dailykos--2020-02-25--Suspected US COVID-19 patient must pay $1,400 for test, or $3,270 if he has "pre-existing condition"

The way our broken healthcare and insurance system deters testing for infectious diseases shows how vulnerable we will be to COVID-19 and other pandemics : After returning to Miami last month from a work trip in China , Osmel Martinez Azcue found himself in a frightening position : he was developing flu-like symptoms , just as coronavirus was ravaging the country he had visited… .
Then hospital staff members told him he ’ d need a CT scan to screen for coronavirus , but Azcue said he asked for a flu test first… .
“ This will be out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a very limited insurance plan , recalled saying .
“ Let ’ s start with the blood test , and if I test positive , just discharge me.
” … .
But two weeks later , Azcue got unwelcome news in the form of a notice from his insurance company about a claim for $ 3,270….. Hospital officials at Jackson told the Miami Herald that , based on his insurance , Azcue would only be responsible for $ 1,400 of that bill , but Azcue said he heard from his insurer that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documentation : three years of medical records to prove that the flu he got didn ’ t relate to a preexisting condition .
So even though he had COVID-19 symptoms and had just come back from China , this man chose to not even get tested for COVID-19 , since that testing would be even more expensive ; instead , he got the cheaper flu test and assumed he didn ’ t have COVID-19 because he had the flu .
But what if he has both COVID-19 and the flu ?
We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couldn ’ t afford the COVID-19 test .
He could be spreading COVID-19 to hundreds of people right now as a result .
And how ridiculous is it that he will have to pay even more unless he can prove that he didn ’ t have a “ pre-existing condition ” that made him more vulnerable to flu ?
Azcue ’ s plan wouldn ’ t have existed if Donald Trump ’ s administration hadn ’ t rolled back provisions of the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) that prevented insurers from denying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things like hospitalization in 2018 .
The White House added links to the federal ACA exchange to outside sites that sold such “ short-term plans , ” according to the Washington Post , despite these not meeting the original requirements ; that ’ s in addition to the Trump administration ’ s other efforts to weaken key provisions of the law or throw it out entirely .
Azcue makes $ 55,000 a year and took one of those short-term plans to lower his premiums from $ 400 a month to $ 180 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being struck with one of these bills is a major driver in Americans avoiding seeking medical attention for a health issue .
Gallup polling in 2019 found that 68 million Americans , or roughly one out of four , had skipped treatment due to costs in the prior twelve months .
Set this system on a collision course with a dangerous disease spreading across the world and the outlook isn ’ t great .
The federal government has said it will pay for costs like mandatory quarantines ( which can be extremely expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But in prior situations like the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak , individuals were still on the hook for bills , and whether more financial assistance would be forthcoming is the prerogative of a federal government already hard pressed to pay for overhead costs of emergency response .
Azcue didn ’ t even have the disease or technically even receive a test for it , making it less likely his costs will be defrayed .
Fear of high medical bills is also a factor in overcrowding in emergency departments across the country , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until they are obviously ill .
If the coronavirus gains a foothold in the U.S. , that could contribute to spread in medical settings where SARS-CoV-2 already has a proven ability to spread .
This is yet another reason we need to elect as many Democrats as possible in 2020 .
Our lives will depend on it .

The way our broken healthcare and insurance system deters testing for infectious diseases shows how vulnerable we will be to COVID-19 and other pandemics:
After returning to Miami last month from a work trip in China, Osmel Martinez Azcue found himself in a frightening position: he was developing flu-like symptoms, just as coronavirus was ravaging the country he had visited…. Then hospital staff members told him he’d need a CT scan to screen for coronavirus, but Azcue said he asked for a flu test first…. “This will be out of my pocket,” Azcue, who has a very limited insurance plan, recalled saying. “Let’s start with the blood test, and if I test positive, just discharge me.”…. But two weeks later, Azcue got unwelcome news in the form of a notice from his insurance company about a claim for $3,270….. Hospital officials at Jackson told the Miami Herald that, based on his insurance, Azcue would only be responsible for $1,400 of that bill, but Azcue said he heard from his insurer that he would also have to provide additional documentation: three years of medical records to prove that the flu he got didn’t relate to a preexisting condition.
So even though he had COVID-19 symptoms and had just come back from China, this man chose to not even get tested for COVID-19, since that testing would be even more expensive; instead, he got the cheaper flu test and assumed he didn’t have COVID-19 because he had the flu. But what if he has both COVID-19 and the flu? We’ll never know, because he just couldn’t afford the COVID-19 test. He could be spreading COVID-19 to hundreds of people right now as a result.
And how ridiculous is it that he will have to pay even more unless he can prove that he didn’t have a “pre-existing condition” that made him more vulnerable to flu?
Millions of Americans will be faced with this kind of dilemma once the pandemic reaches us:
Azcue’s plan wouldn’t have existed if Donald Trump’s administration hadn’t rolled back provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that prevented insurers from denying coverage over pre-existing conditions or refusing to things like hospitalization in 2018. The White House added links to the federal ACA exchange to outside sites that sold such “short-term plans,” according to the Washington Post, despite these not meeting the original requirements; that’s in addition to the Trump administration’s other efforts to weaken key provisions of the law or throw it out entirely. Azcue makes $55,000 a year and took one of those short-term plans to lower his premiums from $400 a month to $180, according to the Herald
The possibility of being struck with one of these bills is a major driver in Americans avoiding seeking medical attention for a health issue. Gallup polling in 2019 found that 68 million Americans, or roughly one out of four, had skipped treatment due to costs in the prior twelve months. Set this system on a collision course with a dangerous disease spreading across the world and the outlook isn’t great. The federal government has said it will pay for costs like mandatory quarantines (which can be extremely expensive) for uninsured individuals returning from China. But in prior situations like the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, individuals were still on the hook for bills, and whether more financial assistance would be forthcoming is the prerogative of a federal government already hard pressed to pay for overhead costs of emergency response. Azcue didn’t even have the disease or technically even receive a test for it, making it less likely his costs will be defrayed. Fear of high medical bills is also a factor in overcrowding in emergency departments across the country, as many people won’t seek treatment until they are obviously ill. If the coronavirus gains a foothold in the U.S., that could contribute to spread in medical settings where SARS-CoV-2 already has a proven ability to spread.
This is yet another reason we need to elect as many Democrats as possible in 2020. Our lives will depend on it.


dailykos--2020-02-25--Quick, While He's Out of the Country - Good News Roundup, Bluesday February 25th, 2020

The republican party has long been the party of the monied class .
It ’ s a large part of their DNA .
Maintaining their ability to consume conspicuously outweighs all other concerns like truth and justice .
tRump pandered to that hunger with his tax cut for the rich .
A few decades ago , the republican party embraced extremist for-profit religious leaders as a source of reliable votes .
tRump pandered to them with judicial appointments ( using MoscowMItch ’ s help and guidance ) Most recently , the republican party has openly adopted the white supremacy movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandered to them by letting Stephen Miller loose on immigration and Kris Kobach loose on suppressing minority votes .
That ’ s right .
tRump and McConnell are pimping out the levers of power to the worst humanity has to offer .
Do we want shameless pimps running our country ?
What did you say .
I can ’ t hear you .
Come on .
I still can ’ t hear you .
By any metric , except the highly biased one slavishly followed by tRumpanzees , McConmen and Koch addicts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flyover country .
Tariffs , opioids , education and healthcare failures by republicans are taking their toll .
Every idiot move made by tRump ( i.e .
all of them ) alienates a few people in his base .
The rank-and-file in the Departments of State and Justice are edging toward open rebellion .
tRump ’ s divisiveness and McConnell ’ s capitulation to ( or embrace of ) tRump are putting a lot of safe republican seats into play .
He ’ s off in India right now .
They ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s mangled every name ( person or place ) he ’ s tried to pronounce .
He and Modi are nationalist besties .
Let ’ s hurry up and pass a law that they have to keep him .
Sorry India , but at least he ’ s not your president .
You could have him look after some cows and maybe get Devin to come and help .
Randy has some thoughts to share before we continue .
Please take the time to take a look at Evening Shade .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become a fixture on the DK reclist .
Here ’ s a recent edition that uncovered a future Executive Order : Evening Shade : The Fascist States of America Shades aren ’ t particularly time sensitive .
They are all about sharpening some sticks and then poking tRump & Co mercilessly without being overly abusive .
After all , we must maintain decorum ( like the Mercer story below ) .
Thank you for your consideration , and it ’ s on to the news .
The majority of my normal news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democratic primaries .
Almost all of them are horse race hit pieces and overblown fuel for pies fights .
Don ’ t expect to see that here .
All Those Bankruptcies and Business Failures Predicted This tRump is not a bull in a China shop .
He ’ s a road grader in a porcelain factory .
This article is from last November and if that ’ s not enough to put you off , it ’ s behind a firewall .
For a house organ for the plutocracy to be this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his future .
The basic message is , he isn ’ t very good at managing the economy .
Fair use restrictions gets you 3 paragraphs out of 10 pages .
Fortune : Why Trump is bad for business Small-business owners rejoiced when Trump won , but their optimism , as surveyed by the National Federation of Independent Business , began to slump substantially a year ago .
Hundreds of industry associations , from the tiny American Down and Feather Council to the huge National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade , immigration , or both .
The fear among many businesspeople is that , after a strong start , he ’ s now doing more harm than good and has no significant policy levers left to pull .
What happened is no mystery .
Trump has wiped out the benefits of his first-year policy successes by doubling down on his signature campaign issues , tariffs and immigration , adding a thick layer of uncertainty and chaos to his policy intentions , and raising federal indebtedness to new highs .
Managing the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than he thought .
“ Trade wars are good , and easy to win , ” he famously tweeted last year .
Turns out they aren ’ t .
“ It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws , ” he tweeted last March .
Turns out immigration policy is harder than it looks .
We ’ re seeing now why Trump ’ s highest-profile policy prescriptions , reducing trade and immigration , have long been opposed by economists across the political spectrum .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ steel industry , which spent years lobbying for tariffs on steel imports , is worse off today than it was before Trump granted its wish .
In a world of complex global supply chains , those rising trade barriers dampened demand broadly .
That ’ s an important reason why the U.S. manufacturing sector is already in recession—which is bad news for steel because manufacturers are valuable customers for steelmakers .
Compounding the damage , steelmakers , exhilarated by the imposition of tariffs , inflated their prospects and opened new capacity at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shriveling demand—it ’ s a classic recipe for a price plunge , and there ’ s no clear way out .
That ’ s life in the real world , not the imaginary world of easy-to-win trade wars .
Jaime Harrison , Come on Down Right now the race in South Carolina looks tight .
Kara Voght ’ s piece on Harrison gives a lot of insight into the man and his contest with Graham ( plus the header photo rocks ) .
Remember when all those statues of Saddam came tumbling down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s meet-them-where-they-are approach might look like a misstep when running against such a prominent—and lately notorious—DC figure .
Over three terms in the Senate , Graham had cultivated a reputation as a staunch conservative who delivered bipartisan agreements on immigration and climate change—part of his identity as self-described “ political wingman ” to Arizona Sen. John McCain .
( McCain had affectionately referred to his close ally as “ Little Jerk.
” ) But three years into the Trump presidency , Graham , who said during the 2016 election that he wished Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has become one of the president ’ s main sycophants .
The reversal has earned him a particularly brutal impersonation from Saturday Night Live ’ s Kate McKinnon , whose sweaty Graham explains in a recent sketch that “ even my bodily fluids are trying to distance themselves from me.
” But Graham is also contending with a South Carolina that ’ s tinging bluer .
And Trump ’ s presidency has seen a spate of Democratic wins and near-misses in the unlikeliest corners of the South , gains that relied on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party-flipping suburbs , and turnout of black voters .
Harrison , a longtime Democratic operative and current Democratic National Committee associate chair , advised Democrat Doug Jones ’ successful Senate campaign in Alabama .
Now it ’ s Harrison ’ s turn to put his own strategies to the test .
JD Scholten , Come on Down Tim Murphy takes an in-depth look at JD Scholten ’ s ongoing effort to take down Steve King in Iowa ’ s 4th .
Mother Jones : Is This the Year Democrats Finally Take Down Steve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign gained traction in 2018 , King kept on going .
When he was asked what a “ white nationalist ” was , he expressed frustration that the label had become “ a derogatory term today—I wouldn ’ t have thought so maybe a year or two or three ago.
” He endorsed a neo-Nazi for mayor of Toronto .
He called Mexicans “ dirt , ” then said he hadn ’ t , then barred the reporter who recorded him from an event .
King drew a rebuke from the National Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major agribusiness donors , like the meatpacking giant Smithfield Foods , jumped ship .
Yet even after all that , the state ’ s three most powerful elected officials rallied to his defense .
Sen. Joni Ernst and Gov .
Kim Reynolds held a last-minute rally to shore up support for King , and Sen. Chuck Grassley filmed a short video endorsing King , declaring , “ Iowa needs Steve King in Congress.
” Apparently , Iowa didn ’ t need King so much as it just needed King to beat Scholten .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the break finally came in January 2019 , after a Times reporter asked King , once more , about white supremacy .
“ White nationalist , white supremacist , Western civilization—how did that language become offensive ?
” King said .
“ Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization ?
” In response , House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) stripped King of his committee assignments , including his precious spots on the agriculture and judiciary committees .
Several Republican colleagues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Republican state senator who had announced a primary challenge to King just a few days earlier , saw a window of opportunity .
“ Our current representative ’ s caustic nature has left us without a seat at the table , ” he said , calling King ’ s comments “ abhorrent.
” King beat back primary opponents in the previous two cycles , but Feenstra is his most serious challenger by far .
Feenstra now has the backing of Bob Vander Plaats , one of the state ’ s most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a multimillionaire ethanol magnate dubbed “ the real Iowa kingmaker ” by Politico .
We lost Katherine Johnson yesterday at age 101 .
Her life is one deserving of notice .
The Atlantic : The Legacy of a Hidden Figure Johnson ’ s talent and contributions are well documented now , but for most of her life , her efforts went unrecognized—until Shetterly published her book in 2016 , and the film it inspired became a blockbuster .
For the first time , a wider swath of the world learned about Johnson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herself in American spaceflight .
The book chronicled the lives of Johnson and the other black female mathematicians who worked as “ computers ” at the Langley Research Center , using pencils and slide rules to calculate equations for the agency that would become NASA .
The sciences are well known for their infuriating tendency to overlook important figures who aren ’ t white and male .
But the stories of these women in particular had been buried so deep in the archives of history that when Shetterly brought them to light , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her late 90s , Johnson was finally celebrated—widely and loudly—for her contributions to one of the most iconic accomplishments of the 20th century .
She was inundated with press coverage , had buildings renamed in her honor , and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom .
The burst of overdue recognition didn ’ t seem to faze her .
“ There ’ s nothing to it—I was just doing my job , ” she said in a Washington Post interview in 2017 .
“ They needed information and I had it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I found it .
At the time , it was just a question and an answer.
” You Can ’ t Make This Piss Up Another ancient ( 2016 ) article about Bannon and Pence ’ s sugardaddy/mommy pair of nutjob backers , the Mercers .
The claim is they are collecting it for science .
I think it ’ s for the tRump swimming pool .
The Intercept : Trump ’ s New Billionaire Backer Also Funds Huge Stockpile of Human Urine But we all knew that , didn ’ t we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Official Asks Twitter To Help Him Find Coronavirus Outbreak Map This Is a Great Way to End Today ’ s News Section This is a 15 minutes of fame I fully endorse ( and a great way to get the stench of tRump & Co out of our nostrils ) .
Good News Network : 42-Year-old Zamboni Driver Wins First NHL Game After Being Tapped as Emergency Goalie Oliver takes on Narendra Modi ( tRump ’ s Hindu nationalist BFF ) and M4A with his customary style .
John Oliver : Medicare for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oliver ( HBO ) [ Video 19:58 ] How to Survive the News Expect republican atrocities , injustices , crimes and breaches of trust to happen about as often as you take a breath .
That way , you can be relieved when they give us a five-minute break .
Expect the media to misstate facts , allow lies to go unchallenged and generally do a crappy job of reporting .
That way , whenever actual journalism crops up you can be pleasantly surprised .
Expect the sky is falling contingent to run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imminent end of everything just like the end-of-days wackos in Times Square .
Then look up at the sky and smile .
Just remember that the whiny orange braggart they ’ ve accepted as their lord and savior is a petty , malicious , thin-skinned , worthless , crooked excuse for a human being .
They know it , and it ’ s eating them up inside .
They may be trying to run the 1933 German playbook , but this isn ’ t Germany and it isn ’ t 1933. tRump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broken , too cowardly and too incompetent to carry the hopes and dreams of racists , bigots , misogynists , homophobes , forced-birthers and greedy , grasping assholes any further than he could throw Nebraska .
tRump never met a Barr he couldn ’ t lower ( and that ’ s something that was already damn near impossible ) .
Gun fetishists , generally known as ammosexuals , are notorious for being sparsely endowed .
They use guns to substitute for their physical shortcomings .
Their fantasy life has them running around in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off half-cocked .
Some are born stunningly stupid .
Some achieve great stupidity .
Some have stupidity erupt out of them .
tRump hit the trifecta .
From Chuck Lorre Productions end credits , February , 20th 2020 : “ Yo , Billy B , as long as you ’ ve got your head stuck up there , why not check for polyps ?
”

The republican party has long been the party of the monied class. It’s a large part of their DNA. Maintaining their ability to consume conspicuously outweighs all other concerns like truth and justice. tRump pandered to that hunger with his tax cut for the rich.
A few decades ago, the republican party embraced extremist for-profit religious leaders as a source of reliable votes. tRump pandered to them with judicial appointments (using MoscowMItch’s help and guidance)
Most recently, the republican party has openly adopted the white supremacy movement as a partner in crime. tRump pandered to them by letting Stephen Miller loose on immigration and Kris Kobach loose on suppressing minority votes.
That’s right. tRump and McConnell are pimping out the levers of power to the worst humanity has to offer.
Do we want shameless pimps running our country?
What did you say. I can’t hear you.
Come on. I still can’t hear you.
That’s better. Let’s go GOTMFV.
By any metric, except the highly biased one slavishly followed by tRumpanzees, McConmen and Koch addicts, there are tremors and quakes running through flyover country. Tariffs, opioids, education and healthcare failures by republicans are taking their toll.
Every idiot move made by tRump (i.e. all of them) alienates a few people in his base. The rank-and-file in the Departments of State and Justice are edging toward open rebellion. tRump’s divisiveness and McConnell’s capitulation to (or embrace of) tRump are putting a lot of safe republican seats into play.
He’s off in India right now. They’ve already had deadly anti-tRump rallies and he’s mangled every name (person or place) he’s tried to pronounce. He and Modi are nationalist besties. Let’s hurry up and pass a law that they have to keep him. Sorry India, but at least he’s not your president. You could have him look after some cows and maybe get Devin to come and help.
Up the Resistance
Randy has some thoughts to share before we continue.
x YouTube Video
A commercial interruption for another diary series.
Please take the time to take a look at Evening Shade. It only needs a little more regular support to become a fixture on the DK reclist. Here’s a recent edition that uncovered a future Executive Order: Evening Shade: The Fascist States of America
Shades aren’t particularly time sensitive. They are all about sharpening some sticks and then poking tRump & Co mercilessly without being overly abusive. After all, we must maintain decorum (like the Mercer story below).
Thank you for your consideration, and it’s on to the news.
The majority of my normal news feed today is full of stories about the Democratic primaries. Almost all of them are horse race hit pieces and overblown fuel for pies fights. Don’t expect to see that here.
All Those Bankruptcies and Business Failures Predicted This
tRump is not a bull in a China shop. He’s a road grader in a porcelain factory.
This article is from last November and if that’s not enough to put you off, it’s behind a firewall. For a house organ for the plutocracy to be this negative on tRump is potentially devastating for his future. The basic message is, he isn’t very good at managing the economy. Fair use restrictions gets you 3 paragraphs out of 10 pages.
Fortune: Why Trump is bad for business
Small-business owners rejoiced when Trump won, but their optimism, as surveyed by the National Federation of Independent Business, began to slump substantially a year ago. Hundreds of industry associations, from the tiny American Down and Feather Council to the huge National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are publicly opposing his policies on trade, immigration, or both. The fear among many businesspeople is that, after a strong start, he’s now doing more harm than good and has no significant policy levers left to pull. ... What happened is no mystery. Trump has wiped out the benefits of his first-year policy successes by doubling down on his signature campaign issues, tariffs and immigration, adding a thick layer of uncertainty and chaos to his policy intentions, and raising federal indebtedness to new highs. Managing the world’s largest economy is apparently harder than he thought. “Trade wars are good, and easy to win,” he famously tweeted last year. Turns out they aren’t. “It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws,” he tweeted last March. Turns out immigration policy is harder than it looks. We’re seeing now why Trump’s highest-profile policy prescriptions, reducing trade and immigration, have long been opposed by economists across the political spectrum. … The global perspective helps explain why the American steel industry, which spent years lobbying for tariffs on steel imports, is worse off today than it was before Trump granted its wish. In a world of complex global supply chains, those rising trade barriers dampened demand broadly. That’s an important reason why the U.S. manufacturing sector is already in recession—which is bad news for steel because manufacturers are valuable customers for steelmakers. Compounding the damage, steelmakers, exhilarated by the imposition of tariffs, inflated their prospects and opened new capacity at the worst possible time. Increased supply, shriveling demand—it’s a classic recipe for a price plunge, and there’s no clear way out. That’s life in the real world, not the imaginary world of easy-to-win trade wars.
Jaime Harrison, Come on Down
Right now the race in South Carolina looks tight. Kara Voght’s piece on Harrison gives a lot of insight into the man and his contest with Graham (plus the header photo rocks).
Mother Jones: Inside the Fight to Topple Lindsey Graham—and Trump’s Senate Majority
Remember when all those statues of Saddam came tumbling down? At first blush, Harrison’s meet-them-where-they-are approach might look like a misstep when running against such a prominent—and lately notorious—DC figure. Over three terms in the Senate, Graham had cultivated a reputation as a staunch conservative who delivered bipartisan agreements on immigration and climate change—part of his identity as self-described “political wingman” to Arizona Sen. John McCain. (McCain had affectionately referred to his close ally as “Little Jerk.”) But three years into the Trump presidency, Graham, who said during the 2016 election that he wished Republicans had kicked Trump out of the party, has become one of the president’s main sycophants. The reversal has earned him a particularly brutal impersonation from Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon, whose sweaty Graham explains in a recent sketch that “even my bodily fluids are trying to distance themselves from me.” But Graham is also contending with a South Carolina that’s tinging bluer. And Trump’s presidency has seen a spate of Democratic wins and near-misses in the unlikeliest corners of the South, gains that relied on a formula of increasingly blue cities, party-flipping suburbs, and turnout of black voters. Harrison, a longtime Democratic operative and current Democratic National Committee associate chair, advised Democrat Doug Jones’ successful Senate campaign in Alabama. Now it’s Harrison’s turn to put his own strategies to the test.
JD Scholten, Come on Down
Tim Murphy takes an in-depth look at JD Scholten’s ongoing effort to take down Steve King in Iowa’s 4th.
Mother Jones: Is This the Year Democrats Finally Take Down Steve King?
Even as Scholten’s campaign gained traction in 2018, King kept on going. When he was asked what a “white nationalist” was, he expressed frustration that the label had become “a derogatory term today—I wouldn’t have thought so maybe a year or two or three ago.” He endorsed a neo-Nazi for mayor of Toronto. He called Mexicans “dirt,” then said he hadn’t, then barred the reporter who recorded him from an event. King drew a rebuke from the National Republican Congressional Committee, and some of his major agribusiness donors, like the meatpacking giant Smithfield Foods, jumped ship. Yet even after all that, the state’s three most powerful elected officials rallied to his defense. Sen. Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds held a last-minute rally to shore up support for King, and Sen. Chuck Grassley filmed a short video endorsing King, declaring, “Iowa needs Steve King in Congress.” Apparently, Iowa didn’t need King so much as it just needed King to beat Scholten. With that out of the way, the break finally came in January 2019, after a Times reporter asked King, once more, about white supremacy. “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?” King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” In response, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) stripped King of his committee assignments, including his precious spots on the agriculture and judiciary committees. Several Republican colleagues suggested King should resign. Randy Feenstra, a Republican state senator who had announced a primary challenge to King just a few days earlier, saw a window of opportunity. “Our current representative’s caustic nature has left us without a seat at the table,” he said, calling King’s comments “abhorrent.” King beat back primary opponents in the previous two cycles, but Feenstra is his most serious challenger by far. Feenstra now has the backing of Bob Vander Plaats, one of the state’s most influential conservative activists, and Bruce Rastetter, a multimillionaire ethanol magnate dubbed “the real Iowa kingmaker” by Politico.
Adieu to Katherine Johnson
We lost Katherine Johnson yesterday at age 101. Her life is one deserving of notice.
The Atlantic: The Legacy of a Hidden Figure
Johnson’s talent and contributions are well documented now, but for most of her life, her efforts went unrecognized—until Shetterly published her book in 2016, and the film it inspired became a blockbuster. For the first time, a wider swath of the world learned about Johnson and how she made a place for herself in American spaceflight. The book chronicled the lives of Johnson and the other black female mathematicians who worked as “computers” at the Langley Research Center, using pencils and slide rules to calculate equations for the agency that would become NASA. The sciences are well known for their infuriating tendency to overlook important figures who aren’t white and male. But the stories of these women in particular had been buried so deep in the archives of history that when Shetterly brought them to light, it felt like a revelation. In her late 90s, Johnson was finally celebrated—widely and loudly—for her contributions to one of the most iconic accomplishments of the 20th century. She was inundated with press coverage, had buildings renamed in her honor, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The burst of overdue recognition didn’t seem to faze her. “There’s nothing to it—I was just doing my job,” she said in a Washington Post interview in 2017. “They needed information and I had it, and it didn’t matter that I found it. At the time, it was just a question and an answer.”
You Can’t Make This Shit Piss Up
Another ancient (2016) article about Bannon and Pence’s sugardaddy/mommy pair of nutjob backers, the Mercers. The claim is they are collecting it for science. I think it’s for the tRump swimming pool.
The Intercept: Trump’s New Billionaire Backer Also Funds Huge Stockpile of Human Urine
But here’s what the mainstream media won’t tell you: Robert Mercer and his daughter have also funded a gigantic stockpile of human urine in Oregon. The urine stockpile is the project of Arthur Robinson, a chemist and founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Starting in 2005, the Mercer Family Foundation contributed at least $1.4 million to OISM, enabling Robinson to buy freezers to store his 14,000 samples of urine. Robinson wants still more urine, as much as possible, and issues frequent appeals to the public to contribute. According to the OISM newsletter, Robinson is collecting it in order to “calibrate analytical procedures that can revolutionize the evaluation of personal chemistry — and thereby improve our health, our happiness and prosperity, and even the academic performance of our children in school.”
Ken Cuccinelli Is an Idiot
But we all knew that, didn’t we?
Huffington Post: Top Trump DHS Official Asks Twitter To Help Him Find Coronavirus Outbreak Map
A top official in President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security department and a member of the White House task force on the coronavirus outbreak struggled to find a map of the outbreak on Monday. And he appealed to Twitter for help. Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, became frustrated when he couldn’t access the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering department’s map showing the latest COVID-19 numbers and locations. He also came out against walls ― paywalls, anyway:
My favorite response: x Here you go, Ken. The info, not behind a paywall:
I'm always here to help a hapless newbie unfamiliar with the Internet, especially when they're (*checks notes*) Director of Homeland Security.
(When they outlaw sarcasm, I'm so dead.) https://t.co/0Js1oCGYyq Ã¢ÂÂ Dean Gloster (@deangloster) February 24, 2020
This Is a Great Way to End Today’s News Section
This is a 15 minutes of fame I fully endorse (and a great way to get the stench of tRump & Co out of our nostrils).
Good News Network: 42-Year-old Zamboni Driver Wins First NHL Game After Being Tapped as Emergency Goalie
This 42-year-old Zamboni driver is being hailed as a hockey hero after he stepped in as a visiting team’s emergency goalie and helped them win the game. Dave Ayres, who is the Zamboni driver for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was tapped in to play against his home team for the Carolina Hurricanes after both of their goalies were injured on the ice during this weekend’s game. Ayres then went on to block 8 of the 10 shots that were made against him during the remaining 30 minutes of the game, which helped to secure the Hurricanes’ 6–3 victory.
Bonus Links
Oliver takes on Narendra Modi (tRump’s Hindu nationalist BFF) and M4A with his customary style.
John Oliver: Modi: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video 18:47]
John Oliver: Medicare for All: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video 19:58]
Hooray!
Politico: Harvey Weinstein found guilty in landmark #MeToo moment
Musical Interlude
x YouTube Video
How to Survive the News
Expect republican atrocities, injustices, crimes and breaches of trust to happen about as often as you take a breath. That way, you can be relieved when they give us a five-minute break.
Expect the media to misstate facts, allow lies to go unchallenged and generally do a crappy job of reporting. That way, whenever actual journalism crops up you can be pleasantly surprised.
Expect the sky is falling contingent to run around in their bunched underwear predicting the imminent end of everything just like the end-of-days wackos in Times Square. Then look up at the sky and smile.
Just remember that the whiny orange braggart they’ve accepted as their lord and savior is a petty, malicious, thin-skinned, worthless, crooked excuse for a human being. They know it, and it’s eating them up inside. They may be trying to run the 1933 German playbook, but this isn’t Germany and it isn’t 1933. tRump is too shallow, too flawed, too broken, too cowardly and too incompetent to carry the hopes and dreams of racists, bigots, misogynists, homophobes, forced-birthers and greedy, grasping assholes any further than he could throw Nebraska.
Short Takes
tRump never met a Barr he couldn’t lower (and that’s something that was already damn near impossible).
Gun fetishists, generally known as ammosexuals, are notorious for being sparsely endowed. They use guns to substitute for their physical shortcomings. Their fantasy life has them running around in a state of excitement and constantly going off half-cocked.
Some are born stunningly stupid.
Some achieve great stupidity.
Some have stupidity erupt out of them.
tRump hit the trifecta.
From Chuck Lorre Productions end credits, February, 20th 2020: “Yo, Billy B, as long as you’ve got your head stuck up there, why not check for polyps?”
Today’s Quote
Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast. — Isaac Asimov
Required Pet Photo
He did what?
Closing Notes


Ash Tuesday

If the lost word is lost , if the spent word is spent If the unheard , unspoken Word is unspoken , unheard ; Still is the unspoken word , the Word unheard , The Word without a word , the Word within The world and for the world ; And the light shone in darkness and Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled About the centre of the silent Word .
For those unfamiliar with downer modern poetry , that is the fifth section of Ash Wednesday , which draws its title from the day that marks the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ season of repentance that culminates in Easter .
And the Stanza above recalls the first line in the gospel of John : In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God .
The poem itself , I have always believed , is not only about converting to a faith ( In Eliot ’ s case that was his conversion to Anglicanism ) , but about the difficulty of doing so in a conflicted heart .
Its tone is eligiac , contemplative , almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ecstasy which is said to and supposed to accompany religious conversion .
Indeed , to me it reads almost more as a crisis of faith ; as if the author embraces it because at his late stage of life he has no other choice .
He has nothing else .
Nothing else makes any sense to him .
This poem occurred to me as a way of framing my own crisis of faith .
Not the religious kind , for I am not conventionally religious , having lost any belief in a deity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which I now come to see as a faith is the Democratic version of politics where we create a society that is fair and just and allows shared prosperity for all , because no one should live in fear of want , in sickness or in oppression .
And that as Democrats and right thinking independents , we all share the same values .
In 2016 my faith was shaken as was a lot of my fellow progressives , because of the election and all the entirely predictable consequences that followed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , such as it is , is stronger than ever .
I thought .
But like all faiths , crises are not one and done events .
So now here we are in 2020 , and we have a new one .
Do those of us who are progressive or revolutionary , in the sense of wanting a wholesale change of the power structure and how this country is governed , support Michael Bloomberg ?
Would we vote for , and campaign for him if he were to win the nomination ?
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics is very volatile by definition , so I make no prophecies or predictions ) .
Conversely , do those of us who identify as ‘ moderates ’ , classic liberals or wealthy ones who now have a vested interest in the status quo support a man who advocates real change to the status quo , and generated a fair amount of hard feeling over his perceived reluctance to support our candidate in 2016 , and some of his supporters refusing to vote for her ?
When the crunch comes do we get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but donate our time , money , effort , and for him .
And donate money .
And persuade our fellow Not-Bernies to vote for him anyway ?
Does the country get saved from the depredations of Trumpy and the insolent nihilistic ethnofascism of Trumpism ?
Will the silent Word in the world still be heard ?
Will the veiled sister pray for Those who walk in darkness , who chose thee and oppose thee , Those who are torn on the horn between season and season , time and time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ word , power and power , those who wait In darkness ?
Will the veiled sister pray For children at the gate Who will not go away and can not pray : Pray for those who chose and oppose The cruelties , lies and threat to our democratic institutions from this current administration and its power hungry , narcissistic , vengeful and thuggish head are so well enumerated , and so obvious , that I need not recapitulate them in full detail .
Nor do I need to go on at length about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who support this paragon of moral and ethical turpitude ; who is a walking contradiction of all that they at least profess to believe in .
The hollowness of their belief structure , similarly needs no explanation from me .
Instead we should emphasize the nature of the resistance to Trump ; the antichrist in some sense , the endpoint of conservatism in another and what we can do .
Wouldn ’ t it be nice if thoughts and prayers did the trick .
But they will not and instead there is little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He has openly stated he will be bound to no law , and I can ’ t imagine he has anything near to a conscience , religious or otherwise to cause him repentance .
He can not be removed by impeachment ; we did that , and although it was a fight that needed to happen , and may well be a Pyrrhic victory for him , he is still there .
Protest means nothing to him .
Our institutions can not check him and his party lies prostrate and powerless before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to us as the electorate , encouraged by us , the activists who keeps these issues in the public conscience and who are the last court of appeal before he launches us into the abyss ; if he can be soundly defeated in November ; if all his lickspittles and toadies in the congress go down with him , we may have a chance .
And I do believe all the candidates for the Democratic party nominee share this in common : They respect the rule of law and the constitution ; I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bound by it ; would take the oath of office seriously , and obey any further electoral results .
And would not sell out our beloved country to a hostile foreign power for electoral gain .
As the line of the poem states , they and we are the ones who chose and oppose .
Further I do believe each one of them is opposed in basic principle — maybe to a greater or lesser degree — but are opposed to the central tenet of Trumpism : the replacement of our diverse society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a white ethnofascism headed by a dear leader who is above it .
And who for all I know plots dynastic rule in his narcissistic brain .
I can not believe that any one of them , no , not even Mike Bloomberg and especially not Bernie Sanders could even conceive of separating refugee children from their families and putting them in American versions of concentration camps at the southern border , and thus besmirching the very nation which prided itself on acceptance of refugees .
Or lending support to white supremacists who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NRA to dictate gun policy , the coal industry to dictate environmental policy , and the worst example of christian hypocrites to dictate reproductive policy .
I try and take comfort from that , as my choices are likely not going to be successful .
The Lady is withdrawn In a white gown , to contemplation , in a white gown .
Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness .
There is no life in them .
As I am forgotten And would be forgotten , so I would forget Thus devoted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Prophesy to the wind , to the wind only for only The wind will listen .
It is not exaggeration to say that the split within the the traditional Democratic coalition was a factor in the disaster of 2016 .
How much so is open to debate ; as with any major disaster , there is usually a lot of blame to go around .
It didn ’ t help that Bernie took a month to endorse her after the primary , but it also is a fact ( based on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 39 in 13 states ) that he did go out there and try to get her elected .
It is certainly not Bernie ’ s fault that the Clinton campaign was much less of a presence in the important blue wall : Pennsylvania , Michigan and Wisconsin .
It wasn ’ t Bernie ’ s supporters that invited deliberate Russian interference and sabotage in our election , gleefully encouraged by Trumpys minions and Trumpy himself .
I do not think it an exaggeration to say most people did not exactly predict the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the part of many of us [ prophesy to the wind , for only the wind will listen ] .
And not many mention voter suppression , but I will ; something that has been inflicted primarily on our black and brown comrades , with entirely Republican support .
And yet , perceptions and hard feelings remain .
It is not easy to get over the fact that 10 % of people who voted for Bernie in the primary voted for Trump .
This is not a percentage out of line with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is no balm .
I mean , this is pussy-grabbing Trump !
WTF ?
Our prior nominee Hillary Clinton Still nurses grudges .
And it is difficult to erase the memory of a conversation I had with someone who was ( with myself ) a vocal advocate of single payer healthcare at our local forum .
This was maybe a few months after November 2016 and the subject of the election came up .
this person said , without an ounce of contrition that didn ’ t vote for Clinton in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Katie McGinty ( our Democratic senatorial nominee that year ; she lost to Pat Toomey , who has followed the Trumpian line ) and didn ’ t vote for Christina Hartman ( our local Democratic congressional candidate ; she lost to Lloyd Smucker who has also parrots the Trumpian line every chance he gets ) .
I gritted my teeth and tried to remain civil , but I will vent my feelings here : I got more respect for a Trump supporter .
He or she at least goes out and votes their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excuse or apology .
And doesn ’ t insult everyone ’ s intelligence by pretending to advocate for a position that he did n't even support with a vote .
So there is a need for forgiveness here .
On many sides of the question ; on many sides of the divide .
We move on : Forgive thine enemies , even though it hurts to be kicked by those whom you formerly considered friends .
As I do believe Clinton is now dead politically — and who can blame her if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for her pains to try and improve life for people — we will let the whiteness of her bones atone and encourage the forgiveness of those who really need it .
Blessèd sister , holy mother , spirit of the fountain , spirit of the garden , Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still Even among these rocks , Our peace in His will And even among these rocks Sister , mother And spirit of the river , spirit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be separated The primaries are indeed upon us and as I write the debate — which number debate I have lost count — is playing in the background , like a bad acid jazz recording ; discordant without being enlightening .
There are indeed differences which need to be aired ; our side is not the side of mindless conformity .
As I keep on saying to my friends in the Bernie camp , to my friends in the Mayor Pete camp , to my friends in the Warren camp ; yes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bloomberg camp , and they are there and are my friends : We need to unite against Trumpy the indecent .
Everyone counts , because Trumpys minions will not break , and indeed are laughing at us , and I believe some of them are trying to ratfuck us .
In a sense , who wins the primary , is like the lines quoted above : we should care — and not care , and at some point to sit still and let the process play out .
And suffer us not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conversion , this will be hard , and to return to the theme of the poem , we will feel conflicted .
Some of those conflicts will be invented by a mainstream media which finds it a lot easier to go along with the prevailing narrative rather than seriously question it .
Some are real .
Some on the debate stage , I plain do not like .
I ’ m not sure I even like the tone and themes of the coming contest .
I will find inner peace , somehow and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in .
Electability is besides the point ; everyone is electable if they get the votes and the support that they deserve .
So in the spirit of the river and the spirit of the sea , suffer us not to be separated .
There is the need for unity , honesty and being at peace with our choice , secure in the knowledge that by voting for the lesser of two evils , we are voting for that which is less evil .
Those of us who are poor , who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who do not have sound healthcare coverage , and who do not have the money to shelter in place in the coming storm , do not have the luxury of fine theological debates .
It is they who will either benefit or suffer .
Like the children , still in their Southern Border concentration camps , numbers of which Set a record in 2019

If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.
TS Eliot Ash Wednesday
For those unfamiliar with downer modern poetry, that is the fifth section of Ash Wednesday, which draws its title from the day that marks the beginning of lent, a forty day season of repentance that culminates in Easter. And the Stanza above recalls the first line in the gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The poem itself, I have always believed, is not only about converting to a faith (In Eliot’s case that was his conversion to Anglicanism), but about the difficulty of doing so in a conflicted heart. Its tone is eligiac, contemplative, almost regretful; the opposite of the cliched ecstasy which is said to and supposed to accompany religious conversion. Indeed, to me it reads almost more as a crisis of faith; as if the author embraces it because at his late stage of life he has no other choice. He has nothing else. Nothing else makes any sense to him.
This poem occurred to me as a way of framing my own crisis of faith. Not the religious kind, for I am not conventionally religious, having lost any belief in a deity long ago. No, my religion, which I now come to see as a faith is the Democratic version of politics where we create a society that is fair and just and allows shared prosperity for all, because no one should live in fear of want, in sickness or in oppression. And that as Democrats and right thinking independents, we all share the same values.
In 2016 my faith was shaken as was a lot of my fellow progressives, because of the election and all the entirely predictable consequences that followed. But the crisis passed and my faith, such as it is, is stronger than ever. I thought. But like all faiths, crises are not one and done events. So now here we are in 2020, and we have a new one.
Do those of us who are progressive or revolutionary, in the sense of wanting a wholesale change of the power structure and how this country is governed, support Michael Bloomberg? Would we vote for, and campaign for him if he were to win the nomination? (unlikely as of this writing, but politics is very volatile by definition, so I make no prophecies or predictions) . Conversely, do those of us who identify as ‘moderates’ , classic liberals or wealthy ones who now have a vested interest in the status quo support a man who advocates real change to the status quo, and generated a fair amount of hard feeling over his perceived reluctance to support our candidate in 2016, and some of his supporters refusing to vote for her? When the crunch comes do we get behind this man and not just vote, but donate our time, money, effort, and for him. And donate money. And persuade our fellow Not-Bernies to vote for him anyway? Does the country get saved from the depredations of Trumpy and the insolent nihilistic ethnofascism of Trumpism?
Will the silent Word in the world still be heard?
* * * *
Will the veiled sister pray for
Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee,
Those who are torn on the horn between season and season,
time and time, between
Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait
In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray
For children at the gate
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose
The cruelties, lies and threat to our democratic institutions from this current administration and its power hungry, narcissistic, vengeful and thuggish head are so well enumerated, and so obvious, that I need not recapitulate them in full detail. Nor do I need to go on at length about the religious hypocrites of the right wing who support this paragon of moral and ethical turpitude; who is a walking contradiction of all that they at least profess to believe in. The hollowness of their belief structure, similarly needs no explanation from me.
Instead we should emphasize the nature of the resistance to Trump; the antichrist in some sense, the endpoint of conservatism in another and what we can do. Wouldn’t it be nice if thoughts and prayers did the trick. But they will not and instead there is little we can do until an election looms. He has openly stated he will be bound to no law, and I can’t imagine he has anything near to a conscience, religious or otherwise to cause him repentance. He cannot be removed by impeachment; we did that, and although it was a fight that needed to happen, and may well be a Pyrrhic victory for him, he is still there. Protest means nothing to him. Our institutions cannot check him and his party lies prostrate and powerless before his feet. It thus becomes up to us as the electorate, encouraged by us, the activists who keeps these issues in the public conscience and who are the last court of appeal before he launches us into the abyss; if he can be soundly defeated in November; if all his lickspittles and toadies in the congress go down with him, we may have a chance.
And I do believe all the candidates for the Democratic party nominee share this in common: They respect the rule of law and the constitution; I think they at least would consider themselves bound by it; would take the oath of office seriously, and obey any further electoral results. And would not sell out our beloved country to a hostile foreign power for electoral gain. As the line of the poem states, they and we are the ones who chose and oppose. Further I do believe each one of them is opposed in basic principle — maybe to a greater or lesser degree — but are opposed to the central tenet of Trumpism: the replacement of our diverse society bound by the rule of law with a white ethnofascism headed by a dear leader who is above it. And who for all I know plots dynastic rule in his narcissistic brain.
I cannot believe that any one of them, no, not even Mike Bloomberg and especially not Bernie Sanders could even conceive of separating refugee children from their families and putting them in American versions of concentration camps at the southern border, and thus besmirching the very nation which prided itself on acceptance of refugees. Or lending support to white supremacists who murdered a protester. Or allowing the NRA to dictate gun policy, the coal industry to dictate environmental policy, and the worst example of christian hypocrites to dictate reproductive policy.
I try and take comfort from that, as my choices are likely not going to be successful.
* * * *
The Lady is withdrawn
In a white gown, to contemplation, in a white gown.
Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness.
There is no life in them. As I am forgotten
And would be forgotten, so I would forget
Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said
Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only
The wind will listen.
It is not exaggeration to say that the split within the the traditional Democratic coalition was a factor in the disaster of 2016. How much so is open to debate; as with any major disaster, there is usually a lot of blame to go around. It didn’t help that Bernie took a month to endorse her after the primary, but it also is a fact (based on the number of campaign stops he made; 39 in 13 states) that he did go out there and try to get her elected. It is certainly not Bernie’s fault that the Clinton campaign was much less of a presence in the important blue wall: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. It wasn’t Bernie’s supporters that invited deliberate Russian interference and sabotage in our election, gleefully encouraged by Trumpys minions and Trumpy himself. I do not think it an exaggeration to say most people did not exactly predict the results, so there was perhaps an overconfidence on the part of many of us [prophesy to the wind, for only the wind will listen]. And not many mention voter suppression, but I will; something that has been inflicted primarily on our black and brown comrades, with entirely Republican support.
And yet, perceptions and hard feelings remain. It is not easy to get over the fact that 10% of people who voted for Bernie in the primary voted for Trump. This is not a percentage out of line with previous unhappy losing candidate supporters; but that is no balm. I mean, this is pussy-grabbing Trump! WTF? Our prior nominee Hillary Clinton Still nurses grudges. And it is difficult to erase the memory of a conversation I had with someone who was (with myself) a vocal advocate of single payer healthcare at our local forum. This was maybe a few months after November 2016 and the subject of the election came up. this person said, without an ounce of contrition that he didn’t vote for Clinton in the General, didn’t vote for Katie McGinty (our Democratic senatorial nominee that year; she lost to Pat Toomey, who has followed the Trumpian line) and didn’t vote for Christina Hartman (our local Democratic congressional candidate; she lost to Lloyd Smucker who has also parrots the Trumpian line every chance he gets). I gritted my teeth and tried to remain civil, but I will vent my feelings here: I got more respect for a Trump supporter. He or she at least goes out and votes their rancid feelings and values and makes no excuse or apology. And doesn’t insult everyone’s intelligence by pretending to advocate for a position that he didn't even support with a vote.
So there is a need for forgiveness here. On many sides of the question; on many sides of the divide. We move on: Forgive thine enemies, even though it hurts to be kicked by those whom you formerly considered friends. As I do believe Clinton is now dead politically — and who can blame her if she has had quite enough of being vilified for her pains to try and improve life for people — we will let the whiteness of her bones atone and encourage the forgiveness of those who really need it.
* * * *
Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit
of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated
The primaries are indeed upon us and as I write the debate — which number debate I have lost count — is playing in the background, like a bad acid jazz recording; discordant without being enlightening. There are indeed differences which need to be aired; our side is not the side of mindless conformity. As I keep on saying to my friends in the Bernie camp, to my friends in the Mayor Pete camp, to my friends in the Warren camp; yes, indeed even to my friends in the Bloomberg camp, and they are there and are my friends: We need to unite against Trumpy the indecent. Everyone counts, because Trumpys minions will not break, and indeed are laughing at us, and I believe some of them are trying to ratfuck us. In a sense, who wins the primary, is like the lines quoted above: we should care — and not care, and at some point to sit still and let the process play out. And suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood.
Like conversion, this will be hard, and to return to the theme of the poem, we will feel conflicted. Some of those conflicts will be invented by a mainstream media which finds it a lot easier to go along with the prevailing narrative rather than seriously question it. Some are real. Some on the debate stage, I plain do not like. I’m not sure I even like the tone and themes of the coming contest. I will find inner peace, somehow and go out there and get our side in. Electability is besides the point; everyone is electable if they get the votes and the support that they deserve.
So in the spirit of the river and the spirit of the sea, suffer us not to be separated. There is the need for unity, honesty and being at peace with our choice, secure in the knowledge that by voting for the lesser of two evils, we are voting for that which is less evil. Those of us who are poor, who are immigrants, who are not well connected, who do not have sound healthcare coverage, and who do not have the money to shelter in place in the coming storm, do not have the luxury of fine theological debates. It is they who will either benefit or suffer. Like the children, still in their Southern Border concentration camps, numbers of which Set a record in 2019
O my People


dailykos--2020-02-26--Good News Roundup, February 26, 2020

Good News Roundup, February 26, 2020

[ 2thanks mentioned yesterday that we Gnusies might want to have a stated policy regarding pie throwing .
I already had the following in today ’ s roundup . ]
Today is Ash Wednesday , the beginning of Lent , so I suggest that everyone here take a vow to give up pie .
No , not delicious , buttery , flaky pastry ( we need all the comfort food we can get these days ! )
– kind of pie : The Good News Roundup is a no-pie-throwing zone , therefore I ’ m avoiding stories about specific candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s pie-throwing arm itchy for action .
Feel free to weigh in on any topic you choose in the comments , but please do so tactfully , especially if you ’ re responding to someone else ’ s comment .
( End of Miss Manners ’ lecture . )
Now on to the news , starting with some local stories .
You may remember this story about the U.S. Bank employee who was fired for breaking the rules after she gave a bank customer $ 20 out of her own wallet when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stuck in his car without gas on Christmas Eve .
Here ’ s the cheerful conclusion to the story : Good Samaritan fired from U.S. Bank gets new job with credit union The Portland woman who was fired from her job with U.S. Bank after a Christmas Eve act of kindness has been hired by a credit union that created a job especially for her .
Emily James will be joining Community First Credit Union in Santa Rosa , California , next month as a training supervisor .
“ It was exactly what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I want to be training , mentoring and helping others .
I ’ ll be training new hires as well as doing follow-up training.
” “ We read about Emily getting fired for an act of kindness and humanity , '' said David Williams , chief marketing and human resource officer for Community First Credit Union , in a press release .
`` At the same time , we had an employee do a similar act of kindness .
We gave her an award for it .
Helpfulness is in our DNA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that same DNA.
” James will be moving to Santa Rosa – in California ’ s wine country – for her new position , along with her beloved dogs , HarleyQuinn and Domino .
“ I did not get to go wine tasting , but it ’ s on my to-do list , ” James said .
A Portland Software Engineer Is Bringing the Pay Phone Back , Minus the “ Pay ” Part And just because I can ’ t resist a Sondland story , here ’ s a local wit taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep calling him “ Ambassador ” now that he isn ’ t .
Sadly , the answer isn ’ t the one I wanted : Do We Have to Keep Calling Him “ Ambassador Gordon Sondland ” Forever ?
I long for the day when voters all over the country have as easy a time voting as we do in Oregon .
Hint : you ’ ll need a Democratic trifecta in your state , so get going electing Dem governors and state legislators !
Oregon Voters No Longer Have to Pay for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has occurred to me that one of the things we ’ re seeing so far in the caucuses and primaries is that people are making their policy wishes very clear and that those policies are progressive .
( More on that in the “ Good news from around the nation ” section that follows . )
That put this song into my mind : And because yesterday was Mardi Gras , because I love New Orleans , and because I love the Meters , here ’ s another take on the same theme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here is why Nevada Caucuses prove Medicare for All is ‘ hugely popular and the winning position ’ in 2020 Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-VT ) is the winner of Saturday ’ s Nevada Caucuses — and Medicare for All may have helped him pull it off .
NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur noted support for the program in entrance polls : “ NBC News entrance polls of Democrats on Medicare for All : 57-38 % support in Iowa , 58-37 % support in New Hampshire , 62-35 % support in Nevada .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaigns on opposing Medicare for All miscalculated.
” Former health insurance executive Wendell Potter argued that the results show that single-payer health insurance is “ the winning position for Democrats .
...
Entrance polls out of Nevada show 6 in 10 want a single-payer system .
Entrance & exit polls from Iowa & New Hampshire found 6 in 10 voters in both states support Medicare for All .
All this after millions were spent by my old industry trying to scare voters away from it.
” MSNBC ’ s Chris Jansing also noticed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fascinating - I asked many @ SenSanders supporters about their unions ’ concern about Medicare for All .
They told me yes , they have good insurance now but what if they lose their jobs ?
And they have friends and family w/o jobs ( NV jobless rate is higher than national average ) ” Texas Is The Next Battleground For The Green New Deal Despite continuing to argue that chlorpyrifos is safe , its major manufacturer has been forced by regulations in California and the EU to end production .
There was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toxic pesticide before the regulations were adopted , so this is a great example of the power of the people to force mega-corporations to change : Corteva Inc will stop producing the agricultural pesticide chlorpyrifos by the end of the year , the company said on Thursday , removing the world ’ s largest manufacturer of a chemical that has been linked to low birth weight , reduced IQ and attention disorders in children .
Corteva , spun off last year after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont , said declining sales @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials continue to believe chlorpyrifos is safe .
Environmental groups have pushed regulators to ban uses of the 55-year-old pesticide over concerns it harms people and wildlife .
...
In the U.S. , Corteva ’ s biggest market for chlorpyrifos , demand is less than 20 % of what it was during its peak in the 1990s , the company said .
Corteva , which sells chlorpyrifos under the Lorsban brand , faces competition from generic versions .
Farmers seeking to fight insects have also turned to other chemicals , genetically engineered crops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news from around the world Scorched Australia is Getting Power Back Thanks to New Solar Grids Funded by Philanthropist Couple Since the bushfires and flooding across southern Australia have left dozens of communities without power , several tech companies have begun installing solar panels and electrical grids with astonishing speed thanks to a philanthropist couple .
Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes have donated $ 12 million towards the creation of the Resilient Energy Collective—a coalition dedicated to setting up sustainable microgrids across Australia .
The collective , which utilizes electrical batteries from Tesla and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deployed two clean energy grids for rural sites in New South Wales and Victoria .
Prior to their installation , firefighters and locals had been depending on diesel generators for electricity during the bushfire season .
In addition to these generators being particularly costly and high-maintenance , they also emit large amounts of pollutants .
The collective is now working with energy providers across the country to prioritize 100 more sites for microgrid installation .
This is a sweet story , especially since the project makes a special point of engaging local communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More nonprofits need to start thinking that way : ideas should rise up from the grassroots , not be imposed from the top down .
( Lookin ’ at you , consultants ! )
This is really great news for many reasons , but my first thought was that it might be a ray of hope for endangered pangolins , fascinating and gentle creatures that have been under siege for a long time because their scales are believed by ignorant people to be medicinal .
Yesterday , The National People ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediate and “ comprehensive ” ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals , as it is suspected to be responsible for the devastating coronavirus epidemic ...
The decision stipulates that the illegal consumption and trade of wildlife will be “ severely punished , ” as will hunting , trading or transporting wild animals for the purpose of consumption .
The announcement came amid rising speculation that the deadly coronavirus arose within a market in the city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife .
The cramped , highly unsanitary , cruel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traded and sold for human consumption is known to create the ideal conditions for viruses to mutate into particularly virulent forms , with the potential to cross the species barrier to humans , sometimes with fatal consequences .
Experts with the World Health Organization first believed that the new coronavirus came from the consumption of bats , but it is now suspected that the consumption of critically endangered pangolins may be the source .
How did this rare pink manta get its color ?
One of my husband ’ s friends , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funny stuff .
These two t-shirts made me laugh : Spring is springing in my neighborhood Here are some photos from recent walks I ’ ve taken around my neighborhood with our dog .
If spring hasn ’ t quite reached your neighborhood yet , be of good cheer – it ’ s on the way !
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/… Newly-Discovered Bacteria That Gobbles Up Pollutants Could Have a ‘ Big Impact on Climate Change ’ www.nationalgeographic.com/… Why combining diversity with STEM is a good thing for kids – Wildlife biologist and mom Rae Wynn-Grant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ STEM—and how parents can embrace it for their children .
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/… Scientists Demonstrate Success of a Possible ‘ EpiPen ’ to Prevent Paralysis From Spinal Cord Injuries www.positive.news/… Subvert the advert : making the advertising industry more sustainable – Ethical advertising ?
Some folks in Britain are trying to encourage that .
And here ’ s some closing music to remind us that we have the power to create the change we want .
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our @ @ @ @ @ @

Welcome!
Whether you’re a long-time Gnusie, a Gnubie, or a first-time visitor, come on in and get a positive slant on the news of the day, along with stories about the good things good people are doing at home and abroad, some inspiring music, and some laughs. But wait, there’s more! The Good News Roundup also boasts the very best comment section anywhere on the internet: thoughtful, witty, encouraging, and pie-free (more on that later).
Note: because I have a long day ahead and will need a few more hours of sleep after this roundup is published, I won’t be responding to comments until later in the day, and then my responses will probably be minimal. Just know that I thank each of you for stopping by and taking the time to read and comment.
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Let’s get things started by reminding ourselves yet again that That Thing squatting in the White House is no more than a pitiful toddler and is treated as such by his handlers:
Trump’s doctor tricked president into eating vegetables and kept ice cream out of reach
From Raw Story:
Former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson infamously declared “great genes” might allow President Donald Trump to live 200 years — but in reality he tried to trick his patient into losing weight. Jackson, who’s now running for Congress in Texas, pressed Trump to lose 10 to 15 pounds and exercise more, but his proposal met resistance from the president, reported the New York Times. ✂ Jackson had planned to bring in an exercise bike or elliptical machine for the president to use at the White House, but that never happened and Trump — who reportedly hates vegetables — had gained four pounds by his next physical. “The exercise stuff never took off as much as I wanted it to,” Jackson told the Times. “But we were working on his diet. We were making the ice cream less accessible, we were putting cauliflower into the mashed potatoes.”
And since this toddler is also a bully, it’s always good to be reminded that the way to handle a bully is to push back, hard. Here’s a delightful illustration of that – it was recently re-published by Raw Story but was originally published in Salon:
The night the Rolling Stones fired Donald Trump: Keith Richards once pulled a knife to get [him] out of Atlantic City venue
From Salon:
The final show [of the Rolling Stones’ 1989 “Steel Wheels” tour], at the Boardwalk Hall [in Atlantic City]..., aired on pay-per-view and — like the Miss America Pageant, also held at the Hall — was to be sponsored by the adjacent Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. Even in the late-‘80s, however, The Stones didn’t want to be associated with Trump. So they cut a deal with him, stipulating he wouldn’t be involved in any promotional capacity outside of Atlantic City and, amazingly, wouldn’t be allowed at the show itself.
Michael Cohl, the tour promoter, discovered on the night of the show that Trump was giving a press conference in one of the rooms assigned to the Stones. He rushed over to tell Trump to quit it, went back to the dressing room, and quickly got word that Trump was back at the mic. Cohl again told him to leave.
Again to the dressing room. Again word that Trump is promoting. This time guitarist Keith Richards offered his help: “Keith pulls out his knife and slams it on the table and says, ‘What the hell do I have you for? Do I have to go over there and fire him myself? One of us is leaving the building – either him, or us.’” “One of two things is going to happen,” Cohl told Trump. “You’re going to leave the building and, at 6:40, The Rolling Stones are going to speak on CBS News, or you’re not going to leave the building and I’m going to go on and do an interview to explain to the world why the pay-per-view was canceled.” Then, while literally telling Donald Trump “You’re fired,” Cohl noticed Trump’s “three shtarkers* he’s with, in trench coats, two of them are putting on gloves and the other one is putting on brass knuckles.” Cohl signaled his head of security, who “got 40 of the crew with tire irons and hockey sticks and screwdrivers,” effectively sending off Trump and his goons. “And that was the night I fired Donald Trump,” Cohl concluded.
*Shtarker means big tough guy or goon in Yiddish.
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[2thanks mentioned yesterday that we Gnusies might want to have a stated policy regarding pie throwing. I already had the following in today’s roundup.]
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, so I suggest that everyone here take a vow to give up pie. No, not delicious, buttery, flaky pastry (we need all the comfort food we can get these days!) – this kind of pie:
The Good News Roundup is a no-pie-throwing zone, therefore I’m avoiding stories about specific candidates, since those tend to make one’s pie-throwing arm itchy for action. Feel free to weigh in on any topic you choose in the comments, but please do so tactfully, especially if you’re responding to someone else’s comment. (End of Miss Manners’ lecture.)
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Now on to the news, starting with some local stories.
Good news from Portland
You may remember this story about the U.S. Bank employee who was fired for breaking the rules after she gave a bank customer $20 out of her own wallet when his account was blocked and he was stuck in his car without gas on Christmas Eve. Here’s the cheerful conclusion to the story:
Good Samaritan fired from U.S. Bank gets new job with credit union
From The Oregonian:
The Portland woman who was fired from her job with U.S. Bank after a Christmas Eve act of kindness has been hired by a credit union that created a job especially for her. Emily James will be joining Community First Credit Union in Santa Rosa, California, next month as a training supervisor. “It was exactly what I wanted,” James said. “I want to be training, mentoring and helping others. I’ll be training new hires as well as doing follow-up training.” ✂ “We read about Emily getting fired for an act of kindness and humanity," said David Williams, chief marketing and human resource officer for Community First Credit Union, in a press release. "At the same time, we had an employee do a similar act of kindness. We gave her an award for it. Helpfulness is in our DNA, and we are convinced Emily has that same DNA.” James will be moving to Santa Rosa – in California’s wine country – for her new position, along with her beloved dogs, HarleyQuinn and Domino. “I did not get to go wine tasting, but it’s on my to-do list,” James said.
A Portland Software Engineer Is Bringing the Pay Phone Back, Minus the “Pay” Part
From Willamette Week:
To the degree that anyone remembers what it was like to use a payphone, Futel's public telephones look exactly like the devices people of a certain age used... It's not until you get up close and read the fine print that it becomes clear these are not just machines some bankrupt telecom company forgot to take off the street a decade ago. ✂ The most important part is written in bigger letters: "NO COIN NEEDED FOR ANY CALLS." Karl Anderson, a former software engineer, installed the first Futel phone five years ago, near the homeless camps along the Springwater Corridor. It was part art project, part act of subversion—democratizing communication in an era when it's taken for granted. ✂ Through grants, Anderson has expanded Futel to 10 booths in Portland, as well as Detroit and Ypsilanti, Mich., and Seaview, Wash., using hardware salvaged from Craigslist. In addition to their most basic function, the phones also have special features. Some are political—one option offers to connect callers to the mayor's office, another to a random concentration camp along the U.S.-Mexico border. Others are social experiments: The Payphone Demultiplexer calls multiple payphones at once to see who picks up. But the main draw, Anderson says, are the free person-to-person calls. Last year, 12,000 were placed through the Futel system.
And just because I can’t resist a Sondland story, here’s a local wit taking on the issue of the need to keep calling him “Ambassador” now that he isn’t. Sadly, the answer isn’t the one I wanted:
Do We Have to Keep Calling Him “Ambassador Gordon Sondland” Forever?
From Willamette Week:
Yep. Former ambassadors are entitled by the conventions of etiquette to retain their titles for life. ✂ Former ambassadors, like former generals, judges and many other officials, are entitled by the conventions of etiquette to retain their titles for life. To this day, parking attendants still address Henry Kissinger as "Mr. Secretary" (a revelation, I admit, [that] pales in comparison to the news that Kissinger is still alive).
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Good news from Oregon
I long for the day when voters all over the country have as easy a time voting as we do in Oregon. Hint: you’ll need a Democratic trifecta in your state, so get going electing Dem governors and state legislators!
Oregon Voters No Longer Have to Pay for Postage When Mailing in Their Ballots
From Willamette Week:
Voting in Oregon is easier than anywhere else in the United States. That's not just a semi-factual superlative. Since 1988, when Oregon became a vote-by-mail state, casting a ballot has literally been as simple as mailing a letter, a process reflected in our voter turnout rate, which is consistently among the highest in the nation. Then last year, Oregon eliminated the last excuse anyone could possibly have. In June 2019, the Legislature approved a bill codifying paid postage for ballots. Now, ballot return envelopes will include prepaid postage so voters don't need to take the extra step of finding and paying for a stamp. The law, which went into effect in January, guarantees Oregonians can mail in ballots from anywhere in the country—without spending a penny.
Hair discrimination bill passes Oregon House
From The Oregonian:
A bill that would expand Oregon’s anti-discrimination protections gained momentum Wednesday when it passed on a split vote in the House of Representatives. House Bill 4107, which outlaws discrimination based on a hairstyle historically associated with race, will now heads [sic] to the Senate. The protections against hair discrimination, part of a nationwide movement, attracted widespread bipartisan support.
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Musical break
It has occurred to me that one of the things we’re seeing so far in the caucuses and primaries is that people are making their policy wishes very clear and that those policies are progressive. (More on that in the “Good news from around the nation” section that follows.) That put this song into my mind:
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And because yesterday was Mardi Gras, because I love New Orleans, and because I love the Meters, here’s another take on the same theme:
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Good news from around the nation
Here is why Nevada Caucuses prove Medicare for All is ‘hugely popular and the winning position’ in 2020
From Raw Story:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the projected winner of Saturday’s Nevada Caucuses — and Medicare for All may have helped him pull it off. NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur noted support for the program in entrance polls: “NBC News entrance polls of Democrats on Medicare for All: 57-38% support in Iowa, 58-37% support in New Hampshire, 62-35% support in Nevada.
Maybe the candidates who staked their primary campaigns on opposing Medicare for All miscalculated.” Former health insurance executive Wendell Potter argued that the results show that single-payer health insurance is “the winning position for Democrats. ...Entrance polls out of Nevada show 6 in 10 want a single-payer system. Entrance & exit polls from Iowa & New Hampshire found 6 in 10 voters in both states support Medicare for All. All this after millions were spent by my old industry trying to scare voters away from it.” ✂ MSNBC’s Chris Jansing also noticed support for Medicare for All: “Fascinating - I asked many @SenSanders supporters about their unions’ concern about Medicare for All. They told me yes, they have good insurance now but what if they lose their jobs? And they have friends and family w/o jobs (NV jobless rate is higher than national average)”
If the name Wendell Potter rings a bell, it’s because he wrote a kick-ass opinion piece in the NY Times on January 14th, How the Health Insurance Industry (and I) Invented the ‘Choice’ Talking Point. Here are the opening few paragraphs. The piece is well worth reading in full so you can learn to counter the “choice” arguments: There’s a dangerous talking point being repeated in the Democratic primary for president that could affect the survival of millions of people, and the finances of even more. This is partly my fault. When the candidates discuss health care, you’re bound to hear some of them talk about consumer “choice.” If the nation adopts systemic health reform, this idea goes, it would restrict the ability of Americans to choose their plans or doctors, or have a say in their care. It’s a good little talking point, in that it makes the idea of changing the current system sound scary and limiting. The problem? It’s a P.R. concoction. And right now, somewhere in their plush corporate offices, some health care industry executives are probably beside themselves with glee, drinking a toast to their public relations triumph. I should know: I was one of them.
Texas Is The Next Battleground For The Green New Deal
From HuffPost:
Sunrise Movement is pulling back from the presidential contest and redirecting its efforts toward a trio of March 3 congressional primaries in Texas, hoping a victory in the oil and gas industry’s mecca will add momentum to the two-year-old Green New Deal movement. ✂ ... in the coming weeks, Sunrise Movement is sending its army of canvassers to knock on doors in support of [Heidi] Sloan [who is running against Republican Rep. Roger Williams], Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar’s left-wing challenger Jessica Cisneros and Mike Siegel, the progressive Green New Dealer running against two other Democrats in the race to take on Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). ✂ “For us, Texas is both the frontlines of the climate crisis and the extreme energy fossil-fuel industry,” Sunrise Movement’s political director Evan Weber told HuffPost by phone Thursday morning. “If we can show that running boldly on the Green New Deal without moderating or hedging is a path to victory for Democrats, we think it can transform the entire conversation in this nation.”
Despite continuing to argue that chlorpyrifos is safe, its major manufacturer has been forced by regulations in California and the EU to end production. There was a lot of public outrage over this toxic pesticide before the regulations were adopted, so this is a great example of the power of the people to force mega-corporations to change:
Corteva to stop making pesticide linked to kids' health problems
From Reuters:
Corteva Inc will stop producing the agricultural pesticide chlorpyrifos by the end of the year, the company said on Thursday, removing the world’s largest manufacturer of a chemical that has been linked to low birth weight, reduced IQ and attention disorders in children. Corteva, spun off last year after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont, said declining sales drove its decision to end production and officials continue to believe chlorpyrifos is safe. ✂ Environmental groups have pushed regulators to ban uses of the 55-year-old pesticide over concerns it harms people and wildlife. ...In the U.S., Corteva’s biggest market for chlorpyrifos, demand is less than 20% of what it was during its peak in the 1990s, the company said. ✂ Corteva, which sells chlorpyrifos under the Lorsban brand, faces competition from generic versions. Farmers seeking to fight insects have also turned to other chemicals, genetically engineered crops and seeds coated with pesticides.
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Good news from around the world
Scorched Australia is Getting Power Back Thanks to New Solar Grids Funded by Philanthropist Couple
From Good News Network:
Since the bushfires and flooding across southern Australia have left dozens of communities without power, several tech companies have begun installing solar panels and electrical grids with astonishing speed thanks to a philanthropist couple. Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes have donated $12 million towards the creation of the Resilient Energy Collective—a coalition dedicated to setting up sustainable microgrids across Australia. The collective, which utilizes electrical batteries from Tesla and solar systems from 5B, has already deployed two clean energy grids for rural sites in New South Wales and Victoria. Prior to their installation, firefighters and locals had been depending on diesel generators for electricity during the bushfire season. In addition to these generators being particularly costly and high-maintenance, they also emit large amounts of pollutants. The collective is now working with energy providers across the country to prioritize 100 more sites for microgrid installation.
Climate education added to national curriculum in Italy
From Positive News:
Italy will become the world’s first country to introduce mandatory climate education in state schools Public schools in Italy will soon be required to offer one hour of climate-related lessons per week. The move, which will come into effect in September, makes Italy the world’s first country to introduce mandatory climate education in state schools. Subjects such as physics and geography will also be taught from a sustainability angle. The Italian education minister, Lorenzo Fioramonti, said he wants the country’s education system to place “the environment and society at the core of everything we learn in school”.
This is a sweet story, especially since the project makes a special point of engaging local communities to find out exactly what they want. More nonprofits need to start thinking that way: ideas should rise up from the grassroots, not be imposed from the top down. (Lookin’ at you, consultants!)
Good apples: how orchards are uniting urban communities
From Positive News:
The Orchard Project helps to bring communities together with fruit trees and cider The Orchard Project [is] a charity that works with urban communities around the UK to plant and restore fruit trees in cities. Since launching 10 years ago, the Orchard Project has planted or restored more than 400 orchards around the UK. The Local Fox cider helps fund its work among urban communities. It began as a food security project, however the benefits go far beyond that, chief executive Kath Rosen told Positive News; orchards have a strong impact on community cohesion and people’s wellbeing. Apple and pear trees are the orchard staples, but the project plants everything from cherries and plums to mulberries and even avocados. ... The organisation works with communities for several months before planting even begins, finding out what local people want from their orchard. “Those trees are going to be there for 100 years so you want to make sure they’re going to engage people in that area,” Rosen said.
European Space Agency to launch world’s first space clean-up
From Positive News:
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced plans to launch the first ever space mission to remove debris Dubbed ClearSpace-1, the expedition is planned for 2025 and aims to collect a single piece of space rubbish, called the Vespa, which was left in orbit in 2013. It is hoped that this mission could pave the way for space clean-ups on a larger scale. “The space debris issue is more pressing than ever before,” said Luc Piguet, one of the researchers working on the mission. “Today we have nearly 2,000 live satellites in space and more than 3,000 failed ones.” ESA director general, Jan Wörner, described the number of failed satellites floating in space as “dangerous”. “It cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.
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News about animals
This is really great news for many reasons, but my first thought was that it might be a ray of hope for endangered pangolins, fascinating and gentle creatures that have been under siege for a long time because their scales are believed by ignorant people to be medicinal.
China Bans Wildlife Trade Permanently Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak
From World Animal News:
Yesterday, The National People’s Congress Standing Committee in China declared an immediate and “comprehensive” ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, as it is suspected to be responsible for the devastating coronavirus epidemic ... The decision stipulates that the illegal consumption and trade of wildlife will be “severely punished,” as will hunting, trading or transporting wild animals for the purpose of consumption. ✂ The announcement came amid rising speculation that the deadly coronavirus arose within a market in the city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife. The cramped, highly unsanitary, cruel conditions under which wild animals are illegally traded and sold for human consumption is known to create the ideal conditions for viruses to mutate into particularly virulent forms, with the potential to cross the species barrier to humans, sometimes with fatal consequences. Experts with the World Health Organization first believed that the new coronavirus came from the consumption of bats, but it is now suspected that the consumption of critically endangered pangolins may be the source.
How did this rare pink manta get its color?
From National Geographic:
Photographer Kristian Laine was freediving recently off the southernmost island of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef when a bright pink manta ray glided by. He thought for sure that his camera was malfunctioning. “I had no idea there were pink mantas in the world, so I was confused and thought my strobes were broken or doing something weird,” says Laine, whose photographs posted on Instagram this week have gone viral. Laine later realized he’d spotted an 11-foot male reef manta ray named after Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling detective of the Pink Panther movies. The fish, who cruises the waters around Lady Elliot Island, is the only known pink manta ray in the world. First spotted in 2015, Inspector Clouseau has been seen fewer than 10 times since. ✂ Scientists with the Australian research group Project Manta, who study the rosy ray, have confirmed its color to be real. At first, they theorized Inspector Clouseau’s color was the result of a skin infection or diet, similar to how pink flamingos get their color from eating tiny crustaceans. But in 2016, Project Manta researcher Amelia Armstrong took a small skin biopsy from the famous animal, and their resulting analyses ruled out diet and infection as the cause. Now, Project Manta’s leading theory is that the manta has a genetic mutation in its expression of melanin, or pigment...
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A couple of silly laughs
One of my husband’s friends, a fellow musician, likes to send him funny stuff. These two t-shirts made me laugh:
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Spring is springing in my neighborhood
Here are some photos from recent walks I’ve taken around my neighborhood with our dog. If spring hasn’t quite reached your neighborhood yet, be of good cheer – it’s on the way!
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Hot lynx
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/… Newly-Discovered Bacteria That Gobbles Up Pollutants Could Have a ‘Big Impact on Climate Change’
www.nationalgeographic.com/… Why combining diversity with STEM is a good thing for kids – Wildlife biologist and mom Rae Wynn-Grant talks about the importance of diversity in STEM—and how parents can embrace it for their children.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/… Scientists Demonstrate Success of a Possible ‘EpiPen’ to Prevent Paralysis From Spinal Cord Injuries
www.positive.news/… Subvert the advert: making the advertising industry more sustainable – Ethical advertising? Some folks in Britain are trying to encourage that.
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And here’s some closing music to remind us that we have the power to create the change we want.
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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!💙❤