Greetings to the herd!
Happy Thursday! I’m very excited to be publishing my very first Good News Roundup! 💙
First, some thoughts on destruction and rebuilding
Like all of you, I watched on Monday with shock, horror, and grief as Notre Dame burned. Those feelings reminded me of how I felt when the deplorable Resident was “elected” and how I’ve continued to feel as he and his minions have done their best to tear down the entire structure of our democracy.
By Tuesday morning, we knew that the main structure of Notre Dame would stand, and that despite some heart-breaking losses and extensive damage, people in France and all over the world were eagerly stepping up to provide the resources needed for its restoration. Brave first responders had saved so much of it, and now generous and caring people were also coming forward to help.
I think that this is also what is happening and will continue to happen in our democracy. Democrats in Congress and fair-minded judges in the courts are preventing as much damage as they can, and all the rest of us have been stepping up to do whatever we can do – from working to elect those Democrats, to speaking out in marches and letters, to providing care and protection to communities and individuals being harmed. As he so often does, President Obama said it perfectly, in a tweet Monday:
It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can.
And that we will do.
The work of rebuilding will take a lot of resources – not only money, but also energy, commitment, and love. But one thing we’ve learned since November 2016 is that we have the last three resources in abundance, and we’re learning how to use them ever more effectively. (And I believe that when the time comes, we’ll find the necessary money, too.) I have no doubt that once we’ve swept the criminals, traitors, and grifters out of the White House and Senate, we will rebuild America. And I believe that our democracy will emerge healthier than it has ever been.
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Here’s a song to get the good news started, with a tip of the hat to our beloved Old Hippie Dude, who is recovering from a stroke that has kept him from writing his usual Thursday roundups. His musical selections have always been the best, so I wanted to make sure to include some music today. (Note: this is a contemporary gospel tune, but I think we can choose to hear the message more universally.)
Our beliefs make us strong, individually and together
This sign is in my front yard. It has become ubiquitous in Portland, OR, where I live. It lists some core beliefs for progressives – and also, I think, for a majority of Americans, despite what the Rethugs and MSM claim the majority thinks.
I doubt that tRumpian hate has really been “normalized” in our culture, although it has certainly given some people who were already hate-filled permission to act out. But those people are in the minority and always will be. Most people can distinguish good from evil and are motivated to be – and to do – good. I hope some of the stories I’ve gathered will illustrate that. So let’s keep our spirits up and keep fighting for loveand truth!
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the manager of my home office, the lovely Miss Nora, who so generously allows me to sit on the edge of my so-called ergonomic desk chair (which is no longer ergonomic since she claimed it as hers). I truly couldn’t have done this roundup without her assistance – er, I meant to say her permission...
💙 A Warm Welcome to New Gnus! 💙
As a Gnubie writing the Good News Roundup, I’ve been thinking about readers who are new to our group, so I’d like to welcome you new Gnus with some introductory info:
Here at Good News Roundup (aka GNR or GNRU), we call ourselves Gnus or Gnusies or Newsies (good news = good gnus). In these challenging, confusing, and often depressing times, we choose to strengthen our resolve to resist by sharing stories and news items that raise our spirits, remind us we’re not alone, fire us up, and from time to time give us a good laugh.
By the way...
Just because we focus on good news doesn’t mean we have our heads in the sand. As chloris creator, who writes wonderful Good News Roundups on Fridays, always reminds us:
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 us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country...
Old Hippie Dude likes to remind us not to be “Gloomy Guses and Debbie Downers ... Nervous Nellies and Panicky Petes.” Or, as Goodie, our founder and Mayor of Gnuville, so eloquently put it recently when there was a lot of freaking out going on: “SNAP THE F&*& OUT OF IT!!!!”
We have work to do, folks, and to quote the Talking Heads, “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around!”
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🗞 📺 Encouraging current news nuggets 🗞 📺
NOTE:These are some recent stories that caught my eye. I’m counting on you commenters to fill us in on late-breaking news and analysis we should be aware of. Thanks!!
BTW, I’m not going to speculate about what will be in the Mueller Lite Report tomorrow. I find that speculation tempts me to get obsessive and to form expectations – not good for my equanimity. But you’re definitely welcome to share any speculations in the comments. 💙
First up, a bit more about the Notre Dame fire. This story is very encouraging:
Fortunately, There Are Incredible 3D Scans of Notre Dame
From Futurism:
Thanks to the meticulous work of Vassar art historian Andrew Tallon, every exquisite detail and mysterious clue to the building’s 13th-century construction was recorded in a digital archivein 2015 using laser imaging. These records have revolutionized our understanding of how the spectacular building was built — and could provide a template for how Paris could rebuild.
According to Wired, “architects now hope that Tallon’s scans may provide a map for keeping on track whatever rebuilding will have to take place.”
Do read the whole piece. The technology is fascinating and very impressive.
Here’s a news story from April 5 that I think is worth repeating. Progressives win when we fight back!
Progressives Dismiss DCCC Threats on Primary Challengers
From Truthout:
A decision by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee late last month to blacklist vendors that support primary challengers over party incumbents drew a line in the sand against the potential progressive overthrow of the party’s established order.
In response to the new policy, 14 progressive groups Thursday announced the launch of the DCCC Blacklist— a collective of left wing vendors that are bucking the Democratic campaign arm’s directive.
The progressive groups involved include Indivisible, Justice Democrats, New Deal Strategies, and Data for Progress.
And though you probably don’t need a reason to dislike the DCCC’s bone-headed policy, here’s a perfect example of why progressives need to fight back against it, strongly, vocally, and using our donations to progressive candidates:
From an email sent on April 14th from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC):
House Dems just introduced a comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights bill. Every Democrat was an original co-sponsor...except Dan Lipinski.
Lipinski is from a bright blue Illinois district Hillary Clinton won by 15%. Yet he’s Co-Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, opposed Obamacare, opposes a $15 minimum wage, and voted with Republicans to gut Wall Street regulations and lower student debt.
Progressive Marie Newman came 1% away from defeating Lipinski in the 2018 primary -- and she’s aiming to finish the job in 2020.
But according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s new blacklist policy, if a progressive consultant wants to stand up for LGBTQ rights by working to defeat Lipinski AND wants to help flip 5 more red districts blue in 2020, the DCCC says: Thanks, but no thanks. We won’t hire you if you help a primary challenger.
Fight, progressives, fight!!!
And speaking of progressives, Time magazine chose AOC as one of their “100 Most Influential People” and got Elizabeth Warren to write about her. It’s short, so I’ll quote the whole thing:
The year 2008 was a reckoning. While millions of Americans lost their livelihoods to Wall Street’s greed, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lost her dad to lung cancer, and her family fell off a financial cliff. She watched as our government bailed out Wall Street while it ignored families like hers. She learned the hard way that in America today, Washington protects the powerful while leaving hardworking people behind.
Her commitment to putting power in the hands of the people is forged in fire. Coming from a family in crisis and graduating from school with a mountain of debt, she fought back against a rigged system and emerged as a fearless leader in a movement committed to demonstrating what an economy, a planet and a government that works for everyone should look like.
A year ago, she was taking orders across a bar. Today, millions are taking cues from her. She reminds all of us that even while greed and corruption slow our progress, even while armies of lobbyists swarm Washington, in our democracy, true power still rests with the people. And she’s just getting started.
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The obscene gap between CEO salaries and what the rest of us make is thankfully getting more attention and push-back:
Rep. Katie Porter Uses Basic Budget Math to Expose Jamie Dimon on Starvation Wages at JPMorgan Chase
From Common Dreams:
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday [April 10], Rep. Katie Porter used the financial struggles of one of her constituents to grill JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over the vast worker-executive pay gap and low wages at his bank.
Porter, a Democrat from California, outlined the monthly expenses of her constituent, a single-mother working full-time as a JPMorgan Chase teller for $16.50 an hour.
After paying for rent on her one-bedroom apartment, food, utilities, child care for her daughter, and other basic needs, Porter estimated that her constituent has a $567 budget shortfall each month.
When Porter asked Dimon—who earns $31 million a year—how his employee should manage this shortfall while working 40 hours a week at his bank, the Wall Street CEO had no answer.
"I don't know, I'd have to think about that," Dimon said...
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In response to Dimon's suggestion that her math may not be correct, Porter hit back on Twitter.
"Jamie Dimon said he didn't know if all my numbers were accurate," the California Democrat wrote. "Here's the math so he can check."
Katie is not someone to be trifled with! And how great that we have her working for us in the House!!
And in good news from my state:
From Willamette Week:
National Popular Vote Bill Passes Oregon Senate After Decade-Long Effort
In a contentious hearing today [April 9], Oregon senators voted 17-12 to pass a National Popular Vote bill.
Should Senate Bill 870 gain approval from the state's House of Representatives, Oregon will enter an interstate compact to award its Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes nationwide.
Oregon, which has long been a blue state, has lagged behind on this issue, much to the surprise of non-Oregonians. The explanation is that the long-time state Senate president (a Democrat) insisted that the decision be made by Oregon voters, not legislators. He blocked similar bills three times over the past 12 years, but this year he allowed a vote after an ad campaign by National Popular Vote, Inc. ran in his district, targeting him for his obstruction. Again, when we fight back, we win.
Chances are very good that this bill will pass in the Oregon House. Let’s get some more states on board!!
Some good environmental news from the Oregonian:
7 things to know about TriMet’s first battery-electric bus
[TriMet, Portland’s] transit agency, which has the 11th largest bus fleet in the country, celebrated the official debut this week of its first battery-electric bus on Tuesday.
[Portland General Electric] and TriMet touted the bus as the first in the country “powered by wind.” There are no sails atop the bus itself, nor wind turbines, but TriMet will pay a premium to PGE to purchase renewable energy credits to give the demonstration project a greener profile.
As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in September, the electric bus represents the first step toward what transit leaders say is a$500 million effort to ditch diesel buses by 2040.
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TriMet choose [sic] to go with battery-electric buses because it says it is the best option at the moment, but General Manager Doug Kelsey has repeatedly left the door open to jump onto a different zero-emission technology if that picks up in coming years.
Electric buses are being used in several other cities, but what makes this story truly newsworthy is that the charging stations will be powered by wind energy. This is a great example of an effective public-private partnership.
💰 Corporate control and corruption on the run! 💰
There are some hopeful signs that corporate control can be successfully overturned by grassroots efforts.
Boston challenges corporate control of our food system
From Corporate Accountability’s March newsletter:
On March 20, [Boston] became the first [city] on the East Coast to adopt a city-wide Good Food Purchasing Policy (GFPP) — a groundbreaking policy that helps build an equitable, local, sustainable food system. The policy directs the city to purchase food that meets robust labor, health, and environmental standards. This includes Boston Public Schools (BPS), one of the largest purchasers of food in the city — meaning that 56,000 schoolchildren in Boston will have healthier, more nutritious food available to them at school each day.
And the era of mega-corporations corrupting academia with dirty money may be starting to come to an end. Check out this story about the scrutiny finally being given to the funding of academic research by the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin:
Former US Attorney to Investigate Sackler Impact on Academics at Tufts
From Nonprofit Quarterly:
...a lawsuit filed by the attorney general’s office in Massachusetts argues that "In 1999, the Sackler family made a more targeted gift, establishing Tufts Masters of Science in Pain Research, Education, and Policy...”
The Sacklers got a lot for their money. The MSPREP Program bought Purdue name recognition, goodwill in the local and medical communities, and access to doctors at Massachusetts hospitals like Brigham and Women’s. Purdue got to control research on the treatment of pain coming out of a prominent and respected institution of learning. Staff told the Sacklers that Purdue employees regularly taught a Tufts seminar about opioids in Massachusetts as part of the MSPREP Program. Staff sent the Sacklers a report showing that Tufts and its affiliated teaching hospital helped Purdue develop a publication for patients entitled, “Taking Control of Your Pain.” The MSPREP Program was such a success for Purdue’s business that the company considered it a model for influencing teaching hospitals and medical schools.
Now Tufts has ordered its own investigation.
I hope we’ll see some similar investigations of the corrupting influence of the money Bayer/Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, and other big chemical mega-corps have given to universities and government oversight agencies!
BTW, this is the only kind of fat cat I have any affection for 😉
If you look closely at the photo, you can see that Barsik weighs an amazing 41 pounds! More amazingly, this isn’t even the world record!! Fortunately, the pet adoption agency is asking for a family who’ll put him on a diet.
⚖️❤️ Speaking up for tolerance and justice ❤️⚖️
We diminish the power of intolerance, hate, and injustice every time we speak up against those evils. Here are some examples from the past couple of weeks showing that our fellow Americans are speaking up.
Protesting unjust refugee policies
We don’t always have to use our voices: artists can speak up with their art. On April 13th, cellist Yo-Yo Ma played a Bach suite at the border between Laredo, TX, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
"I've lived my life at the borders. Between cultures. Between disciplines. Between musics. Between generations," said Ma, who performed with the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, which connects Texas and Mexico, as a backdrop behind him. "In culture, we build bridges, not walls. A country is not a hotel and it's not full.”
Knowledge helps us use our voices effectively when dealing with over-reach by enforcers of bad policies.
'It’s not a judicial warrant': Watch immigrant rights advocate block ICE from arresting two people
From Daily Kos:
Through “Know your rights” trainings, Bryan MacCormack’s group Columbia County Sanctuary Movement in upstate New York has worked to educate immigrant communities on how to deal with unshackled Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. So when ICE agents pulled him over earlier this monthand attempted to detain his two immigrant passengers, heknew exactly what to do.
And valued DKos contributor Egberto Willies had an important diary on Tuesday about successfully speaking up against hateful words: "My confrontation with a Republican praising Trump ‘dumping’ asylum seekers on sanctuary cities.” Do read it – it’s inspiring and hard to summarize with just a few quotes.
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This musical interlude is one of my favorite songs protesting injustice: Solomon Burke and the Blind Boys of Alabama performing “None of Us Are Free (If One of Us is Chained).”
📰 💻 Recharge by reading more good news! 📰 💻
The Hightower Lowdown
One of my heroes is Jim Hightower, activist, columnist, lecturer, and author of “The Hightower Lowdown,” a progressive newsletter that arrives in my snail mail box every two months and is always a kick, both entertainment-wise and motivation-wise. (There’s also a Lowdown website, where you can read short takes and archived issues.) The March/April issue just arrived (with the great title “The People are revolting (in the best sense of the word”), and it turns out to be the 20th birthday edition, prompting Jim to quote from his very first “Lowdown”:
If Paul Revere made his midnight ride in 1999, it is not an invasion of redcoats he’d warn us about, but the assault that global corporate powers are making on our liberties, economic fortunes, way of life, and sovereignty.
The rest of the newsletter is full of great quotes from past issues. If you’d like to read past issues and/or subscribe, visit the website.
Positive News
A website I check into frequently, published in the U.K., is Positive News. Here’s a recent story that should resonate with Gnusies:
Six ways to improve your media diet
...Refuse to accept that there is only one way that the news should be; refuse to accept that negative news is the only narrative worth telling; refuse to accept that the news ‘is the way that it is’ and instead decide that it should be more balanced in its coverage. And then start making changes and choices that reflect this.
The writer then goes on to list these suggestions:
Become a conscious consumer
Read and watch good-quality journalism
Avoid clickbait
Be prepared to pay for content
Read beyond the news
Seek out solutions-based stories
It’s a good piece, well worth reading in full.
Good News Network
And then, of course, there’s the Good News Network. Here are two of my favorite recent stories, but do check out the site for lots and lots more. I try to check it out every day or two.
Laundromats Are Hosting Story Times for Kids So They Can Improve Their Literacy on Laundry Day
Days spent at the laundromat can often be incredibly boring, especially for children waiting on their parents. But, instead of asking kids to entertain themselves by watching the rinse cycle, librarians are visiting locations so they can read to the children.
The Too Small to Failinitiative has been trying to improve children’s literacy by bringing books, story time, and reading groups to unusual community spaces, such as laundromats.
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“We have the right audience … parents and kids who need the most help when it comes to literacy and access to books,” Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, told Education Week. “Rather than watch the socks tumble … use that time and make it more productive.”
Surfing is Now One of the First Sports Requiring Equal Pay for Women – Lawmakers Are Following Suit
Surfing became the “first and only US-based global sports league” to require equal pay for its female and male athletes – and state legislators are being inspired to follow in its wake.
Back in September, the World Surf League announced that it would be awarding the same amount of cash prize money to its male and female competitors.
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Inspired by the initiative, California lawmakers introduced a billlast month which would require all sports competitions being hosted on state property to award equal purses to their male and female athletes.
🗓 Random holiday heads up 🗓
April 18 is World Heritage Day, aka International Day for Monuments and Sites, as proclaimed in 1983 by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. If you’re near one of these treasures in the U.S. (e.g., Yellowstone, Glacier Bay, Everglades, Independence Hall, Statue of Liberty, Monticello), think of paying a visit soon. And vow to do your part to make sure they remain protected. (World Heritage designation means nothing to this administration, as witness their threat to frack in Chaco Canyon, so we need to be aware and active!!)
💙 ✊ Resist by taking action! ✊ 💙
Latest postcard-writing campaigns from Postcards to Voters
Many Daily Kos writers and commenters have emphasized the importance of electing progressives in small local races, like those for city commissions and school boards, as well as in Congressional races. If you’d like to do your part to build progressive power from the ground up, but you don’t much enjoy door-knocking or phone banking and don’t have a lot of money to donate to candidates, writing these postcards is a great alternative. Doing it in a group is especially fun.
Two of the latest campaigns, both for elections in May, are for Rhonda Hart, running for Dickinson School District Board of Trustees in TX, and Marc Friedenberg, running for Congress from PA. Click on the links to read about them.
It’s fun to make your own cards, but you don’t have to. PtV has plenty of pre-printed cards you can buy from their site.
Americans of Conscience
Americans of Conscience, who describe their mission as “heart-centered activism” (sounds like us, right??), offer emails every 1-2 weeks with a checklist of actions. They’re frequently highlighted in GNRs, but if you want the checklists to go directly into your email inbox, go to the link and sign up.
I loved the statement that their founder, Jen Hofmann, used in her preface to the latest checklist:
Small things, great love
On the surface, taking one small act might seem too small, even inconsequential. There are no easy solutions to the challenges assaulting our neighbors and our nation. In fact, we would be most helpful to this administration if we simply shut down and shut up. The truth is the story (and its outcome) are still unfolding. It is premature to decide that small steps are futile. We must give history a chance to be written through us.
And of course there’s the great work that Yosef 52does to inform us and inspire us to get out the vote. He frequently stops by the herd to share the latest, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss any of it, follow him.
😂 We laugh at all the evildoers! 😂
There’s nothing that pisses off tRump and his minions more than being laughed at. And laughter helps to keep us sane. So let’s indulge in some chuckles and maybe a guffaw or two!
First up, the Dean of DKos Drollery, Bill in Portland Maine. If you don’t already read “Cheers and Jeers” every morning, you’re missing some of the most delightful writing available around here. Here are some nummy nuggets from yesterday’s C& J:
So far, the right seems to be having trouble developing an "ActRed" fundraising site. The main hurdle: figuring out how to create an online platform that accepts payment in empty beer cans.
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CHEERS to grifter vs. grifter. Oh, this'll be fun to watch. The PR firm for the gun industry (aka the NRA) which is reportedly hemorrhaging money, is taking aim (ha ha) at the outfit to which it outsources its domestic terrorism-promoting "NRA TV" segments. … Uh oh. This could get messy at the next board meeting. One side thinks they're the good guys with guns facing the bad guys with guns, and the other side thinks they'rethe good guys with guns facing the bad guys with guns. So we'll just say in advance: thoughts and prayers.
Reading Wonkette, especially the brilliant contributions from Stephen Robinson, has become as necessary a part of my morning as coffee. Beware, this bunch of renegade journos are rude, crude and lewd, therefore NSFW. But, wowie, are they funny and spot-on!! Here’s a sample of Robinson’s writing from yesterday:
Fox Two-Timing With Bernie Sanders And Donald Trump Is PISSED
Donald Trump isn't happy that Fox News hosted a town hall for Bernie Sanders and let him leave with all his limbs. … Trump thought the "audience" was too "smiley and nice." Where were all the unhinged assholes from one of his rallies? … Trump later complained that Sanders benefitted from the GOP tax scam bill. Shouldn't he be glad someonehas? He petulantly suggested that Sanders "give back" the tax cuts because that's how he thinks tax cuts work. You can apparently select "Fuck Me Like A Poor Person" on your 1040s as if it's the menu at a dominatrix nightclub.
And what would we do without Shower Cap! Be aware that this blog is also NSFW, but if no one is looking over your shoulder, go for it! You’ll find hilarious takedowns of tRump and his minions, plus abundant snark, schadenfreude, and the very best array of titles for the WH squatter. Cap posts late on Mondays and Thursdays, so look for one this evening. Meanwhile, a couple of paragraphs from last Monday’s addition to the “American Madness Journal” (subheading “Chronicling the Insanity of the Trump Era, Because Future Generations Are Gonna Think We All This Shit Up”):
It’s actually sort of remarkable, that the Adderall-Addled Assclown has stayed fixated on Omar for so long; his attention span tends to reach its furthermost limits right when it’s time for a commercial break on Fux n’ Fiendz. Why, if he’d brought this level of focus to his official duties, he might almost understand how trade works by now.
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Well, shiny new Interior Secretary David Bernhardt barely got his crooked ass confirmed before landing an ethics investigation of his very own! Seems like standard hazing for new Trump cabinet secretaries. Show up for your first day, there’s a whoopie cushion on your chair and everything has been glued to your desk except a document request from your department’s IG.
💙 We take time to rest and refresh! 💙
What have you been listening to, reading, or watching recently that has given you a refreshing break from the daily onslaught of depressing news blather? Please share your recommendations with other Gnusies!
My recommendations are for two current movies which are inspiring in different ways. Ultimately, both are about faith – one about faith in human ingenuity and teamwork, the other about spiritual faith as expressed in transcendent music.
“Apollo 11,” the current documentary made with newly restored and enhanced footage from that world-changing 1969 space flight, is thrilling even if you (as I did) watched it live on TV at the time. As Wikipedia notes, “...the final film contains no voice-over narration or interviews beyond what was available in the contemporary source material.” What blew me away, aside from the unforgettable images, was what a leap of faith this project was at the time, given how primitive much of the technology looks now. Do go see it while it’s in theaters – it definitely won’t have the same impact on the small screen. Here’s the trailer:
And I’m having a hard time finding words to describe “Amazing Grace,” the documentary of the 1972 live recording of Aretha Franklin’s album of the same name, which became the biggest-selling gospel album of all time. It’s an hour and a half of pure joy and spiritual uplift. All I can say is go see it!
👍💙 We share encouraging news and views 💙👍
All of us have friends who are a bit too tethered to MSM and occasionally need a little inspiration so they don’t fall into despair over the damage that’s been done during the past two years. I’ve often sent them quotes from our writers and commenters, which really seems to help. A recent one that I thought was brilliantly spot-on is this, for which 2thanks kindly supplied the source (it’s from a comment by jmbar2):
Here is a thought from Complexity Science:
Complex systems — economies, societies, anthills, networks — share certain behaviors. Chiefly, complexity increases until the system becomes unstable, crumbles, and then reforms, usually in a more sustainable form.
Democracy is a complex and relatively new form of government. We are at a turning point where it is in need of repairs. Trump, Russia, China, white nationalism, and nativism are multiplying the existing complexities of democracy, elections, information, representation and rule of law.
We are now in a phase transition, from the old to something new. Chances are our democratic system will not collapse completely, but reform into something stronger.
I believe that we are on the cusp of American democracy reforming itself on many fronts over the next decade as more people recognize we are not on a sustainable path to freedom.
Trump greatly accelerated our awareness of the rot. We need to fix our leaky roof and gutters. The next crop of public servants is preparing for major repairs. They are among the most capable and well-educated we have seen in our history. But we must get them into office.
Don’t despair — focus your energies on getting out the vote!
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Because it’s always good to get up and dance, I’d like to close with the Haitian group Boukman Eksperyans doing their Carnival award-winning song "Ke m Pa Sote" ("You don't scare me"). I hope this will get you up on your feet, full of happy energy and ready to defeat the evildoers, who definitely do not scare us!!
Thank you!
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to keep Old Hippie Dude’s Thursday chair warm by writing a Good News Roundup!
{{{{ OHD }}}} Come back soon!!
❤️💙 RESIST, PERSIST, REBUILD, REJOICE! ❤️💙
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