dailykos--2020-01-10--Impeachment Saga Shows that Mitch McConnell is an Idiot and a Coward

Mitch McConnell has refused Dem demands to agree beforehand to include witness testimony and additional document evidence as part of the Senate impeachment trial .
This has given Speaker Pelosi good reason to withhold the articles of impeachment from the Senate ; and this slows the entire impeachment process down .
Despite the Republican and mainstream media narrative , this just shows how stupid and cowardly Mitch McConnell is .
At the end of the day , regardless of whatever rules the Senate sets for the trial — even if they include witnesses and additional documents and any other demands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be removed from office if a supermajority two-thirds of the Senate votes to remove .
And with the current makeup of the Senate , such an outcome is wholly unlikely .
To put in perspective how unlikely an outcome that is — for the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton , Republicans also controlled the Senate , but were actually the opposition Party to President Clinton .
The Senate did eventually get to include witness testimony , that Republicans wanted .
And they still could not get a supermajority to vote guilty .
McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year would be better served by holding a trial that would be seen as neutral and bipartisan as possible .
This would give the GOP Senators in swing states , like Susan Collins , Cory Gardner , and Martha McSally , the cover they need to vote either way — and still be relatively safe for Trump to stay in power .
This would give them the best chance in their respective elections , and McConnell the best chance at remaining majority leader .
By forcing a biased trial , where McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House ( well , he ’ s actually already admitted to this , but we ’ ll set that aside for the moment ) , he only makes their campaigns tougher .
Faced with such an outcome , those same Swing state GOP Senators would have no choice but to toe the party line — though I am sure they would be vocally much more indignant about it — and while this would help with the Trump base , there would now be zero cover for the unaffiliated and swing voters who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they see as corrupt .
Even if they vote guilty , if the trial itself as seen as illegitimate , that would likely have little positive effect for them .
Then there is the delay .
The longer the process is drawn out , the more chance that new developments come that make the trial and its makeup more perilous for McConnell .
We have already seen examples of this : the documents released through FOIA strongly linking Trump to the hold up of the Ukraine aid , and recently John Bolton ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subpoenaed .
Even with those additional evidence included in the Senate trial , how much more likely does it make Trump ’ s removal ?
Again , with this current makeup , not likely .
But the longer the process gets drawn out , the more that such pieces of evidence will start to see the light of day — the more this calculation by McConnell will be seen as backfiring .
Whether he holds a sham trial or a trial that is bipartisan and includes all the evidence that Dems want — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different for McConnell .
The only person it really helps to maintain this stance on preventing witnesses and other evidence , is Donald Trump .
Even that is kind of iffy .
Just like the Republican Senators facing tough battleground re-elections , Donald Trump would be better served facing a trial that is seen as more unbiased and thorough — and making it out without being found guilty .
Forcing a show trial instead of a trial with full evidence and witnesses makes little sense for McConnell , his fellow GOP Senators , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does is makes Trump look less awful , by preventing all that additional evidence from becoming a part of the public record of the impeachment .
But again , that is very unlikely to have an effect on the ultimate outcome .
Even Trump himself sees that this would be better for him , which is why he is willing to signal that he is fine with such witness testimony as part of the trial .
For once , Trump is not wrong .
It helps him more politically , and is unlikely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it say about McConnell , when even Trump is making a smarter political calculation than him ?
One final reason that it proves to be a McConnell blunder , though — the more that all the evidence is revealed that shows Trump ’ s guilt , even if it is not useful for the actual trial , becomes tons of useful ammunition to use against Trump in the General election .
Perhaps even the Primary , if someone like Romney or Ted Cruz pounces on all the evidence showing Trump to be corrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as much as people think of Trump ’ s devoted fan base — let ’ s not forget that he could not win a majority in any GOP primary in 2016 until after most of the other primary opponents dropped out .
When it comes to the GOP ’ s primary voters , Trump was hardly the favorite — it is intriguing to wonder if that is still the case .
Regardless about the primary , all the evidence that comes out now that shows Trump to be corrupt , is useful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fire up the Left and swing voters who are known for punishing corruption .
Were McConnell to allow the evidence in the trial , and allow it to contribute to an outcome where Trump is found not guilty , it would be far easier to defuse for the General election , to frame as a non-issue , than if Dems could point to it as a clear-as-day stinkin ’ Cover Up between corrupt politicians profiting from their offices .
Is Mitch McConnell really so afraid of what witnesses and other evidence could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might actually change the outcome and force Trump ’ s removal ?
He must be that afraid — but also that stupid — and also a statement of how untrustworthy he considers his fellow GOP Senators .
The McConnell and Republican Party narrative that they are trying to ram down our throats through mainstream media is that Nancy Pelosi ’ s decision to withhold the articles of impeachment until McConnell agrees to include witness testimony and documents as part of the Senate impeachment trial backfired , that it only helps them , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else .
The truth of the matter is , if you stop to think about it , it really just proves that McConnell is an idiot , and a coward .

Mitch McConnell has refused Dem demands to agree beforehand to include witness testimony and additional document evidence as part of the Senate impeachment trial. This has given Speaker Pelosi good reason to withhold the articles of impeachment from the Senate; and this slows the entire impeachment process down.
Despite the Republican and mainstream media narrative, this just shows how stupid and cowardly Mitch McConnell is.
At the end of the day, regardless of whatever rules the Senate sets for the trial — even if they include witnesses and additional documents and any other demands that Dems want — Trump would only be removed from office if a supermajority two-thirds of the Senate votes to remove. And with the current makeup of the Senate, such an outcome is wholly unlikely.
To put in perspective how unlikely an outcome that is — for the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, Republicans also controlled the Senate, but were actually the opposition Party to President Clinton. The Senate did eventually get to include witness testimony, that Republicans wanted. And they still could not get a supermajority to vote guilty.
McConnell and his many Republican Senators facing re-election this year would be better served by holding a trial that would be seen as neutral and bipartisan as possible. This would give the GOP Senators in swing states, like Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, and Martha McSally, the cover they need to vote either way — and still be relatively safe for Trump to stay in power. This would give them the best chance in their respective elections, and McConnell the best chance at remaining majority leader.
By forcing a biased trial, where McConnell is largely seen as conspiring with the White House (well, he’s actually already admitted to this, but we’ll set that aside for the moment), he only makes their campaigns tougher. Faced with such an outcome, those same Swing state GOP Senators would have no choice but to toe the party line — though I am sure they would be vocally much more indignant about it — and while this would help with the Trump base, there would now be zero cover for the unaffiliated and swing voters who are typically not very sympathetic of incumbents they see as corrupt. Even if they vote guilty, if the trial itself as seen as illegitimate, that would likely have little positive effect for them.
Then there is the delay. The longer the process is drawn out, the more chance that new developments come that make the trial and its makeup more perilous for McConnell. We have already seen examples of this: the documents released through FOIA strongly linking Trump to the hold up of the Ukraine aid, and recently John Bolton’s announcement that he would testify if subpoenaed. Even with those additional evidence included in the Senate trial, how much more likely does it make Trump’s removal? Again, with this current makeup, not likely. But the longer the process gets drawn out, the more that such pieces of evidence will start to see the light of day — the more this calculation by McConnell will be seen as backfiring.
Whether he holds a sham trial or a trial that is bipartisan and includes all the evidence that Dems want — the outcome really would not be that different for McConnell. The only person it really helps to maintain this stance on preventing witnesses and other evidence, is Donald Trump.
Even that is kind of iffy. Just like the Republican Senators facing tough battleground re-elections, Donald Trump would be better served facing a trial that is seen as more unbiased and thorough — and making it out without being found guilty.
Forcing a show trial instead of a trial with full evidence and witnesses makes little sense for McConnell, his fellow GOP Senators, even Trump himself. All it really does is makes Trump look less awful, by preventing all that additional evidence from becoming a part of the public record of the impeachment. But again, that is very unlikely to have an effect on the ultimate outcome. Even Trump himself sees that this would be better for him, which is why he is willing to signal that he is fine with such witness testimony as part of the trial. For once, Trump is not wrong. It helps him more politically, and is unlikely to change the outcome. What does it say about McConnell, when even Trump is making a smarter political calculation than him?
One final reason that it proves to be a McConnell blunder, though — the more that all the evidence is revealed that shows Trump’s guilt, even if it is not useful for the actual trial, becomes tons of useful ammunition to use against Trump in the General election. Perhaps even the Primary, if someone like Romney or Ted Cruz pounces on all the evidence showing Trump to be corrupt and unfit for office. After all, as much as people think of Trump’s devoted fan base — let’s not forget that he could not win a majority in any GOP primary in 2016 until after most of the other primary opponents dropped out. When it comes to the GOP’s primary voters, Trump was hardly the favorite — it is intriguing to wonder if that is still the case.
Regardless about the primary, all the evidence that comes out now that shows Trump to be corrupt, is useful ammo for the General, to use to fire up the Left and swing voters who are known for punishing corruption. Were McConnell to allow the evidence in the trial, and allow it to contribute to an outcome where Trump is found not guilty, it would be far easier to defuse for the General election, to frame as a non-issue, than if Dems could point to it as a clear-as-day stinkin’ Cover Up between corrupt politicians profiting from their offices.
Is Mitch McConnell really so afraid of what witnesses and other evidence could bring to the trial, that it might actually change the outcome and force Trump’s removal? He must be that afraid — but also that stupid — and also a statement of how untrustworthy he considers his fellow GOP Senators.
The McConnell and Republican Party narrative that they are trying to ram down our throats through mainstream media is that Nancy Pelosi’s decision to withhold the articles of impeachment until McConnell agrees to include witness testimony and documents as part of the Senate impeachment trial backfired, that it only helps them, and that McConnell and Trump have outsmarted everyone else.
The truth of the matter is, if you stop to think about it, it really just proves that McConnell is an idiot, and a coward.


dailykos--2020-01-10--Pete Buttigieg endorsed by Anthony G. Brown from the Congressional Black Congress

Anthony G. Brown , former Maryland lieutenant governor and current member of the Congressional Black Caucus , must not have read KOS ’ s recent diary explaining why Buttigieg is bad for Black people , because today Brown endorsed Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic nomination for President .
www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
I firmly believe that Pete Buttigieg is the guy to lead our nation after we defeat Donald Trump and have to pick up the pieces and repair the damage of the last four years… He ’ s well-versed and studied and really diligent about the issues from a policy standpoint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has received around racial issues in South Bend , Brown commented that Buttigieg has not shied away from these critiques .
We all suffer criticism… The question is , how well do you take that criticism and sort of transform it into an overall constructive approach to addressing the challenges that are being raised ?
And I think he is really good at that and is open to it … He ’ s demonstrated it out there , the ability to pull together a diverse coalition of people to take on these issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was speaking to when I was in Iowa , the same issues that have come up during debates—these are issues that resonate in all communities across America .
Commenting on Buttigieg ’ s low polling with African American voters Brown said ; There is a correlation between his low numbers in the African American community and his name ID , and that is not uncommon ...
I believe that as members of the African American community , as we hear more from him , not only his broad general ideas ... but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ empower the African American community… I think he is going to resonate will with the community and that his numbers will increase ... www.cnn.com/… Brown will go on the campaign trail with Buttigieg and will serve as a co-chair of his campaign .
Our country needs a president who can heal our divides and restore decency to our nation ’ s highest office , ( Brown said in a statement ) Pete ’ s message is not defined by exclusion but welcomes everyone into the fight to tackle our nation ’ s greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graduates and military veterans .
Brown is the fourth member of Congress to endorse Buttigieg .
He has also been endorsed by Don Beyer ( Virginia ) , Pete Visclosky ( Indiana ) and Kathleen Rice ( New York ) .

Anthony G. Brown, former Maryland lieutenant governor and current member of the Congressional Black Caucus, must not have read KOS’s recent diary explaining why Buttigieg is bad for Black people, because today Brown endorsed Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic nomination for President. www.washingtonpost.com/...
I firmly believe that Pete Buttigieg is the guy to lead our nation after we defeat Donald Trump and have to pick up the pieces and repair the damage of the last four years… He’s well-versed and studied and really diligent about the issues from a policy standpoint.
Speaking to the criticism that Buttigieg has received around racial issues in South Bend, Brown commented that Buttigieg has not shied away from these critiques.
We all suffer criticism… The question is, how well do you take that criticism and sort of transform it into an overall constructive approach to addressing the challenges that are being raised? And I think he is really good at that and is open to it … He’s demonstrated it out there, the ability to pull together a diverse coalition of people to take on these issues. . . The issues that he was speaking to when I was in Iowa, the same issues that have come up during debates—these are issues that resonate in all communities across America.
Commenting on Buttigieg’s low polling with African American voters Brown said;
There is a correlation between his low numbers in the African American community and his name ID, and that is not uncommon...I believe that as members of the African American community, as we hear more from him, not only his broad general ideas...but the specific proposals he has to uplift and empower the African American community… I think he is going to resonate will with the community and that his numbers will increase...www.cnn.com/…
Brown will go on the campaign trail with Buttigieg and will serve as a co-chair of his campaign.
Our country needs a president who can heal our divides and restore decency to our nation’s highest office, (Brown said in a statement) Pete’s message is not defined by exclusion but welcomes everyone into the fight to tackle our nation’s greatest challenges.www.cnn.com/…
Brown and Buttigieg are both Harvard graduates and military veterans. Brown is the fourth member of Congress to endorse Buttigieg. He has also been endorsed by Don Beyer (Virginia), Pete Visclosky (Indiana) and Kathleen Rice (New York).


dailykos--2020-01-10--Good News Roundup for Friday, Jan. 10, 2020

Now onward to some good news I ’ ve collected recently .
Please feel free to add more !
Here are more details about yesterday ’ s war powers vote in case you need ‘ em : The House voted on Thursday to force President Trump to go to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran , in a sharp rebuke of his decision to ratchet up hostilities with Tehran without the explicit approval of the legislative branch .
The vote was 224 to 194 , almost entirely along party lines , to curtail Mr. Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use a concurrent resolution — the type that is considered to be enacted once both chambers approve it and is never presented to the president for his signature — rather than a joint resolution , which Mr. Trump could veto .
“ This is a statement of the Congress of the United States , ” Ms. Pelosi told reporters , “ and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not.
” Only three Republicans — Representatives Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney , both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kentucky — along with the House ’ s lone independent , Representative Justin Amash , joined Democrats in supporting the measure .
Eight Democrats broke ranks to oppose it .
Matt Gaetz is certainly a surprise “ yea ” !
The eight rogue Dems are : Rep. Max Rose ( NY ) , Rep. Anthony Brindisi ( NY ) , Ben McAdams ( UT ) , Stephanie Murphy ( FL ) , Joe Cunningham ( SC ) , Elaine Luria ( VA ) , Josh Gottheimer ( NJ ) , and Kendra Horn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any of these are your Rep. , give ‘ em a piece of your mind today !
Not Buying Trump Narrative , Majority of Americans Believe Soleimani Assassination Made US Less Safe : Poll Mnuchin begs Democrats to wait until after the election to disclose how much the Secret Service spends on Trump ’ s travel Trump defender Stefanik buried in scorn for tweeting photo-shopped picture of Pelosi : ‘ You are a disgrace to women ’ Let ’ s keep calling out the Gross Outrageous Punks like Stefanik time they pull a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stephen Robinson , whom I adore , had this object lesson for Dems to remember in 2021 : Virginia Democrats Get Petty , And It Is A Glorious Sight We 've often argued that Democrats need to play hardball , and the new Democratic Senate majority in Virginia is showing how it 's done .
Yesterday , Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase learned she was serving on just one committee ... She used to serve on three more ... She 's the only senator to serve on just one committee and the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is n't on at least three .
But no one likes Amanda Chase for the complicated reason that she 's terrible .
Chase , who likes to pack a visible pistol on the Senate floor , ran a Facebook ad last September stating that she `` was n't afraid to shoot down gun groups . ''
She later claimed the digital media company she hired `` screwed up '' her original ad .
... there are 12 Democrats and just three Republicans on the Commerce and Labor committee , and the Finance and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five scraggly-ass Republicans .
Minority Leader Norment is shocked and appalled .
NORMENT : A 12-3 distribution seems a little disproportionate to me .
Is n't it , though ?
Democrats do n't dispute this .
In fact , they point to how Republicans ran things when they were in power .
The Commerce and Labor committee used to have 11 Republicans and four Democrats .
The new Senate majority leader , Dick Saslaw , responded to Norment with epic shade .
SASLAW : We just figured this is what you all preferred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all did .
Oh snap !
Let 's hope US Senate Democrats are paying attention .
We do n't want to hear any bullshit about `` restoring Senate norms '' when Democrats regain the majority .
Good news from my city and state No American City Has Ever Tried a Climate Justice Tax Like the One Portland Is Launching .
What ’ s the Plan ?
The entire article is worth reading since there ’ s a lot of nuance to this story .
Wish us luck , because as the writer notes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road map for other cities—or it could end up a cautionary tale.
” Remember all the Rethug theatrics in the Oregon legislature when we were about to pass a climate change bill ?
Well , here ’ s the final act .
Judge dismisses suit against Democrats over access to Capitol , fines A federal judge on Tuesday threw out state Sen. Brian Boquist ’ s lawsuit against a Democratic leader and other legislative officials that followed a Republican walk-out over a climate change bill last year , ruling Boquist ’ s warnings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to threats .
Boquist , R-Dallas , filed the suit in July after a legislative committee voted to require him to provide 12 hours ’ notice before reporting to the Capitol to give officials time to arrange for additional state troopers to ensure the safety of employees and the public .
In a June 19 floor speech , Boquist told Senate President Peter Courtney , D-Salem , “ If you send the state police to get me , hell is coming to visit you personally.
” Soon after , Boquist also threatened state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to haul him back to the Capitol they should “ Send bachelors and come heavily armed .
I ’ m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon .
It ’ s just that simple.
” U.S. District Judge Michael McShane called Boquist ’ s statements `` unprotected fighting words , '' saying they were threats ... '' Words , it turns out , sometimes have consequences , '' the judge wrote .
`` Defendants did not violate Plaintiff ’ s First Amendment rights . ''
I see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Gasbag Obfuscating Posturers so often try to hide behind the First Amendment and too often succeed .
Not this time !
😊 Good news from around the nation The Oakland women who took over a vacant lot to house the homeless A miniature white picket fence lines the entryway into the homeless encampment of 37MLK in Oakland , where tents sit in neat rows , fairy lights glow overhead and chickens cluck around the grounds .
At least four homeless encampments sit along the mile of boulevard leading up to 37MLK from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the other camps are shrouded in darkness after sunset , lawn lanterns provide light along paths at 37MLK .
Whorls of decorative fake ivy dangle over the chain-link fence , mixing in with potted plants and splashes of art , adding beauty to the ugliest of situations .
“ Welcome to our home , ” read a small paper heart near the entrance , before the winter rains washed it away .
37MLK [ is ] a tent village created out of deliberate and coordinated intent ; by community organizers taking over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of setting up a homeless encampment .
It ’ s a community response to a housing crisis that has led to many black elders being pushed out of the neighborhoods they call home .
“ You leave this land fallow during one of the greatest humanitarian crises in Oakland , pretty much ever , this mass homelessness ?
” said Stefani Echeverría-Fenn , one of the organizers , in a Facebook video announcing her intentions .
“ I will not abide by that .
You can arrest me , but I ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll bring more people.
” Hundreds of Americans Become Foster Families to Ailing Senior Veterans , Opening Up Their Hearths and Homes Today in the United States , more than 82,000 veterans live in nursing homes ...
However , the Medical Foster Home program launched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ( DVA ) in 2008 has been providing opportunities for a much more comfortable life to senior veterans who can ’ t live alone by allowing American families to open their own doors to the nation ’ s heroes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve as an alternative to a nursing home…for veterans who require nursing home care but prefer a non-institutional setting with fewer residents , ” says the DVA website .
The program , launched in 2008 , now has a presence in 44 states , and each family in the program is allowed to take up to three veterans into their homes in order to give them a more comfortable and personalized care environment .
The agreement is a long-term commitment , and according to Cathy Free at The Post , the veterans often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remainder of their lives .
“ Many of our caregivers and vets become family , ” Cooper told Southern Living .
“ They take them on vacation .
We recently spoke to a family who takes their veteran—a quadriplegic—camping twice a year .
These are opportunities they never would have had.
” Princeton University is hanging a series of portraits that honor its blue-collar campus workers Good news from around the world Here Are a Dozen Different Ways the World Has Rallied Behind Australia During the Bushfires The article goes on to cite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knitters around the world crafting healing clothing for burned animals , the family of Steve Irwin treating animals in their Queensland hospital , celebrities raising money , and the Australian P.M .
( finally !
! )
pledging $ 2 billion AUD ( $ 1.4 billion USD ) to create a national recovery fund for those affected by the bush fires .
Touching on today ’ s theme of music being the antithesis of war , here ’ s an inspiring story from WWII : Ewa Wyszogrodzka is grateful for the unknown builders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the garden of a destroyed house in Warsaw at the end of the second world war , handed it to authorities .
Its contents – pages of musical composition – were placed in the Polish national library for safekeeping , where they lay forgotten for years .
The manuscripts had been buried by Wyszogrodzka ’ s great-grandfather , the composer Ludomir Różycki , before he fled the war-torn city .
Janusz Wawrowski , considered Poland ’ s leading classical violinist , spent about a decade reconstructing Różycki ’ s Violin Concerto – an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of George Gershwin or the film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold , which was never performed in his lifetime… Piotr Urbański , a musicologist at Poznan University , said it was “ rich , clear and brilliant , connecting us with a part of Polish history which was very tough ( when it was under the occupation of Nazi Germany ) but he used his music to encourage optimism , like a kind of therapy.
” From the Sierra Club magazine , via Mother Jones : Like youth activists around the world , Lebanese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which in Lebanon means protesting against rampant government corruption , a faltering economy , and a long list of environmental problems that dominate daily life .
Hoping to capitalize on the current unrest , they are also working to set the country on a greener path .
As the protest [ against the corrupt government , which had failed to take action against wildfires ] centralized around Martyr ’ s Square this past fall , Regenerate Lebanon set up an encampment there .
It includes a kitchen that serves around 250 locally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( organizers rely instead on stainless steel kitchenware or the briq , a traditional Lebanese water jug ) .
It has a maker space that boasts a living wall as well as a library and an area to collect donations like clothes and foodstuffs .
Citizens can stop by a `` cafe , '' where there is potable filtered water and solar-powered recharging stations .
Kehdy sees the encampment as a micro-model that is already being replicated in some villages .
Young Lebanese activists have also joined together to clean up trash and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Best New Species of 2019 : A Tiny Primate That Looks Like Baby Yoda Girl Had Only Been Volunteering at Pet Shelter for Two Days When She Was Reunited With Lost Cat From Childhood This 15-year-old girl had only been volunteering at her local animal shelter for a few days when she was suddenly reunited with her childhood cat named Spunky .
Hannah Rountree had not seen Spunky since he disappeared from her home in Roseburg , Oregon during a family vacation three years ago .
Now 15 years old , Hannah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adoption center back in December .
As fate would have it , it was only her second day on the job when she noticed a cat who looked shockingly like Spunky .
To her surprise , it was indeed her missing cat .
The feline had been found on the side of a highway back in September .
After he was put up for adoption , he was taken home by a couple only to be brought back to the shelter a few weeks later because he didn ’ t want to catch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , she says he has quickly become comfortable with his old stomping grounds once more—although this time , she made sure to get him microchipped .
The New York Times recently invited readers to “ stretch the traditional boundaries of a letter to the editor , in verse , song or some other form.
” These two offerings are especially wonderful : I get emails from Mother Jones , and one of their regular offerings is “ Mother Jones Recharge ” which features various good news stories each week .
They ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a Ohia Lehua blossom , the first plant to grow after lava cools in Hawaii .
I love the photo , and I love the symbolism , because like the photo of new growth in the charred Australian landscape , it shows rebirth after destruction , which I hope is what we will begin to see in our nation when Dems regain power in 2021 .
www.rawstory.com/ ...
The true meaning behind the lingo used by corporate Democrats [ This is absolutely brilliant – ! ]
www.dailykos.com/… Chef José Andrés dispatches his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery efforts www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ ...
Doing Something Nice For Others Can Immediately Relieve Sensations of Physical and Mental Pain , Says New Study www.motherjones.com/… In Rural Colorado , the Kids of Coal Miners Learn to Install Solar Panels www.positive.news/… What went right in 2019 [ Good news from a UK perspective ] I ’ ve shared in previous GNRUs that during the darkest days of early 2017 , when I was almost catatonic with shock and fear over tRump ’ s election , I listened to this song over and over .
It never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my deepest beliefs , and to give me hope .
Thank you , Leonard .
You ’ re still speaking to us sweetly from your window in the Tower of Song .
This performance is from his concert in London in 2008 .
I had the unforgettable privilege of hearing him perform it live the following year .
Thanks for giving me the chance to sub for you , chloris , and thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering @ @ @ @

Welcome, Gnusies and Gnewbies!
Happy Friday! I’m filling in for chloris creator while she’s on the road. Happy travels, cc, and I hope I can clear the very high bar you set for Fridays!
This has been an unusually challenging week for activists like us who believe that our best motivator is hope. All week, the two top stories on the news both pushed us toward fear and hopelessness: a terrifyingly close approach to war caused by the recklessness of our Psychopath-in-Chief, and heartbreaking destruction in Australia caused by the climate crisis resulting from the criminal greed of the fossil fuel industry and its governmental enablers.
But even in those two bleak stories, you can find hope:
War with Iran has become significantly less likely. First, because the House Democrats have stepped up once again to reassert the power of the legislative branch – yes, it won’t pass the Senate, but I think it sends a strong enough message to discourage IMPOTUS from escalation. And second, because, as Seraph4377 put it in a comment on Wednesday’s GNRU, “the leadership of Iran has chosen to be the goddamn adults in the room.” The downing of the plane in Tehran by an Iranian missile caused us all more anxiety, of course, but the evidence suggesting the hit was a mistake has calmed the situation. Bottom line at this point is that we’re no longer on the knife edge of war.
In Australia, heroic work is being done by firefighters, emergency services personnel, veterinarians, and volunteers, funded by donations from people all over the world. They aren’t winning yet, the fires are still raging, but in some of the places where the flames are out, new growth is beginning to poke up out of the charred ground, a sign that life will reassert itself wherever it can. It’s just a small sliver of hope, but it’s real.
* * * * * * *
When I’m stressed out by the news I see and read, I usually turn to music for comfort. So today’s roundup will feature several musical selections that I think are good commentaries and/or antidotes to this week’s scary news rollercoaster.
There’s a wonderful quote I first saw years ago, attributed to an orchestra leader in Sarajevo who kept performing music throughout the siege of his city: “Music is everything that war is not.” In that spirit, I’ll begin with a couple of anti-war songs that have been playing in my head this week.
The first one takes me all the way back to my early adolescence. When I was around 12, I had a schoolmate whose parents were pacifists and folk singers, and they frequently gathered their daughter’s friends at their house for discussions and singing. That’s where I got my first taste of anti-war activism and sang anti-war songs like this one:
x YouTube Video
I love that this old spiritual reminds us that we can choose to “study war no more.” We don’t need to fill our heads with war news or let ourselves be ruled by fears of war.
The second anti-war song is a Vietnam War classic. “War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”
x YouTube Video
* * * * * * *
Now onward to some good news I’ve collected recently. Please feel free to add more!
Good political news
Here are more details about yesterday’s war powers vote in case you need ‘em:
House Votes to Restrain Trump’s Iran War Powers
From the NY Times:
The House voted on Thursday to force President Trump to go to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran, in a sharp rebuke of his decision to ratchet up hostilities with Tehran without the explicit approval of the legislative branch. The vote was 224 to 194, almost entirely along party lines, to curtail Mr. Trump’s war-making power. ✂ House Democrats opted to use a concurrent resolution — the type that is considered to be enacted once both chambers approve it and is never presented to the president for his signature — rather than a joint resolution, which Mr. Trump could veto. “This is a statement of the Congress of the United States,” Ms. Pelosi told reporters, “and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not.” ✂ Only three Republicans — Representatives Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney, both of Florida, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — along with the House’s lone independent, Representative Justin Amash, joined Democrats in supporting the measure. Eight Democrats broke ranks to oppose it.
Matt Gaetz is certainly a surprise “yea”! The eight rogue Dems are: Rep. Max Rose (NY), Rep. Anthony Brindisi (NY), Ben McAdams (UT), Stephanie Murphy (FL), Joe Cunningham (SC), Elaine Luria (VA), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), and Kendra Horn (OK). Gnusies, if any of these are your Rep., give ‘em a piece of your mind today!
Not Buying Trump Narrative, Majority of Americans Believe Soleimani Assassination Made US Less Safe: Poll
From Common Dreams:
Trump administration officials have repeatedly claimed the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani last week made the United States safer, but a new poll published Thursday found that a majority of the American public disagrees and believes the White House's behavior toward Iran has been "reckless." According to the national USA Today/Ipsos survey, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, 55% of the public believes the assassination of Soleimani made the U.S. either somewhat or much less safe, while just 24% said the killing made the country more safe. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they believe Soleimani's assassination made it more likely the U.S. would go to war with Iran. The survey also found that 52% the public believes the Trump administration's Iran policies have been "reckless.”
This made me LOL:
Mnuchin begs Democrats to wait until after the election to disclose how much the Secret Service spends on Trump’s travel
From Raw Story:
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is imploring Democrats to change draft legislation that would disclose how much the Secret Service spends securing President Donald Trump’s travel, so that the information is only made public after the presidential election. The disclosure requirement is part of a broader bipartisan bill that would transfer control of the Secret Service back to the Treasury Department.
Sure thing, Steve! /s
Trump defender Stefanik buried in scorn for tweeting photo-shopped picture of Pelosi: ‘You are a disgrace to women’
From Raw Story:
Let’s keep calling out the Gross Outrageous Punks like Stefanik every time they pull a stunt like this!
Wonkette’s Stephen Robinson, whom I adore, had this object lesson for Dems to remember in 2021:
Virginia Democrats Get Petty, And It Is A Glorious Sight
From Wonkette:
We've often argued that Democrats need to play hardball, and the new Democratic Senate majority in Virginia is showing how it's done. Yesterday, Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase learned she was serving on just one committee... She used to serve on three more... She's the only senator to serve on just one committee and the only Republican not in their first term who isn't on at least three. But no one likes Amanda Chase for the complicated reason that she's terrible. Chase, who likes to pack a visible pistol on the Senate floor, ran a Facebook ad last September stating that she "wasn't afraid to shoot down gun groups." She later claimed the digital media company she hired "screwed up" her original ad. ✂ ...there are 12 Democrats and just three Republicans on the Commerce and Labor committee, and the Finance and Appropriations committee has 11 Democrats and just five scraggly-ass Republicans. Minority Leader Norment is shocked and appalled. NORMENT: A 12-3 distribution seems a little disproportionate to me. Isn't it, though? Democrats don't dispute this. In fact, they point to how Republicans ran things when they were in power. The Commerce and Labor committee used to have 11 Republicans and four Democrats. The new Senate majority leader, Dick Saslaw, responded to Norment with epic shade. SASLAW: We just figured this is what you all preferred. We tried to copy what you all did. Oh snap! Let's hope US Senate Democrats are paying attention. We don't want to hear any bullshit about "restoring Senate norms" when Democrats regain the majority.
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Good news from my city and state
No American City Has Ever Tried a Climate Justice Tax Like the One Portland Is Launching. What’s the Plan?
From Willamette Week:
It’s a local version of the Green New Deal proposed in 2019 by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ... The Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, or PCEF, will raise as much as $60 million a year from a new tax on big retailers. The money is supposed to supply clean, efficient energy and jobs to people the city has long slighted. The overarching goals: to provide members of underserved communities with valuable skills while insulating, caulking and tweaking inefficient heating and cooling systems and installing rooftop solar panels at the homes of low-income Portlanders. ✂ Voters approved the tax in November 2018 by a landslide, 65 to 35 percent.
The entire article is worth reading since there’s a lot of nuance to this story. Wish us luck, because as the writer notes, “The fund could provide a road map for other cities—or it could end up a cautionary tale.”
Oregon Conservation Group Collects Christmas Trees For Salmon Habitat
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
The Tualatin Valley and Clackamas River chapters of Trout Unlimited will be collecting Christmas trees and recycling them into salmon habitat through their “Christmas for Coho” program. The conservation groups have anchored around 4,000 Christmas trees in Oregon streams since 2012 to replenish the woody debris that used to be common in local waterways. The trees slow the river current and give young fish a place to rest and hide from predators before they resume their journey out to the ocean. The trees also improve fish habitat by introducing a new food source for microorganisms at the bottom of the food chain.
Remember all the Rethug theatrics in the Oregon legislature when we were about to pass a climate change bill? Well, here’s the final act.
Judge dismisses suit against Democrats over access to Capitol, fines
From The Oregonian:
A federal judge on Tuesday threw out state Sen. Brian Boquist’s lawsuit against a Democratic leader and other legislative officials that followed a Republican walk-out over a climate change bill last year, ruling Boquist’s warnings to fellow lawmakers and state police amounted to threats. Boquist, R-Dallas, filed the suit in July after a legislative committee voted to require him to provide 12 hours’ notice before reporting to the Capitol to give officials time to arrange for additional state troopers to ensure the safety of employees and the public. ✂ In a June 19 floor speech, Boquist told Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, “If you send the state police to get me, hell is coming to visit you personally.” Soon after, Boquist also threatened state police, saying that if they were going to haul him back to the Capitol they should “Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.” ✂ U.S. District Judge Michael McShane called Boquist’s statements "unprotected fighting words,'' saying they were threats..."Words, it turns out, sometimes have consequences,'' the judge wrote. "Defendants did not violate Plaintiff’s First Amendment rights.''
I see this as especially good news, because the Gasbag Obfuscating Posturers so often try to hide behind the First Amendment and too often succeed. Not this time! 😊
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Good news from around the nation
The Oakland women who took over a vacant lot to house the homeless
From The Guardian:
A miniature white picket fence lines the entryway into the homeless encampment of 37MLK in Oakland, where tents sit in neat rows, fairy lights glow overhead and chickens cluck around the grounds. At least four homeless encampments sit along the mile of boulevard leading up to 37MLK from the city’s downtown, but where the other camps are shrouded in darkness after sunset, lawn lanterns provide light along paths at 37MLK. Whorls of decorative fake ivy dangle over the chain-link fence, mixing in with potted plants and splashes of art, adding beauty to the ugliest of situations. “Welcome to our home,” read a small paper heart near the entrance, before the winter rains washed it away. ✂ 37MLK [is] a tent village created out of deliberate and coordinated intent; by community organizers taking over a vacant lot for the sole purpose of setting up a homeless encampment. It’s a community response to a housing crisis that has led to many black elders being pushed out of the neighborhoods they call home. “You leave this land fallow during one of the greatest humanitarian crises in Oakland, pretty much ever, this mass homelessness?” said Stefani Echeverría-Fenn, one of the organizers, in a Facebook video announcing her intentions. “I will not abide by that. You can arrest me, but I’ll come back the next day, and I’ll bring more people.”
Hundreds of Americans Become Foster Families to Ailing Senior Veterans, Opening Up Their Hearths and Homes
From Good News Network:
Today in the United States, more than 82,000 veterans live in nursing homes...However, the Medical Foster Home program launched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) in 2008 has been providing opportunities for a much more comfortable life to senior veterans who can’t live alone by allowing American families to open their own doors to the nation’s heroes. “A Medical Foster Home can serve as an alternative to a nursing home…for veterans who require nursing home care but prefer a non-institutional setting with fewer residents,” says the DVA website. ✂ The program, launched in 2008, now has a presence in 44 states, and each family in the program is allowed to take up to three veterans into their homes in order to give them a more comfortable and personalized care environment. The agreement is a long-term commitment, and according to Cathy Free at The Post, the veterans often live in the foster homes for the remainder of their lives. ✂ “Many of our caregivers and vets become family,” Cooper told Southern Living. “They take them on vacation. We recently spoke to a family who takes their veteran—a quadriplegic—camping twice a year. These are opportunities they never would have had.”
Princeton University is hanging a series of portraits that honor its blue-collar campus workers
From CNN:
Portraits on university campuses usually portray school founders, presidents and donors. But at Princeton University, portraits of blue-collar campus workers are now taking center stage. A new set of paintings are offering a fresh perspective on the working class, racial struggle and empowerment at the Ivy league school. Mario Moore , the artist behind the paintings, views his artwork as more than just decoration. By showcasing the university's workers, he wants to pay tribute to them and "put them in positions of power," he told CNN. Moore painted 10 workers at Princeton, including people in facilities, dining, grounds maintenance and security. He focused on African-Americans as his subjects and says he was inspired by the plight of migrant black families who have struggled for job opportunities and equal pay. Growing up in Detroit, he remembers his own father working blue-collar jobs to provide for him.
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Good news from around the world
Here Are a Dozen Different Ways the World Has Rallied Behind Australia During the Bushfires
From the Good News Network:
With wildfires continuing to blaze throughout southern Australia, the situation may be dire—but in the wake of tragedy, there is always a slew of people, celebrities, religious groups, and organizations rallying to offer support. This week, teams of Muslims from the Australian Islamic Center began cooking meals for exhausted firefighters across East Gippsland. The group also distributed several truckloads worth of food, emergency supplies, and resources across the region. In the very same area, chefs from the Sikh Volunteers Australia set up their own mobile kitchen so they could feed firefighters and bushfire evacuees.
The article goes on to cite the U.S. and Canada sending firefighters, knitters around the world crafting healing clothing for burned animals, the family of Steve Irwin treating animals in their Queensland hospital, celebrities raising money, and the Australian P.M. (finally!!) pledging $2 billion AUD ($1.4 billion USD) to create a national recovery fund for those affected by the bush fires.
Touching on today’s theme of music being the antithesis of war, here’s an inspiring story from WWII:
Polish composer's lost wartime concerto brought to life
From The Guardian:
Ewa Wyszogrodzka is grateful for the unknown builders who, after discovering a suitcase in the garden of a destroyed house in Warsaw at the end of the second world war, handed it to authorities. Its contents – pages of musical composition – were placed in the Polish national library for safekeeping, where they lay forgotten for years. The manuscripts had been buried by Wyszogrodzka’s great-grandfather, the composer Ludomir Różycki, before he fled the war-torn city. ✂ Janusz Wawrowski, considered Poland’s leading classical violinist, spent about a decade reconstructing Różycki’s Violin Concerto – an exuberant, optimistic work comparable to that of George Gershwin or the film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which was never performed in his lifetime… ✂ Piotr Urbański, a musicologist at Poznan University, said it was “rich, clear and brilliant, connecting us with a part of Polish history which was very tough (when it was under the occupation of Nazi Germany) but he used his music to encourage optimism, like a kind of therapy.” x YouTube Video
How Lebanese Environmentalists Helped Spark Revolution
From the Sierra Club magazine, via Mother Jones:
Like youth activists around the world, Lebanese environmentalists are objecting to the status quo, which in Lebanon means protesting against rampant government corruption, a faltering economy, and a long list of environmental problems that dominate daily life. Hoping to capitalize on the current unrest, they are also working to set the country on a greener path. ✂ As the protest [against the corrupt government, which had failed to take action against wildfires] centralized around Martyr’s Square this past fall, Regenerate Lebanon set up an encampment there. It includes a kitchen that serves around 250 locally sourced meals daily without using any plastic (organizers rely instead on stainless steel kitchenware or the briq, a traditional Lebanese water jug). It has a maker space that boasts a living wall as well as a library and an area to collect donations like clothes and foodstuffs. Citizens can stop by a "cafe," where there is potable filtered water and solar-powered recharging stations. Kehdy sees the encampment as a micro-model that is already being replicated in some villages.
Young Lebanese activists have also joined together to clean up trash and recycle whatever they can.
“I used to think the problem was so big—waste, the water crisis,” said Joanne Hayek, a member of Regenerate Lebanon. “For me, the biggest change is that we realized in fact we all had the same dream of a clean Lebanon. That has aligned us.”
Vietnamese women strive to clear war-era mines
From Raw Story:
More than 6.1 million hectares of land in Vietnam remain blanketed by unexploded munitions — mainly dropped by US bombers — decades after the war ended in 1975. Inching across a field littered with Vietnam war-era bombs, [Le Thi Bich] Ngoc leads an all-women demining team clearing unexploded ordnance that has killed tens of thousands of people — including her uncle. ✂ At least 40,000 Vietnamese have since died in related accidents. Victims are often farmers who accidentally trigger explosions, people salvaging scrap metal, or children who mistake bomblets for toys. ✂ For the past 20 years, Ngoc has worked as a deminer with Mines Advisory Group (MAG), funded by the United States, Britain and Japan. Today the 42-year-old criss-crosses her home province to excavate up to a dozen pieces of unexploded ordnance daily — and she is not alone. Deminer Tran Thi Hanh told AFP her husband was injured by a landmine blast while going to work, and she does not want the same thing to happen to others. “This is what motivates me to do this job,” she said.
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Musical break
Dylan nails the hypocrisy of “Christian” war-mongering.
x YouTube Video
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Animal news
The Award for Best New Species of 2019: A Tiny Primate That Looks Like Baby Yoda
From Mother Jones:
Friends, we’ve found it. The most adorable—and therefore the best—new species of the year. It’s got bulging eyes, slender toes, and a tail twice the length of its minuscule body. If a chinchilla and a Furby had a baby, this is what it’d look like. But perhaps most importantly, the species bears a striking resemblance to Baby Yoda, the Mandalorian character that has rightfully won the internet over with its excruciating cuteness. Found on the Togean Island chain in Indonesia, Tarsius niemitzi, the new species of tarsier, a tiny nocturnal primate, is so rare and geographically isolated that if it were to be granted a conservation status, researchers estimate, it would be classified as endangered, though it’s unclear how many exist in the wild. Journalists have for years compared tarsiers to the original Yoda; there’s even a rumor that the animals inspired the 1977 character. But the primate group, including the newly discovered species, probably has more in common with Baby Yoda. Take their eating habits for example: As fans of the show know, Baby Yoda eats frogs, while the tarsier—the only carnivorous primate—snacks on bugs and small reptiles it catches by leaping from tree to tree with its unexpectedly strong ankles and feet. And while tarsiers (as far as I know!) can’t use the Force, they can rotate their heads 180 degrees on both sides like an owl. This comes in handy because they can’t move their eyes in their sockets.
Girl Had Only Been Volunteering at Pet Shelter for Two Days When She Was Reunited With Lost Cat From Childhood
From Good News Network:
This 15-year-old girl had only been volunteering at her local animal shelter for a few days when she was suddenly reunited with her childhood cat named Spunky. Hannah Rountree had not seen Spunky since he disappeared from her home in Roseburg, Oregon during a family vacation three years ago. ✂ Now 15 years old, Hannah started volunteering at the Saving Grace Pet Adoption center back in December. As fate would have it, it was only her second day on the job when she noticed a cat who looked shockingly like Spunky. To her surprise, it was indeed her missing cat. The feline had been found on the side of a highway back in September. After he was put up for adoption, he was taken home by a couple only to be brought back to the shelter a few weeks later because he didn’t want to catch mice. Since Hannah brought him back home, she says he has quickly become comfortable with his old stomping grounds once more—although this time, she made sure to get him microchipped.
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A good laugh
The New York Times recently invited readers to “stretch the traditional boundaries of a letter to the editor, in verse, song or some other form.” These two offerings are especially wonderful:
A Few of His Favorite Things (To the tune of “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”) Penthouses, power and plutocrat nations, Rallies with cheering and standing ovations, Big brassy buildings and homes fit for kings, These are a few of his favorite things. Girls in low necklines and eye-candy dresses, Towering heels and long flowing tresses, Diamonds that dazzle and clothing that clings, These are a few of his favorite things. When the press bites, When The Times stings, When he’s feeling mad, He’ll simply remember his favorite things, And then he won’t feel so bad. Conflicts and chaos and selfish corruption. Falsehoods and flare-ups, a Twitter eruption, Favors for fawners that come with tight strings, These are a few of his favorite things. Putty for Russia and fodder for Turkey – Links to their leaders are furtive and murky. They may have sway in his policy swings – Donald is one of their favorite things. – Erika Fine, Brookline, MA
Mr. Tangerine Man Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, tweet a tweet for me, I’m not thinkin’ and there ain’t no facts I’m listenin’ to.. Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, tweet a tweet for me, In your jingle jangle thinking, I’ll come followin’ you. Take me for a trip upon your mad and racist ship All your senses have been clipped Tiny hands can’t seem to grip And your foes too stunned to quip Wait only for a tax cut to be squanderin’ You’re ready to say anything, you tariff all the trade, On to your great parade Cast your cultish spell my way I promise to go under it. Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, tweet a tweet for me, I’m not thinking and it’s just Fox News I’m listenin’ to. Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, tweet a tweet for me, In your jingle jangle raving I’ll be followin’ you. Shel Khipple
Wilmette, Ill.
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A favorite photo
I get emails from Mother Jones, and one of their regular offerings is “Mother Jones Recharge” which features various good news stories each week. They ended their January 1st Recharge with this photo of a Ohia Lehua blossom, the first plant to grow after lava cools in Hawaii. I love the photo, and I love the symbolism, because like the photo of new growth in the charred Australian landscape, it shows rebirth after destruction, which I hope is what we will begin to see in our nation when Dems regain power in 2021.
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Hot lynx
www.rawstory.com/...The true meaning behind the lingo used by corporate Democrats [This is absolutely brilliant – read it !]
www.dailykos.com/… Chef José Andrés dispatches his relief team to assist in Australia wildfire recovery efforts
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/...Doing Something Nice For Others Can Immediately Relieve Sensations of Physical and Mental Pain, Says New Study
www.motherjones.com/… In Rural Colorado, the Kids of Coal Miners Learn to Install Solar Panels
www.positive.news/… What went right in 2019 [Good news from a UK perspective]
phys.org/...Plants can improve your work life
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Closing music
I’ve shared in previous GNRUs that during the darkest days of early 2017, when I was almost catatonic with shock and fear over tRump’s election, I listened to this song over and over. It never fails to re-ground me, to reassert my deepest beliefs, and to give me hope. Thank you, Leonard. You’re still speaking to us sweetly from your window in the Tower of Song.
This performance is from his concert in London in 2008. I had the unforgettable privilege of hearing him perform it live the following year.
x YouTube Video
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Thanks for giving me the chance to sub for you, chloris, and 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--2020-01-12--This Week In The War On Women:
New Decade 2020-
News and Items for 11th Jan.

This Week In The War On Women : News Items and links for Jan. 11th , 2020 : From 2010-2019 Set The Stage For 2020 : Since Roe v. Wade , over 1,000 abortion restrictions have been passed in states across the country — and in the last year alone , efforts to undermine Roe have reached new heights .
This legislation has been spearheaded by anti-abortion politicians , many of whom have explicitly stated their intent to leverage the passage of these laws to challenge the precedent of Roe at the federal level.www.bustle.com/ ... Women deserve to inhabit the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ domestic violence and the fear of violence .
Although times are changing , the U.S. is still one of the most dangerous countries for women in the developed world .
On average , it takes a victim seven times to leave an abusive partner before staying away for good .
My clients would often dismiss their cases out of fear of ` retaliation , but love for the abuser plays the most significant role in the victim ’ s decision .
If a client wanted to dismiss a case against an abuser , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I would always challenge their beliefs.www.huffpost.com/ ... ‘ We ’ re all in this canoe together , ’ said Roger Hall , father to the late Roxanne Louie.Hundreds stood in silence as they remembered the women in their communities who have , over the years , either disappeared or been killed .
After a few minutes , shouts and cries filled the room as each expressed the joy that these woman brought to their lives.www.keremeosreview.com/ ... Why are virginity tests still legal across America in 2020 ?
Virginity testing is a highly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a patriarchal obsession with women ’ s “ purity ” .
The state of your hymen is not an indicator of whether you ’ ve had sex or not – and virginity isn ’ t a medical fact but a social construct .
United Nations agencies have noted that virginity testing has been documented in at least 20 countries around the world and have called for “ this medically unnecessary , and often times painful , humiliating and traumatic practice ” to endwww.theguardian.com/ ...
Annual study finds 40 % of 2019 blockbusters featured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s involvement behind the camera a vital factor In what is likely to be seen as a boost for Hollywood ’ s drive to redress decades of male dominance on screen , a new report suggests that a record percentage of leading characters in successful American films are female Ada Calhoun got a call from an editor at Oprah ’ s magazine .
She had an assignment in mind , an article exploring why women in their 40s and 50s were so unhappy .
www.huffpost.com/ ...
In her new book , “ Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s New Midlife Crisis , ” author Ada Calhoun explores massive debt , Gen X childhood trauma and perimenopause .
The articles were based on a survey conducted via telephone from Jan. 26 to April 9 , 2017 , among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.theconversation.com/ ... We asked people if they had ever experienced specific forms of discrimination , harassment or unfair treatment because they are black , Latino , Native American , Asian American , a woman , lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender or queer The moral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Think of the children at the border , the children in for-profit detention centers , the children sleeping on concrete floors , the children who cry for mothers they may never see again , the children traumatized and damaged by a needlessly cruel policy that targets them for abuse , all of that is at the heart of the darkness that is Trumpian fascism .
Think , too , of those mothers suffering the worst crime that can be conceived of against mothers and motherhood , a crime abetted by people who profess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Still ) Unbought and Unbossed : Where Black Women Stood in 2019 What Black women need is more than a seat at the table .
They need to be seen and valued and heard at the table , with the confidence to speak truth to power without retaliation .
Better yet , our tremendous contributions should be matched with political and economic power.msmagazine.com/ ...
The first post for 2020 is up : from ancient times to recent headlines , exceptional women from every field of endeavor , and stirring events in women @ @ @ @ @ @ @

*Happy New Decade
2020*
This Week In The War On Women:
News Items and links for Jan. 11th, 2020:
The year in patriarchy 2019: from Epstein conspiracy theories to Japanese high heels Arwa Mahdawi As strongmen try to take over the world, women have been fighting back and making their voices heard. Here are some highlights – and lowlightswww.theguardian.com/...
Roe v Wade More than 200 members of Congress urge US supreme court to reconsider Roe v Wade Appeal in an amicus brief in a Louisiana case was signed by 205 Republicans and two Democratswww.theguardian.com/...
Abortion Restrictions From 2010-2019 Set The Stage For 2020: Since Roe v. Wade, over 1,000 abortion restrictions have been passed in states across the country — and in the last year alone, efforts to undermine Roe have reached new heights. This legislation has been spearheaded by anti-abortion politicians, many of whom have explicitly stated their intent to leverage the passage of these laws to challenge the precedent of Roe at the federal level.www.bustle.com/...
Republicans know that Americans don't support their anti-abortion extremism Danielle Campoamor Thirty-nine Republican senators signed a brief asking the supreme court to overturn Roe v Wade. But who didn’t sign is more tellingwww.theguardian.com/...
Germany’s abortion law: made by the Nazis, upheld by today’s right Mithu Sanyal An old 1930s law that hinders women’s access to information about terminations has survived public protest – and is being exploited by anti-abortion groupswww.theguardian.com/...
Domestic violence kills 15 times as many as terrorism in Britain kills 15 times as many people in Britain as terrorism, say campaigners who want the police to be given more money to tackle the problem. Police budgets to counter domestic assaults must be ringfenced, Domestic violence kills 15 times as many people in Britain as terrorism, say campaigners who want the police to be given more money to tackle the problem. The huge disparity is highlighted in figures obtained from official sources by victims’ rights campaigners, who say the police budget for combating domestic violence must be ringfenced, as it is for terrorism.www.theguardian.com/...
Domestic Violence Women deserve to inhabit the same world as men — free of domestic violence and the fear of violence. Although times are changing, the U.S. is still one of the most dangerous countries for women in the developed world. On average, it takes a victim seven times to leave an abusive partner before staying away for good. My clients would often dismiss their cases out of fear of` retaliation, but love for the abuser plays the most significant role in the victim’s decision. If a client wanted to dismiss a case against an abuser, I had to honor their decision; but I would always challenge their beliefs.www.huffpost.com/...
The Temperance movement linked booze to domestic violence. Did it have a point? Moira Donegan Rather than moralist disdain, Prohibition activists wanted alcohol banned for a more practical reason: women’s safetywww.theguardian.com/...
The Cyprus rape case is a chilling reminder of the price women pay for speaking up It is impossible to feel the British teenager convicted of lying about what happened to her in Ayia Napa has received justice www.theguardian.com/...
The Cyprus case shows how easily rape victims are let down and distrusted Joan Smith What happened to the teenager is a stain on the Cypriot justice system. Not believing women, however, is almost universalwww.theguardian.com/...
Landmark gathering of Okanagan Nation members to discuss missing, murdered Indigenous women ‘We’re all in this canoe together,’ said Roger Hall, father to the late Roxanne Louie.Hundreds stood in silence as they remembered the women in their communities who have, over the years, either disappeared or been killed. After a few minutes, shouts and cries filled the room as each expressed the joy that these woman brought to their lives.www.keremeosreview.com/...
Why are virginity tests still legal across America in 2020? Virginity testing is a highly invasive and entirely unscientific practice rooted in a patriarchal obsession with women’s “purity”. The state of your hymen is not an indicator of whether you’ve had sex or not – and virginity isn’t a medical fact but a social construct. United Nations agencies have noted that virginity testing has been documented in at least 20 countries around the world and have called for “this medically unnecessary, and often times painful, humiliating and traumatic practice” to endwww.theguardian.com/...
She Reported Her Sexual Harasser To Instagram It Banned Her Instead. By silencing victims, Instagram emboldens abusers www.huffpost.com/...
Jeffrey Epstein: woman sues estate alleging encounter when she was 14 Lawsuit filed in Florida says teen was approached in 2003 when she was ‘a vulnerable child without adequate parental support’www.theguardian.com/...
FBI Investigates Ghislaine Maxwell Others For Jeffrey Epstein Links: Sources The FBI also is following up on many leads received from women who contacted a hotline the agency set up in the wake of Epstein’s arrest.www.huffpost.com/… Reuters) - The FBI is investigating British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and several other people linked to U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. They said a principal focus of the FBI’s investigation is Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and other “people who facilitated” Epstein’s allegedly illegal behavior.
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein hit with new charges in Los Angeles during New York trial Movie mogul charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another over two days in 2013 www.theguardian.com/...
Harvey Weinstein accusers gather in solidarity to mark start of trial Rose McGowan and Rosanna Arquette among those outside the courthouse to support alleged victims who will take the standwww.theguardian.com/...
More than 100 women protest Trump and Weinstein with anti-rape anthem Group traveled from the New York court where Weinstein is on trial to Trump Tower, chanting and singing a Chilean feminist songwww.theguardian.com/...
Hollywood: Terry Gilliam faces backlash after labeling #MeToo a 'witch-hunt' The director Terry Gilliam has invited renewed backlash after repeating his claim that he is a “black lesbian in transition”, assailing the #MeToo movement as a “witch-hunt” and asserting that some of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged victims are “adults who made choices”.www.theguardian.com/...
TV: Surviving R Kelly Part II what can we learn from the horrifying update? The second season of Lifetime’s harrowing documentary detailing decades of abuse allegations against the musician covers a larger culture of complicitywww.theguardian.com/...
The film industry has utterly failed women. I won’t put up with it any longer Alice O'Keeffe I’m sick of films dominated by male characters and perspectives. This year I’m changing my cinematic dietwww.theguardian.com/...
This year's male-dominated Brit awards have an issue with women Only one British female artist has been nominated out of 25 available slots in mixed-gender categories. It’s indicative of a wider industry problemwww.theguardian.com/...
White, male and boring: diversity row should make Bafta look in the mirror Simran Hans This year’s outrageous crop of overwhelmingly white Bafta nominations shows that the academy needs to act now to make its members more diversewww.theguardian.com/...
Your definitive feminist guide to 2019’s must-see movies This year’s Sundance Film Festival has brought some incredible new movies to the fore, including Chinonye Chukwu’s Clemency, Awkwafina’s The Farewell, and Ask Dr. Ruth, a thought-provoking documentary about Holocaust survivor and sexual revolutionary Dr. Ruth Westheimer. With Frozen 2 and Aladdin in the mix, there are even a few films to show off to the young feminists in your life – and more than a few rom coms, too: think Isn’t It Romantic? and Last Christmas, for starterswww.stylist.co.uk/...
Record high in Hollywood films with female lead characters Annual study finds 40% of 2019 blockbusters featured a female lead – with women’s involvement behind the camera a vital factor In what is likely to be seen as a boost for Hollywood’s drive to redress decades of male dominance on screen, a new report suggests that a record percentage of leading characters in successful American films are female www.theguardian.com/...
Failure to launch: why Bombshell doesn't hit its right-wing targets Like Vice and Game Change before it, the Nicole Kidman-starrer feels as if it’s favouring awards prestige over political impactwww.theguardian.com/...
The Tina Turner mural in North Carolina defaced with swastika Mural on pull-down storefront of Static Age Records was vandalized after shop closed on 23 Decemberwww.theguardian.com/… The singer’s picture was defaced after the store closed on the evening of 23 December when someone drew the Nazi emblem, though incorrectly, with three of four spiraling arms pointing counterclockwise.
Elizabeth Wurtzel, journalist and author of Prozac Nation, dead at 52 Author of bestselling memoir about clinical depression, which made her ‘a hashtag before there was Twitter’, died from metastatic breast cancerwww.theguardian.com/...
Elizabeth Wurtzel showed women they could write the messy, humiliating truth Megan Nolan Prozac Nation kickstarted a genre often looked down on as exploitative. But such warnings risk silencing young women www.theguardian.com/...
"OVERLOOKED": Since 1851, obituaries in The New York Times have been dominated by white men. Now, we’re adding the stories of other remarkable people.www.nytimes.com/...
Mexico Latin American female writers 'get literary place they deserve' in new collection Project in Mexico to reprint books highlighting works of ‘great literary value' www.theguardian.com/...
Autobiography and memoir In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado Carmen Maria Machado’s account of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ‘petite, blond, Harvard graduate’ lover is horrifying but beguilingwww.theguardian.com/...
Why Gen X Women Aren’t Sleeping Ada Calhoun got a call from an editor at Oprah’s magazine. She had an assignment in mind, an article exploring why women in their 40s and 50s were so unhappy. www.huffpost.com/... In her new book, “Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis,” author Ada Calhoun explores massive debt, Gen X childhood trauma and perimenopause.
Widespread reported discrimination The articles were based on a survey conducted via telephone from Jan. 26 to April 9, 2017, among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.theconversation.com/... We asked people if they had ever experienced specific forms of discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment because they are black, Latino, Native American, Asian American, a woman, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer
The moral outrage of separating families at the border Think of the children at the border, the children in for-profit detention centers, the children sleeping on concrete floors, the children who cry for mothers they may never see again, the children traumatized and damaged by a needlessly cruel policy that targets them for abuse, all of that is at the heart of the darkness that is Trumpian fascism. Think, too, of those mothers suffering the worst crime that can be conceived of against mothers and motherhood, a crime abetted by people who profess reverence for “family values www.sfchronicle.com/...
(Still) Unbought and Unbossed: Where Black Women Stood in 2019 What Black women need is more than a seat at the table. They need to be seen and valued and heard at the table, with the confidence to speak truth to power without retaliation. Better yet, our tremendous contributions should be matched with political and economic power.msmagazine.com/...
2019 in review: Washington Post A roller coaster ride for women’s rights and gender equality around the worldwww.washingtonpost.com/...
A More Perfect Union: Eight Feminist Victories from the Last Decade 12/26/2019 by CARRIE N. BAKER and KATIE FLEISCHER Despite significant setbacks, the last decade was one that saw many gains for women in the U.S. We expanded our political power, broke a lot of glass ceilings and logged many firsts. Here are some highlights.msmagazine.com/...
Our Favourite Feminist Moments | 2019 In Review | iwda.org.au The top moments for women's rights: From Greta Thunberg to the Chilean feminist songwriters, girls and women have spoken up. Can you guess what made the list of top moments for women's rights? Read The Latest News. Follow Us On Twitter. iwda.org.au/...
Astronaut Breaks Record For Longest Single Spaceflight By A Woman NASA’s Christina Koch has spent more consecutive days in space than any other female astronaut. www.huffpost.com/...
World’s First Female Spacewalk Team Makes History: NASA Oct. 17, 2019 U.S NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made repairs on the International Space Station www.huffpost.com/...
WOW2 for Early January The first post for 2020 is up: from ancient times to recent headlines, exceptional women from every field of endeavor, and stirring events in women's history - come be inspired! https://www.dailykos.com/...
Welcome to January 11 WOW


dailykos--2020-01-12--The American Democratic Fairytale-Part 1:
Can The Republic Remain Reliably Viable?

When I hear a politician of either party wax poetic about the sanctity of our Democratic Republic I can ’ t help but ask , “ Are they speaking of the one that was originally designed by the founders 220 some years ago for a fledgling country , or the one one we have now ?
” , because the one we have now provides very little actual representation for the will of the people to manifest in to the national public policy arena .
A legitimate question arises , can we maintain a viable system given the current trajectory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asking the tough questions right now .
It ’ s also important to elect leaders that recognize we have a problem .
In this series of short vignettes I will point to the reasons why we no longer live under a reliable Democratic Republic .
Much of the public has settled for a process that relies on the hope that the stars align occasionally and there will be enough factors in place for a short window of opportunity for it to work in the public favor , yet those moments seem to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accepted this “ hit or miss ” style of democracy as the new normal .
It will be up to us , the average citizen , to rise up and demand that it be fixed while we still can .
That window is closing however .
Our most reliable arbiter has always been the courts , but they too are increasing becoming aligned with anti-democratic forces .
Some of this happened organically as the the country outgrew some of the original structures designed for a smaller nation and a less complex society .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ future generations to make the appropriate adjustments .
They obviously couldn ’ t anticipate the changes ahead , though they seemed to have some sense about human nature and the corrupting influence of unfettered power on its leaders .
Those corrupting factors have played in to the majority of reasons we no longer have a reliably consistent working democratic process in America .
In this series I will talk about some of the factors that have undermined this noble experiment that include enduring inequality , gerrymandering , lobbying , the disproportionate representation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court decisions and willful ignorance on the part of a distracted citizenry .
I will include some possible remedies that may be introduced to alter the course America is on .
Each of them will require the collective will of an informed public however .
By writing this series , I hope to do my part to advance some additional discourse on these important topics .

When I hear a politician of either party wax poetic about the sanctity of our Democratic Republic I can’t help but ask, “Are they speaking of the one that was originally designed by the founders 220 some years ago for a fledgling country, or the one one we have now?”, because the one we have now provides very little actual representation for the will of the people to manifest in to the national public policy arena. A legitimate question arises, can we maintain a viable system given the current trajectory of impeding circumstances? We should be asking the tough questions right now. It’s also important to elect leaders that recognize we have a problem.
In this series of short vignettes I will point to the reasons why we no longer live under a reliable Democratic Republic. Much of the public has settled for a process that relies on the hope that the stars align occasionally and there will be enough factors in place for a short window of opportunity for it to work in the public favor, yet those moments seem to be getting further apart. We have now accepted this “hit or miss” style of democracy as the new normal. It will be up to us, the average citizen, to rise up and demand that it be fixed while we still can. That window is closing however. Our most reliable arbiter has always been the courts, but they too are increasing becoming aligned with anti-democratic forces.
Some of this happened organically as the the country outgrew some of the original structures designed for a smaller nation and a less complex society. The founding fathers left it open to future generations to make the appropriate adjustments. They obviously couldn’t anticipate the changes ahead, though they seemed to have some sense about human nature and the corrupting influence of unfettered power on its leaders. Those corrupting factors have played in to the majority of reasons we no longer have a reliably consistent working democratic process in America.
In this series I will talk about some of the factors that have undermined this noble experiment that include enduring inequality, gerrymandering, lobbying, the disproportionate representation of having two senators per state, recent Supreme Court decisions and willful ignorance on the part of a distracted citizenry. I will include some possible remedies that may be introduced to alter the course America is on. Each of them will require the collective will of an informed public however. By writing this series, I hope to do my part to advance some additional discourse on these important topics.