stopped two Russian oligarchs who recently made trips to the United States, searching at least one, and has made an informal overture to a third requesting an interview and documents, CNN reported Wednesday. According to multiple sources familiar with Mueller’s tactics, the special counsel is focused on the potential flow of money from Russia to Trump’s campaign and inauguration. He’s particularly interested in Russian investments in think tanks and political-action committees that donated to Trump’s campaign, and in “straw donors,” or American citizens who fielded Russian money to skirt campaign finance laws.
💙 Mueller turns a weakness into strength.
The New York Times is stingy about letting random people repost its paragraphs, so I must paraphrase: many have worried about how the Mueller investigation, subject to the Department of Justice, can remain independent. The article has interesting twists on how the Mueller investigation has managed to strengthen its position, with an example being given for Manafort.
💙 We don’t know a lot about what’s going on in that investigation
Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of lawyers won their first conviction, sending Alex van der Zwaan to jail on Tuesday. They are methodically working their way through their investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, with 19 indictments and five pleas thus far.
Everyone wants to know whom the investigation will target next. But the people who actually know, Mueller and his team of at least 17 people, have done something remarkable for Washington in the Trump era — prevented almost anything of real substance from leaking.
💙 The Mueller investigation is moving at an incredible pace.
This is link to a thread from the somewhat controversial Seth Abramson.
(THREAD) If you or someone you know suffers from Trump-Russia exhaustion, please read and RT this. Trump's strategy is to get us to cease caring about his coordination with Russia because investigating it takes too long. A long thread may seem an unusual antidote, but try it out.
💙 Trump not a target! Some thoughts:
Many of us have heard that Trump is not currently a criminal target of the Mueller investigation, but only a subject of interest. There have been great responses offered. Steve Schmidt says, being a subject is like being engaged. And many have pointed out that people go into interviews as subject and come out as targets. A few others have suggested that Mueller may feel that he can’t make the president a criminal target but must leave that to Congress after completing his reports.
But what I find fascinating is Trump’s reaction. He seems so relieved. Why is that? Because he knows damned well that he's guilty as hell.
💙 💚 💙 Sordid Tales from the Swamp 🐊 🐊 🐊
💙 Scott Pruitt, who is against clean air (how can you be against clean air? even Richard Nixon liked clean air), had a disastrous appearance on FOX, unable to explain away his too blatant grifting. We may be able to push him out of the EPA, because Trump appears to be embarrassed by Pruitt. You can click on that link to sign a petition. Or write your senators and your representative and let them know you want him out.
💙 Bill O’Reilly’s accusers are prevailing in court and are getting documents unsealed. O’Reilly has to be one of Trump’s friends, and as another serial harasser, having this sort of judgment has to terrify Spanky.
Federal Judge Deborah Batts made a point in her ruling that could have implications down the line:
Batts also said O'Reilly "has not even come close to rebutting this First Amendment presumption" that favors public access to documents.
💙 John Bolton may already be facing problems.
John Bolton, who is days away from becoming President Donald Trump's national security advisor, has been meeting with White House attorneys about possible conflicts of interest, CNBC has learned.
The exact sticking points for Bolton are unclear, but ethics experts say the appearance of a possible future role for Bolton with an entity such as a political action committee could be a cause for concern for White House officials. Bolton's PAC and super PAC, which are no longer receiving or spending capital, have been financial players in the early going of the midterm election cycle.
💚 More Storms in the Swamp — Trump says he didn’t know about the NDA:
Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted in response that, "We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One."
"As history teaches us," he added, "it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath."
💙 ❤️ 💙 Democrats Are Strong
— and Republicans Are Terrified 🌊 🌊 🌊
(Trump’s numbers may be bouncing up a little in some polls, but not in others. Morning Consult’s 50 state poll has him way down compared to February. (Dkos diary here)
-
Trump’s net approval rating was 13 points underwater, a 4 point decline from February.
-
Biggest drop was in Iowa — a net swing of 9 points from the previous month.
💙 Listened to the Wednesday edition of Lawrence O’Donnell’s "The Last Word,” where some great things were pointed out:
- McConnell, in charge of the Senate, is expecting a loss of hurricane proportions in the mid-terms. He’s just not sure if the hurricane will be Category 3 or Category 5.
- Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, has still not said if he’s running for re-election! Guys, it’s April! If he’s not going to run, then don’t you think he should move aside for a fellow Republican? John Nichols, a guest on the show, said that Ryan has gone from being one of the most accessible congresscritters to someone who is almost in hiding. Which makes me think that Ryan will run but he’s not happy about it.
- Another tidbit about Judge Dallet’s victory in the WI Supreme Court race. She won the vote, not just the popular vote, but she won half of the counties, too. That means that she won, not just the urban counties, but a wholebunch of rural counties too — counties that went for Trump.
💙 From Vox, more about Paul Ryan:
But on Capitol Hill, the likelihood of Ryan’s departure is no longer a question of will it happen but a matter of when and how. Will Ryan run for reelection first? Probably. Will he push for one more signature achievement, like entitlement reform, before he leaves? That seems less likely.
Underlying the chatter among Republicans is an understanding that the speakership has always been a thankless job, and has become all the more fraught under the Trump presidency.
💙 Retaking the Senate will be a stretch, because the Ds are defending lots of seats, but there are signs of hope:
The Tennessean, for example, had this report this morning (Thursday) out of the Volunteer State.
Former Gov. Phil Bredesen has a 10-point lead over U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in the race to succeed U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, according to a new poll from Middle Tennessee State University.
… But the point is, up until very recently, neither party looked at Tennessee -- a state Donald Trump carried by 26 points in 2016 -- as a state that could host a competitive Senate contest. And yet, there's at least some evidence to suggest that's exactly what's happening.
💙 Senator Dean Heller of Nevada is hoping that his constituents don’t vote in November.
If you know someone in Nevada, make sure they vote for his opponent, because that is such a sucky attitude for someone. Let them know he really wants to repeal the ACA, too.
💙 This is all they’ve got?
The only bill of note that the Republicans have passed (in 14+ months! when they have both houses and the presidency!) was the tax scam. Which is not very popular. When my wretched representative voted for the bill back last year, I sent her a scathing note. Well, yesterday I received an email from her in its defense (I’m not including her name, etc., because I don’t want her finding the information here). I wrote back:
This is an amazingly stupid letter, showing that the representative is ready to lie about how the economy works. The economy was already going at full steam, thanks to Obama. Biggest problem has been income inequality, and the Republican tax scam, with its enormous deficits, is designed to make it worse - the rich stealing from the poor and future generations.
I want the Rs to realize how terrible this bill is.
💙 It’s not just the federal government. The latest Republican bill in Kentucky raises taxes on 95% of Kentuckians.
According to the study, the top 1 percent of Kentuckians will see an average tax cut of $7,086 from the plan. People who make between $175,000 and $427,000 a year are likely to see an average tax cut of $776. Anyone who makes below $175,000 is likely to see a tax increase of $93 to $213.
💙 💜 💙 Odds and Ends 🌹 🌹 🌹
💙 HR McMaster, the outgoing NSA guy, pulled no punches in his last speech.
“For too long, some nations have looked the other way in the face of these threats. Russia brazenly and implausibly denies its actions, and we have failed to impose sufficient costs,” McMaster said Tuesday night, speaking at an Atlantic Council dinner alongside leaders from the three Baltic nations in town to meet with President Donald Trump.
“Mr. Putin may believe that he is winning in this new form of warfare,” McMaster said. “Perhaps he believes that our free nations are weak and will not respond to his provocations. He is wrong.”
His words impressed his audience; he got a standing ovation.
💙 Ohio Republicans take up gun control laws. They’re not going nearly as far as they should but it’s heading in the right direction. For example:
Most notably, the bill would allow police to take a person’s weapons if a court decides there is evidence that he or she poses a threat.
The Democrats have been there for a while, and are not kowtowing to the NRA (unlike the Rs). And we owe a lot to the Parkland survivors.
💙 You know what else is great about the Parkland survivors? We’re paying attention to them, instead of to the shooter. That doesn’t always happen, except, for example, with Gabrielle Giffords, who was so badly injured that she couldn’t do a lot to fight for gun control for a long time.
Another positive remark: these gun control measures that are passing also should be credited to those who have worked on this issue for years, developing ideas, crafting legislation, creating support.
💙 Teachers are fighting back. A lot is going on, right now in Oklahoma.
Shermie Potts and Jeanine Gully had never been to the capitol to speak to their legislators face to face. The two choir teachers from Edmond, Oklahoma, who wore matching green windbreakers bearing their school insignias and sneakers as they stood in line inside the capitol to look up their representatives’ office numbers, had to ask directions for how to get there.
Just one more sign that people are no longer taking the abuse anymore. Now, I don’t know if the women above are Democrats (it is Oklahoma, so chances are not great) but at least they are paying attention and have noticed that they are not being served by the current R government. 💙 The D candidate for governor has noticed too.
So when I heard Mary Fallin say that these brave teachers are like a “teenager wanting a better car,” I was outraged.
Teachers aren’t demanding new cars. They’re demanding textbooks that aren’t held together by duct tape. They’re demanding schools that aren’t crumbling around them. They’re demanding a living wage so they can continue to serve our state’s kids.
💙 More women have filed to run for the House than ever before
Per the AP, many of these women are running for seats "that have never had a female representative." Axios reported similar findings in December; 369 women, most of whom are Democrats, were running or planning to run for House seats citing a major factor that has pushed women to get involved was the sexual harassment awakening which shook the country last fall.
You know, I think Trump’s gross unqualifications encouraged people (women) too. I mean, if he thinks he’s qualified (and is able to persuade enough voters that he is), most of us know we’re qualified. Much more qualified.
💙 Kevin Williamson, who thinks that women who have abortions should be hanged, has been fired by The Atlantic. Not for just thinking it, of course, but saying it over and over.
💙 Just listened to Maddow’s Tuesday interview with Cecile Richards, the head of Planned Parenthood. Richards is stepping down from that position, but she’s still going to be a voice. She has a new book out: Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Courage to Lead. Evidently it’s got some tips on how to be an activist, for those who are interested in being more active.
Richards mentioned a lovely little statistic: Planned Parenthood has more than twice as many members as the NRA! 😄
💙 What Are You Doing to Save Democracy? 💜
This is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to win back the offices, and then reverse the evil that has been wrought. This will require a lot of effort from all of us. Some suggestions:
Browse Yosef52’s diary for lots of links.
Call or write your representatives!
Put up signs! Freewayblogger explains how to do this.
2thanks usually has a whole bunch of suggestions.
Tell people. Write comments. When you speak, you encourage others to speak as well. You may even change some minds.
And if you have any other ideas, please put them in the comments!
🌹 💙 🌹