Ruminations and Revelations
Good News: We bring it, we make it.
The Good Gnus group is a community of readers, writers, activists, supporters, community builders, and patriots. We begin gathering every day at 7 a.m. ET to celebrate national good news. Our most active members are of course a subgroup of members of Daily Kos, whose Front Pages celebrate “News, Community, Action.” However, you don’t have to be a member of Daily Kos to be a Newsie.
We are realists, not fools, idiots, or ostriches. We know we live in a world where active, nefarious, and evil decision-makers do very bad things and create stress and anxiety in us, our loved ones, our friends, our allies, and our neighbors, yet we choose to focus on the good news that people create around the country. Sometimes we ourselves create Good News. Together we are strong and resilient. We return to these pages day after day to revitalize.
The Chlamidiot* Caved Again.
Trump finally agrees to release military aid to Ukraine after apparent blackmail effort fails (Mark Sumner)
The scheme that Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump have been running in Ukraine deserves to be getting more attention, and lately it has been. Three House committees are now investigating the scam in which both Giuliani and Trump have been leaning on Ukrainian officials in an effort to get them to claim that Vice President Joe Biden is under investigation. Which he definitely is not. As part of this plot, Trump has even been holding up military aid to Ukraine to place pressure on the new pro-Western government.
The New York Times reports that Trump has folded on this part of the scheme after the idea of withholding aid from a U.S. ally created outrage on both sides of the aisle.
* In case you could not figure it out, “chlamidiot” is a portmanteau of “chlamydia” and idiot.
Modeling steps taken during the Watergate era in the '70s, Judiciary Committee Democrats plan to formalize impeachment procedures this week that they believe will expedite their work and strengthen their investigative hand. The procedures were leaked to several outlets, including The New York Times and Politico, suggesting Democrats are proactively publicizing their strategy and signalizing a heightened sense of urgency.
Up from the Diaries
Today I’m centering a Roundup author with serious writing skills. To me today, his style combines the styles of two American authors, Ray Bradbury and Mark Twain. Now calling us Gnusies on alternate Tuesdays, NotNowNotEver. Here’s his latest contribution: He's Circling the Drain: Please Keep Flushing - Good News Roundup for Tuesday, September 10th. His deft touch is evident in his opener there, and I do not think my friend will object to a long quote.
Don’t let the bastards wear you down. It’s both a mantra for the Resistance and some serious advice moving forward. We are pushing three years into the new Republican Interregnum (as opposed to the earlier interregnums headed by Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Bush). With each interruption in normal governance, we’ve seen those republican administrations successively devolve into the incompetent set of apparently brain dead nihilists we are currently saddled with.
I don’t think they have a single coherent policy position left between them. It’s now all distortion, distraction and downright dumbassed douchebaggery.
Unfortunately, there is no magical finger snap solution to make them all disappear (I’ve tried and tried and tried and ...). We have to buckle down and do the work to kick them to the curb, so the street sweepers can wheel past and drag them off to the garbage dump of failed political ideologies where they belong.
So, allow me to repeat myself — Don’t let the bastards wear you down. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. We outnumber them. We can outwork and outthink them. Together we will win this and take our country back.
Martin Luther King, Jr, and Star Trek Actress Nichelle Nichols
"We, who are fighting the good fight, stop to watch you.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told #StarTrek's Nichelle Nichols that she brought hope to his fight for equality, a moment she will never forget. 🌟 Learn more about the game-changing actress.
Who Won the Week? by Bill in Portland Maine
Cheers and Jeers archive and future editions here. Way, way more than 2 thanks to The One, our Wicked Wizard of Wit and writer of Who Won the Week, Willhelm von kosland! I mean every word.
- Journalist Brandon Ambrosino, whose report in Politico exposed Liberty University head Jerry Falwell, Jr. as a partier, pervert, liar, hypocrite, and grifter
- "Gig economy" workers (i.e. Uber, Lyft drivers) in California, as the Assembly approved a bill upgrading them from independent contractors to employees, guaranteeing them labor protections and benefits
- The tidal wave of current and retired meteorologists who rained blows on the Trump-ordered statement criticizing the Alabama NWS office for correcting his false information about Hurricane Dorian
- The Democratic candidates who debated in Houston last night, showing once again that our side is fielding a smart, accomplished, tough, and diverse 2020 team
- The House Judiciary Committee, for formalizing rules for conducting an impeachment investigation of Trump's psychotic, Constitution-shredding behavior
- The (unnamed) 4th-grader who got bullied at school for taping a hand-drawn Univ. of Tennessee logo to his shirt for spirit day. The UofT made t-shirts with his design, and they've sold 18,000 so far
- "Leadership junkies" Major General Maria Barrett and Brigadier General Paula Lodi, the first sisters to achieve the rank of general in the history of the U.S. Army
- NC State Rep. Deb "I will not yield!" Butler, for lashing out at the GOP state House leadership as they overrode the Dem governor's veto of the state budget without telling Democrats they were holding a vote
- Life on Planet Earth, as real-life Dr. Strangelove John Bolton and his precious bodily fluids get booted from the U.S. government and tossed into the dustbin of nutball history
- Compass geeks, as true magnetic north and Greenwich mean north finally synch up for the first time in 360 years
Spoiler Alert … Top Results of Bill’s poll —
- The tidal wave of current and retired meteorologists who rained blows on the Trump-ordered statement criticizing the Alabama NWS office for correcting his false information about Hurricane Dorian — 21%
- NC State Rep. Deb "I will not yield!" Butler, for lashing out at the GOP state House leadership as they overrode the Dem governor's veto of the state budget without telling Democrats they were holding a vote — 18%
- Journalist Brandon Ambrosino, whose report in Politico exposed Liberty University head Jerry Falwell, Jr. as a partier, pervert, liar, hypocrite, and grifter — 21%
Our map of Gnuville: About 295 of us have shared our locations.
To leave your mark, please respond to our mappers in the comments or send them a kosmail: WolverineForTJatAW, tljdk, silverfoxcruiser, keepiru, djbodhi. Please include city and state only, NOT street number and street.
Basic Internet map skill: Click on the minus sign (-) in the lower left corner of our map to zoom out, and zoom in with the plus sign (+).
Tech Talk for Kosacks (members of Daily Kos)
Bring yer tech questions to the comments, K?
Good News Roundups 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd @ 7 a.m., 7 days a week:
Roundups and Me
Every Roundup author writes their Roundups with a unique style. I relish every one of the above artists, I love all their voices, and I am totally unable to decide which writer I like best. Lately, on most days, I can eventually read the Roundup completely, but I usually cannot read all the comments. Gnusies offer a diverse array of topics: Quotes, tweets, images, observations, camaraderie, whimsy, political analysis, local events, gratitude, suggestions for resistance activities, continuing stories of resistance activities, and what have I missed?
The amount of new content I offer on Sundays is partly governed by my caregiving responsibilities — I simply do not have time to devote 8 hours in a week to prep a diary, as some of our authors must. I offered my online organizing skills to GoodNewsRoundup shortly after she brought the Good News Roundup series to Daily Kos from FaceBook in May 2017, and she welcomed my know-how and mentoring. And for about 2 years, I posted our Welcoming comment every day.
If I recall correctly, the Sunday 7 a.m. ET slot was the last to be filled with a Roundup, and NotNowNotEver wrote those Sunday wonders until he quit to campaign. I took over at that time, when I realized I could post a bulletin-board type diary of items necessary for the life of our herd and that Billeh would let me copy his polls.
IMHO, certain items need to be repeated every week, and my shoulders are willing. I post certain items routinely. Based on one of my polls of Gnusies, about 40% of our readers do not visit the herd every day, and for about 5% to 10% of any day’s readers, that day’s Roundup is their very first.
Feel free to skip over or skim through any of my standard features! You don’t have to memorize them! 😉
A few weeks ago, GoodNewsRoundup gave my heart a good warming when she said: “And my biggest hug today goes to 2thanks. I get a lot of love and credit for starting this thing [Good News Roundups], but 2thanks is the real force behind making it what it is. He set the tone for the comments. He finds writers. He taught me how to blog on Daily Kos, and he is all around just amazing. ❤️ ” Namaste, GNR, and thanks!
Tips for new Gnusies:
- For more Good News, check our Archive for the previous day’s Roundup.
- If you’re an Early Bird, fly back in at the end of the day for a treat.
- The Find function will take you to your favorite commenters [Kluger2 explains].
How to Resist
The Five R’s of the Resistance
- Resist: Protest on the streets, call senators and representatives, etc.
- Rebel: Run for office, GOTV (Get Out The Vote), support a progressive.
- Revolt: Change the laws, change the culture, build your communities.
- Rely: Trust that millions of others are fighting the good fight.
- Rest: Take care of yourself, we are in this for the long term.
Do Something, Say Something
We welcome comments in all Roundups regarding:
- National or local Good News.
- Links, stories, music, videos, quotes, tweets. (No tweets of the saffron chlamidiot, please.)
- Your resistance activity.
- Highlights from The Rachel Maddow Show.
In my Sunday smorgasbord Roundups, I especially welcome the following types of comments:
- Who won YOUR week?
- Questions about Daily Kos tech issues or our map.
- Good News Roundups and you.
Thank you for fighting for truth and justice with all us Gnusies! Although 40% of our Readers don’t visit every day, that’s okay, we all do what we can. For more than 2 years, we’ve shared positive news, laughed, organized, resisted, rebelled, revolted without being revolting, relied, rested, mentored, created, crossed rivers, chewed our cud, puffed methane out both ends, and laughed. Here’s looking at you, kid, and standing upwind!
As always, please share more Good News in the comments than I can find or provide.
Power with, not power over ❤️ ✊ ❤️
2thanks
If you enjoyed or learned from this Roundup or find my work on Daily Kos helpful or valuable, please send me a benefaction via PayPalMe or CashApp ($willtutor). I would be 2thankful.