(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . From the GNR Newsroom, its the Monday Good News Roundup [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-13 Its that time again friends. Time for your Monday morning dose of good news to help chase away the morning blahs, courtesy of myself, Killer300 and Bhu. Last night was Superbowl Sunday. No idea who won I don’t watch sports. But I hope everyone who watched it enjoyed it. In a personal bit of good news, I got my new phone and internet hookup the other day, so I am pretty much entirely self sufficient at this point. Yay me!. Also its Valentine’s day tomorrow. As an Aro Ace individual I don’t really do much with that holiday, but if you are with someone special have a great day with them, and if you prefer to be alone like me, then that’s fine too. But enough rambling. Now is the time for good news. Americans expressed scant confidence in President Joe Biden and his party heading into the 2023 State of the Union address. Yet wide majorities also lack faith in their Republican counterparts, and a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds the GOP at risk on two fronts, the debt ceiling debate and its inquiry into alleged federal bias against conservatives. Yeah people may not be fans of Biden (Which I personally think is BS he’s doing a great job from all accounts) but that doesn’t mean the GOP is doing any better. Brattleboro, Vermont is known for its thriving riverside arts scene, crunchy culture, and eclectic festivals including the Strolling of the Heifers. While Brattleboro’s newest project may not be as memorable as young farmers herding cows down Main Street, its impact certainly will be. The project? Code reform. In 2022, Brattleboro received funding from the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development to examine its community preferences, needs, and underlying zoning bylaws to allow for a simplified permitting process for qualified missing middle housing. In other words, implementing the biggest little change to make way for more housing. Affordable housing is a big concern here at the GNR Newsroom, its something we feel really passionate about, hence why we always include stories about how more and more affordable homes are becoming available. Former President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday, seizing on a story that his rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination partied with underage students when he worked as a teacher at a Georgia high school. In five successive posts Tuesday to his social media site, Truth Social, Trump went after DeSantis. Two of them referenced a story published by the far-right website Hillreporter.com that claimed DeSantis had been photographed "partying with underaged students" at the Darlington School, a private K-12 school in Rome, Ga., where DeSantis taught from 2001-02. Man this would be devastating for DeSantis if anyone actually used Truth Social. May as well be yelling into an empty soup can there Donny. Still, Trump must feel his position as head clown of the GOP circus is being threatened. Its a fight between the two bigoted sexual predators and whoever loses we win. A federal judge this week suggested abortion could still be federally protected even after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer, according to court filings. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who was nominated by former President Clinton, asked the parties in an ongoing criminal case on Monday to file briefs on whether the high court considered the entire Constitution in overturning Roe, or if it only found the 14th Amendment didn’t confer abortion rights. Despite the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization landmark decision, the judge went on to suggest that the 13th Amendment — which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude — could perhaps cement abortion rights. Man, how pissed would the GOP be if after all the trouble they went to to destroy Roe V Wade it ended up the 13th amendment protected abortions anyway (Not that they probably wouldn’t want to get rid of that too. Put nothing past these guys). The U.S. economy gained 517,000 jobs in January, crushing economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest figure since 1953. In short, the labor market continues to defy economists’ predictions that we’re likely to have a recession in 2023. Economists have been anticipating a recession because the Federal Reserve has been aggressively raising interest rates over the last year in an effort to bring down inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed raised rates another 0.25 percent and signaled that more rate hikes were likely in the future. The campaign against inflation seems to be working. Last month the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that prices rose 6.5 percent in the year ending December 2022. That’s the lowest inflation rate in more than a year, though it’s still well above the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target. Big rate hikes often often lead to job losses, and in the second half of 2022, the labor market really did seem to be softening. The pace of job growth steadily declined between July and December. However, even December’s job growth figure was above the long-term average. And January’s gain of 517,000 was far above historical norms, suggesting that the job market is still getting tighter even as the Fed raises interest rates. The rumors of a recession are highly exaggerated it seems. Funny how the economy always seems to do well when Democrats are in charge. t’s easy to see why organizers of the effort have such high aspirations for the area, when you consider that just a mile or so north, the teardown of another freeway, the Park East, is a shining example of what can happen when public officials decide that sometimes less is more, and slower is better. The teardown of Milwaukee’s Park East freeway, which began in 2002, allowed Park, who was by then the city’s Planning Director, to remap the area, reconnecting it with the new and existing street grid system. Nationally, the Park East removal became a cause célèbre among urbanists — a daring landmark project that helped propel an era of urban highway removal nationwide. Fewer freeways would be great for the environment and for people not having to rely on cars. I’m for it. Nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, American policymakers remain engaged in a vital debate over the best ways to aid Ukraine in its struggle for survival. Amid these conversations, it is especially important to reflect on what has been the administration’s most popular and effective humanitarian response to the war: The Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) parole program. This program works by allowing private citizens to volunteer as supporters for Ukrainian nationals who have been displaced by the war. Supporters agree to provide financial and social assistance to their beneficiaries upon their arrival. Ukrainians paroled through this process are allowed to stay in the United States for up to two years and are also authorized to seek work during their time here. Since its establishment in late April of 2022, Uniting for Ukraine has maintained widespread interest, garnered support from Americans of all walks of life, and effectively decimated unauthorized Ukrainian arrivals at our southern border. Support for Ukraine against the tyranny of Russia continues. I hope that they will be free from Russia sooner rather than later. Reynolds and his fellow store owners in Elkhart are breathing new life into a nationwide campaign to take on Visa and Mastercard’s duopoly. The coalition is building on a signature victory from a decade ago that brought competition to routing for debit transactions but carved out credit cards. This swipe fee reform campaign still mobilizes around action in Washington, but with a more grassroots approach, in the hopes of creating lasting power to tackle other monopoly threats. “What we’re fighting for is just to have a level playing field where there’s reasonable competition, not a monopoly,” said Reynolds. These big businesses like to crush the little guy and make themselves the only game in town. I hope these small businesses can succeed in their fight against them. Now I’d like to introduce a new section in the Monday Good News Roundup. Its called the GNR lightning round, Where I post a bunch of stories without my usual commentary, rapid fire one after another. Lets see what we got this week: What could go right? Ten good news stories about kids The enormous heat pumps warming cities Smaller, cheaper flow batteries throw out old design Palm oil actually not that bad (anymore) AI reduces timescale of drug development Researchers develop coating that prevents synthetic fabrics from shedding microplastics in wash Demand for electric cars in Australia exceeds supply India plans 4.3 billion investment in clean energy Mpox almost gone in US California to make own insulin America’s mind blowing job market Eurozone inflation continues to drop 100k clean energy jobs announced since climate bill became law I hoped you enjoyed this quick fire list of good news articles. I may keep doing it if people respond positively. Biden’s speech was right out of the ‘90s in a way that I think was very politically savvy for the president and his team, and it previews how they are likely to run a re-election campaign against Gov. Ron DeSantis, if he is the Republican nominee. Here’s what was so ‘90s about Biden’s speech. After Clinton stepped on a rake with his health care plan and lost both houses of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections, he got himself to an eight-point re-election victory 1996 by running on two key themes: Republicans are right-wing lunatics who want to cut your Social Security and Medicare, and I will never let them do that. Here’s a bunch of popular, small-bore ideas that I can work to implement on a bipartisan basis with those Republican lunatics. Biden’s speech yesterday had a lot from column 1 and a lot from column 2. I’m going to save the bipartisanship talk for tomorrow’s newsletter. Today, let’s talk about entitlements, and Biden’s effective and Clintonesque sowing of fear, uncertainty and doubt about Republicans’ stewardship of popular benefit programs. Biden is a much better politician than most people give him credit for, and yeah, the GOP should be afraid, because their end is rapidly approaching. n East New York, a residential area in the outer reaches of Brooklyn, a 14-story apartment building rises from the site of a demolished water pumping facility. With airtight insulation and advanced ventilation, the new brick-clad complex is designed to use as little energy as possible. Rooftop solar panels and electric appliances limit the need to burn gas for heating and cooking, reducing indoor air pollution and planet-warming emissions. The 275 apartments at Chestnut Commons are some of the most energy-efficient units in New York City. Just as crucially, the climate-friendly building is reserved for low-income households, in a neighborhood where more than one-third of residents live below the poverty line. If you told me there was affordable housing is New York City of all places, I’d call you a liar, but apparently its happening. So proud of my state right now. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) roasted prominent members of her own party Wednesday at the annual Washington Press Club Foundation Congressional Dinner. The fundraising dinner was billed as an evening of “lighthearted quips,” but Mace’s digs were anything but. And she managed to bash House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and ex-President Donald Trump in the same one-liner about McCarthy’s contortions to win the speakership last month. “I haven’t seen someone assume that many positions to appease the crazy Republicans since Stormy Daniels,” said Mace, referring to the adult film actor who accused Trump of having an affair with her in 2006. Ouch. Shots fired. Its always a shame to see a beloved institution fall to infighting. This however is fantastic. This must be how Spider-man feels watching the Sinister Six fight each other instead of him. Well that does it for this week. Have a good week, a good Valentines day, a good Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Just have everything! I love you all. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/13/2152649/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/