Welcome 😄 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!
Before I get to the roundup, I want to discuss something. Repetition. Sometimes it seems that we have to say the same thing over and over: “Trump and Republicans bad. Democrats good.” All this repetition can get frustrating, because we already know this. Many of us are quick learners, and besides, we have other things to do in life. You know, real interests. Things that should matter. In fact I think one of the things that makes us different from the other side is the interest, the love, the genuine satisfaction. I mean, do you think Trump and his cronies know what real love is? I don’t. They must all be so empty.
But the repetition has to be done. Because that is what convinces the press, the population at large, and even some of the politicians. So take the time you need to recover, and then go forth and shout / write postcards / contact your reps / freeway blog, whatever. Even if you feel as if you’re repeating yourself. Because that’s our job right now. That’s how we rescue our country.
Especially when what we repeat is the truth.
Now to the regularly scheduled programming...
No one here is naïve; we are aware of the very bad stuff that is happening. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including ourselves) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. Because sometimes the good news, which can be incremental, gets lost in the deluge of the click-bait bad (please save that click-bait bad for other diaries). Because we need to fortify ourselves before returning to the fight. Because we sometimes get ideas about how to fight while here. And also — because we’re a community 💙 ❤️ 💙 — we like to be here.
And, yes, there’s lots of bad news out there — just how corrupt is the Republican party? — and Trump’s deeds will take a lot of work to undo. But little of it is surprising, at least not surprising on what the bad guys are doing or are trying to do (at least not to us). What has been surprising is the outpouring on our side. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know. And you know what? Anger and fury are pretty good motivators, and are reasons that a blue wave is predicted for November.
💚 There are more of us than there are of them.
💛 They are terrified when we organize.
💔 They want us to be demoralized. We have to keep demoralizing them. Turns out that shame works!
💙 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.
Note that there is more good news out there, but the sample here should remind you that lots of people are fighting and it does make a difference.
💙 Russia, Russia, Russia 🐻
— and Other Toxic 🍄 Trump Matters
✊ Brennan punches back
The already challenging work of the American intelligence and law enforcement communities was made more difficult in late July 2016, however, when Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, publicly called upon Russia to find the missing emails of Mrs. Clinton. By issuing such a statement, Mr. Trump was not only encouraging a foreign nation to collect intelligence against a United States citizen, but also openly authorizing his followers to work with our primary global adversary against his political opponent.
Such a public clarion call certainly makes one wonder what Mr. Trump privately encouraged his advisers to do — and what they actually did — to win the election. While I had deep insight into Russian activities during the 2016 election, I now am aware — thanks to the reporting of an open and free press — of many more of the highly suspicious dalliances of some American citizens with people affiliated with the Russian intelligence services.
Mr. Trump’s claims of no collusion are, in a word, hogwash.
Brennan knows Trump is guilty. We all know Trump is guilty.
🔎 Mueller has 3X the evidence for the next Manafort trial
In Manafort's Virginia trial, which began on July 31, prosecutors presented nearly 400 financial records, emails and other documents to the jury. Manafort's team says the prosecutors have "well over" 1,000 pieces of evidence lined up for the DC federal case, set to go to trial in September. The judge in DC told the prosecutors on Thursday to "review" their evidence collection "with an eye towards streamlining the presentation of its case."
This is from a recent Quinnipiac poll as reported via the Maddow blog:
"Do you think it is ever acceptable for a presidential campaign to obtain information on a political opponent from a hostile foreign power, or do you think that is never acceptable?"
As it turns out, this was one of the few questions in which Americans were largely on the same page. Overall, 79% of Americans said it's never acceptable for U.S. campaigns to get dirt from foreign adversaries, and the consensus was fairly broad: even 69% of Republicans agreed.
Among white voters without college degrees -- a constituency that tends to make up the bulk of Donald Trump's base -- 79% said it's never acceptable, which is the identical figure to overall national sentiment.
So — do these people not know that Trump colluded with Russia? Do they not view Russia as hostile? Do they not connect the dots? Or is cognitive dissonance not a problem for them? Or are they lying to pollsters, because wanting to be invaded by a foreign power sounds like such a bad idea?
😟 The Kremlin is afraid of Democrats 💙
Politician Sergei Stankevich opines that Trump is in dire straits, as the Republicans are poised to lose their House majority. He says the GOP’s opponents criticize Trump’s decidedly soft approach to Russia based on him being “charmed or covertly pressured by Putin.” Russian state media portrays the GOP’s push for additional sanctions as an attempt to distance themselves from this perception.
Of particular concern to Russian government officials, politicians, and experts is a bipartisan Senate bill, described by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as the “sanctions bill from Hell.” It proposes to ban investments in Russian energy projects, sovereign debt, and national banks, and the fear is that it might be pushed through like a previous sanctions bill a year ago that had such massive bipartisan support Trump felt compelled, however reluctantly, to sign it.
And interestingly, although they proudly proclaim that “Trump is ours,” they are not that impressed with him.
💰 And it’s all about those sanctions
In the time since the election, a little-known Trump campaign staffer named Daniel Gelbinovich reached out to a number of Washington lobbyists with an eyebrow-raising ask: to shield a Putin ally from U.S. sanctions.
Two lobbyists—speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter—told The Daily Beast that Gelbinovich approached them and told them he was trying to help Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch worth more than $11 billion, find a lobbyist to help keep him from being added to the Treasury Department’s sanctions list.
🐊 Tales from the Swamp 🐊
💰 👎 After nationwide sticker shock, Trump’s military parade “postponed”
Mere hours after revised cost estimates for Donald Trump’s unconscionably expensive military parade were leaked, the Pentagon has announced that the completely unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars has been delayed—until “at least 2019.”
This means someone leaked the truth, and that the shame still works. Excellent.
💙 Democrats Are Great 🌊
Republicans 🐘 Got Nothing 👎
💚 Mitch McConnell is frustrated because Republican senators aren’t showing up for work
Eight Republican senators, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is at home indefinitely battling cancer,missed Thursday’s votes, effectively giving Democrats a majority in the chamber.
Only two Democrats, Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.)and Patty Murray(Wash.), missed the votes.
💛 George Conway, the husband of Kellyanne Conway, loathes Trump
George Conway hasn’t hidden his displeasure with his wife’s boss, often taking to Twitter to retweet criticism of the president or quote tweet an article and call the president stupid, dishonest, or some combination of the two. The Post went ahead and confirmed our suspicion that sharing a home with Trump’s most shameless spin doctor has made their personal lives uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Conway has no one to blame but himself as he’s the one who introduced Kellyanne to Trump when the pair lived in New York City.
Now, Mr. Conway originally supported Trump during the election, and was actually happy and proud when Trump won. So, why has his opinion changed? Mine hasn’t. But if George Conway’s opinion has changed, so have others.
We’re seeing instances of spouses, uncles, fathers, and kids, disowning the deplorables who support the traitor Trump.
💙 As this is coming out on Friday, it may seem rather late to report on Tuesday’s primaries, but there are some numbers I want to share:
I mean, look at the differences in D vs R enthusiasm! And wouldn’t it be great to liberate poor Wisconsin!
💛 And the GOP is worried about its House majority
Republican strategists are worried their House majority is increasingly endangered by weak top-of-the-ticket candidates.
The GOP fears House candidates down ballot could be the casualties if moderate and independent voters balk at backing Republicans because of opposition to conservative Senate and gubernatorial candidates.
The concerns have been a theme of this year’s primary season, underlined once again with Tuesday’s results.
💜 The Parkland effect
But there already are signs of a Parkland effect
Their explicit aim: to bulk up typically anemic youth voting, and in November oust national and state lawmakers who they say are tools of the National Rifle Association, their stated foe.
Early data suggest they are having an impact both on laws and voter registration:
- Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, a political consultancy, says a survey of 39 states shows a surge of youth voter registration.
- The most dramatic shift is in Pennsylvania, a battleground state: In the 75 days prior to Parkland, people younger than 30 were 45% of all new registered voters there. But in the 75 days afterward, they were 61.4%. If history holds, these new registrants will vote Democrat 2-1, Bonier says.
🐍 From the Schadenfreude Files 🍎
🐍 Omarosa paranoia is crippling the White House 🍎
...What no one could have predicted was that Omarosa had recorded what seems like every interaction she ever had in the White House, creating a virtually incontrovertible record—and one that often contradicted her detractors. After Trump claimed to have personally ordered Omarosa’s firing, she released a tape of him seemingly shocked at her exit. After former campaign official Katrina Pierson denied that she’d ever verified the existence of an Apprentice tape wherein Trump used the n-word, Omarosa dropped a recording of Pierson saying that the tape existed, and that Trump was “embarrassed” by it. (Pierson’s response: she only acknowledged the tape’s existence to placate Omarosa.) Within days of the White House’s first attack on Omarosa, and even as the president called her a “lowlife” and a “dog,” Sanders was reduced to admitting that the White House “can’t guarantee” Trump had never used the racial slur in question.
I can’t imagine that Trump cares much. He’s got a Teflon quality, and he has already survived the Access Hollywood tapes. Or perhaps he does care; he has a tremendous ego and is unilaterally sensitive. But everyone else working around him cares deeply, and they know they’re in trouble. Are they in trouble with their friends? Or maybe they said something bad about Trump? Or they have done something illegal? Lordy, Lordy, let’s hear those tapes!
👿 The activities of Jason Kessler, the guy who organized the failed “Unite the Right” rally, are not approved by his own father — with whom he lives!
A livestreamed conversation with Jason Kessler, a white supremacist rally organizer, was interrupted when Kessler’s father admonished the 35-year-old on video, and told him to get out of his room. …
Kessler explains to Little that legal costs associated with last year’s Unite the Right rally meant that he had to move back in with his parents.
Also, Kessler has to sell his boat because he’s broke.
Isn’t it neat when guys like these turn out to be losers scorned by their own parents? Heh. Heh.
📎📎📎 Odds and Ends 📎📎 📎
👩 Pro-Choice Volunteers Patrol Crisis Pregnancy Centers
These crisis pregnancy centers are religious outfits disguised as medical centers. So, pro-choice volunteers are writing on sidewalks, handing out flyers, and so on. After all, if the right to lie is protected, so is the right to tell the truth!
📻 FCC shuts down Alex Jones’s flagship radio station
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s flagship radio station.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday that the pirate radio station, Liberty Radio, was hit with a $15,000 fine and at least temporarily pulled from the airwaves.
The newspaper reported that a lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin alleged that Liberty Radio had functioned without a license since at least 2013, and had been transmitting from a tower at an Austin apartment complex.
Jones is also in trouble with Twitter 🐦 heh heh heh
🔨 Pennsylvania solicitor fired for his role in the priest sex scandal
A Pennsylvania solicitor has become the first figure named in a grand-jury report on systemic clergy sexual abuse to be fired over his alleged role in helping to cover up the scandal. Just a day after the allegations were made public, the Allentown City Council voted unanimously to remove Thomas Traud as the city’s solicitor, with members saying they were disturbed by allegations that he’d sought to “undermine” and “discredit” victims of abuse, according to local newspaper The Morning Call.
Another guy brought down by his own attempts to lie.
📰 The press presses on
Nearly 350 news organizations are set to publish editorials on Thursday pushing back against Donald Trump’s attacks on the media and defending freedom of the press.
The publications are participating in a push organized by the Boston Globe to run coordinated editorials denouncing what the paper called a “dirty war against the free press”.
And here’s an excerpt from The Guardian’s editorial:
On Thursday, following an initiative by the Boston Globe, it is expected that some 350 editorial boards in news organisations across the United States will publish their own editorial comments on this issue. There is, of course, a risk in this initiative, and there will be differing press views about it. For some, including Mr Trump, it will feed the narrative that there is a partisan war between the press and the president. But the breadth of the response to the Boston Globe’s suggestion – and the fact that each editorial will be separately and independently written – suggests something different: that those who report and comment, day in and day out, in as professional and objective a manner as we can, are concerned that public respect for journalistic truth, reason and civility are under a new and present threat against which we must stand as best we can. As one editor has put it: we’re not at war with the Trump administration, we’re at work.
💛 And it includes a slam from one of the few newspapers that actually endorsed Trump
One of the few newspapers that endorsed Trump during the 2016 presidential election cycle has drastically changed its tune and is now denouncing the man they once hailed as “the wisest choice to lead our nation.”
The Topeka Capital-Journal is joining hundreds of other newspapers nationwide on Thursday in standing up for journalism and rebuking Trump’s dangerous assault on the free press.
In an article published online ahead of Thursday’s print edition, the editorial board of the Oklahoma newspaper issued a strongly worded condemnation of Trump’s anti-press rhetoric, especially his use of the phrase “enemy of the people.”
💜 And the Senate rebuked the attack on the press, too
Also on Thursday, the Senate passed by unanimous voice vote a resolution offered by Sens. Brian Schatz and Chuck Schumer. The resolution is focused directly at "affirming Congress’ support of the First Amendment and condemning attacks on the free press, which undermine the credibility of journalists and the press as a national institution."
⚡️ A little bit of reassurance from 538: hacking the electric grid is hard.
Representatives from two nonprofit organizations — both of which play large roles in how the electric grid is regulated and maintained — said it is easier to imagine disaster scenarios than create one. “There’ve been some very sensational books out there about the grid going dark because someone’s got their finger ready over a mouse and everything is going to turn off at the same time,” said Bill Lawrence, vice president and chief security officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the regulatory authority that sets and enforces technological standards for utility companies across the continent. “The grid does not work that way.” Our electric infrastructure is chock-full of both redundancies and regional variations — two things that impede widespread sabotage.
😄 🐦 Birds employed at French theme park to pick up litter
At the Puy du Fou theme park in western France, six birds have been employed to collect and dispose of garbage – mainly cigarette ends and other small pieces.
As payment for their services, the birds take the collected trash to special bins where they can receive bird food in exchange for depositing the litter.
The birds are crows, very smart birds indeed.
💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙
👍 Here’s a link to Yosef52’s diary. 💙 Lots of suggestions there.
I personally can’t keep up the outrage. So I work on rescuing our country — through these diaries, by contacting my reps, by donating to worthy groups and by doing postcards and posters when I am in the US — and then I continue with my own work.
🍀 “My experience has been that work is almost
always the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.” 🍀
Eleanor Roosevelt
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.
Notice, if you will, in the stories and the links above, how many people are fighting to stop the lies and to tell the truth. They are doing this because they know how to love. Join us, and truth and love will win.