R pols correctly represent their constituents, the American oligarchy and the White male “Christian” Supremacist base, with lies, fear, and hatred. But we are the majority; millions of their children fall away every year, with our help; and we are ripping the levers of power out of their hands, one by one. The Wrong Wing is desperately afraid of equality, which to them means the rest of us Doing Unto Them as they have done unto so many for so long.
Their thinking it right, and our thinking it wrong, is the precise fact upon which depends the whole controversy. Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to blame for desiring its full recognition, as being right; but, thinking it wrong, as we do, can we yield to them? Can we cast our votes with their view, and against our own? In view of our moral, social, and political responsibilities, can we do this?
Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address
I don’t need to go through the litany of their bogus moral panics to show how each one is connected to that overarching fear, and to every one of the shenanigans they are pretending can counter it.
I will mention that reading of banned books is up sharply. Similarly sales of Dr. Seuss books rose from 5.1 million annually to well over 6 million in the last year. Similarly Tedious Cruz’s rant against Anti-Racist Baby during the KJB hearings has made it a best seller.
Our people are also out recruiting many, many more candidates to counter the Wrong-Wingers running for school and election boards. Every seat, and therefore every vote, counts. Wrong-Wingers periodically get the idea that taking over school boards is a path to Christian Dominion in the US. It has been tried over creationism, abortion and contraception, and now the twin bogeymen of CRT and Teh Gay Agenda. In each case Democrats belatedly turfed the rascals out. Let’s see whether we can get out ahead of them this time.
The other big humbugs in the world, as witnessed by how much death they are fine with among their people, include
- Vladimir Putin (Russia)
- Aleksandr Lukashenko (Belarus)
- Bashar Al-Assad (Syria)
- Kim Jong-Un (North Korea)
- Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil)
- The military junta (Sudan)
- The military junta (Burma)
- Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Uzbekistan)
- MBS (Saudi Arabia)
- Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenistan)
- Seyed Ali Khamenei (Iran)
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema (Equatorial Guinea)
- King Mswati III (Swaziland/Eswatini)
- Imran Khan (Pakistan)
India, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and the like don’t rise to that level of humbuggery or death. China has one-party rule, not outright autocracy.
There used to be something over a hundred tin-pot dictators of the “Left” and the “Right” around the world, often making war on their own people with extensive use of torture.. The list above therefore constitutes remarkable progress, and there is more to come.
And don’t forget these.
The tweets refer to Mads Mikkelsen in the striped Hannibal suit on his 50th birthday. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore arrives in theaters on April 14.
Good News
President Biden and Vice President Harris promised to move quickly to deliver results for working families. That’s what they’ve done.
For example,
Electric vehicle sales doubled in one year
The Biden-Harris Administration is deploying more clean energy than any administration in history and jumpstarting an electric vehicle future that’s made in America.
New Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales in the United States Nearly Doubled from 2020 to 2021
Sales of new light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, including all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), nearly doubled from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021. EV sales accounted for 73% of all plug-in electric vehicle sales in 2021. EV sales grew by 85% from 2020 to 2021, while sales of PHEVs more than doubled, with an increase of 138% over the previous year. The rapid growth in plug-in electric vehicle sales from 2020 to 2021 is remarkable in the context of overall light-duty vehicle sales, which increased by only 3% during the same period.
Feel free to tell us your favorite Biden achievement in the comments.
And feel free to pull out more good news from these and other sources for more comments.
General Electric Produces Its First 100% Recyclable Wind Turbine That Can be Reconstructed as It Ages
New John Deere Tractors Plow Day and Night With No One in the Cab: Autonomous Farming Debuts in 2022
“The driverless tractors are equipped with six pairs of cameras that work like human eyes
Six? Uh, not exactly.
and can provide a 360-degree image,” AP reports.
Spiders do that with eight eyes.
“When filtered through computer algorithms, the tractor is able to determine where it is in the field and will abruptly stop if there is anything unfamiliar in its path.”
Cue Tom Selleck in his more pleasant persona as the cop on the robot beat in Runaway.
Eco-friendly algae oil could finally solve palm oil’s drawbacks
Unfortunately, because it is so cheap and efficient to produce, palm oil’s demand continues to grow rapidly. This fuels deforestation rates in countries that produce palm oil like Indonesia and Malaysia, where huge swaths of rainforest are cleared to make space for palm tree agriculture. The ensuing negative effects on biodiversity and carbon sequestration are self-evident.
Been there. Seen it.
The world generated a record 10% of its electricity from wind and solar in 2021 and clean sources accounted for 38% of total power supply — even more than coal.
That's according to a report published on Wednesday by Ember. The independent climate think tank found that 50 countries were generating more than 10% of their power from wind and solar, with the fastest transformations happening in the Netherlands, Australia and Vietnam. Those countries have switched around
a tenth of their power from fossil fuels to wind and solar in just the last two years.
Everyday Heroes
If you know a person, group, organisation or charity - in any part of the world - who has done something wonderful or just makes the world a little happier, please let us know by completing the form below. We do aim to feature every nomination in The Happy Newspaper, however due to volume of nominations, this isn’t always possible. If we feature your nomination, we will be in touch!
For example,
EGGS & BREAD
Eggs & Bread is a cafe like no other, based in Walthamstow, East London. It boasts ‘the smallest menu on Wood Street’ – only boiled eggs, toast, jam, porridge, tea and coffee are available. It’s self-service too! At the end of your meal, you pay what you like.
With an estimated 28% of Londoners living in poverty, this cafe is aiming to balance out the inequality seen so often in our big cities. If you want to pay, the donation box is discreetly placed next to where you put your dirty plates, so no one will see how much you put in (or don’t). If you can afford to put something in the box, you can also pay for the breakfast of others who might not be able to pay. As Eggs & Bread say, “Everyone deserves a good start to the day”.
and
Nicolò Govoni, the volunteer who travels the world opening schools for refugees
Nicoló Govoni is a young Italian journalist from Cremona. As soon as he obtained his degree, he left Italy for India, where he started an orphanage, then went to Palestine and finally to the refugee camp in Samos, Greece and opened a school ‘Mazí’, coordinating an educational program for refugee children who had escaped the war. He also founded the NGO Still I Rise. He is an exemplary boy who has given up a master’s degree in journalism in the USA to follow his mission and help children and the less fortunate.
Update: The school, Mazí, has been seriously affected by the recent earthquake in Samos and will be closed until it can be rebuilt. Please find out more about Nicolò’s incredible work here.
In Other News
- Many people say that there is no ethics code binding on SCOTUS. Laurence Tribe says that even without such a code, Clarence Thomas has broken the law.
- A few people are talking about impeaching Injustice Clarence Thomas. His wife will have to provide more Big Lie communications to the 1/6 Committee, and will have to testify once Garland gets around to indicting the others who are in flagrant contempt of Congress.
- War in Ukraine continues. Ukraine is kind of winning, but needs lots more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and would dearly love to have Poland’s MiG fighter jets.
- Putin is panicking.
The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: let such a one be dismissed!
Sunzi, The Art of War
Sunzi also notes that the other feudal lords will only put up with so much, when the King has destroyed his own position.
- After decades of Denialist confustication, Putin is forcing the world to understand and implement the changeover to renewable energy and EVs.
- KBJ will be confirmed soon, possibly on April 8. Then she could join the Court right after this year’s decisions are handed down. Manchin and Collins are Yes votes.
- Russian media voices are calling for early Regime Change in the US, to put TFG back in as President without that nonsense about needing to hold an election.
- DeSantis signed the Don’t Say Gay bill, and Republicans are in full denial that it says Don’t Say Gay. It will take effect in July, and the FL Dept. of Ed. will explain what it requires teachers to do in about a year.
Animals! Science! Weirdness!
And yet Climate Denialists tell us that we can’t afford cheaper and cleaner renewables and EVs.
Funny or Cry