GoodNewsRoundup (some of us call her Goodie) asked for a substitute today, so I’m stepping in. Nearly all of you know I do Fridays, so I’m taking this day to do something different.
Also, I wrote most of this before some of the good news dropped this week: great rally by Joe in Detroit, where he is getting some attention at last, great NATO summit, oh, and maybe he helped create a cease-fire in Israel/Gaza, inflation is down. So maybe more of the gnusies are feeling a little less down. Maybe some of you are even feeling hopeful!
Still, I want to arm you against the next onslaught, because more arrows will come. So here we go:
Remember, they (the Rs, the creepy billionaires, and some of the MSM) want us to be demoralized. People who are demoralized will not fight. People who are demoralized give up their power. This enables the fascists: Timothy Snyder calls this “obeying in advance.
So, I beg you, do not obey in advance. It is time to get back up. Pull up your big-person pants and get ready to do battle.
You cannot completely choose to be demoralized or not — I understand that we don’t have complete control over our feelings — but you can choose whether or not you will do something about it.
Let’s get back up!
Here are some of the lies being spouted that are designed to make us give up before we start. I want you to recognize that they ARE LIES, which should help you feel better about the world (maybe not about the MSM). Then, I want you to do your part to spread the truths.
1. tRump is popular while Biden is not. The MSM’s evidence is the polls. But the polls are not reflecting reality. We have watched the polls mess up repeatedly in the US. We have seen them miss the mark in India, the UK, and now France. Whether this is due to deliberately biased polls (we know this is true of some) or the challenges in polling these days (and the challenges are real), the polls should not be demoralizing.
A few weeks ago, before the debate, I wrote a my most popular GNR (so far): Eight Ways that Show tRump’s Popularity Is than They Tell Us. The eight ways included the staging of tRump events, such as busing in white people to a black church, and the claims of large audiences when they don’t exist; the lack of signage (I know it’s anecdotal, but I have seen it myself) supporting tRump when it could be seen everywhere in the past.
And what happened after the debate? The Biden-Harris campaign had some of their best fundraising ever. Now, unless they’re doing surveys to find out what caused people to donate — and I know they are not, because I donated and there was no survey — we don’t know what caused it.. Maybe it was because they like President Biden and they want to show him and the world that we have his back. Maybe it’s because we are terrified of the fascist movement.
Speaking of polls:
and
2. Biden is physically weak while tRump is strong. NO! All evidence points to President Biden being in better shape than tRump, especially mentally, but also physically.
After the debate, tRump took 11+ days off, spending his time riding around on a golf cart, while President Biden did 18 campaign events, and also ran the country and the world.
Note that tRump since then has scheduled a campaign event at one of his own properties, which means he can transfer funds from his campaign to himself. But Florida is not known for being a swing state.
We have so much evidence of tRump’s weaknesses, both physical and mental. He brags all the time about passing a cognitive test, while we know that just being given a cognitive test is usually a really bad sign. tRump slept through his time in court.
And other times:
They are both old men. But tRump is weaker physically than Biden.
Of course, we need to get people to pay attention to this, so we have our work cut out for us.
I included the above because it mentions how tRump cheats at golf.
3. We can’t win over MAGAs. NO! Many people have left the tRump cult. Naturally, if you define a MAGA as someone who will never leave tRump, because then not winning over MAGAs IS the definition. But if you define a MAGA as someone who has supported tRump in the past, there is reason to hope. Why do I say this? Because it’s happening: many people who supported tRump in the past are deserting him.
Ben Meiselas from the Meidas Touch Network periodically does videos of the messages he has received reporting on those who have left the tRump cult and who intend to support President Biden. This is what his group posted on July 8, 2024.
In case you don’t want to watch, a couple of takeaways: these are all reports Ben has received since the debate. Yes, it’s anecdotal, but data begins with anecdotes and individual cases. And, as more people learn about those who have walked away from the cult, they are encouraged to do so as well.
We should remember that the examples in the video may just be the tip of the iceberg. Many people may make the decision to stop supporting tRump but not tell anyone, in part because they are ashamed, but also in part because they belong to a group of people that generally supports tRump. They may even be afraid to tell anyone they know.
I suspect that is one reason the polls have been so wrong. People in the maga/fascist world are too afraid to say what they think, so they lie or they don’t answer the pollster at all.
4. The fascists cannot be beaten. NO! Fascists have been beaten in other parts of the world! We can do it too!
Even Iran — Iran!!! — voted for a moderate president after their last one died in a plane crash.
5. tRump is strong on the international stage while President Biden is not. NO! President Biden is respected and loved by our allies and respected and feared by our adversaries.
We have seen tRump bow to dictators. He’s willing to give putin whatever he wants, exchanges love letters with Kim Jong Un. He even got laughed at while addressing the UN because he was so full of it.
tRump is still getting his marching orders from Russia. I don’t think this was a coincidence:
Also, Viktor Orban looks as if he’s bringing messages to tRump from putin.
Biden, in his speech in Detroit, called tRump “putin’s puppy” — not just true, but calling trump a dog is extra insulting because trump hates dogs.
President Biden managed to stop putin from taking over Ukraine. Remember? It was supposed to be a three-day war. President Biden broke OPEC and got gas prices down. He’s challenging China by creating alliances with India, Japan, S Korea, and Australia.
6. tRump is better on the economy than Biden. NO! Bidenomics has caused the US to be the envy of the world!
Here’s one:
Even the WSJ admits it:
We are energy independent. Better now in trade. Manufacturing jobs being brought home. The IRS is taxing the rich — which is where the money is — instead of the poor.
tRump is so jealous that he’s come up with the phrase “maganomics” which is just that a word that he likes.
7. the Rs are better with crime than Biden. Not only is tRump a crime wave, encouraging criming throughout his party, the Ds are doing better with crime in general. Kentucky Lantern
Violent crime in the United States dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report released last month.
The FBI’s data, collected from nearly 12,000 law enforcement agencies representing about 77% of the country’s population, suggests violent crime dropped by 15% compared with the first quarter of 2023.
The data, which covers reported crimes from January to March, shows a 26.4% decrease in murders, a 25.7% decrease in rapes, a 17.8% decrease in robberies, and a 12.5% decrease in aggravated assaults. Reported property crime also fell by 15.1%.
Nevertheless, the widespread public perception that crime is rising — a perception reinforced by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and many other GOP candidates — could figure prominently in November’s election. And state legislative and gubernatorial candidates from both parties likely also will cite crime statistics on the stump
8. The Rs want to run against President Biden. No! IMHO, they fear Biden the most.
Sometimes I think our opponents have better instincts about who will win than we do. Why do you think the putin regime and the tRump regime cooked up the blackmailing of Zelinskyy by withholding aid to Ukraine? (Remember tRump’s 1st impeachment; I know it’s hard to keep all tRump’s crimes straight). Part of this was opportunity — Hunter Biden served on an oil board in Ukraine — but also it was because tRump and putin seemed to recognize that Joe Biden was the person they feared the most. We owe Zelenskyy a great debt for not caving, although I am sure he knew that caving to tRump and putin does not come with an upside.)
They are savoring the idea that President Biden might be replaced by panicking Democrats, a decision that — IMHO — would be on par with the disastrous decision of Coca-Cola getting rid of its original coke. The Rs (and their putin allies) sent in minions to amp us up, even here.
An aside: I also think that they really fear Gretchen Whitmer, and were amping up attacks against her. They were counting on racism to take out Kamala Harris, and they don’t recognize the strength of the black women voters. There also might have been an argument for wanting to appeal to the swing voters in the Midwest.
President Biden still remains our best chance of beating tRump and the fascists. But vote blue, no matter who.
We know we can win, because we did won 4 years ago.
Still, we all have to fight the lies. We have made good progress against some of them, but others are still sapping our energy, our resolve.
I ask all of you to consider what you can do. Who you can talk to. I know, talking to people can be a pain, but just get your ideas out there, and don’t expect instant conversion. Say your piece, and let it seep in.
Repetition is good. Repetition is good. It’s maddening, I know, but repetition is good.
Complain to media outlets that are not telling the truths that need to be told.
We can do it. You can do it. Let’s do it!
If you’re down, well, now’s the time to get back up and to do something, even if you don’t feel like it.
Sorry for shouting.
GoodNewsRoundup should be back next week, and at the very least, you should not have me.
Some Positive Stuff
and this is also from the rally:
Compare this to the staged event that tRump held at a black church in Detroit a little while ago in which tRump bused in white people. The enthusiasm at President Biden’s rally is REAL!
Others are also sick of the MSM:
Moreover, President Biden hasn’t been whiny about it. He’s just gotten back up.
Time for us to do the same.
Some things to enjoy:
And the smart donkey, which reminds me of President Biden, while the ponies are running in circles:
🐦 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 spread the word.
You can postcard.
You can donate.
You can share your ideas below.
🌻
💙 “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
🌹 🌹 🌹
TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.