dailykos--2020-07-14--We're Not Messing Around - Good News Roundup, Bluesday July 14th, 2020

On this day , in 1789 , citizens of Paris , stormed the Bastille signalling the end of feudalism in France and the birth of the French Republic .
On this day , in 2020 , the ass in the White House wants to proclaim himself emperor signalling the end of the American Republic1 .
Our republican senators and congressweasels have displayed little or no regard for the institutions of democracy .
They continue to abase themselves at the tiny feet of their orange savior incarnate .
This November we have the opportunity to employ our political guillotine and remove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are modern sans-culottes2 and we will prevail .
Donald tRump ’ s exclusively self-centered priorities and general incompetence have resulted in the deaths of many of our fellow citizens .
Republican office holders have been partners in this slaughter .
Their complicity and , often , active embrace of tRump ’ s unfounded claims , absurd treatments and staggering neglect are unforgivable breaches of the public trust .
DeSantis , Ducey , Abbott , Patrick , Kemp , Ivey , Lee and a long list of their fellow deniers bear culpability .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and depraved indifference .
While the news about the Novembers elections is generally positive , complacency is not an option .
We are up against people that are doing active harm to the country .
The power structure in the country is chock full of lawbreakers , desperate to avoid jail .
They need to be neutralized ( and maybe neutered ) .
We can do this .
We must do this .
WE WILL DO THIS !
Write another postcard .
Join another virtual phone bank .
Inspire and register another neighbor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dragging others along .
1To be fair , he ’ s tried to proclaim himself emperor every day since he could talk .
2Literally , without breeches — In 1789 it was the style of dress typical of the lower classes of Paris .
Today it ’ s a lifestyle choice for those of us sheltering in place .
On to the news , On the Road to Extinction Just remember to keep on stompin ’ right on through November 3rd .
It looks good for democrats right not .
Let ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : What 9 GOP Campaign Consultants Really Think About Republicans ’ Chances in November Shooting rubber bullet grenades at protesting priests .
Catastrophically botching the pandemic response , resulting in a public health and economic calamity .
Tweeting “ white power ” memes .
Ranting in front of empty arenas about how he navigated a “ slippery ramp.
” Being MIA while his Russian benefactors put out a hit on American soldiers in Afghanistan .
I reached out to nine of my former allies and rivals who still consult for Republican candidates at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ races , some who have gone full MAGA and others for whom the president is not their cup of tea .
I asked them to speak candidly , without their names attached , to learn about the real behind-the-scenes conversations about the state of affairs .
How is the president ’ s performance impacting their candidate ?
Are there discussions about either storming the cockpit or gently trying to # WalkAway from Trump ?
And finally , why in the hell aren ’ t they more pissed at this incompetent asshole who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was excreta across the board .
• “ Every shred of evidence points to a likely ass kicking in the fall.
” • “ Well it ’ s as bad as it gets right now.
” • “ Right now most campaigns are thanking baby jesus every day the election isn ’ t held today.
” • “ I ’ ve got Trump down in Texas .
[ Republican Senator Steve ] Daines down in Montana.
” • “ It ’ s certainly better than public polling , but it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high ranking people in the Trump Administration that it hasn ’ t been like this since October of 06 ” – when President Bush ’ s numbers were tanking over fallout from the Iraq War , Katrina , and the Mark Foley scandal .
Mittens Is Still the Only Cricket in the Room I ’ ve fallen asleep several times while waiting for an avalanche of criticism of the Stone commutation from the “ Law & Order ” republican members of the US Senate .
Sleeping while listening to crickets turns out to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a Stone we can hang around their cowardly necks .
The Return of the Lone Ranger Over the weekend , Donald tRump finally wore a mask in public .
His stated reason for not wearing a mask has been because they make him look bad .
Recently he had tried one on and claimed it made him look like the Lone Ranger .
Since he ’ s just a eensy , teensy , tiny bit late to the party , he got a little bit of push back .
I couldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to which of the Late Night Host ’ s routines I liked the best last night , so you all get to share my dilemma .
Worst President Ever Is Bigly Worse , People Are Saying His course of pandemic treatment is to take 18 holes and lie about everything .
Wonkette : President Nine Iron Hard At Work Golfing The COVID-19 Away There is vigorous debate over whether Donald Trump is the single-worst president in US history .
He has serious competition for most corrupt ( wave at the folks reading , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most racist ( the dueling Andrews Jackson and Johnson ) , and most destructive to the nation ( slow cap for James Buchanan ) .
However , historians will likely agree Trump is unrivaled in his shiftless laziness .
He rolls into the office at noon during a pandemic , and he thinks binge-watching FOX News like your average racist retiree is the same as reading his intelligence briefings .
Yeah , Trump is a real meditative fellow .
Golf is clearly the president 's Rocky IV montage training regimen for his big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a racist liar , so he ca n't help lying about how much Barack Obama golfed .
In his diseased mind , Obama is like the Black politicians in Birth of a Nation ( played by white guys in Blackface ) who took off their shoes and aired out their stinky feet while eating fried chicken .
He 's also claimed that Obama just hung out in the dining room watching basketball all day .
However , in reality , Trump has golfed far more than Obama ever did at a similar point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OK because Trump was “ working '' during his piddly ass “ exercise . ''
After 87 years of being a prominent slur , the Washington DC football team is making a change for the better .
We ’ ll be saying goodby to another racist relic in November .
CNN : NFL 's Washington Redskins will change name and logo , team says tRump Is Not Happy with Anthony Fauci I like Andy ’ s take on the attempts by the tRump administration to discredit Dr. Fauci .
New Yorker : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chuck Woolery This is potentially very good news .
I ’ m just trying to imagine the meeting where they were sitting around the lab and someone said why don ’ t we see what happens if we mashup that llama stuff with our stuff ?
Wonkette : ICYMI : Neil Gorsuch Wrote A Really Good Supreme Court Opinion .
Wait , Where Are You Going ?
Wonkette : Trump Wants Nothing To Do With Raggedy-Ass Wall Built With His Supporters ' Money Ringo Starr has been cautioning us against the Boogaloo Bois @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s keep on with Ringo ( he turned 80 last Tuesday ) and Playing for Change This space will be magically filled by WineRev ’ s history comment as soon as I notice that he ’ s made it .
Leaders around the world are telling each other not to trust tRump .
That ’ s exactly what Marla said to Melania .
Donald tRump ’ s real problem with the ramp at West Point is that it sloped downward , just like his approval ratings .
He was reminded of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear .
How many antifa members does it take to change a light bulb ?
— All of them ; one to change the bulb and the rest to give tRump the finger .
The future , the present , and the past walked into a bar .
Things were tense .
tRump ’ s handlers were worried he ’ d fall off a bridge the last time he was in Paris .
They didn ’ t want everyone to see that he was in Seine .
I don ’ t understand why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — you can ’ t defame what you don ’ t have .
Last night the Shade took a look at how limited the republican palette really is : Evening Shade : The Rightwing 's Distorted Rainbow Today , the lads are playing us out with an anthem to persistence .

On this day, in 1789, citizens of Paris, stormed the Bastille signalling the end of feudalism in France and the birth of the French Republic.
On this day, in 2020, the ass in the White House wants to proclaim himself emperor signalling the end of the American Republic1.
Our republican senators and congressweasels have displayed little or no regard for the institutions of democracy. They continue to abase themselves at the tiny feet of their orange savior incarnate.
This November we have the opportunity to employ our political guillotine and remove many of them from office. We are modern sans-culottes2 and we will prevail.
Donald tRump’s exclusively self-centered priorities and general incompetence have resulted in the deaths of many of our fellow citizens. Republican office holders have been partners in this slaughter. Their complicity and, often, active embrace of tRump’s unfounded claims, absurd treatments and staggering neglect are unforgivable breaches of the public trust.
DeSantis, Ducey, Abbott, Patrick, Kemp, Ivey, Lee and a long list of their fellow deniers bear culpability. They are all guilty of gross political misconduct and depraved indifference.
While the news about the Novembers elections is generally positive, complacency is not an option. We are up against people that are doing active harm to the country. The power structure in the country is chock full of lawbreakers, desperate to avoid jail. They need to be neutralized (and maybe neutered).
We can do this.
We must do this.
WE WILL DO THIS!
Write another postcard. Join another virtual phone bank. Inspire and register another neighbor or co-worker. Leverage your commitment by dragging others along.
Sic semper tyrannis
Up the Resistance!
1To be fair, he’s tried to proclaim himself emperor every day since he could talk.
2Literally, without breeches — In 1789 it was the style of dress typical of the lower classes of Paris. Today it’s a lifestyle choice for those of us sheltering in place.
Let’s get the show started.
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On to the news,
Today is glenna mason’s birthday. Happy birthday, glenna!
On the Road to Extinction
Just remember to keep on stompin’ right on through November 3rd. It looks good for democrats right not. Let’s make it look better.
Rolling Stone: What 9 GOP Campaign Consultants Really Think About Republicans’ Chances in November
Shooting rubber bullet grenades at protesting priests. Catastrophically botching the pandemic response, resulting in a public health and economic calamity. Tweeting “white power” memes. Ranting in front of empty arenas about how he navigated a “slippery ramp.” Being MIA while his Russian benefactors put out a hit on American soldiers in Afghanistan. I reached out to nine of my former allies and rivals who still consult for Republican candidates at the highest levels of Senate and House races, some who have gone full MAGA and others for whom the president is not their cup of tea. I asked them to speak candidly, without their names attached, to learn about the real behind-the-scenes conversations about the state of affairs. How is the president’s performance impacting their candidate? Are there discussions about either storming the cockpit or gently trying to #WalkAway from Trump? And finally, why in the hell aren’t they more pissed at this incompetent asshole who is fucking up their lives? The assessment was excreta across the board. “Every shred of evidence points to a likely ass kicking in the fall.”
“Well it’s as bad as it gets right now.”
“Right now most campaigns are thanking baby jesus every day the election isn’t held today.”
“I’ve got Trump down in Texas. [Republican Senator Steve] Daines down in Montana.”
“It’s certainly better than public polling, but it’s not good.”
“I told very high ranking people in the Trump Administration that it hasn’t been like this since October of 06” – when President Bush’s numbers were tanking over fallout from the Iraq War, Katrina, and the Mark Foley scandal.
Mittens Is Still the Only Cricket in the Room
I’ve fallen asleep several times while waiting for an avalanche of criticism of the Stone commutation from the “Law & Order” republican members of the US Senate. Sleeping while listening to crickets turns out to be really easy for me. It’s a Stone we can hang around their cowardly necks.
Mother Jones: Mitt Romney Blasts Trump for Commuting Roger Stone’s Sentence
Utah Senator Mitt Romney once again emerged as the leading anti-Trump voice in the Republican Party, with a Saturday morning statement laying into Donald Trump’s Friday night commutation of his old friend Roger Stone’s prison sentence for his convictions on charges he obstructed investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, even as many of his GOP colleagues remained silent.
The Return of the Lone Ranger
Over the weekend, Donald tRump finally wore a mask in public. His stated reason for not wearing a mask has been because they make him look bad. Recently he had tried one on and claimed it made him look like the Lone Ranger. Since he’s just a eensy, teensy, tiny bit late to the party, he got a little bit of push back.
I couldn’t make up my mind as to which of the Late Night Host’s routines I liked the best last night, so you all get to share my dilemma.
Stephen Colbert, A Late Show [16:03] (mask reaction at 8:20)
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Seth Meyers, A Closer Look [14:29] (mask reaction at 7:20)
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Trevor Noah, The Daily Show [8:53] (mask reaction at 3:35)
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Worst President Ever Is Bigly Worse, People Are Saying
His course of pandemic treatment is to take 18 holes and lie about everything.
Wonkette: President Nine Iron Hard At Work Golfing The COVID-19 Away
There is vigorous debate over whether Donald Trump is the single-worst president in US history. He has serious competition for most corrupt (wave at the folks reading, Warren G. Harding!), most racist (the dueling Andrews Jackson and Johnson), and most destructive to the nation (slow cap for James Buchanan). However, historians will likely agree Trump is unrivaled in his shiftless laziness. He rolls into the office at noon during a pandemic, and he thinks binge-watching FOX News like your average racist retiree is the same as reading his intelligence briefings. ... Yeah, Trump is a real meditative fellow. Golf is clearly the president's Rocky IV montage training regimen for his big rematch with that ramp. Trump is a racist liar, so he can't help lying about how much Barack Obama golfed. In his diseased mind, Obama is like the Black politicians in Birth of a Nation (played by white guys in Blackface) who took off their shoes and aired out their stinky feet while eating fried chicken. He's also claimed that Obama just hung out in the dining room watching basketball all day. However, in reality, Trump has golfed far more than Obama ever did at a similar point in his presidency, but that's OK because Trump was “working" during his piddly ass “exercise."
It’s About Damn Time
After 87 years of being a prominent slur, the Washington DC football team is making a change for the better. We’ll be saying goodby to another racist relic in November.
CNN: NFL's Washington Redskins will change name and logo, team says
(CNN)The National Football League's Washington franchise will change the Redskins name and logo, the team announced Monday. The new name was not revealed. The announcement comes just days after the team said that a "thorough review" of the name would be conducted. The name has long been denounced by Native American groups as an ethnic slur.
tRump Is Not Happy with Anthony Fauci
I like Andy’s take on the attempts by the tRump administration to discredit Dr. Fauci.
New Yorker: The Borowitz Report: Trump Replaces Fauci with Chuck Woolery
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a stunning repudiation of the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, Donald J. Trump has replaced Dr. Anthony Fauci with the veteran game-show host Chuck Woolery. Appearing at the White House with his newest Coronavirus Task Force member, Trump said that he chose Woolery because he has “a much better record of success than Tony.” “Tony Fauci is a nice guy, but he’s been wrong a lot,” Trump said. “Chuck has made thousands of love connections that turned out a hundred-per-cent right.”
Llamas? Freakin’ Llamas?
This is potentially very good news. I’m just trying to imagine the meeting where they were sitting around the lab and someone said why don’t we see what happens if we mashup that llama stuff with our stuff?
GoodNewsNetwork: Potential Drug Candidate Emerges as Llama Antibodies Found to Neutralize COVID-19’s Spike Protein
Two nanobodies—small, stable immune cells similar to various antibodies and derived from llamas—have been found in tests to neutralize COVID-19 by blocking its interaction with the human receptor that it binds to. The nanobodies block the attachment of the COVID-19 spike protein by targeting a region of the protein immediately adjacent to and slightly overlapping with the region of the cell where COVID-19 binds and enters. Both llama nanobodies were shown to neutralize live COVID-19, and showed particularly high potency and increased neutralization potential when combined with a human antibody. The findings were published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology paper.
Other Links
Rolling Stone: Fox News Achieves Peak Gaslighting by Claiming Trump Never Called Mexicans Rapists
Wonkette: ICYMI: Neil Gorsuch Wrote A Really Good Supreme Court Opinion. Wait, Where Are You Going?
Wonkette: Trump Wants Nothing To Do With Raggedy-Ass Wall Built With His Supporters' Money
Musical Interlude
Ringo Starr has been cautioning us against the Boogaloo Bois for the last 48 years.
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Let’s keep on with Ringo (he turned 80 last Tuesday) and Playing for Change
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WineRev’s History Lesson
WineRev graces us with a history lesson every day. I look forward to them and want to give those of you who don’t read the comments a taste of what you are missing.
[WineRev’s lesson starts here — promoted from the comments]
112 days…..16 weeks from TODAY, THIS Tuesday…...until THAT Tuesday...Trample Trump Tuesday…..Blue Tsunami Tuesday…….Tombstone Tuesday (when we plant the slab over the current Republican party; my guess is the marker will be in the outline shape of the state of Texas; When TX goes Presidentially Blue, the GOP simply canNOT win the White House.)
>>>>Thanks for opening with Bastille Day, NNNE (yes, it does figure in the History Round Up….duh). The citizens of Paris arming themselves with weapons kept in that fortress…...as do WE! It is MARY TRUMP DAY as the Tell-All book of the year gets released. The other morning a federal court lifted a gag order on Mary and last night she tweeted on her account for the first time in 2 years: “It’s Infrastructure Week!” …...At last, a Trump with a genuine sense of (intended) humor…..
So get ready! All of you PhDs and MDs in psychology and psychiatry, have at it. Asylum nurses and social workers, please weigh in. Admirers of Dr. Phil, what do you think? Anyone flipping channels and seeing Oprah welcoming a guest to the couch…..yeah, you’re qualified. How unhinged is he? Do strait-jackets come in his size? Can Bill Barr be allowed outside only in the exercize yard at a federal prison in Alaska….in January? Should be quite the cottage industry for days to come……
July 14ths that have studded history with Good and Goofy moments so that we can enjoy and ponder over THIS July 14th
1789 Paris. THE Day of Days for the Republic of France. The citizens of Paris looked to arm themselves with arms from the Bastille. against the royalists, various Army regiments, and foreign mercenaries. The Bastille was a fortress & prison combo where the king could send people for confinement on the royal whim, especially political prisoners. In a day of rioting shot and powder and 7 people were freed (no one particularly prominent or notorious.) (King Louis XVI noted in his diary, “Rien” “Nothing”; talk about mis-reading the latest poll…….) France’s National Day.
1795 Paris. Continuing with things French, this day the French National Convention decrees "La Marseillaise" by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle France's national anthem. Definitely a sprightly and stirring piece:
(Just ask German Major Strasser & his fellow officers in Rick’s Café…..in Casablanca, with Ingrid Bergman (!)…… when Strasser and his pals were just gathered around the old piano, belting down a few and belting out “Wacht am Rhein.” Then, with Ingrid Bergman (!) looking on in worry, on command from Victor Lazlo, a nod from Rick, the house band strikes it up and the room erupts with La Marseillaise, La Resistance. The opening lines go (rough translation) Arise, children of the Fatherland! The day of glory has arrived! Against us, tyranny’s bloody flag is raised. Do you hear, in the countryside, the roar of those ferocious soldiers? They’re coming to your land to cut the throats of your children and friends!
To arms, citizens! Form your battalions! Let’s march, let’s march! Let their impure blood water our fields! With words like that, no wonder the Nazis close Rick’s Café! Vive La France!.....Greatest movie of the 20th Century…….sniff…..and there’s Ingrid Bergman!…….sigh…))
Alright, Sam. For old times’ sake I’ll play it : Resistance I
And, in an homage, from the 1981 film “Escape to Victory”, starring Michael Caine, Max Von Sydow and Sylvester Stallone (!). where a group of Allied POWs are forced to play a game of soccer against a Nazi all-star team in front of the citizens of Paris in order to break civilian morale (“See? you can never beat us!”)….well…….maybe: Resistance II
1850 Apalachicola, FL Dr. John Gorrie has been using a method of fighting fevers in his hospital patients: placing ice in a large basin hung from the ceiling over a bed. The cooled air is heavier than the warm air so it falls onto a patient and then through a grid in the floor. As a primitive form of air conditioning it could lower room temperature by 20 degrees, but the need for ice is high. This day Dr. Gorrie the first time publicly demonstrates a machine he has invented for making ice by refrigeration. While he has a patent, his investor/partner dies suddenly, and the machine is never produced.
1857 Elgin, IL Birth of Frederick Louis Maytag, businessman and tinkerer. Oldest of 10 children of German immigrants (family name was “MayDay”, “Mai Tag” in German) they all moved to Newton, Iowa after the Civil War ended. Frederick had one year in college. In the 1880s he pooled his money with 2 of his brother’-in-law and George Parsons to start the Parsons Band-Cutter & Self Feeder Company. It was a success, with Frederick the general manager. In the early 1900s he took over ownership of the company and re-named after himself. Toyed with manufacturing automobiles for about 10 years. During World War I tinkered with some existing washing machines and a) made them work by electricity or liquid fuel; b) invented an “agitator” that in the tub would force water through the clothes to wash out dirt much more effectively, so much more so that by 1927 2/3 of all washing machines in America were Maytag brand.
1862 Williamstown, Massachusetts Birth of Florence Bascom, geologist and scientist. Daughter of a college professor, her father was named President of the University of Wisconsin in 1875, 1 year after the school went co-educational. A few years later his daughter attended UW and graduated. Later did master’s and doctoral work at Johns Hopkins. (She was forced to take her advanced classes inside a screen so the other students (all male) could not see her.) Became John Hopkins first female awarded a doctoral degree and only the second in the United States in the field of geology . In 1896 she became the 1st woman ever hired by the US Geological Survey and the only female employee with them for the next 20 years. Later founded the School of Geology at Bryn Mawr University, produced over 200 articles in the field and is considered the “Grandmother of American Geology.”
1868 New Haven, CT Alvin Fellows receives a patent for his improvements and original design: a spring-loaded, locking case design, the first modern tape measure. You are not a carpenter if you don’t have one…..
1870 Washington DC By Act of Congress, Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of the slain President, is granted a life pension of $3000/ year . (For comparison, In the Civil War, a private in the ranks got $13/month, estimated to be a “working class wage.” “Middle class” would be about $50-100/month.) It was generous and she ended up needing it; her son Robert finally had to use it to pay her expenses and care in an asylum.
1914 Boston. The National League Boston Braves (later the Milwaukee Braves, and later still the Atlanta Braves, and NOT to be confused with the Rose Hose Boston team in the American League) won their game today and climbed out of the league basement in the standings. They kept on winning, going all the way to win the pennant and then beating the Philadelphia As in the World Series, Boston’s Miracle Team.
1953 Joplin, Missouri Given the history of statues in the history of human kind, if we’re going to erect them, then let us choose wisely. On this day the 1st US national monument dedicated to a black American, to preserve the boyhood home of agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver. (Crop rotation to replenish the soil; at Tuskegee invented 300 different uses for peanuts (including as a substitute for rubber in tires during WWI); also developed a dozen uses for sweet potatoes, including as wood filler, rope and synthetic silk.)
1983 Japan. The Nintendo Company releases a video arcade game: Mario Bros., centered around an Italian-American plumber. 37 years of Mario…….
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.
Shalom.
On the Lighter Side
Leaders around the world are telling each other not to trust tRump. That’s exactly what Marla said to Melania.
Donald tRump’s real problem with the ramp at West Point is that it sloped downward, just like his approval ratings. He was reminded of what will happen in November and froze in fear.
How many antifa members does it take to change a light bulb? — All of them; one to change the bulb and the rest to give tRump the finger.
The future, the present, and the past walked into a bar. Things were tense.
tRump’s handlers were worried he’d fall off a bridge the last time he was in Paris. They didn’t want everyone to see that he was in Seine.
tRump writes with a broken pencil, proving himself pointless.
I don’t understand why tRump keeps whining about defamation of character — you can’t defame what you don’t have.
Quote(s) of the Day
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible. — Maya Angelou To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try. — Rosa Parks Activism is my rent for living on the planet. — Alice Walker In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist. — Angela Davis A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. — Malcolm X Justice is what love looks like in public. — Cornel West Action is the only remedy to indifference: the most insidious danger of all. — Elie Wiesel Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eye and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice. — Robert F Kennedy
Required Pet Photo
Let’s talk!
Closing Notes
To all of our fellow resisters, rounderuppers and gnusies recovering from illness or injury lots of hugs, including {{{{oldhippiedude}}}}, {{{{Msdude}}}}, our Tuesday partner {{{{niftywriter}}}}, {{{{karij}}}}, {{{{ElizabethinNYC}}}}, {{{{Arel1}}}}, {{{{Crankylib}}}} and to our entire {{{{Gnuville}}}} community during this time of uncertainty. Credits: edfor42 suggested the Ringo Starr song in today’s Musical Interlude. I had completely forgotten it.
Last night the Shade took a look at how limited the republican palette really is: Evening Shade: The Rightwing's Distorted Rainbow
Today, the lads are playing us out with an anthem to persistence.
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Disclaimer: No republicans approved this roundup.


dailykos--2020-07-14--We Can’t Go Back to Business As Usual

We Can’t Go Back to Business As Usual

Our lives will never be the same again .
This may sound dramatic to some , but for the many families who live on the edge , in constant insecurity , and the millions of Americans experiencing this insecurity for the first time , I hope that is true .
We are living through a moment in history - a global pandemic , civil rights protests , an economy that isn ’ t working for everyone – that further exposes the need for change .
As we work to recover our economy and rebuild our country , we are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration try to return things to exactly the way they were before this global pandemic .
We are going to see our overly militarized police forces resist accountability by making the kinds of profound cultural and systemic change that is needed to eliminate cultural bias and racism among their ranks .
We can no longer pretend we don ’ t know what the problem is .
A global pandemic , followed by the nationwide protests over unequal treatment of Black Americans sparked by the murders of Ahmed Arbery , George Floyd & Breonna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems of a society and an economy that doesn ’ t work for everyone .
I was raised in and out of foster homes .
I ca n't imagine what my life would 've been like if this pandemic had happened when I was growing up .
Would my foster parents have been able to feed me ?
Would I have been moved from foster family to foster family at a time when others were sheltering in place ?
What would have happened if I had gotten sick ?
For a time as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone .
I spent some nights sleeping in an irrigation ditch .
Still , maybe I was lucky .
What if I had encountered a cop like Derek Chauvin during that difficult time ?
Would I even be here to write this today ?
Our current problems are only worsened by a narcissistic president who thrives on sowing the seeds of division and who lashes out constantly to blame others for his own failings .
When the pandemic began to spread , Trump wasted crucial weeks denying the problem .
And when that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unwilling or unable to do what was necessary to support states and front-line workers .
Then , when millions of Americans took to the streets to in mostly peaceful demonstrations to call for an end to police brutality , Trump decided to use the tax-payer funded tools of government , our own military , against American citizens .
The pandemic has exposed that our economy has been a house of cards , built on the backs of working families and policies that make it impossible for most of us to withstand this sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today are in survival mode and struggling to pay rent , to access health care or cover the cost of food and must rely on the generosity of neighbors or foodbanks .
And for communities of color , these aren ’ t new problems brought on by a pandemic , but a pandemic of poverty that has existed for generations in this country .
These are problems definitely worsened by a system that was designed to hold Black , Brown and poor white people back , leave them behind or keep them poor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-election prospects , tells us it is time to get back to normal .
But , the old normal was n't working .
It was a dangerous , teetering structure that left too many at the bottom working to just stay above water .
The old normal reinforced institutions and systems that denied Justice For All and it must change .
We simply have to start doing better at asking the hard questions , and this crisis is our opportunity to do just that .
• None Why are companies only planning for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be bailed out when working families can ’ t expect the same help ?
• None Why is our health care system leaving so many people out ?
• None Why do we , in the richest country in the world , let so many people fall through the cracks ?
• None Why are so many people of color still being killed by police ?
Why has it taken so long – and so many needless tragedies – for people to understand that until Black Lives Matter , we are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
We have seen where our weaknesses are in this country .
They have been glaringly exposed in recent months .
We have to stop building a democracy that serves the powerful elite first and thinks about everyone else last .
We have to build a society that really means it when it promises “ liberty and justice for all.
” I think about young kids today , who are in the same position I was growing up .
Can we make sure they have enough food and a roof over their heads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care ?
Can we make the changes necessary to restore trust in the police to “ protect and serve ” us all ?
I think about families like mine , that have been facing reduced work hours or furloughs while taking care of and educating our kids at home .
Will we do anything besides a $ 1,200 check to get those families back on their feet ?
Will we make sure in the future that more people have living-wage jobs , with quality portable health care , access to universal childcare , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , paid family and sick leave like we passed in Washington State , and a retirement plan that lets our seniors retire with a sense of economic security ?
I know that all of this will require some heavy lifting , but we just spent months isolated in our homes to save millions of lives .
I ’ ve watched daily as friends , neighbors and communities come together to take care of one another , even when it means personal sacrifice , to ensure that we all get through this together .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people – black , brown and white – have marched through our streets demanding social justice and an end to systems of racial exclusion and oppression .
If we saw more of that reflected in our national leaders , we ’ d be in a better place .
The new normal shouldn ’ t be the old normal , because we can ’ t go back to business as usual .

Our lives will never be the same again.
This may sound dramatic to some, but for the many families who live on the edge, in constant insecurity, and the millions of Americans experiencing this insecurity for the first time, I hope that is true.
We are living through a moment in history - a global pandemic, civil rights protests, an economy that isn’t working for everyone – that further exposes the need for change.
As we work to recover our economy and rebuild our country, we are going to see multinational corporations and the Trump administration try to return things to exactly the way they were before this global pandemic. We are going to see our overly militarized police forces resist accountability by making the kinds of profound cultural and systemic change that is needed to eliminate cultural bias and racism among their ranks.
We can no longer pretend we don’t know what the problem is. A global pandemic, followed by the nationwide protests over unequal treatment of Black Americans sparked by the murders of Ahmed Arbery, George Floyd & Breonna Taylor-- has lain bare the systemic problems of a society and an economy that doesn’t work for everyone.
I was raised in and out of foster homes. I can't imagine what my life would've been like if this pandemic had happened when I was growing up. Would my foster parents have been able to feed me? Would I have been moved from foster family to foster family at a time when others were sheltering in place? What would have happened if I had gotten sick?
For a time as a teenager, I was homeless and alone. I spent some nights sleeping in an irrigation ditch. Still, maybe I was lucky. What if I had encountered a cop like Derek Chauvin during that difficult time? Would I even be here to write this today?
Our current problems are only worsened by a narcissistic president who thrives on sowing the seeds of division and who lashes out constantly to blame others for his own failings. When the pandemic began to spread, Trump wasted crucial weeks denying the problem. And when that was no longer possible, he proved unwilling or unable to do what was necessary to support states and front-line workers. Then, when millions of Americans took to the streets to in mostly peaceful demonstrations to call for an end to police brutality, Trump decided to use the tax-payer funded tools of government, our own military, against American citizens.
The pandemic has exposed that our economy has been a house of cards, built on the backs of working families and policies that make it impossible for most of us to withstand this sort of economic upheaval. So many Americans today are in survival mode and struggling to pay rent, to access health care or cover the cost of food and must rely on the generosity of neighbors or foodbanks. And for communities of color, these aren’t new problems brought on by a pandemic, but a pandemic of poverty that has existed for generations in this country. These are problems definitely worsened by a system that was designed to hold Black, Brown and poor white people back, leave them behind or keep them poor.
Trump, worried about his own re-election prospects, tells us it is time to get back to normal. But, the old normal wasn't working. It was a dangerous, teetering structure that left too many at the bottom working to just stay above water. The old normal reinforced institutions and systems that denied Justice For All and it must change.
We simply have to start doing better at asking the hard questions, and this crisis is our opportunity to do just that.
Why are companies only planning for the brightest of economic futures and expecting to be bailed out when working families can’t expect the same help?
Why is our health care system leaving so many people out?
Why do we, in the richest country in the world, let so many people fall through the cracks?
Why are so many people of color still being killed by police? Why has it taken so long – and so many needless tragedies – for people to understand that until Black Lives Matter, we are not living up to the promise of America?
We have seen where our weaknesses are in this country. They have been glaringly exposed in recent months. We have to stop building a democracy that serves the powerful elite first and thinks about everyone else last. We have to build a society that really means it when it promises “liberty and justice for all.”
I think about young kids today, who are in the same position I was growing up. Can we make sure they have enough food and a roof over their heads? Can they get access to health care? Can we make the changes necessary to restore trust in the police to “protect and serve” us all?
I think about families like mine, that have been facing reduced work hours or furloughs while taking care of and educating our kids at home. Will we do anything besides a $1,200 check to get those families back on their feet? Will we make sure in the future that more people have living-wage jobs, with quality portable health care, access to universal childcare, a savings plan for times like this, paid family and sick leave like we passed in Washington State, and a retirement plan that lets our seniors retire with a sense of economic security?
I know that all of this will require some heavy lifting, but we just spent months isolated in our homes to save millions of lives. I’ve watched daily as friends, neighbors and communities come together to take care of one another, even when it means personal sacrifice, to ensure that we all get through this together. I’ve watched as millions of people – black, brown and white – have marched through our streets demanding social justice and an end to systems of racial exclusion and oppression. If we saw more of that reflected in our national leaders, we’d be in a better place.
The new normal shouldn’t be the old normal, because we can’t go back to business as usual.


dailykos--2020-07-15--Marie Antoinette ain’t got nothing on Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump , someone who has never had to worry about a job , unemployment or where her next meal @ @ @ @ @ out her best Marie Antoinette impression with a let them eat cake moment and essentially @ @ @ @ @ are out of work will have some kind of Renaissance coming out of this crisis @ @ @ @ @ new work skills for nonexistent jobs somewhere out there in the future .
As in @ @ @ @ @ of the Bastille in Paris , which ironically took place on this day July 14,1789 @ @ @ @ @ conditions share some similarities with the historical removal of an out of touch ruling family @ @ @ @ @ What the Bourbon monarchy , led by Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette , @ @ @ @ @ was bankrupt their country though outlandish spending , financial misadventures both foreign and domestic all @ @ @ @ @ citizens were starving .
This is how revolutions get started , and kings removed .

Ivanka Trump, someone who has never had to worry about a job, unemployment or where her next meal will come from, busted out her best Marie Antoinette impression with a let them eat cake moment and essentially saying that the people who are out of work will have some kind of Renaissance coming out of this crisis, an opportunity to gain new work skills for nonexistent jobs somewhere out there in the future.
As in the days before the storming of the Bastille in Paris, which ironically took place on this day July 14,1789, our social and economic conditions share some similarities with the historical removal of an out of touch ruling family in 18th century France. What the Bourbon monarchy, led by Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, did that precipitated their ouster was bankrupt their country though outlandish spending, financial misadventures both foreign and domestic all during a time when French citizens were starving. This is how revolutions get started, and kings removed.


dailykos--2020-07-15--Good News Roundup for July 15, 2020 — Keep your energy up as we near the finish line!

Headed to the Convention ?
Not I , More Republicans Are Saying Moving the RNC from North Carolina to Florida has proven to be another idiotic move by the Self-Owner-in-Chief .
RNC Floats Brilliant Plan For Outdoor Convention .
In Florida .
In August .
Who wants to hang out with ten thousand MAGAts in 90 degree heat and one thousand percent humidity listening to Don Jr. barf out rancid nonsense about his father ?
How about if half the crowd refused to wear a mask , because their real daddy is Q , not that pansy Anthony Fauci ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Just six weeks ago President Shitmidas blew up two years of work and $ 38 million in donor cash , stomping out of North Carolina after Gov .
Roy Cooper refused to guarantee that the GOP could hold a mask-free nominating convention in Charlotte sans social distancing .
Because if the Gippers ca n't belch clouds of COVID into each other 's faces , then the terrorists win !
So the president and the RNC decamped for Jacksonville , Florida , where Trump 's little buddy Ron DeSantis would be only too delighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions asked .
Then Florida 's covid numbers spiked , which is HOLY GOD HORRIBLE !
, and too late the RNC realized they 'd have been better off staying in North Carolina , which is HILARIOUS !
And now all the Gippers are remembering that they have to stay home and put the relaxer on their home perms on August 23 , so they must regretfully decline the invitation to sweat with the oldies in Jacksonville .
Naturally , Maggie Haberman got the inside scoop on the new agenda coming out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night to discuss shifting the events of Aug. 25 , 26 , and 27 out of the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena , where the indoor program was scheduled to take place , including President Trump 's acceptance speech on the final night .
The two outdoor options they 've been examining are near the arena , the people familiar with the discussions said .
Mr. Trump often shifts positions , and officials emphasized that the plans could change .
`` Shifts position '' being Timestalk for `` is a rapidly degenerating lunatic who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees on the daily.
” Wild poll out of Texas finds Black Lives Matter more popular than the NRA in the Lone Star State Wow .
Just wow .
Let ’ s hear it for BLUE TEXAS !
!
Government Rescinds Plan to Strip Visas From Foreign Students in Online Classes This is my favorite story of the past two weeks .
What a terrific idea !
Don ’ t you wish more small towns — or even neighborhoods — would do this ?
The scrip wouldn ’ t necessarily have to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dressing , butter , ground turkey , cans of grain-free dog food and new toothbrush came to $ 24.97 .
Laurie Mahlenbrei handed the cashier a slice of wood marked $ 25 , and walked out .
The wooden currency is good only in the small city of Tenino , Washington , part of an effort to help residents and local merchants alike get through the economic fallout of the pandemic .
Decades after it created a similar program during the Great Depression , the city is dipping into its emergency accounts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 300 per month in wooden currency to spend .
Just about every business in town , from the gas station and auto-body shop to Don Juan ’ s Mexican Kitchen , is accepting the wooden scrip .
The currency , made of maple veneer , is about the thickness , size and flexibility of an index card and printed on the same 1890s-era press that once printed the Depression currency and the local newspaper .
It can ’ t be used for alcohol , tobacco or marijuana .
“ The city could have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but we don ’ t know where that money is going to go , ” said Tyler Whitworth , past president of the local chamber of commerce .
“ This is one of the ways we could keep the money here in the community.
” Meyer Trust ’ s track record of effective grant-making in Oregon is excellent , so I have high hopes for this new initiative .
Meyer Memorial Trust launched a five-year , $ 25 million initiative Tuesday to advance racial justice and equity in Oregon .
“ Justice Oregon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the largest initiative in the trust ’ s 38-year history , was formed in the wake of two months of nationwide demonstrations in response to the horrific death of George Floyd… “ Justice is not simply an ideal ; it is something Oregonians should expect to see in our everyday lives , ” said Michelle J. DePass , president and CEO of Meyer Memorial Trust , in a statement .
“ In a state founded on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous bigotry , Meyer is explicitly acknowledging the history and present conditions that foster injustice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Black Oregonians.
” According to the organization , the dedicated funding will be aimed at deepening support for Black-centered organizations , uplifting a just system of public safety and investing in strategic change across the state .
Future grants could go toward “ reimagining public safety , prosecutorial reform efforts , wealth-building , sustained cross-racial and cross-issue progressive movement and the transformative work of changing hearts and minds by countering hate , injustice and dismantling anti-Blackness.
” I ’ ve been sharing with you the story of this initiative , created from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for several weeks now .
Today I can share a lovely video about it .
The generosity of our community isn ’ t slowing down : since May 31st , the fund has received $ 1,128,300 in donations .
Pix Patisserie is the best in Portland , a city that has more than its share of excellent pastry chefs .
Chef-owner Cheryl Wakerhauser figured out a very cool way to offer her treats in a hands-off way that has the further advantage of being available 24/7 .
Brilliant !
Introducing Pix-O-Matic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pix desserts , macarons , conservas from Bar Vivant and other random stuff to make you smile ( because who couldn ’ t use a smile these days ? )
Now , you can get your Pix fix anytime craving strikes .
Just visit the new refrigerated vending machine outside the Pix front door .
The Pix-O-Matic will be thoroughly cleaned and restocked each day at 10AM with your favorite tasty treats .
Make your selection and pay with the contactless credit card reader .
Enjoy our Covid-19 playlist and party lights while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birthday treat ?
The Pix-O-Matic has got your back .
There ’ s even sparklers in the rotating selection .
But wait , there ’ s more !
From time to time we will also feature a pop-up in the Pix-O-Matic .
Restaurants or producers of craft products will take over sections of the Pix-O-Matic to sell their goods for a period of 3 to 7 days .
...
Follow @ pixpatisserie on social media to stay in the know … .
Good news from around the country Across the U.S. , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are being converted from facilities that confine people into ones that support them .
U.S. inmates are currently being housed in more than 5,000 prisons and jails across the country , but even as new correctional facilities are being built , others are closing due to budget constraints , crumbling infrastructure , and a slowly declining inmate population .
Some of those former prisons and jails have been converted into condos , breweries , or luxury hotels .
But others are on the path to becoming mental health clinics , community centers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the three highlighted below have already made the transition into places that serve their communities .
The three highlighted programs are Growing Change ( a program for at-risk youth already celebrated in a previous GNR ) ; Grace Marketplace , a shelter and service center for Gainesville FL 's homeless population ; and the LOFT Legacy Teen Center in Arizona .
Communities consider replacing racist statues with those who fought for justice Scientists Generate Electrical Field That Can Help Repair Fractured Bones This is quite amazing .
... doctors may , in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broken bones by encasing the fracture in a field of electricity , which would be especially welcome for treating body parts , such as the skull , where casts don ’ t work .
A group of biomedical engineers from the University of Connecticut have invented a scaffold of non-toxic polymer that also generates a controllable electrical field to encourage bone growth .
The researchers published a paper in Nano Energy after using their device to cure skull fractures in mice .
The scaffold mimics the natural electric field produced by our bodies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to generate electricity from vibrations , and can be affixed over the damaged bone without significant surgery .
The patient can wave an ultrasound wand over the area to stimulate the generation of electricity and , unlike similar existing machines that are bulky and require electricity from a power outlet or batteries , the device is lightweight and generates the field via ultrasound .
The polymer from which the device is made is non-toxic and gradually dissolves in the body over time , disappearing as the new bone grows .
DKos member gardnerhill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday ’ s Cheers and Jeers .
I ’ d never heard it before , and I loved it so much I decided to add it to today ’ s music .
It ’ s a song that Irish singer-songwriter Hozier wrote in honor of Nina Simone , Mavis Staples , and other Black musicians who spoke up and sang out for justice , and he got Mavis to sing it with him .
You can read the back story of this song here .
Hozier calls it “ a thank you note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Good news from around the world Germany promises record contribution to the WHO This is great news in light of the COVIDiot stripping U.S. funding from the WHO .
Germany will contribute more than €500 million ( $ 561 million ) in funding for the World Health Organization ( WHO ) this year , Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday .
`` We stand together in fighting global health problems , '' Spahn said at a press conference in Geneva , adding that the aid infusion amounted to Germany 's highest-ever annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need a strong , transparent and accountable WHO today more than ever , '' he said .
`` A WHO able to lead and coordinate the global response effort . ''
The WHO is dependent on donations and membership contributions from its 194 member states , along with donations by international organizations and private donors .
The new support package must first be approved by Germany 's parliament , the Bundestag , Spahn said , adding that the government is very optimistic that the proposed infusion will be passed by the beginning of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do this in the U.S. ?
?
The Indian unit of Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) has eliminated all single-use plastic in its packaging across fulfillment centers in the country , in line with its target to weed out the packaging material by June , the e-commerce giant said on Monday .
The company said in addition to replacing packaging materials such as bubble wraps and air pillows with “ paper cushions ” , it had also swapped out packaging tapes with other bio-degradable options .
Amazon , often criticised for using too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billions of packages of shipments , had said last September that its India unit would replace single-use plastic in its packaging by June 2020 .
Last October , Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called on citizens to help end the usage of single-use plastic - seen as a pollutant - by 2022 .
The Asian country of 1.3 billion does not have an organized system for management of plastic waste , leading to extensive littering .
Many Indian cities rank among the world ’ s most polluted , and waste generated from single-use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Walmart Inc ’ s ( WMT.N ) India e-commerce unit Flipkart , a local rival to Amazon , said last month that it had cut down the usage of plastic packaging in its own supply chain to about 50 % .
Ex-Guerrillas Turn into Citizen Scientists Using Their Knowledge of the Colombian Jungle to Protect Biodiversity B-Lines [ is an ] online map [ that ] joins the dots between existing wildflower habitats in England and identifies suitable routes between them that could be turned into wildflower corridors for pollinators .
The map @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is calling on farmers , businesses , public bodies and individuals to plant wildflowers along its B-Lines network in a bid to restore habitats that pollinators depend on .
England has lost an estimated 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows since the second world war .
This rampant habitat loss has had a catastrophic effect on butterflies , hoverflies and bees , with numbers of some species estimated to have fallen by 80 per cent in recent years .
“ A complete England B-Lines network is a real landmark step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and lend a helping hand to our struggling pollinators , ” said Catherine Jones , Pollinator Officer at Buglife .
“ We hope that organisations and people across England will help with our shared endeavour to create thousands of hectares of new pollinator-friendly wildflower habitats along the B-Lines.
” ... while table service , sanitizing stations and one-way systems have become essential to the pub experience , one landlord has gone one step further to protect staff and customers : the installation an electric fence .
Jonny McFadden , landlord of the Star @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electric fence has so far been effective in helping his customers maintain their distance since bars and restaurants reopened in the U.K. earlier this month .
`` If I had put a little bit of rope there , I do n't think anybody would have taken this much attention , '' he said .
`` I run a very small bar .
Everybody is accustomed to sitting at the bar , pushing at the bar .
They ca n't do that now .
Things have changed . ''
`` People are like sheep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep away , people keep away . ''
McFadden said he 'd been assured the fence was completely legal if adequate warnings are provided , and while the fence is switched off , customers still had the `` fear factor '' to make sure they comply with the government 's guidance on social distancing .
`` There is a serious point to it , '' McFadden said .
`` We 've all got to keep social distancing . ''
And so are foxes !
Our friend buglady99 posted this in a comment recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-post .
www.wonkette.com/ ... Bari Weiss Self-Deports From New York Times .
Stephen Robinson has fun with the departure of whiny conservative drama queen Bari Weiss from the NYT .
Don ’ t miss the comments !
www.rawstory.com/ ...
Here is how the 99 % can force the 1 % to defeat COVID-19 .
An interesting long piece focused on worker activism .
www.rawstory.com/ ... ‘ Irish slaves ’ : Historian destroys racist myth right wingers love to share on Facebook .
I wasn ’ t aware that racist RWNJs like to diminish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with indentured servitude .
Here ’ s a deep dive .
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ ... Wild Bison Are Returning to England ’ s Forests For First Time in 6,000 Years .
This article is very informative on the subject of why bison are a “ keystone species ” for renewing forest ecology .
BTW , the bison being reintroduced in England are a European subspecies from Poland and the Netherlands .
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd @

Welcome
Greetings to all you Gnusies, Gnewbies, occasional drop-ins, silent regulars, and first-timers! Come sit with us to find and share messages of hope and to celebrate all the ways good people are triumphing over the evil-doers in power. The task we have set ourselves here in Gnuville is to search out hope no matter how difficult the situation might be. Fortunately, hope is not hard to find now, but this has been a long slog and we need to guard against getting worn out.
As always, this roundup is a pot-luck, so please share your own contribution in the comments, which we consider to be The Best Comment Section on the Internet™.
Introductory thoughts
I’ve been noticing lately that I’m getting emotionally and mentally tired and am much more prone to feeling discouraged than usual. I think this is due to several factors, starting with having had to deal with almost four years of the horrors inflicted on us by the Mobster-in-Chief and his Greedy Obsequious Poltroon enablers. Add to that the social deprivation and fear caused by the pandemic. And finally — surprisingly — factor in how close we are to Election Day. My musician husband is fond of saying, “The last hour is half the gig,” and I think that pretty much nails this phenomenon.
So if you’re feeling the same way (and based on some comments I’ve seen lately, I think a few of you are), let’s make a promise to each other to keep our spirits and energy buoyed up. If you aren’t yet writing Postcards to Voters or letters for Vote Forward, please sign up. If you haven’t contacted your local Indivisible chapter, please look them up and see what you can do to help build the Blue Tsunami locally. If you really, really can’t afford the time but can afford to make some donations, check out Mattrek’s amazing Flip Everything Google doc and get inspired to help out down-ballot Dems all over the country. Follow DKos hero Yosef 52 for the latest in GOTV strategies. And of course, make as big a donation as you can to Biden — judging from his most recent ads, his campaign will use your money wisely. Finally, if you need more enthusiasm for Biden, become a regular reader of Goodie’s inspiring series, 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden.
I’ll close this intro with one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs, brought to us by Playing for Change musicians from all over the world.
Lovers keep on lovin'
Believers keep on believin'
Sleepers just stop sleepin'
Cause it won't be too long
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* * * * *
Good news in politics
Joe Biden’s ads are terrific
Amazingly, it looks like the Dems have awakened and discovered that it’s possible to craft more powerful political ads than the snoozy wishy-washy ones we used to despair over. Here’s my favorite recent Biden ad:
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And the Lincoln Project ads continue to knock it out of the park.
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Headed to the Convention? Not I, More Republicans Are Saying
Moving the RNC from North Carolina to Florida has proven to be another idiotic move by the Self-Owner-in-Chief.
From the NY Times:
Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri and Pat Roberts of Kansas are planning to skip the Republican National Convention next month as the host state of Florida deals with the biggest outbreak of coronavirus cases in the nation. Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Francis Rooney of Florida are sticking with their plans not to attend, even though the convention is now in their home state. Marco Rubio, Florida’s senior senator, has not committed to attending. Neither has John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Senate Republican, or Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House Republican. As new cases surge in Florida, including 15,300 reported on Sunday, more Republicans are taking a wait-and-see approach to the event, or deciding to skip it all together. The G.O.P., which moved the convention to Jacksonville from Charlotte, N.C., after balking at health precautions there, now finds itself locked into a state with a far bigger virus problem, and planning an event whose attendance is waning as the pandemic escalates. “Everybody just assumes no one is going,” said Representative Darin LaHood of Illinois, an honorary state co-chairman for the Trump campaign.
And in a perfect snarky addendum:
RNC Floats Brilliant Plan For Outdoor Convention. In Florida. In August.
By Liz Dye on Wonkette:
Who wants to hang out with ten thousand MAGAts in 90 degree heat and one thousand percent humidity listening to Don Jr. barf out rancid nonsense about his father? How about if half the crowd refused to wear a mask, because their real daddy is Q, not that pansy Anthony Fauci? Wait, where are you going? Just six weeks ago President Shitmidas blew up two years of work and $38 million in donor cash, stomping out of North Carolina after Gov. Roy Cooper refused to guarantee that the GOP could hold a mask-free nominating convention in Charlotte sans social distancing. Because if the Gippers can't belch clouds of COVID into each other's faces, then the terrorists win! So the president and the RNC decamped for Jacksonville, Florida, where Trump's little buddy Ron DeSantis would be only too delighted to host a superspreader event, no questions asked. Then Florida's covid numbers spiked, which is HOLY GOD HORRIBLE!, and too late the RNC realized they'd have been better off staying in North Carolina, which is HILARIOUS! And now all the Gippers are remembering that they have to stay home and put the relaxer on their home perms on August 23, so they must regretfully decline the invitation to sweat with the oldies in Jacksonville. ✂ Naturally, Maggie Haberman got the inside scoop on the new agenda coming out of the White House. Officials met Monday night to discuss shifting the events of Aug. 25, 26, and 27 out of the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, where the indoor program was scheduled to take place, including President Trump's acceptance speech on the final night. The two outdoor options they've been examining are near the arena, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Mr. Trump often shifts positions, and officials emphasized that the plans could change. "Shifts position" being Timestalk for "is a rapidly degenerating lunatic who yanks the rug out from under his employees on the daily.”
Wild poll out of Texas finds Black Lives Matter more popular than the NRA in the Lone Star State
Wow. Just wow. Let’s hear it for BLUE TEXAS!!
By Joshua Holland on Raw Story:
I’m a strong believer in paying attention to the polling averages rather than obsessing over individual polls, but rules are meant to be broken and a survey released on Sunday by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas, Tyler has some internal numbers that are worth digging into. … Most reports focus on the topline numbers, which have Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by five points, 48-43. … ✂ But it’s when you dig a little deeper that it becomes clear that all the talk about Texas becoming a purple state isn’t just wishful thinking: Texans would favor a generic Democrat over a generic Republican for the Texas state lege, 52-47.
A plurality of Texans hold a favorable view of the Black Lives Matter movement, with 43 percent viewing it positively and 34 percent seeing it negatively.
That’s better than the NRA, at 35/34.
The Tea Party movement is also viewed favorably by a smaller share of respondents than BLM, at 35 percent. (Only 23 percent view that movement unfavorably, however, with a lot of people holding a neutral position on the Astroturf campaign.) ✂ The poll surveyed 1,677 likely voters, by phone and online, and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Forty-two percent of respondents identified as Republicans, 29 percent as Democrats and 19 percent as “neither.”
Government Rescinds Plan to Strip Visas From Foreign Students in Online Classes
Bunker Boy has caved again!
From the NY Times:
The Trump administration has walked back a policy that would strip international college students of their U.S. visas if their coursework was entirely online, ending a proposed plan that had thrown the higher education world into turmoil. The policy announced on July 6 prompted an immediate lawsuit from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and on Tuesday, the government and the universities reached a resolution, according to the judge overseeing the case. Under the agreement, which was announced by the judge, the Trump administration is reinstating a policy that had been put into place in March amid the coronavirus pandemic that gives international students flexibility to take all their classes online and remain legally in the country with a student visa.
* * * * *
Good news from the Pacific Northwest
Washington city helps residents, merchants with wooden money
This is my favorite story of the past two weeks. What a terrific idea! Don’t you wish more small towns — or even neighborhoods — would do this? The scrip wouldn’t necessarily have to be made of wood.
From AP:
The blue-cheese salad dressing, butter, ground turkey, cans of grain-free dog food and new toothbrush came to $24.97. Laurie Mahlenbrei handed the cashier a slice of wood marked $25, and walked out. The wooden currency is good only in the small city of Tenino, Washington, part of an effort to help residents and local merchants alike get through the economic fallout of the pandemic. Decades after it created a similar program during the Great Depression, the city is dipping into its emergency accounts to give people in need up to $300 per month in wooden currency to spend. Just about every business in town, from the gas station and auto-body shop to Don Juan’s Mexican Kitchen, is accepting the wooden scrip. The currency, made of maple veneer, is about the thickness, size and flexibility of an index card and printed on the same 1890s-era press that once printed the Depression currency and the local newspaper. It can’t be used for alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. ✂ “The city could have given out debit cards or cash, but we don’t know where that money is going to go,” said Tyler Whitworth, past president of the local chamber of commerce. “This is one of the ways we could keep the money here in the community.”
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[Portland-based] Meyer Memorial Trust announces $25 million initiative to support Black lives in Oregon
Meyer Trust’s track record of effective grant-making in Oregon is excellent, so I have high hopes for this new initiative.
From the Oregonian:
Meyer Memorial Trust launched a five-year, $25 million initiative Tuesday to advance racial justice and equity in Oregon. “Justice Oregon,” which is set to be the largest initiative in the trust’s 38-year history, was formed in the wake of two months of nationwide demonstrations in response to the horrific death of George Floyd… “Justice is not simply an ideal; it is something Oregonians should expect to see in our everyday lives,” said Michelle J. DePass, president and CEO of Meyer Memorial Trust, in a statement. “In a state founded on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous bigotry, Meyer is explicitly acknowledging the history and present conditions that foster injustice by targeting strategic investments in the lives of Black Oregonians.” ✂ According to the organization, the dedicated funding will be aimed at deepening support for Black-centered organizations, uplifting a just system of public safety and investing in strategic change across the state. Future grants could go toward “reimagining public safety, prosecutorial reform efforts, wealth-building, sustained cross-racial and cross-issue progressive movement and the transformative work of changing hearts and minds by countering hate, injustice and dismantling anti-Blackness.”
Black Resilience Fund update
I’ve been sharing with you the story of this initiative, created from the ground up by a Black Portlander, for several weeks now. Today I can share a lovely video about it. The generosity of our community isn’t slowing down: since May 31st, the fund has received $1,128,300 in donations.
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Random Portland fun news
Introducing the Pix-O-Matic!
Pix Patisserie is the best in Portland, a city that has more than its share of excellent pastry chefs. Chef-owner Cheryl Wakerhauser figured out a very cool way to offer her treats in a hands-off way that has the further advantage of being available 24/7. Brilliant!
Introducing Pix-O-Matic, the 24 hour contactless vending machine of Pix desserts, macarons, conservas from Bar Vivant and other random stuff to make you smile (because who couldn’t use a smile these days?) Now, you can get your Pix fix anytime craving strikes. Just visit the new refrigerated vending machine outside the Pix front door. The Pix-O-Matic will be thoroughly cleaned and restocked each day at 10AM with your favorite tasty treats. Make your selection and pay with the contactless credit card reader. Enjoy our Covid-19 playlist and party lights while you shop. Need a last minute birthday treat? The Pix-O-Matic has got your back. There’s even sparklers in the rotating selection. But wait, there’s more! From time to time we will also feature a pop-up in the Pix-O-Matic. Restaurants or producers of craft products will take over sections of the Pix-O-Matic to sell their goods for a period of 3 to 7 days. ... Follow @pixpatisserie on social media to stay in the know … .
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Good news from around the country
CDC Employees Call Out Agency's 'Toxic Culture Of Racial Aggressions’
From NPR:
More than 1,200 current employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have signed a letter calling for the federal agency to address "ongoing and recurring acts of racism and discrimination" against Black employees, NPR has learned. In the letter, addressed to CDC Director Robert Redfield and dated June 30, the authors put their call for change in the context of the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate impact on Black people and the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks. NPR obtained a copy of the letter, which is published below. "In light of the recent calls for justice across this country and around the world, we, as dedicated public health professionals, can no longer stay silent to the widespread acts of racism and discrimination within CDC that are, in fact, undermining the agency's core mission," the letter reads.
Converting Prisons Into Farms, Community Centers, and Shelters
From Freethink:
The three highlighted programs are Growing Change (a program for at-risk youth already celebrated in a previous GNR); Grace Marketplace, a shelter and service center for Gainesville FL's homeless population; and the LOFT Legacy Teen Center in Arizona.
Communities consider replacing racist statues with those who fought for justice
From AP via American Independent:
As monuments and statues fall across the United States, activists and towns are left wondering what to do with empty spaces that once honored historic figures such as Confederate generals and Spanish conquistadors. They also are debating how to remember civil rights figures and events in areas where they have been forgotten. The opportunity to reimagine spaces has created a debate: Whose history should the United States now honor and why? Should anything go on those empty podiums at all? Some advocates say monuments to the late U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan or Mexican American civil rights leader Dolores Huerta should replace the toppled statues. Others say World War II Marine Sgt. Miguel Trujillo Sr., a member of the Isleta Pueblo who sued to get Native Americans the right to vote in New Mexico, or former slave-turned-abolitionist Olaudah Equiano should have monuments erected in their honor. Christy Symington, a London-based sculptor, has already created an image of Equiano that some advocates say should be replicated in now-empty spaces.
Scientists Generate Electrical Field That Can Help Repair Fractured Bones
This is quite amazing.
From the Good News Network:
...doctors may, in the near future, be able to repair broken bones by encasing the fracture in a field of electricity, which would be especially welcome for treating body parts, such as the skull, where casts don’t work. A group of biomedical engineers from the University of Connecticut have invented a scaffold of non-toxic polymer that also generates a controllable electrical field to encourage bone growth. The researchers published a paper in Nano Energy after using their device to cure skull fractures in mice. The scaffold mimics the natural electric field produced by our bodies, a characteristic called piezoelectric, meaning to generate electricity from vibrations, and can be affixed over the damaged bone without significant surgery. The patient can wave an ultrasound wand over the area to stimulate the generation of electricity and, unlike similar existing machines that are bulky and require electricity from a power outlet or batteries, the device is lightweight and generates the field via ultrasound. The polymer from which the device is made is non-toxic and gradually dissolves in the body over time, disappearing as the new bone grows.
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Musical break
DKos member gardnerhill posted this in the comments in last Friday’s Cheers and Jeers. I’d never heard it before, and I loved it so much I decided to add it to today’s music. It’s a song that Irish singer-songwriter Hozier wrote in honor of Nina Simone, Mavis Staples, and other Black musicians who spoke up and sang out for justice, and he got Mavis to sing it with him. You can read the back story of this song here. Hozier calls it “a thank you note to the spirit of protest”:
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Good news from around the world
Germany promises record contribution to the WHO
This is great news in light of the COVIDiot stripping U.S. funding from the WHO.
From Deutsche Welle, via Future Crunch:
Germany will contribute more than €500 million ($561 million) in funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) this year, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday. "We stand together in fighting global health problems," Spahn said at a press conference in Geneva, adding that the aid infusion amounted to Germany's highest-ever annual contribution to the WHO. "We need a strong, transparent and accountable WHO today more than ever," he said. "A WHO able to lead and coordinate the global response effort." The WHO is dependent on donations and membership contributions from its 194 member states, along with donations by international organizations and private donors. ✂ The new support package must first be approved by Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, Spahn said, adding that the government is very optimistic that the proposed infusion will be passed by the beginning of July.
Amazon India scraps single-use plastic in packaging across centers
Can we get Amazon to do this in the U.S.??
From Reuters:
The Indian unit of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has eliminated all single-use plastic in its packaging across fulfillment centers in the country, in line with its target to weed out the packaging material by June, the e-commerce giant said on Monday. The company said in addition to replacing packaging materials such as bubble wraps and air pillows with “paper cushions”, it had also swapped out packaging tapes with other bio-degradable options. ✂ Amazon, often criticised for using too much plastic and thermocol to wrap its billions of packages of shipments, had said last September that its India unit would replace single-use plastic in its packaging by June 2020. ✂ Last October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called on citizens to help end the usage of single-use plastic - seen as a pollutant - by 2022. The Asian country of 1.3 billion does not have an organized system for management of plastic waste, leading to extensive littering. Many Indian cities rank among the world’s most polluted, and waste generated from single-use plastic has been a growing problem. Walmart Inc’s (WMT.N) India e-commerce unit Flipkart, a local rival to Amazon, said last month that it had cut down the usage of plastic packaging in its own supply chain to about 50%.
Ex-Guerrillas Turn into Citizen Scientists Using Their Knowledge of the Colombian Jungle to Protect Biodiversity
From the Good News Network:
After 2016, when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government, scientists realized that it was suddenly safe to explore the rainforests, mountains, and savannas from which FARC waged a 50-year guerrilla war—and these areas are counted among the most biodiverse and least-explored places on earth. A few biologists who longed to journey to the heart of these places also seized the opportunity as the perfect way to bring 14,000 former guerrillas back into society in a meaningful way that could benefit not only them, but the country’s stunning biodiversity. ✂ Who better to help protect Colombia’s wild spaces than those who know them best, pondered Jaime Góngora, a wildlife geneticist at the University of Sydney who is originally from Colombia. Góngora now leads a group of researchers from the United Kingdom, Australia, and 10 different Colombian scientific institutions in a program that trains ex‑guerrillas to study Colombia’s native plants and animals—a program which to date has uncovered nearly 100 previously-unknown species.
Wildflower corridor scheme launched to boost insect numbers in England
From Positive News:
B-Lines [is an] online map [that] joins the dots between existing wildflower habitats in England and identifies suitable routes between them that could be turned into wildflower corridors for pollinators. The map was launched by the conservation charity Buglife, which is calling on farmers, businesses, public bodies and individuals to plant wildflowers along its B-Lines network in a bid to restore habitats that pollinators depend on. England has lost an estimated 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows since the second world war. This rampant habitat loss has had a catastrophic effect on butterflies, hoverflies and bees, with numbers of some species estimated to have fallen by 80 per cent in recent years. “A complete England B-Lines network is a real landmark step in our mission to reverse insect declines and lend a helping hand to our struggling pollinators,” said Catherine Jones, Pollinator Officer at Buglife. “We hope that organisations and people across England will help with our shared endeavour to create thousands of hectares of new pollinator-friendly wildflower habitats along the B-Lines.”
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Weird world news
Pub adds electric fence to remind customers of social distancing
From ABC News:
...while table service, sanitizing stations and one-way systems have become essential to the pub experience, one landlord has gone one step further to protect staff and customers: the installation an electric fence. Jonny McFadden, landlord of the Star Inn in Cornwall, said that the electric fence has so far been effective in helping his customers maintain their distance since bars and restaurants reopened in the U.K. earlier this month. "If I had put a little bit of rope there, I don't think anybody would have taken this much attention," he said. "I run a very small bar. Everybody is accustomed to sitting at the bar, pushing at the bar. They can't do that now. Things have changed." "People are like sheep," he added. "Sheep keep away, people keep away." McFadden said he'd been assured the fence was completely legal if adequate warnings are provided, and while the fence is switched off, customers still had the "fear factor" to make sure they comply with the government's guidance on social distancing. "There is a serious point to it," McFadden said. "We've all got to keep social distancing."
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Animals
Baby wombats are charming!
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And so are foxes! Our friend buglady99 posted this in a comment recently. It's too wonderful not to re-post.
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Inspiring video for today
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Hot lynx
www.wonkette.com/...Bari Weiss Self-Deports From New York Times. Stephen Robinson has fun with the departure of whiny conservative drama queen Bari Weiss from the NYT. Don’t miss the comments!
www.rawstory.com/...Here is how the 99% can force the 1% to defeat COVID-19. An interesting long piece focused on worker activism.
www.rawstory.com/...‘Irish slaves’: Historian destroys racist myth right wingers love to share on Facebook. I wasn’t aware that racist RWNJs like to diminish the horrors of slavery by conflating it with indentured servitude. Here’s a deep dive.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/...Wild Bison Are Returning to England’s Forests For First Time in 6,000 Years. This article is very informative on the subject of why bison are a “keystone species” for renewing forest ecology. BTW, the bison being reintroduced in England are a European subspecies from Poland and the Netherlands.
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Closing music
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❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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--2020-07-16--How bad is it? It's really, really bad...

If one of the most respected conservative voices in the nation writes : “ The nation ’ s floundering government is now administered by a gangster regime ” you can be sure something is not only wrong but is pathologically wrong with our politics .
I ’ ve never been a big fan , doctrinally , of George Will but I ’ ve been reading him for 50 years , starting with his weekly Newsweek magazine column in 1965 , when I got out of college .
I have always had respect for him because first , he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms of his command of the English language ( Notice the imagery of the first sentence of this column . )
, and second , his generally well thought out reasoning to support his opinions .
If the country is better with two healthy political parties trying to sell their ideas to voters , Will must necessarily be included among the top salesmen for Burkian conservatism .
At times he has infuriated me but I stayed with him through all these years .
Of late , though , I ’ ve noticed an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last week he was admonishing his readers that conservatives , despite any fundamental problems with liberalism , the nation will not survive another four years of Donald Trump and that voting for Biden was an act of courage—maybe patriotism is a better word .
In early June he wrote : In life ’ s unforgiving arithmetic , we are the sum of our choices .
Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days .
We can not know all the measures necessary to restore the nation ’ s domestic health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first step : Senate Republicans must be routed , as condign punishment for their Vichyite collaboration , leaving the Republican remnant to wonder : Was it sensible to sacrifice dignity , such as it ever was , and to shed principles , if convictions so easily jettisoned could be dignified as principles , for .
.
.
what ?
There seems to be a movement afoot to gather up conservatives and bring them to the Democrats if for no other reason the to hand Republican leaders a total rejection of their “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now a website , Republican Voters Against Trump ( RVAT ) features first person stories of ordinary Republicans who are disillusioned so much that they are leaving the party and telling their stories for the world to see .
Maybe , finally , Americans , red and blue , are just plain tired of the sociopath in the White House and Trump ’ s cynical bootlickers .
Is this the tsunami of Rejection for Trump we ’ ve been waiting for ?

If one of the most respected conservative voices in the nation writes:
“The nation’s floundering government is now administered by a gangster regime”
you can be sure something is not only wrong but is pathologically wrong with our politics.
I’ve never been a big fan, doctrinally, of George Will but I’ve been reading him for 50 years, starting with his weekly Newsweek magazine column in 1965, when I got out of college. I have always had respect for him because first, he’s at the top of the heap in terms of his command of the English language (Notice the imagery of the first sentence of this column.), and second, his generally well thought out reasoning to support his opinions. If the country is better with two healthy political parties trying to sell their ideas to voters, Will must necessarily be included among the top salesmen for Burkian conservatism. At times he has infuriated me but I stayed with him through all these years.
Of late, though, I’ve noticed an air of unbridled disgust in Mr. Will. Last week he was admonishing his readers that conservatives, despite any fundamental problems with liberalism, the nation will not survive another four years of Donald Trump and that voting for Biden was an act of courage—maybe patriotism is a better word. In early June he wrote:
In life’s unforgiving arithmetic, we are the sum of our choices. Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days. We cannot know all the measures necessary to restore the nation’s domestic health and international standing, but we know the first step: Senate Republicans must be routed, as condign punishment for their Vichyite collaboration, leaving the Republican remnant to wonder: Was it sensible to sacrifice dignity, such as it ever was, and to shed principles, if convictions so easily jettisoned could be dignified as principles, for . . . what?
There seems to be a movement afoot to gather up conservatives and bring them to the Democrats if for no other reason the to hand Republican leaders a total rejection of their “Vichyite collaboration” with Trump. And now a website, Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) features first person stories of ordinary Republicans who are disillusioned so much that they are leaving the party and telling their stories for the world to see.
Maybe, finally, Americans, red and blue, are just plain tired of the sociopath in the White House and Trump’s cynical bootlickers. Is this the tsunami of Rejection for Trump we’ve been waiting for?
###


dailykos--2020-07-15--Marie Antoinette ain’t got nothing on Ivanka Trump, “They can find something new”