Varieties of Bullsh*t

We need to take a hard look at bullshit .
It is now almost commonplace to say we are in a “ post-truth ” era .
But this notion is not only , or even primarily , about the difference between truth and untruth .
A proper appreciation of the distinction between lying and spinning , between deliberate misinformation and deliberate obfuscation , is necessary to fully grasp the current political and media landscape .
The liar knows the truth but wishes to misrepresent it ; bullshit is different in an important way .
The job of the marketing consultant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political operative is neither to uphold the truth nor to lie ; rather , the job is to portray their client in the best light possible .
Philosopher Harry Frankfurt famously noted that the characteristic stance of the bullshitter is an indifference to the truth .
The point of bullshit is to influence rather than misrepresent .
As Frankfurt puts it , the bullshitter ’ s eye “ is not on the facts at all , as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are , except insofar as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting away with what he says .
He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly.
” Sometimes bullshit can be harmless .
Kind words of encouragement to your children , spouse , or friends can be entirely well-intentioned and also bullshit .
But bullshit often takes the form of systemic , harmful insincerity , often with the aim of entrenching a power advantage .
Partisan media operatives paint the novel coronavirus pandemic as an impeachment ploy .
Talking heads accuse refugees of bringing drugs , violence , and/or disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the perception of a scientific consensus on climate change .
White supremacist and Trump collaborator Steve Bannon advises his allies to “ flood the zone with shit ” : to pump so much nonsense propaganda and denial into the media environment as to overwhelm any attempts at fact-checking .
The goal is not so much to misinform as to manufacture an “ attitude of cynicism about the truth and the institutions charged with unearthing it.
” This sort of program is obviously irresponsible , malicious , and corrosive to public life and democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s indifference to factual reality may be even more harmful than the liar ’ s misrepresentations ; at least the liar cares , on some level , what the truth is , if only so it can be hidden .
The liar still recognizes the authority of facts .
Lies can be countered with information .
Lies can be refuted .
Bullshit can not , because it isn ’ t about facts in the first place .
As I discuss in my recent book , The Truth About Denial , there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here .
Social scientist Dan Kahan has a category within his taxonomy of states of “ knowing disbelief ” that he calls “ FYATHYRIO ( Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On ) ” , in which an agent “ merely feigns belief in a proposition she knows is not true for the sake of expressing an attitude , perhaps contempt or hostility to members of an opposing cultural group , the recognition of which actually depends on others recognizing that the agent doesn ’ t really believe it ( ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
” A subcategory of bullshit statements , in other words , is the category of statements that are primarily intended not to fool others , but simply to generate an attitude ( e.g.
, solidarity , disapproval , or contempt ) for a strategic purpose — such as whipping up support for some political initiative ( a.k.a .
‘ rallying the base ’ ) by making your audience fear some ethnic or religious subgroup .
I call this “ expressive bullshit ” .
Political partisans ( and , increasingly , hostile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media memes to foment social divisions and discontent .
These messages are full of false claims , but , again , whether the content of these messages is true or false is entirely irrelevant to the purpose .
That ’ s why trying to counter this sort of manipulation with the truth doesn ’ t work — the purpose of flooding the zone with shit is to create emotions , not factual beliefs .
You can argue with factual claims , but you can ’ t argue with emotion .
When I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m often asked about Donald Trump .
He utters falsehoods constantly and seemingly compulsively .
Climate change is a “ hoax ” , Russian intervention in our electoral system is a “ hoax ” , and it turns out the threat of the novel coronavirus is also a “ hoax ” .
But his lies are typically so patently refutable that it seems their purpose is not really to deceive .
Rather , he appears to just say whatever it feels good or useful for him to say at the moment ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most of the time , to be false ) .
As philosopher Robert Paul Wolff observes , Trump seems to be almost exclusively driven by the infantile urges Freud called “ primary processes ” : urges for immediate gratification and self-protection .
The frequent purpose of Trump ’ s utterances — just as in expressive bullshit — appears to be that of expressing an attitude and generating emotions ; but in his case they are emotions of a particular primitive and self-serving sort .
The phenomenon seems to be one of compulsive self-aggrandizement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infantile bullshit ” .
Politicians strategically and chronically employ bullshit for the sake of inflaming public fears , sowing confusion and doubt , and preserving endorsements , donations , and/or party support .
Todd Akin was the 2012 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri .
He was notorious for having said to a TV interviewer , regarding pregnancies from rape , “ It seems to me , from what I understand from doctors , that ’ s really rare .
If it ’ s a legitimate rape , the female body has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing down.
” The former chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce , Congressman Joe Barton , has expressed concern that energy production from wind turbines may be harmful because it “ slows the winds down.
” U.S .
Senator Jim Inhofe presented a snowball on the Senate floor , claiming that the presence of snow during wintertime in Washington , D.C. refutes the existence of global warming .
When the zone is flooded like this , progress on matters of urgent public concern is all but impossible — and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We are in a culture war , wherein malevolent political operatives are attempting to destroy the concept of objective truth itself the way invading medieval armies would undermine and collapse castle walls by destroying their foundations .
These epistemic terrorists would rather see the world burn than allow nonwhite refugee immigrants into the country , or countenance new environmental protections that might upset the status quo social and economic order .
The thing about a war is that it is difficult to unilaterally declare peace .
Perhaps our only option is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fortunately , what is left of our democracy still allows , theoretically , for some change in our governing institutions via elections .

We need to take a hard look at bullshit. It is now almost commonplace to say we are in a “post-truth” era. But this notion is not only, or even primarily, about the difference between truth and untruth. A proper appreciation of the distinction between lying and spinning, between deliberate misinformation and deliberate obfuscation, is necessary to fully grasp the current political and media landscape.
The liar knows the truth but wishes to misrepresent it; bullshit is different in an important way. The job of the marketing consultant, the trial attorney, or the political operative is neither to uphold the truth nor to lie; rather, the job is to portray their client in the best light possible. Philosopher Harry Frankfurt famously noted that the characteristic stance of the bullshitter is an indifference to the truth. The point of bullshit is to influence rather than misrepresent. As Frankfurt puts it, the bullshitter’s eye “is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly.”
Sometimes bullshit can be harmless. Kind words of encouragement to your children, spouse, or friends can be entirely well-intentioned and also bullshit.
But bullshit often takes the form of systemic, harmful insincerity, often with the aim of entrenching a power advantage. Partisan media operatives paint the novel coronavirus pandemic as an impeachment ploy. Talking heads accuse refugees of bringing drugs, violence, and/or disease. Well-funded organizations exist just to undermine the perception of a scientific consensus on climate change.
White supremacist and Trump collaborator Steve Bannon advises his allies to “flood the zone with shit”: to pump so much nonsense propaganda and denial into the media environment as to overwhelm any attempts at fact-checking. The goal is not so much to misinform as to manufacture an “attitude of cynicism about the truth and the institutions charged with unearthing it.”
This sort of program is obviously irresponsible, malicious, and corrosive to public life and democracy itself. Frankfurt argues that the bullshitter’s indifference to factual reality may be even more harmful than the liar’s misrepresentations; at least the liar cares, on some level, what the truth is, if only so it can be hidden. The liar still recognizes the authority of facts.
Lies can be countered with information. Lies can be refuted. Bullshit cannot, because it isn’t about facts in the first place.
As I discuss in my recent book, The Truth About Denial, there are other varieties of bullshit to be considered here. Social scientist Dan Kahan has a category within his taxonomy of states of “knowing disbelief” that he calls “FYATHYRIO (Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On)”, in which an agent “merely feigns belief in a proposition she knows is not true for the sake of expressing an attitude, perhaps contempt or hostility to members of an opposing cultural group, the recognition of which actually depends on others recognizing that the agent doesn’t really believe it (‘Obama was born in Kenya!’).”
A subcategory of bullshit statements, in other words, is the category of statements that are primarily intended not to fool others, but simply to generate an attitude (e.g., solidarity, disapproval, or contempt) for a strategic purpose — such as whipping up support for some political initiative (a.k.a. ‘rallying the base’) by making your audience fear some ethnic or religious subgroup. I call this “expressive bullshit”.
Political partisans (and, increasingly, hostile foreign operatives) employ conspiracy theories and social media memes to foment social divisions and discontent. These messages are full of false claims, but, again, whether the content of these messages is true or false is entirely irrelevant to the purpose. That’s why trying to counter this sort of manipulation with the truth doesn’t work — the purpose of flooding the zone with shit is to create emotions, not factual beliefs. You can argue with factual claims, but you can’t argue with emotion.
When I write or speak about these issues I’m often asked about Donald Trump. He utters falsehoods constantly and seemingly compulsively. Climate change is a “hoax”, Russian intervention in our electoral system is a “hoax”, and it turns out the threat of the novel coronavirus is also a “hoax”. But his lies are typically so patently refutable that it seems their purpose is not really to deceive. Rather, he appears to just say whatever it feels good or useful for him to say at the moment (which in his case just happens, most of the time, to be false). As philosopher Robert Paul Wolff observes, Trump seems to be almost exclusively driven by the infantile urges Freud called “primary processes”: urges for immediate gratification and self-protection. The frequent purpose of Trump’s utterances — just as in expressive bullshit — appears to be that of expressing an attitude and generating emotions; but in his case they are emotions of a particular primitive and self-serving sort. The phenomenon seems to be one of compulsive self-aggrandizement and self-soothing. I call this “infantile bullshit”.
Politicians strategically and chronically employ bullshit for the sake of inflaming public fears, sowing confusion and doubt, and preserving endorsements, donations, and/or party support. Todd Akin was the 2012 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri. He was notorious for having said to a TV interviewer, regarding pregnancies from rape, “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” The former chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Joe Barton, has expressed concern that energy production from wind turbines may be harmful because it “slows the winds down.” U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe presented a snowball on the Senate floor, claiming that the presence of snow during wintertime in Washington, D.C. refutes the existence of global warming. When the zone is flooded like this, progress on matters of urgent public concern is all but impossible — and that’s the point of the strategy.
We are in a culture war, wherein malevolent political operatives are attempting to destroy the concept of objective truth itself the way invading medieval armies would undermine and collapse castle walls by destroying their foundations. These epistemic terrorists would rather see the world burn than allow nonwhite refugee immigrants into the country, or countenance new environmental protections that might upset the status quo social and economic order.
The thing about a war is that it is difficult to unilaterally declare peace. Perhaps our only option is to fight the war and win it. Fortunately, what is left of our democracy still allows, theoretically, for some change in our governing institutions via elections.


dailykos--2020-03-12--Look who's cheating democracy now

Look who's cheating democracy now

Mark Meadows rose to power in Washington because he had a gerrymandered congressional seat in North Carolina for eight years @ @ @ @ @ have ruled the lines are unconstitutional and the districts have been redrawn to be more @ @ @ @ @ only bailing , he ’ s trying to install his hand-picked successor : Lynda Bennett @ @ @ @ @ by timing his retirement announcement to try to get Bennett the nomination in the 11th @ @ @ @ @ $ 380,000 of Freedom Caucus PAC money behind her .
Now he ’ s hoping @ @ @ @ @ Chief of Staff will force a special election to get her into his House seat @ @ @ @ @ Don ’ t let him get away with it .
Wouldn ’ t it be @ @ @ @ @ a Democrat ?
I ’ m Moe Davis , retired Air Force Colonel , former @ @ @ @ @ and judge with the U.S. Department of Labor .
I ’ m running to restore @ @ @ @ @ you want to help me stop Meadows , donate here .

rss@dailykos.com (Moe Davis For Congress)

Mark Meadows rose to power in Washington because he had a gerrymandered congressional seat in North Carolina for eight years. Now that state courts have ruled the lines are unconstitutional and the districts have been redrawn to be more competitive, Meadows is not only bailing, he’s trying to install his hand-picked successor: Lynda Bennett.
Meadows gamed the system by timing his retirement announcement to try to get Bennett the nomination in the 11th District, and then poured $380,000 of Freedom Caucus PAC money behind her. Now he’s hoping his move to White House Chief of Staff will force a special election to get her into his House seat before the November elections.
Don’t let him get away with it.
Wouldn’t it be sweet to replace Meadows with a Democrat? I’m Moe Davis, retired Air Force Colonel, former law professor at Howard University and judge with the U.S. Department of Labor. I’m running to restore integrity to Washington. If you want to help me stop Meadows, donate here.


dailykos--2020-03-11--The Side Story: Burisma

The Side Story: Burisma

It didn ’ t take the Trumpsters long to raise the Hunter Biden / Joe Biden / Burisma issue , once it was determined that Joe will be the Democratic candidate .
Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-WI ) , who chairs the Senate Homeland Security committee wants to start subpeona-ing anyone connected with Burisma if for no other reason than to create suspicion of Biden .
Keep in mind this whole thing goes back to 2015 .
From the WaPo : Johnson insists that none of this is political in nature .
( “ It just so happens that Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up and connected to the whole Ukrainian issue , ” he told reporters Monday . )
Do you believe Senator Ron ?
Do you believe the sun rises in the west ?
Do you believe Trump can name the the first three presidents of the United States—if you spotted him Nos .
2 and 3 ?
Well , Senator Ron.
, be careful for what you wish for .
Because if the Biden kid is going to be your club of choice , Democrats will most certainly respond by calling out Javanka and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fortune off their father ’ s office .
Biden kids , Trump kids .
An eye for an eye .
But in Javanka ’ s case , it can be proven .
Who do you think gets more headlines , Senator Ron ?

It didn’t take the Trumpsters long to raise the Hunter Biden / Joe Biden / Burisma issue, once it was determined that Joe will be the Democratic candidate. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security committee wants to start subpeona-ing anyone connected with Burisma if for no other reason than to create suspicion of Biden. Keep in mind this whole thing goes back to 2015. From the WaPo:
Johnson insists that none of this is political in nature. (“It just so happens that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden are also wrapped up and connected to the whole Ukrainian issue,” he told reporters Monday.)
Do you believe Senator Ron? Do you believe the sun rises in the west? Do you believe Trump can name the the first three presidents of the United States—if you spotted him Nos. 2 and 3?
Well, Senator Ron., be careful for what you wish for. Because if the Biden kid is going to be your club of choice, Democrats will most certainly respond by calling out Javanka and Eric, who ARE making a small fortune off their father’s office. Biden kids, Trump kids. An eye for an eye. But in Javanka’s case, it can be proven.
Who do you think gets more headlines, Senator Ron?


dailykos--2020-03-11--Coronavirus Isn't the Only Epidemic Afflicting Our Community

Over the past few days I ’ ve felt compelled to link time and time again to my 2014 diary entitled “ Translating English into English.
” The gist of it is that most of us , i.e.
, people of all political stripes , are very , very bad at translating English into English , in the sense of hearing or deriving thoughts and ideas from other people ’ s words that the speaker or writer did not actually say , suggest or imply .
Here are some excerpts from that now-six-year-old diary : I 'm finding that what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reflects a staggering apparent inability to translate English into English accurately or correctly .
… Reams have been written about how `` end-of-life counseling '' was translated into `` death panels , '' how `` You did n't build the public infrastructure '' became `` You did n't build your business , '' and how `` control and regulation of firearms '' is translated into `` confiscation and disarmament . ''
`` Separation of church and state '' now translates into `` persecution of Christians . ''
I 've been reading lately about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transgendered students translate into a full-blown national social phenomenon and effort to `` enforce gender neutrality , '' whatever the hell that means .
President Obama says , `` I like dogs . ''
Fox News puts up a chyron saying ( or `` asking '' ) , `` OBAMA HATES CATS ? ''
A viewer takes to the Internet to shriek , `` Obama wants to kill my cat ! ''
WorldNetDaily reports , `` Obama : All Cats to Be Impounded and Destroyed . ''
And so forth .
And make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wherein `` both sides '' actually are `` just as bad . ''
[ W ] hether inadvertent or deliberate , our apparent inability to correctly and accurately translate English into English , and our concomitant tendency to do so in a way that has us constantly accusing each other of saying things we did n't actually say , and then in turn making personal character judgments based on our having said what we did n't say , is no way to have a meaningful conversation about anything important , let alone understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a certain way about things and we get defensive when we hear or read things that do n't seem at first blush to validate those feelings .
As I 've said time and time again , a person can either try to understand something , or try to validate his/her feelings about it .
One probably ca n't do both .
Two years ago I wrote another diary illustrating this phenomenon in more granular detail , breaking down the dialogue in a 1998 Seinfeld episode to show how language that we hear and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , essentially , whatever we wish reality to be .
Paul Simon wrote that “ a man hears what he wants to hear , and disregards the rest , ” and I think that ’ s especially true for political partisans when reality doesn ’ t confirm or validate their perceptions .
Obviously , a substantial portion of this community is dealing right now with a situation like that , with not getting the outcome they wanted , expected to get , and I daresay , felt entitled to , at least in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proper , right and correct .
Not getting what you wanted , expected , and perhaps needed , is hard , it ’ s painful , it ’ s depressing , especially if you invested a lot of time , effort , intellectual and emotional energy into getting it , and it triggers the same emotions and emotional responses as grief — including anger , denial , and bargaining .
No one has a monopoly on this phenomenon , and no one is immune to it .
I ’ ve often written that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s prejudices , one can either question and reexamine the latter , or the former — and that too many of us choose the former .
I ’ ve also often written that Fox News et al .
exist because the Republican Party and its fans/enablers got tired of reality failing to validate their prejudices , so they created their own reality that does .
But none of that means to imply that only “ conservatives ” ( i.e.
, fans of the GOP ) are susceptible to , or capable of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think it ’ s only natural , as it becomes clear that one is not going to get the outcome that one wants , to try to somehow re-engineer reality in an effort to un-do and reverse the increasingly-inevitable outcome , as if to will the desired result into existence while simultaneously knowing that that ’ s simply not possible .
Hence the analogy to the denial and bargaining stages of grief .
And I think the phenomenon becomes particularly acute at a time like this , when an entire cohort is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deny and bargain its way out of an unwanted outcome that they wish they could un-do , and into a wanted one that they wish was still possible .
I use the word “ wish ” very deliberately here ; the disparity between what someone and what the listener is often a product of wishful thinking .
Indeed , I ’ ve written often that the formula for Republican fan fiction is 2 % fact , 0 % context , 98 % wishful thinking ( or , facts minus context plus wishful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their fans do not hold the patent on this formula .
No one is immune the the desire to an alternate reality into existence .
And when large numbers of people are all essentially doing that , as a way of dealing or coping with disappointment in a reality that ’ s beyond their control , it becomes an epidemic .
And let ’ s face it : right now we ’ re suffering an epidemic of projection and wishful thinking , of failing to correctly or accurately translate English into English , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply not being said or that were not said umpteen years ago , and of declaring unilaterally , presuming to with absolute certainty , what other people think , feel , mean , want and intend .
It ’ s not unexpected or abnormal , but it ’ s something that we should at least be conscious and aware of , whether we ’ re seeing it or doing it , or both , as we go forward .
As someone who has dealt with a fair share of disappointment over the course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m a Mets and Jets fan , for cripes ’ sake ) , sometimes not very well or very prudently , I ’ m not going to begrudge anyone for having a hard time coping right now with the long , drawn-out process of not ultimately getting the outcome that they genuinely , truly , sincerely , and for all good and selfless reasons , wanted , expected , hoped for and worked for .
But I ’ m going to continue to call BS on BS , which has unfortunately become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current President is , as we all know , a veritable firehose of toxic BS .
I think we ’ ve all had enough of that , don ’ t you ?

Over the past few days I’ve felt compelled to link time and time again to my 2014 diary entitled “Translating English into English.” The gist of it is that most of us, i.e., people of all political stripes, are very, very bad at translating English into English, in the sense of hearing or deriving thoughts and ideas from other people’s words that the speaker or writer did not actually say, suggest or imply.
Here are some excerpts from that now-six-year-old diary:
I'm finding that what currently passes for political debate and discussion reflects a staggering apparent inability to translate English into English accurately or correctly. … Reams have been written about how "end-of-life counseling" was translated into "death panels," how "You didn't build the public infrastructure" became "You didn't build your business," and how "control and regulation of firearms" is translated into "confiscation and disarmament." "Separation of church and state" now translates into "persecution of Christians." I've been reading lately about how a few discrete efforts to accommodate transgendered students translate into a full-blown national social phenomenon and effort to "enforce gender neutrality," whatever the hell that means. ... President Obama says, "I like dogs." Fox News puts up a chyron saying (or "asking"), "OBAMA HATES CATS?" A viewer takes to the Internet to shriek, "Obama wants to kill my cat!" WorldNetDaily reports, "Obama: All Cats to Be Impounded and Destroyed." And so forth. And make no mistake: this is one area wherein "both sides" actually are "just as bad." ... [W]hether inadvertent or deliberate, our apparent inability to correctly and accurately translate English into English, and our concomitant tendency to do so in a way that has us constantly accusing each other of saying things we didn't actually say, and then in turn making personal character judgments based on our having said what we didn't say, is no way to have a meaningful conversation about anything important, let alone understand it. We all want to feel a certain way about things and we get defensive when we hear or read things that don't seem at first blush to validate those feelings. As I've said time and time again, a person can either try to understand something, or try to validate his/her feelings about it. One probably can't do both.
Two years ago I wrote another diary illustrating this phenomenon in more granular detail, breaking down the dialogue in a 1998 Seinfeld episode to show how language that we hear and read can be manipulated and reconstituted into, essentially, whatever we wish reality to be.
Paul Simon wrote that “a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest,” and I think that’s especially true for political partisans when reality doesn’t confirm or validate their perceptions. Obviously, a substantial portion of this community is dealing right now with a situation like that, with not getting the outcome they wanted, expected to get, and I daresay, felt entitled to, at least in the sense of perceiving it as self-evidently proper, right and correct. Not getting what you wanted, expected, and perhaps needed, is hard, it’s painful, it’s depressing, especially if you invested a lot of time, effort, intellectual and emotional energy into getting it, and it triggers the same emotions and emotional responses as grief — including anger, denial, and bargaining.
No one has a monopoly on this phenomenon, and no one is immune to it. I’ve often written that when reality persistently fails to validate one’s prejudices, one can either question and reexamine the latter, or the former — and that too many of us choose the former. I’ve also often written that Fox News et al. exist because the Republican Party and its fans/enablers got tired of reality failing to validate their prejudices, so they created their own reality that does. But none of that means to imply that only “conservatives” (i.e., fans of the GOP) are susceptible to, or capable of, reality control of this nature.
I think it’s only natural, as it becomes clear that one is not going to get the outcome that one wants, to try to somehow re-engineer reality in an effort to un-do and reverse the increasingly-inevitable outcome, as if to will the desired result into existence while simultaneously knowing that that’s simply not possible. Hence the analogy to the denial and bargaining stages of grief. And I think the phenomenon becomes particularly acute at a time like this, when an entire cohort is, whether consciously or not, trying to deny and bargain its way out of an unwanted outcome that they wish they could un-do, and into a wanted one that they wish was still possible.
I use the word “wish” very deliberately here; the disparity between what someone said and what the listener heard is often a product of wishful thinking. Indeed, I’ve written often that the formula for Republican fan fiction is 2% fact, 0% context, 98% wishful thinking (or, facts minus context plus wishful thinking). Again, Republicans and their fans do not hold the patent on this formula. No one is immune the the desire to wish an alternate reality into existence. And when large numbers of people are all essentially doing that, as a way of dealing or coping with disappointment in a reality that’s beyond their control, it becomes an epidemic.
And let’s face it: right now we’re suffering an epidemic of projection and wishful thinking, of failing to correctly or accurately translate English into English, of reading and hearing things that are simply not being said or that were not said umpteen years ago, and of declaring unilaterally, presuming to know with absolute certainty, what other people think, feel, mean, want and intend. It’s not unexpected or abnormal, but it’s something that we should at least be conscious and aware of, whether we’re seeing it or doing it, or both, as we go forward.
As someone who has dealt with a fair share of disappointment over the course of decades (I mean, I’m a Mets and Jets fan, for cripes’ sake), sometimes not very well or very prudently, I’m not going to begrudge anyone for having a hard time coping right now with the long, drawn-out process of not ultimately getting the outcome that they genuinely, truly, sincerely, and for all good and selfless reasons, wanted, expected, hoped for and worked for. But I’m going to continue to call BS on BS, which has unfortunately become a recurring motif for me. Our current President is, as we all know, a veritable firehose of toxic BS. I think we’ve all had enough of that, don’t you?


dailykos--2020-03-11--Good News Roundup for March 11, 2020

Good News Roundup for March 11, 2020

And Bloomberg has also begun releasing anti-tRump ads , which as we know from how often his campaign ads ran , will be broadcast ad nauseam between now and November ( but in this case , nausea – against tRump – is what we hope to provoke ) : The next news story has already appeared in various iterations in Good News diaries and comments , but it can ’ t be emphasized enough , especially to anyone who believes the Dems don ’ t have a chance in November : Democratic voter turnout surged on Super Tuesday , exceeding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states and setting an all-time record in one of them .
In Virginia , the fourth most delegate-rich state to hold a primary Tuesday , more than 1.3 million voters cast ballots — a nearly 70 percent increase over 2016 , when about 783,000 voted in the Democratic presidential primary .
That surpasses a previous record set in 2008 , when just under 1 million voters turned out .
In North Carolina , turnout was up by about 17 percent over 2016 levels .
And in Texas , at least 45 percent more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than showed up four years ago , according to an analysis of vote returns .
Turnout also skyrocketed in contests in Colorado , Maine , Minnesota and Utah , though those states switched from caucuses to primaries this year , making it difficult to compare Tuesday ’ s turnout to that of past election years .
DKos ’ s resident super-hero in a bathrobe , ShowerCap , came out with another diary Monday ( one of his best , I think ) , and he noted how effectively the Gross Obnoxious Panderers undercut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” us : So , again , tune out the Gloomy Guses and Debby Downers .
We are fired up and ready to take our country back !
On that note , and in a hat tip to our dear Wolvie ( who is taking a much-needed break ) , here ’ s OUR flag : And while I ’ m tipping a hat to Wolvie , I ’ d like to give a hug to { { { { { karij } } } } } who is dealing with the aftermath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that resulted in the death of her son ’ s ex-wife ( the mother of karij ’ s grandson ) .
Please hold her in your hearts .
Good news from around the world Agave Power : How a Revolutionary Agroforestry and Grazing System in Mexico Can Help Reverse Global Warming Agave plants ( the best known of which are blue agave , used to produce tequila ) , along with nitrogen-fixing , companion trees such as mesquite , huizache , desert ironwood , wattle , and varieties of acacia that readily grow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ common , prolific , and yet routinely denigrated or ignored plants in the world .
Agave plants and nitrogen-fixing trees densely intercropped and cultivated together have the capacity to draw down massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and produce more above ground and below ground biomass ( and animal fodder ) on a continuous year-to-year basis than any other desert and semi-desert species .
Ideal for arid and hot climates , agaves and their companion trees , once established , require little or no irrigation to survive and thrive , and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drought .
Agaves alone can draw down and store above ground the dry weight equivalent of 30-60 tons of CO2 per hectare ( 12-24 tons per acre ) per year .
One hectare equals 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres .
Now , a new , agave-based agroforestry and livestock feeding model developed in Guanajuato , Mexico promises to revitalize campesino/small farmer livestock production while storing massive amounts of atmospheric carbon above and below ground .
Scaled up on millions of currently degraded and overgrazed rangelands , these agave/agroforestry systems have the potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health , but to help mitigate and potentially reverse global warming .
In March 2019 , doctors in London announced that they had cured a person of H.I.V .
— only the second ever to have been freed of the virus .
After much deliberation , the “ London patient , ” as he has become known , told The New York Times that he wanted to reveal his identity and to tell his story .
“ This is a unique position to be in , a unique and very humbling position , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be an ambassador of hope.
” His name is Adam Castillejo , age 40 .
Born in Venezuela , he has lived in London for nearly 20 years .
The announcement of Mr. Castillejo ’ s cure last year electrified the scientific community and energized the pursuit of strategies for curing H.I.V .
Mr. Castillejo was found to have H.I.V .
in 2003 , when he was just 23 .
… But as powerful antiretroviral drugs became available , he was able to keep his H.I.V .
suppressed to undetectable levels and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2011 , when tests revealed he had cancer : Stage 4 lymphoma .
On May 13 , 2016 , Mr. Castillejo received a bone-marrow transplant to cure his cancer .
The main goal of the transplant was to replace his immune system and clear the cancer .
But the donor also carried a mutation that impedes the entry of H.I.V .
into cells , so the new immune system was resistant to H.I.V.
, and cleared his body of the virus as well .
“ I don ’ t want people to think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been chosen , ’ ” he said .
“ No , it just happened .
I was in the right place , probably at the right time , when it happened.
” This section of Future Crunch ’ s monthly newsletter is one of my favorite sources of good international news .
And I love that they always provide links if you want to read more : Following years of pressure from activists , Canadian company Teck Resources is pulling out of planned operations in the oil sands .
NYT Following years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is pulling out of planned exploration in the Great Australian Bight .
SBS India says it will stop importing thermal coal in the next four years ( no doubt Adani will never bow to years of pressure from activists ) .
Economic Times A landmark ruling by India ’ s Supreme Court means that women will now be granted the same rights as men in all the country ’ s armed forces .
CNN Colombia says it will allow hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants to legalise their presence in the country through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , the age-adjusted global death rate for cancer fell by 15 % , mostly as a result of the worldwide decline in smoking .
OWiD Singapore has announced a ban on internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 , the first Southeast Asian country to do so .
Next Web China has implemented a complete and permanent ban on the eating , hunting , trading and transportation of all wild animals .
SCMP Blue whale populations are bouncing back .
Observers have recorded ‘ unprecedented ’ numbers in the waters around South Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation Medicare For All Would Create Lots Of Jobs And Increase Wages ... people are still probably more nervous about the idea of single-payer Medicare for All [ than they are about COVID-19 ] , largely because of the way people who are opposed to it for reasons have spent a lot of time and effort making sure people are very nervous about it .
One of the things that 's been brought up a lot is the idea that all of these people currently working in the insurance industry , on billing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs .
And that 's fair !
It 's something we should all be concerned about ...
But another thing to consider is a new study published Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute , a non-partisan think tank that analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals , which says that Medicare for All would help create a lot of jobs , increase wages for many , many Americans , and lead to a better functioning labor market in general .
According to the EPI , Medicare for All would : - Boost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ redirect money they are spending on health care costs to their workers ' wages .
- Increase job quality by ensuring that every job now comes bundled with a guarantee of health care—with the boost to job quality even greater among women workers , who are less likely to have employer-sponsored health care .
- Lessen the stress and economic shock of losing a job or moving between jobs by eliminating the loss of health care that now accompanies job losses and transitions .
- Support self-employment and small business development—which is currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other rich countries—by eliminating the daunting loss of/cost of health care from startup costs .
- Inject new dynamism and adaptability into the overall economy by reducing `` job lock '' —with workers going where their skills and preferences best fit the job , not just to workplaces ( usually large ones ) that have affordable health plans .
- Produce a net increase in jobs as public spending boosts aggregate demand , with job losses in health insurance and billing administration being outweighed by job gains in provision of health care , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House passes bill to allow VA to fund service dogs for veterans with PTSD This bill hasn ’ t yet been scheduled for a Senate vote ( surprise !
/s ) , so a call to your senators might be a good idea .
You can make the point that this is an entirely non-partisan issue .
It ’ s always cheering to see karma at work : Index card found in sunken ship helps implicate former Nazi concentration camp guard living in Tennessee In the midst of more absolutely infuriating fuckery by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s House and Senate – i.e.
, another walkout denying the legislature a quorum and thereby blocking the passage of a cap-and-trade bill – there are some rays of light .
Wish us luck , because the next step will no doubt be a slew of suits by the litigious Rethugs .
Following a short legislative session that fell flat amid the acrimony over a bill aimed at capping carbon emissions , funding for a few budget measures that would have otherwise died with the untimely end of the session has been approved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alongside those unfinished funding measures comes $ 5 million for the state 's response to COVID-19 , now an official emergency following an announcement this weekend , and another $ 5 million that will likely form the foundation of Governor Kate Brown 's executive action on carbon emissions .
When the legislative session ended without a compromise between Democrats and Republicans on cap-and-trade , Governor Brown said that she would make good on a promise to deliver climate change solutions through executive action if a legislative route did not succeed .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solution was my preferred path to tackle the impacts of climate change for the resources it would bring to our rural communities and the flexibility it would provide for our businesses , '' Brown said last week .
`` However , I will not back down .
In the coming days , I will be taking executive action to lower our greenhouse gas emissions . ''
On Monday the Oregonian/OregonLive reported that DEQ director Richard Whitman said Brown 's executive order would be coming `` very soon . ''
Click the link for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this executive order will mandate .
A lot of people who live in Vancouver WA work in Portland , and the commute between the two cities is brutal .
So a ferry connecting them would be a great community benefit .
( And I love the idea of a ferry station in Sellwood , which is my neighborhood ! )
Portland passenger ferry leader says idea is ‘ getting closer to a reality , ’ eyes 2023 launch Good news for and about animals ... huanglongbing , or citrus greening , [ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection that slashed the United States ’ orange juice yields by more than 70 percent in the span of a decade .
Once they ’ ve begun to sport splotchy foliage and stunted fruit , trees can be diagnosed with a single glance .
A symptomatic plant , Gottwald says , is a diseased one .
Unfortunately , the converse isn ’ t true : Infected trees can appear normal for months , sometimes years , before visibly deteriorating , leaving researchers with few reliable ways to suss out sick citrus early on—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread unnoticed .
Now , [ plant pathologist Tim ] Gottwald and his colleagues may have a creative new strategy to fill this diagnostic gap—one that relies not on vision , but smell .
They ’ ve taught dogs to recognize the telltale scent of a huanglongbing infection—an odor that eludes the attention of humans , but consistently tickles the super-sensitive schnozz of a mutt .
Once trained up , canines can nose out the disease within weeks of infection , trouncing all other available detection methods in both timing and accuracy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the National Academy of Sciences .
Activism in art is very inspiring to me , so I especially love this story .
Of course , I also love the how wonderful this house looks covered with bright mosaic tiles , but Reichardt ’ s thirst for justice makes it even better .
As unique pieces of art goes , you are unlikely to find a more remarkable piece of public art in the city .
The place is covered in head to toe , front and back with bright mosaic .
Each section @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different phases have featured different players , influences and artists .
along the 20 years journey each of whom have helped contribute in some way .
As a campaigning artist Carrie Reichardt has long championed the cause of death row inmates in America .
… Luis Ramirez was the first death row prisoner that Carrie got to know and they become friends .
Somehow Luis managed to post his prisoner ID card to Carrie .
It is contained in resin on the back wall of the house .
Executed in 2005 , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen at the back .
The Angola 3 are [ also ] commemorated on the building ...
They were Black Panthers in the sixties .
... Albert Woodfox and Robert King , are still alive .
They visited the house for the first time last year .
You really should read the whole piece and savor all the wonderful photos .
Spring is getting even spring-ier in my neighborhood More flower pix from my recent dog walks : Jim Pepper , a Kaw-Muscogee Native American who grew up in Portland OR , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wonderful human being .
I had the great pleasure of knowing Jim and hearing him perform live many times .
His song “ Witchi tai to ” ( based on a Native American Church peyote song he learned from his grandfather ) is his best-known composition , covered by many other musicians .
It reached number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [ in the recording ] on which Pepper was the lead singer… and is the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the water spirit mentioned in the lyrics is the bringer of spring rains , so aside from the fact that I want to share this song because I love it , I thought it would be an appropriate celebration of spring .
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd .

Welcome!
Gnusies, Gnubies, lurkers, first-time visitors, anyone and everyone – come join us in our staunch community of heart-centered activists, where we share the news that doesn’t bleed or lead or generate clicks. But before I get started, I need to post a note from the management:
THIS IS A PIE-FREE ZONE!
Thank you.
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A personal note
Aside from the fact that we who gather at this little online oasis like to keep each other apprised of any significant life changes we may be experiencing, I think that this personal story is a good example of how bad news can turn out to be not as bad as we fear.
After a routine mammogram in December and a needle biopsy in January, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s the bad news. The good news that soon emerged is that the tumor was very small (under 1 cm.), that it was Stage 1, and that oncotyping classified it as non-aggressive, which means that the totality of my treatment will consist of a lumpectomy (already done and healing nicely), a brief course of radiation, and the need to take an estrogen-blocking drug for the next 5-10 years (the cancer, for those of you who speak this lingo, is ER positive, PR negative, and HER2 negative). No chemo!!
Another piece of good news, for which I’m most humbly grateful, is that I have exceptionally good medical coverage. (Yay, Medicare!) Example: my needle biopsy was on a Wednesday, I got the diagnosis the next day, and the following Tuesday morning (six days later) I was sitting down with all three members of my cancer team – surgeon, radiation oncologist, and medical oncologist – each of whom spent about 45 minutes with me. As I said, humble gratitude is the only appropriate response to this – along with my heartfelt wish that every American could have this level of care and my renewed commitment to fighting like hell to elect Dems up and down the ballot who will make that happen.
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Good political news (not candidate-specific!)
Bloomberg, as he promised, is now putting his obscene fortune to good use.
Bloomberg donates $2M to group looking to turn out black voters
From The Hill:
Former 2020 Democratic contender Michael Bloomberg gave $2 million to a nonprofit working to register black voters ahead of November's general election. The donation was made to Collective Future, which is the nonprofit arm of the Collective, a political action committee dedicated to supporting black candidates nationwide. The group is working to register 500,000 black voters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. The money will be put toward hiring field organizers "through partnerships with state-based and local Black-led grassroots organizations," in addition to recruiting and training black churches, civic organizations and students of historically black colleges and universities interested in becoming partners and volunteers.
And Bloomberg has also begun releasing anti-tRump ads, which as we know from how often his campaign ads ran, will be broadcast ad nauseam between now and November (but in this case, nausea – against tRump – is what we hope to provoke):
x YouTube Video
The next news story has already appeared in various iterations in Good News diaries and comments, but it can’t be emphasized enough, especially to anyone who believes the Dems don’t have a chance in November:
Democratic turnout surges on Super Tuesday
From The Hill (bolding mine):
Democratic voter turnout surged on Super Tuesday, exceeding 2016 levels in at least a dozen states and setting an all-time record in one of them. In Virginia, the fourth most delegate-rich state to hold a primary Tuesday, more than 1.3 million voters cast ballots — a nearly 70 percent increase over 2016, when about 783,000 voted in the Democratic presidential primary. That surpasses a previous record set in 2008, when just under 1 million voters turned out.
In North Carolina, turnout was up by about 17 percent over 2016 levels. And in Texas, at least 45 percent more voters went to the polls on Tuesday than showed up four years ago, according to an analysis of vote returns. Turnout also skyrocketed in contests in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Utah, though those states switched from caucuses to primaries this year, making it difficult to compare Tuesday’s turnout to that of past election years.
DKos’s resident super-hero in a bathrobe, ShowerCap, came out with another diary Monday (one of his best, I think), and he noted how effectively the Gross Obnoxious Panderers undercut themselves when they try to “pwn” us:
Chief Thuglomat Mike Pompeo, who surely has a light schedule these days in his job as (squints) Secretary of State during an international pandemic, found time to share a jaunty little troll post on social media, poking fun at Elizabeth Warren’s famous “pinky swear” phenomenon, after she officially pulled out of the presidential primary. I get that “triggering th’libs” is pretty much all Republicans live for these days, but do they really not understand that what they’re “triggering” us into doing is donating, organizing, and ultimately, voting? It wasn’t so long ago they triggered themselves right out of their House majority, and if they’re so determined to refuse to learn this rather obvious lesson, well, I’m not in any hurry to hire ‘em a tutor, y’know?
So, again, tune out the Gloomy Guses and Debby Downers. We are fired up and ready to take our country back!
On that note, and in a hat tip to our dear Wolvie (who is taking a much-needed break), here’s OUR flag:
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
And while I’m tipping a hat to Wolvie, I’d like to give a hug to {{{{{karij}}}}} who is dealing with the aftermath of a horrific act of domestic violence that resulted in the death of her son’s ex-wife (the mother of karij’s grandson). Please hold her in your hearts.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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Good news from around the world
Agave Power: How a Revolutionary Agroforestry and Grazing System in Mexico Can Help Reverse Global Warming
From Regeneration International:
Agave plants (the best known of which are blue agave, used to produce tequila), along with nitrogen-fixing, companion trees such as mesquite, huizache, desert ironwood, wattle, and varieties of acacia that readily grow alongside agave, are among the most common, prolific, and yet routinely denigrated or ignored plants in the world. ✂ Agave plants and nitrogen-fixing trees densely intercropped and cultivated together have the capacity to draw down massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and produce more above ground and below ground biomass (and animal fodder) on a continuous year-to-year basis than any other desert and semi-desert species. Ideal for arid and hot climates, agaves and their companion trees, once established, require little or no irrigation to survive and thrive, and are basically impervious to rising global temperatures and drought. Agaves alone can draw down and store above ground the dry weight equivalent of 30-60 tons of CO2 per hectare (12-24 tons per acre) per year. One hectare equals 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres. Now, a new, agave-based agroforestry and livestock feeding model developed in Guanajuato, Mexico promises to revitalize campesino/small farmer livestock production while storing massive amounts of atmospheric carbon above and below ground. Scaled up on millions of currently degraded and overgrazed rangelands, these agave/agroforestry systems have the potential to not only improve soil and pasture health, but to help mitigate and potentially reverse global warming.
The ‘London Patient’
From the NY Times:
In March 2019, doctors in London announced that they had cured a person of H.I.V. — only the second ever to have been freed of the virus. After much deliberation, the “London patient,” as he has become known, told The New York Times that he wanted to reveal his identity and to tell his story. “This is a unique position to be in, a unique and very humbling position,” he said. “I want to be an ambassador of hope.” His name is Adam Castillejo, age 40. Born in Venezuela, he has lived in London for nearly 20 years. The announcement of Mr. Castillejo’s cure last year electrified the scientific community and energized the pursuit of strategies for curing H.I.V. ✂ Mr. Castillejo was found to have H.I.V. in 2003, when he was just 23. … But as powerful antiretroviral drugs became available, he was able to keep his H.I.V. suppressed to undetectable levels and to live a healthy life, until 2011, when tests revealed he had cancer: Stage 4 lymphoma. On May 13, 2016, Mr. Castillejo received a bone-marrow transplant to cure his cancer. The main goal of the transplant was to replace his immune system and clear the cancer. But the donor also carried a mutation that impedes the entry of H.I.V. into cells, so the new immune system was resistant to H.I.V., and cleared his body of the virus as well. ✂ “I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, you’ve been chosen,’” he said. “No, it just happened. I was in the right place, probably at the right time, when it happened.”
Future Crunch: “Good news you probably didn’t hear about”
This section of Future Crunch’s monthly newsletter is one of my favorite sources of good international news. And I love that they always provide links if you want to read more:
Following years of pressure from activists, Canadian company Teck Resources is pulling out of planned operations in the oil sands. NYT Following years of pressure from activists, Norwegian company Equinor is pulling out of planned exploration in the Great Australian Bight. SBS India says it will stop importing thermal coal in the next four years (no doubt Adani will never bow to years of pressure from activists). Economic Times A landmark ruling by India’s Supreme Court means that women will now be granted the same rights as men in all the country’s armed forces. CNN Colombia says it will allow hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants to legalise their presence in the country through work permits. Reuters Between 1990 and 2017, the age-adjusted global death rate for cancer fell by 15%, mostly as a result of the worldwide decline in smoking. OWiD Singapore has announced a ban on internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040, the first Southeast Asian country to do so. Next Web China has implemented a complete and permanent ban on the eating, hunting, trading and transportation of all wild animals. SCMP Blue whale populations are bouncing back. Observers have recorded ‘unprecedented’ numbers in the waters around South Georgia. Independent
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Good news from around the nation
Medicare For All Would Create Lots Of Jobs And Increase Wages
From Wonkette:
...people are still probably more nervous about the idea of single-payer Medicare for All [than they are about COVID-19] , largely because of the way people who are opposed to it for reasons have spent a lot of time and effort making sure people are very nervous about it. One of the things that's been brought up a lot is the idea that all of these people currently working in the insurance industry, on billing for doctors offices, will lose their jobs. And that's fair! It's something we should all be concerned about... But another thing to consider is a new study published Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank that analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals, which says that Medicare for All would help create a lot of jobs, increase wages for many, many Americans, and lead to a better functioning labor market in general. According to the EPI, Medicare for All would: - Boost wages and salaries by allowing employers to redirect money they are spending on health care costs to their workers' wages.
- Increase job quality by ensuring that every job now comes bundled with a guarantee of health care—with the boost to job quality even greater among women workers, who are less likely to have employer-sponsored health care.
- Lessen the stress and economic shock of losing a job or moving between jobs by eliminating the loss of health care that now accompanies job losses and transitions.
- Support self-employment and small business development—which is currently super low in the U.S. relative to other rich countries—by eliminating the daunting loss of/cost of health care from startup costs.
- Inject new dynamism and adaptability into the overall economy by reducing "job lock"—with workers going where their skills and preferences best fit the job, not just to workplaces (usually large ones) that have affordable health plans.
- Produce a net increase in jobs as public spending boosts aggregate demand, with job losses in health insurance and billing administration being outweighed by job gains in provision of health care, including the expansion of long-term care.
House passes bill to allow VA to fund service dogs for veterans with PTSD
From Stripes:
House lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that would lay the groundwork for the Department of Veterans Affairs to start funding service dog programs and connect veterans with canines that could be critical for their mental health care. The Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act authored by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, would kick-off a pilot program to issue federal grants to nonprofits that provide service dogs to veterans suffering from mental health issues, and require the VA to assess the effectiveness of dog therapy. “Our veterans fought for our freedom, and I’ve heard from many veterans who say that’s exactly what their service dog gives them – freedom. They’re free to go to restaurants, to fly on planes, to go to the movies, things that post-traumatic stress [disorder] had made impossible,” Stivers said.
This bill hasn’t yet been scheduled for a Senate vote (surprise! /s), so a call to your senators might be a good idea. You can make the point that this is an entirely non-partisan issue.
It’s always cheering to see karma at work:
Index card found in sunken ship helps implicate former Nazi concentration camp guard living in Tennessee
From CBS News:
The U.S. government said Thursday that it is deporting a 94-year-old German ex-Nazi who has been in the United States for decades after information was found in a sunken ship, implicating him as a concentration camp guard. An immigration judge ordered Friedrich Karl Berger's deportation on Feb. 28 after a two-day trial in Memphis, authorities said. The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department traced Berger's Nazi service to an index card that was found in a sunken ship years after it was mistakenly bombed by the British Royal Air Force in May 1945. The card apparently documented Berger's work at the Neuengamme concentration camp system. "What are the odds, you know, of that card having survived . . . and making it to us decades later?" Justice Department prosecutor Eli Rosenbaum told the newspaper.
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Good news from Oregon
In the midst of more absolutely infuriating fuckery by the Grotesque Obstructionist Pinheads in Oregon’s House and Senate – i.e., another walkout denying the legislature a quorum and thereby blocking the passage of a cap-and-trade bill – there are some rays of light. Wish us luck, because the next step will no doubt be a slew of suits by the litigious Rethugs.
Oregon Emergency Board Approves Millions for Coronavirus Response, Climate Action
From KDRV:
Following a short legislative session that fell flat amid the acrimony over a bill aimed at capping carbon emissions, funding for a few budget measures that would have otherwise died with the untimely end of the session has been approved by the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board. Alongside those unfinished funding measures comes $5 million for the state's response to COVID-19, now an official emergency following an announcement this weekend, and another $5 million that will likely form the foundation of Governor Kate Brown's executive action on carbon emissions. ✂ When the legislative session ended without a compromise between Democrats and Republicans on cap-and-trade, Governor Brown said that she would make good on a promise to deliver climate change solutions through executive action if a legislative route did not succeed. “I have always been clear that a legislative solution was my preferred path to tackle the impacts of climate change for the resources it would bring to our rural communities and the flexibility it would provide for our businesses," Brown said last week. "However, I will not back down. In the coming days, I will be taking executive action to lower our greenhouse gas emissions." On Monday the Oregonian/OregonLive reported that DEQ director Richard Whitman said Brown's executive order would be coming "very soon."
Update:
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
Closing a loop on a pledge she made last year, Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order Tuesday that aims to sharply curb greenhouse gas emissions with a full-court press by government agencies. The 14-page order comes less than a week after a Republican walkout killed Senate Bill 1530, Democrats’ signature proposal for a cap-and-trade system in Oregon. It contains ambitions that are at once equal to and much broader than that bill. “The executive branch has a responsibility to the electorate, and a scientific, economic, and moral imperative to reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions,” the order says, “and to reduce the worst risks of climate change and ocean acidification for future generations.”
Click the link for a full run-down of all the changes this executive order will mandate.
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Good news from Portland
Portland firm leading a revolution in women's health care
From the Portland Tribune:
Fahti Khosrow never planned on becoming an entrepreneur. But now, she and her company, Portland-based CEEK Women's Health, are poised to deliver to the market a new product expected to change the way women receive health care. The women's health care market has been largely ignored when it comes to innovation. Until Khosrow's company decided to redesign the vaginal speculum, for example, the instrument had been mostly unchanged since it was invented — by a man — 150 years ago. The sector is now gaining new attention, however, for several reasons. For one, the medical industry has discovered that gender is a biological variable for a range of medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and depression.
In addition, women increasingly are looking to take a more active role in managing their health care, even as they begin to become more willing to talk openly about female-related health conditions such as menopause.
A lot of people who live in Vancouver WA work in Portland, and the commute between the two cities is brutal. So a ferry connecting them would be a great community benefit. (And I love the idea of a ferry station in Sellwood, which is my neighborhood!)
Portland passenger ferry leader says idea is ‘getting closer to a reality,’ eyes 2023 launch
From the Oregonian:
The organizers, financial supporters and volunteers hoping to bring passenger ferries to the Portland area said Tuesday they are making progress and still hope to launch the commuter transit service in spring 2023. Susan Bladholm, founder of the nonprofit Friends of Frog Ferry group, said she also believes there’s still time to include public dollars for the ferry proposal in the Metro regional government’s $7 billion transportation package expected to appear on the ballot in November. ✂ The ferry idea calls for a roughly 100- to 149-person vessel that would transport passengers from Vancouver to downtown Portland. That trip would take roughly 38 minutes, with a shorter commute on the way back to Washington, given that the Willamette River flows north. Bladholm envisions a “scalable” approach that would potentially add up to 9 stations along the route, with stops in St. Johns, Sellwood, and potentially suburban points to the south like Milwaukie, Lake Oswego and Oregon City.
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Good news for and about animals
Stella McCartney goes wild to drive home animal-free message
From The Guardian:
The singer Janelle Monáe and actor Shailene Woodley were in the front row, but two rabbits, a fox, a horse, two cows and a crocodile stole the show. People in lifesize animal costumes, of the kind more usually seen at theme park parades than at Paris fashion week, joined models for the finale of Stella McCartney’s show, swinging their new-season handbags and posing for the cameras. The optics were fun, but the message was serious – that there are animals on almost every catwalk, it’s just that they are usually dead. The half-moon shoulder bag carried jauntily by a brown cow here was made from a vegan alternative to leather, while other bags were created from second-life plastic. “What we try to do here at Stella is to sugarcoat a powerful, meaningful message in a little bit of humour and fun, to make our point in a palatable and digestible way so that people listen,” said McCartney. “These animals are the ingredients of everyone else’s fashion shows. We are the only luxury fashion house in the world that isn’t killing animals on the runway. I wanted to make that point, but in a joyous way.”
Can Disease-Sniffing Dogs Save the World’s Citrus?
From Smithsonian Magazine:
...huanglongbing, or citrus greening, [is] a devastating and wildly infectious bacterial infection that slashed the United States’ orange juice yields by more than 70 percent in the span of a decade. ✂ Once they’ve begun to sport splotchy foliage and stunted fruit, trees can be diagnosed with a single glance. A symptomatic plant, Gottwald says, is a diseased one. Unfortunately, the converse isn’t true: Infected trees can appear normal for months, sometimes years, before visibly deteriorating, leaving researchers with few reliable ways to suss out sick citrus early on—and giving the deadly bacteria ample opportunity to spread unnoticed. Now, [plant pathologist Tim] Gottwald and his colleagues may have a creative new strategy to fill this diagnostic gap—one that relies not on vision, but smell. They’ve taught dogs to recognize the telltale scent of a huanglongbing infection—an odor that eludes the attention of humans, but consistently tickles the super-sensitive schnozz of a mutt. Once trained up, canines can nose out the disease within weeks of infection, trouncing all other available detection methods in both timing and accuracy, the researchers report today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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A truly astounding video
x YouTube Video
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“I’m an artist, your rules don’t apply”
Activism in art is very inspiring to me, so I especially love this story. Of course, I also love the how wonderful this house looks covered with bright mosaic tiles, but Reichardt’s thirst for justice makes it even better.
Secrets of Carrie Reichardt’s Mosaic House in Chiswick
From Inspiring City:
As unique pieces of art goes, you are unlikely to find a more remarkable piece of public art in the city. The place is covered in head to toe, front and back with bright mosaic. Each section tells a story and it’s different phases have featured different players, influences and artists. along the 20 years journey each of whom have helped contribute in some way. ✂ As a campaigning artist Carrie Reichardt has long championed the cause of death row inmates in America. … Luis Ramirez was the first death row prisoner that Carrie got to know and they become friends. Somehow Luis managed to post his prisoner ID card to Carrie. It is contained in resin on the back wall of the house. Executed in 2005, a mosaic tribute to him can also be seen at the back. ✂ The Angola 3 are [also] commemorated on the building...They were Black Panthers in the sixties. ...Albert Woodfox and Robert King, are still alive. They visited the house for the first time last year.
You really should read the whole piece and savor all the wonderful photos.
* * * * *
Spring is getting even spring-ier in my neighborhood
More flower pix from my recent dog walks:
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Closing music
Jim Pepper, a Kaw-Muscogee Native American who grew up in Portland OR, was a massively talented Jazz musician and a wonderful human being. I had the great pleasure of knowing Jim and hearing him perform live many times. His song “Witchi tai to” (based on a Native American Church peyote song he learned from his grandfather) is his best-known composition, covered by many other musicians. It reached number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [in the recording] on which Pepper was the lead singer… and is the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop charts.
I’ve read that the water spirit mentioned in the lyrics is the bringer of spring rains, so aside from the fact that I want to share this song because I love it, I thought it would be an appropriate celebration of spring.
x YouTube Video
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts, your hearts, and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd.
❤💙 RESIST, PERSIST, REBUILD, REJOICE!💙❤


dailykos--2020-03-13--It Is Time For Women To Lead Us.

It Is Time For Women To Lead Us.

For at least 10,000 years or so virtually every political system , economic system and religion have been designed by men for men .
There is no natural or divine law that requires any of these structures to be designed in the way that they have been .
During those same 10,000 years , every justification of those structures has been developed by men to benefit men .
That rigging of the game in favor of men and their particular needs and worldview has disadvantaged women throughout time and still does so today .
Women are not lesser men .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are physically and emotionally hard-wired to be simply smaller men without penises whose bad luck it is to be designated that half of the population to be able to bear the future generations of the species and thus assure its survival .
The fact of the matter is that because their critical role in species survival required them to spend so much time throughout their generally short lives in the all too often deadly activity of childbearing , the game has always been rigged against them .
After all , the women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of procreation , giving birth and raising their offspring to engage in such activities on beating up their neighbor or constructing governments and institutions to do the same thing , or for that matter writing about how good that may be .
Men , on the other hand , usually had a lot of time on their hands , needing only to spend a few minutes to deposit their seed and otherwise hang around the entrance to the cave to intercept the occasional predator .
By the way , how many men did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entrance , anyway ?
I suspect that since they were so underemployed , the men spent a lot of the time thinking about how to kill one another and keep all the women for themselves .
Eventually , they wrote books about it .
Almost all institutions of significance in society have been designed by men to benefit men in order to glorify their designated evolutionary function .
Governmental , financial and religious systems were developed to enhance the male role in species procreation .
Had those systems been designed differently because that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not required today , would we have seen different results ?

For at least 10,000 years or so virtually every political system, economic system and religion have been designed by men for men. There is no natural or divine law that requires any of these structures to be designed in the way that they have been. During those same 10,000 years, every justification of those structures has been developed by men to benefit men.
That rigging of the game in favor of men and their particular needs and worldview has disadvantaged women throughout time and still does so today.
Women are not lesser men. There is no reason to believe that they are physically and emotionally hard-wired to be simply smaller men without penises whose bad luck it is to be designated that half of the population to be able to bear the future generations of the species and thus assure its survival. The fact of the matter is that because their critical role in species survival required them to spend so much time throughout their generally short lives in the all too often deadly activity of childbearing, the game has always been rigged against them. After all, the women were too busy doing the hard work of procreation, giving birth and raising their offspring to engage in such activities on beating up their neighbor or constructing governments and institutions to do the same thing, or for that matter writing about how good that may be. Men, on the other hand, usually had a lot of time on their hands, needing only to spend a few minutes to deposit their seed and otherwise hang around the entrance to the cave to intercept the occasional predator. By the way, how many men did it really take to guard the cave entrance, anyway? I suspect that since they were so underemployed, the men spent a lot of the time thinking about how to kill one another and keep all the women for themselves. Eventually, they wrote books about it.
Almost all institutions of significance in society have been designed by men to benefit men in order to glorify their designated evolutionary function. Governmental, financial and religious systems were developed to enhance the male role in species procreation. Had those systems been designed differently because that function was not needed, as it is not required today, would we have seen different results?
( https://trenzpruca.wordpress.com/category/men-and-women/)


dailykos--2020-03-13--So I have a few serious questions..............

Been lurking a lot lately as I really detest what goes on during a democratic primary in these parts .
We about done yet ?
I lost my picks 1 to 3 to the process .
I can ’ t feel the Burn the way I used to and Joementum seems to be building .
Anyone , Anyone at all willing to pout at home over their candidate losing out and not voting is a bigger traitor than McConnell and Trump .
Anyone blue will have to do and that is that .
We do this or the nation dies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t see it that way you are no better than any maga maggot tryin ’ to “ Own them libturds ” while jerking off to pornhub in his mother ’ s basement .
Make a choice and chose carefully .
I ’ m not fucking kidding either .
The GOP and it ’ s crew of degenerate fluffers at Fox proved with out a shadow of a doubt that they are brain numbingly stupid , grossly incompetent , malignantly greedy , and ready to watch it all burn so long as they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flames of the wreckage of what was a democracy .
The question is whether or not we let them off without consequences .
Nixon part 2 while still leaving a rotten core in office .
You okay with that cause I am never going to be .
Prosecute the lot of them .
Every .
last .
one .
of .
them .
I don ’ t care if it takes decades .
Democracy or a Banana Republic , if we ’ re ” lucky ” .
Chose .
I am not going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winner .
I want “ heads on pikes ” .
This is what the GOP understands .
Political death .
Prison terms .
No pardons .
Full on Weinstein 23 years in prison type of sentences .
We are so far past due on really fixing the failed reconstruction after the civil war that now is the time and this is the place where all the racist fascist scum have bubbled up from hiding so let ’ s clean it up already .
Do you really want to do this again in 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chose .
Let ’ s be real honest here .
It ’ s time to put “ FOX News ” to death .
You can keep it running if you want but you ’ re going to have rename it .
FOX FAKE NEWS or FOX Propagandads or Teeth , Tits , Legs , and Brain washing .
And yes Hannity you should be prosecuted for your “ opinion ” that the Corvid19 is a “ hoax ” .
But that ’ s just the latest shit you russian bot .
Past time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see just where it is coming from .
That ’ s just openers mind you .
So do you want a free press and freedom of speech or do you want to be spoon fed shit soup sprinkled with toxic radioactive waste ?
Chose .
All of the above only comes about through one thing .
Being team blue .
No reservations .
No quibbles .
Unity of purpose .
Winning in 2020 everyfuckingwhere we can and we can do far more winning than Trump and his criminal cabal and Moscow backing can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people instead of fucking sheep .
It ’ s past time to start dragging these brain warped maga hatted turd gobblers kicking and screaming into the future .
They don ’ t have to like it .
And they can do it in a cell if they get stupid about it .
Mentally challenged owned by foreign interests failed fuck ups or real leadership ?
Chose .
Win and then follow through and if the GOP doesn ’ t like it too fucking bad .
That will cement solid team blue majorities for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done and follow through and do the last part with integrity .
That extends those years further faster and we can restart another American century .
It won ’ t be easy , but good things never are .
If it was easy everyone would do it and have it .
Chose .
So if that means I have to vote for Joe so be it .
If Bernie wins the primary then it ’ s Bernie .
We can and will sort out the rest of it after we win .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front and center in your head .
All that other shit is a distraction .
It ’ s like making rabbit stew .
First you catch the rabbit .
The rest is following the directions .
Have clarity of purpose .
It is far too easy to get distracted by petty shitty little things .
So in the interest of keeping yourself focused on the objective here are a few tools to use Remember people that team blue is an ongoing process and we need to develop our talent at state and local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we develop great potential leaders of the nation .
Obama was what again before he became a U.S .
Senator and before he was president ?
So unite .
Or lose our democracy .
It really is that simple .

Been lurking a lot lately as I really detest what goes on during a democratic primary in these parts. We about done yet? I lost my picks 1 to 3 to the process. I can’t feel the Burn the way I used to and Joementum seems to be building. Anyone, Anyone at all willing to pout at home over their candidate losing out and not voting is a bigger traitor than McConnell and Trump. Anyone blue will have to do and that is that. We do this or the nation dies. That simple. You can’t see it that way you are no better than any maga maggot tryin’ to “Own them libturds” while jerking off to pornhub in his mother’s basement. Make a choice and chose carefully.
I’m not fucking kidding either. The GOP and it’s crew of degenerate fluffers at Fox proved with out a shadow of a doubt that they are brain numbingly stupid, grossly incompetent, malignantly greedy, and ready to watch it all burn so long as they can roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the flames of the wreckage of what was a democracy. The question is whether or not we let them off without consequences. Nixon part 2 while still leaving a rotten core in office. You okay with that cause I am never going to be. Prosecute the lot of them. Every. last. one. of. them. I don’t care if it takes decades. Democracy or a Banana Republic, if we’re”lucky”. Chose.
I am not going to play nice and be a gracious winner. I want “heads on pikes”. This is what the GOP understands. Political death. Prison terms. No pardons. Full on Weinstein 23 years in prison type of sentences. We are so far past due on really fixing the failed reconstruction after the civil war that now is the time and this is the place where all the racist fascist scum have bubbled up from hiding so let’s clean it up already. Do you really want to do this again in 30 years or so? Me neither. Chose.
Let’s be real honest here. It’s time to put “FOX News” to death. You can keep it running if you want but you’re going to have rename it. FOX FAKE NEWS or FOX Propagandads or Teeth, Tits, Legs, and Brain washing. And yes Hannity you should be prosecuted for your “opinion” that the Corvid19 is a “hoax”. But that’s just the latest shit you russian bot. Past time to follow Hannity’s money and see just where it is coming from. That’s just openers mind you. So do you want a free press and freedom of speech or do you want to be spoon fed shit soup sprinkled with toxic radioactive waste? Chose.
All of the above only comes about through one thing. Being team blue. No reservations. No quibbles. Unity of purpose. Winning in 2020 everyfuckingwhere we can and we can do far more winning than Trump and his criminal cabal and Moscow backing can ever hope to stop. We the people instead of fucking sheep. It’s past time to start dragging these brain warped maga hatted turd gobblers kicking and screaming into the future. They don’t have to like it. And they can do it in a cell if they get stupid about it. Mentally challenged owned by foreign interests failed fuck ups or real leadership? Chose.
Win and then follow through and if the GOP doesn’t like it too fucking bad. That will cement solid team blue majorities for the next 15 years. Get it done and follow through and do the last part with integrity. That extends those years further faster and we can restart another American century. It won’t be easy, but good things never are. If it was easy everyone would do it and have it. Chose.
So if that means I have to vote for Joe so be it. If Bernie wins the primary then it’s Bernie. We can and will sort out the rest of it after we win. And we must win. Get that thought front and center in your head. All that other shit is a distraction. It’s like making rabbit stew. First you catch the rabbit. The rest is following the directions. Have clarity of purpose. It is far too easy to get distracted by petty shitty little things. So in the interest of keeping yourself focused on the objective here are a few tools to use
1. KISS. Keep it simple stupid.
2. PIAO. Plan. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
3. 7 P’s. Previous Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
4. KATN. Kick Ass Take Names.
Remember people that team blue is an ongoing process and we need to develop our talent at state and local levels. That is after all how we develop great potential leaders of the nation. Obama was what again before he became a U.S. Senator and before he was president? So unite. Or lose our democracy. It really is that simple.


dailykos--2020-03-12--If You Think of it as a War Against COVID-19, Trump Leaves Us Without Our Greatest Weapon

In almost every conflict between opposing sides , the greatest weapon you can have is information .
Whoever is better at controlling information often comes out the victor .
This is the case on the battlefield , in a boardroom , and even in the operating room .
If you have the right information , and you have a good understanding on how to best use that information to your advantage , you can win even against overwhelming odds .
If you apply this concept to today ’ s threat of COVID-19 , having the right information is essential .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better understanding of where the hotspots likely are , and where to focus our efforts at quarantine .
With enough disease research directed at the virus , we would have a better understanding of how infectious it is , how lethal it is , and how to get better at detecting it .
With a full understanding of our frontline medical response , we would better know which areas will likely need reinforcements in the form of more healthcare providers , respiratory equipment and other vital resources .
But we are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not get COVID-19 testing to the extent that other countries have so far been able to manage .
We are not providing our hospitals with the resources they need to tackle this problem effectively .
We are unable to get anything close to a full understanding of the current COVID-19 situation in this country .
And a great deal of this Fog of War over our knowledge of COVID-19 in this country can be directly attributed to Donald Trump .
Because of Trump , we know neither our enemy ’ s weaknesses , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s efforts at dismantling and defunding the Affordable Care Act , and defunding our institutions like the CDC and the NIH , we lost valuable time and resources in responding to the virus more aggressively at an earlier stage .
And we can plainly see the results of this , with the drastic measures that have been taken pretty much across the board .
As I mentioned in a previous post , like a used car salesman telling you to skip the affordable oil changes , Trump ’ s approach to handling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and weaken relatively affordable preventative measures , and in doing so , force us to have to deal with it as a much bigger , much more expensive problem .
The extreme measures that officials all around the country are taking to stem the spread of COVID-19 may prove to be decisive in preventing widespread illness and death .
But it needs to be pointed out that if Trump had mounted a better response to COVID-19 in the first place , and not botched the response at nearly every step , a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life and to our economy could have been a avoided entirely .
Yes , the USA would still likely have been affected by this disease that is now globally a pandemic , but if we had properly prepared ourselves , gathered the right information and used it effectively , we would likely be far better off than we are now .
If we were about to go to war with another country , no 21st-Century US general would advise it without first having a large-scale , fully-capable information-gathering network in place , giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adversary and its capabilities .
Not without expecting massive casualties and loss of human life .
But with our current Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump , he is expecting us to do exactly that .

In almost every conflict between opposing sides, the greatest weapon you can have is information. Whoever is better at controlling information often comes out the victor. This is the case on the battlefield, in a boardroom, and even in the operating room. If you have the right information, and you have a good understanding on how to best use that information to your advantage, you can win even against overwhelming odds.
If you apply this concept to today’s threat of COVID-19, having the right information is essential. With widespread testing, we would have a better understanding of where the hotspots likely are, and where to focus our efforts at quarantine. With enough disease research directed at the virus, we would have a better understanding of how infectious it is, how lethal it is, and how to get better at detecting it. With a full understanding of our frontline medical response, we would better know which areas will likely need reinforcements in the form of more healthcare providers, respiratory equipment and other vital resources.
But we are not seeing any of this. We cannot get COVID-19 testing to the extent that other countries have so far been able to manage. We are not providing our hospitals with the resources they need to tackle this problem effectively. We are unable to get anything close to a full understanding of the current COVID-19 situation in this country.
And a great deal of this Fog of War over our knowledge of COVID-19 in this country can be directly attributed to Donald Trump.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Because of Trump, we know neither our enemy’s weaknesses, nor our own. Because of Trump’s efforts at dismantling and defunding the Affordable Care Act, and defunding our institutions like the CDC and the NIH, we lost valuable time and resources in responding to the virus more aggressively at an earlier stage. And we can plainly see the results of this, with the drastic measures that have been taken pretty much across the board. As I mentioned in a previous post, like a used car salesman telling you to skip the affordable oil changes, Trump’s approach to handling the COVID-19 threat has been to cut and weaken relatively affordable preventative measures, and in doing so, force us to have to deal with it as a much bigger, much more expensive problem.
The extreme measures that officials all around the country are taking to stem the spread of COVID-19 may prove to be decisive in preventing widespread illness and death. But it needs to be pointed out that if Trump had mounted a better response to COVID-19 in the first place, and not botched the response at nearly every step, a lot of the most extreme disruptions to normal life and to our economy could have been a avoided entirely. Yes, the USA would still likely have been affected by this disease that is now globally a pandemic, but if we had properly prepared ourselves, gathered the right information and used it effectively, we would likely be far better off than we are now.
If we were about to go to war with another country, no 21st-Century US general would advise it without first having a large-scale, fully-capable information-gathering network in place, giving us the most accurate assessment of our adversary and its capabilities. Not without expecting massive casualties and loss of human life.
But with our current Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump, he is expecting us to do exactly that.


dailykos--2020-03-13--Coronavirus: This is a time for leaders to step forward

The House ’ s Families First Coronavirus Response Act begins addressing the COVID-19 pandemic .
As in every situation demanding leadership ’ s decisive actions , getting the big plan right is step number one .
The House of Representatives are taking the lead with a good first strategy based on sound policy .
The next step is getting society prepared at the individual level .
This high-low leadership strategy is central to properly addressing emergency situations .
Here are some additional initiatives I suggest .
I am calling for three distinct policies , aimed at healthcare , material aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus spreads and more Americans require care , our first concern should be ensuring access to emergency care for only those who need it .
I urge Iowans to stay connected with country health professionals who will give detailed guidance on how COVID patients remain separated from non-pandemic patients .
Additionally , family members , health care professionals , and every teenager on up should know basic care for patients who are not in need of critical care .
Segregating patients for quarantine purposes is essential to curbing this outbreak .
Three further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to have provisions which address this pandemic in Iowa ’ s most rural areas .
Next , we need to take extra caution to provide appropriate care to the elderly and the immuno-compromised .
And lastly , transparency and truthfulness will help in quelling unwelcomed hysteria .
My experience is that people handle the truth very well and can then mitigate unhelpful tendencies in society .
The long view is important .
Leadership must ensure food stocks and essential services have “ continuity of mission , ” as we say in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as separating shift workers , providing sustenance during recovery stages , and working all aspects of preserving basic needs .
Using already existing FEMA infrastructure , federal coordinators can partner with county governments to provide essential services .
Finally , we can not forget about those who rely on food banks and homeless shelters for their daily bread .
Local governments can not forget about their most vulnerable citizens .
Our final priority must be to ensure that sick workers can continue to pay the bills .
A coronavirus diagnosis can not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and follow on legislation that will assist in a rapid recovery when this pandemic diminishes and provide economic aid to patients and their families .

The House’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act begins addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. As in every situation demanding leadership’s decisive actions, getting the big plan right is step number one. The House of Representatives are taking the lead with a good first strategy based on sound policy. The next step is getting society prepared at the individual level. This high-low leadership strategy is central to properly addressing emergency situations. Here are some additional initiatives I suggest.
I am calling for three distinct policies, aimed at healthcare, material aid, and economic assistance.
Healthcare
As the virus spreads and more Americans require care, our first concern should be ensuring access to emergency care for only those who need it. I urge Iowans to stay connected with country health professionals who will give detailed guidance on how COVID patients remain separated from non-pandemic patients. Additionally, family members, health care professionals, and every teenager on up should know basic care for patients who are not in need of critical care. Segregating patients for quarantine purposes is essential to curbing this outbreak.
Three further points are germane. First, we need to have provisions which address this pandemic in Iowa’s most rural areas. Next, we need to take extra caution to provide appropriate care to the elderly and the immuno-compromised. And lastly, transparency and truthfulness will help in quelling unwelcomed hysteria. My experience is that people handle the truth very well and can then mitigate unhelpful tendencies in society.
Emergency Material Services
The long view is important. Leadership must ensure food stocks and essential services have “continuity of mission,” as we say in the military. This includes such varied actions as separating shift workers, providing sustenance during recovery stages, and working all aspects of preserving basic needs. Using already existing FEMA infrastructure, federal coordinators can partner with county governments to provide essential services.
Finally, we cannot forget about those who rely on food banks and homeless shelters for their daily bread. Local governments cannot forget about their most vulnerable citizens.
Economic Aid
Our final priority must be to ensure that sick workers can continue to pay the bills. A coronavirus diagnosis cannot be a ticket to homelessness or poverty. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and follow on legislation that will assist in a rapid recovery when this pandemic diminishes and provide economic aid to patients and their families.
This crisis will demand federal action in partnership with local coordinators. This is not the time when society relies on the free market to satisfy the needs of all. Nor is panic the answer. Congress must act to provide the funding and infrastructure for healthcare needs, emergency provision, and economic aid. Thank you, in advance to all Iowans, for helping this nation to get through this pandemic.