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The Tide is Turning - April 5 Good News Roundup [1]

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Date: 2023-04-05  

Good Day, Gnusies and a very fine Wednesday it is! There were two hugely consequential news events yesterday (which I will cover below, of course) and also TFG was arraigned in New York. Yes, in nifty world, TFG’s arraignment was a distant 3rd in importance. Yesterday’s elections and Finland joining NATO were the most important stories, to my mind. Those milestones will have a profound impact on the USA and the world. Read on for details!

April 4 Election

In spite of the wall to wall coverage of events in NYC, there was another huge event yesterday — possibly even more consequential, if not as sensational — and that was the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Before the polls closed, here was the mood in some quarters (not at chez nifty, though — here, we were biting our nails anxiously waiting for results):

Liberals Are Confident Heading Into the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election. They Should Be. Mary C Curtis and Mark Joseph Stein, Slate, April 4, 2023.

If Protasiewicz does pull this off, would you say it would give more liberal and progressive voters in Wisconsin a little energy after being kind of demoralized? I think “kind of demoralized” is putting it lightly. It would be a huge turnaround because, truly, from 2010—when these labor-crushing laws came into effect—until 2018 when Democrat Tony Evers won the governorship, those were incredibly dark days for Wisconsin Democrats. They really felt like their state was sliding to the right, that Republicans were building in these structural advantages that were going to be impossible for them to overcome. And that in part led to their focus on the state Supreme Court. And I think this is what we’re seeing now, it’s like the culmination of a years-long strategy to fight back. You don’t see a similar game plan in states like Florida, where the Democratic Party has been crushed and shows almost no signs of life today. You don’t see Democrats in places like even North Carolina, where judicial races are very hotly contested, coming up with a master plan to take back their power. But we’re seeing that in Wisconsin, and I think that’ll be inspiring not only to Wisconsin liberals, but to liberals and Democrats all across the country.

And so I present to you, this morning’s top good news story:

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Results: Protasiewicz wins ‼️

Protasiewicz’s victory will allow the court’s new liberal majority to determine the future of several pivotal issues the bench is likely to decide in the coming years, including abortion rights, the state’s gerrymandered legislative maps and election administration — including, possibly, the outcome of the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state. Conservative-leaning justices currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court. Protasiewicz will fill the seat being vacated by retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, giving liberals the majority for the first time since 2008. Protasiewicz was elected to a 10-year term.✂️ Democrats in the state, and nationally, described the race as the most important one in the country this year and focused their messaging on emphasizing abortion rights and fair elections — extending a strategy the national party employed last year to fend off a red wave in the House and keep the Senate. The win by Protasiewicz suggests that the strategy continues to pay off for the party — a data point national Democrats will be all but certain to rely on heading into next year’s presidential election.

Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion Rights Backers, Reid J Epstein, New York Times, April 4, 2023.

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their state by electing a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control from conservatives, according to The Associated Press. The result means that in the next year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans. Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With more than 70 percent of votes counted, Judge Protasiewicz led by more than 12 percentage points, though the margin was expected to narrow as rural counties tallied ballots.✂️ In 2020, a year after Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, succeeded Mr. Walker, conservative justices agreed to limit his line-item veto authority, which generations of Wisconsin governors from both parties had used. Last year, the court’s conservatives allowed a Walker appointee whose term had expired to remain in office over Mr. Evers’s objection. Once Judge Protasiewicz assumes her place on the court on Aug. 1, the first priority for Wisconsin Democrats will be to bring a case to challenge the current legislative maps, which have given Republicans all but unbreakable control of the state government in Madison.

Michigan is another state that had been gerrymandered to undemocratic Republican control. The people managed to get a ballot measure passed to redraw the maps, and the result is a fairly elected Democratic legislature and governor — and progressive reforms to Michigan law. Elections matter, and the days of Republican rigged elections are numbered. Michigan threw off the Republican chokehold and now soon Wisconsin will also restore fair maps. Ohio voters did pass a ballot measure to fix gerrymandered maps, but their Republican trifecta ignored the will of the people. But just as Michigan and Wisconsin seemed almost impossibly rigged for Republicans, Ohio Democrats may figure out a way to throw off that single party dominance.

I think — like Mark Joseph Stein in the first article above — that Democrats all over the country will be energized and encouraged by Michigan’s — and now Wisconsin’s — success.

Chicago Mayoral Runoff

It was touch and go in the early returns, but the progressive candidate Brandon Johnson has won the election and will be Chicago’s next mayor.

Johnson wins; Vallas concedes, Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun Times, April 4, 2023.

With 99.2% of precincts reporting, Johnson had 51.42% of the vote to 48.58% for Vallas — a margin of 15,822 votes out of 552,223 cast. After an exhausting, five-week battle for the heart and soul of Chicago, the race see-sawed back and forth as votes were tallied Tuesday night. Vallas took an early lead, only to have Johnson overtake him.✂️ With 90,000 absentee ballots uncounted and a 52% return rate, Johnson, a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, could become the next mayor by winning a narrow majority of those outstanding votes. Several analysts predicted he is likely to win as much as 70% of the uncounted absentee votes.✂️ Despite an avalanche of business contributions that allowed him to outspend Johnson by a 2 to 1 margin, Vallas could not overcome his own statements — on talk radio, Facebook and Twitter — that left voters in this overwhelmingly Democratic city believing he is an anti-abortion, pro-voucher Republican. It was, as political strategist David Axelrod put it, the “candidate of the Chicago Teachers Union” vs. the “Fraternal Order of Police” with Chicago’s future political direction hanging in the balance.✂️ The cornerstone of Johnson’s anti-violence strategy is the $800 million in new or increased taxes he wants to impose to help bankroll $1 billion in new spending on public schools, public transportation, new housing, health care, mental health and job creation. Vallas has called Johnson’s plan a job killer that will drive businesses and residents out of Chicago.✂️ But the age factor was a key indicator that tilted toward Johnson, with young voters rallying to his cause.

Also in Chicago: Voters choose diversity for City Council, supporting Asian American women, electing record number of Latinos, Robert Herguth and Sophie Sherry, Chicago Sun Times, April 4, 2023.

This year’s election ushered in potentially historic gains in diverse representation on Chicago’s City Council, including a record number of Latino members. After the last election cycle in 2019, there were 12 Hispanic Council members on the 50-member legislative body. Now, there will be 14 taking office in May — including Jeylu Gutierrez, who is replacing indicted, and retiring, Ald. Edward M. Burke in the Southwest Side’s 14th Ward, which he represented for more than 50 years. At the same time, the City Council’s first and only Asian American woman, Ald. Nicole Lee, held on in Tuesday’s election to the seat Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed her to in March 2022, representing the 11th Ward, which includes the Daley family stronghold of Bridgeport on the South Side and Chinatown. A second Asian American woman, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, secured about 52% of the vote over opponent Joe Dunne in the North Side’s 48th Ward with all precincts reporting — a lead of just over 600 votes.

🌎 International News 🌏

This is a big deal and very good news:

Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine war, Lorne Cook and Matthew Lee, AP, April 4, 2023.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Finland joined the NATO military alliance Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Nordic country’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders signaled they wanted to join NATO after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through its neighbors. “The era of nonalignment in our history has come to an end -– a new era begins,” President Sauli Niinistö said before his country’s blue-and-white flag was raised outside NATO headquarters. A short distance away, outside the security fence, a few dozen people wrapped in flags of their own chanted, “Ukraine needs NATO.” In praising Finland’s membership, U.S. President Joe Biden noted it came on the 74th anniversary of the signing of NATO’s founding treaty on April 4, 1949.

⚖️ That Other Big Story ⚖️

Nifty’s notes from DA Bragg’s press conference: Alvin Bragg is masterfully puncturing TFG’s ego balloon by repeatedly referring to the charges as “bread and butter” white collar crime charges, charges they’ve brought routinely; totally ordinary crimes that are regularly — even boringly — prosecuted so as to protect the reputation of NYS and Manhattan as the financial hub of the world. Talk about kicking the puffed up ego pedestal out from under the blowhard twice-impeached ex-”resident! This is a significant and, in my opinion, very smart approach. There are few things that can deflate a cult figure’s bubble of invincibility like being shown up as utterly ordinary and just like everyone else not to mention now forced to submit to a higher power (the rule of law). And DA Bragg’s emphasis on the routine and frequency of such charges undermines the right wing whining that TFG is somehow being singled out for unusual treatment.

Thanks to NNNE for this link to the Statement of Facts which lays out all of the..well, the facts! Statement of Facts, TFG Indictment. Mark Sumner wrote a diary explainer of this here.

34 felonies: just the beginning

"There is a myriad of federal crimes": Experts predict Trump criminal charges will "keep coming", Areeba Shah, Salon, April 4, 2023.

Looks like some funny business here Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 charges related to the falsification of business records in Manhattan — but legal experts say his legal woes are just getting started. Investigators found evidence of potential obstruction by former president Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation, potentially making it a far more dangerous threat to his freedom than the indictment he faces in New York. Justice Department and FBI investigators obtained emails and texts from a former Trump White House aide, whose messages provided "a detailed understanding of the day-to-day activity at Mar-a-Lago at critical moments," according to The Washington Post.✂️ "There's a potential for a number of federal offenses here from [the] dissemination of classified information to obstruction of justice, to potential false statements as well," William "Widge" Devaney, former assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey, told Salon.

Here’s more: “Feels obstruction-y”: Experts say it may be “game over” after Trump aide gives DOJ key evidence, Igor Derysh, Salon, April 3, 2023.

And contrary to TFG’s fond delusions, the American people do not share his sense of grievance that he may be required to answer for his criminal conduct:

Trump sees these investigation as witch hunts, but most Americans disagree, Rachel Treisman, NPR, April 4, 2023.

Today's arraignment is the result of one of several investigations facing Trump — he also faces an election interference probe in Georgia and a pair of federal investigations into his actions around Jan. 6 and handling of classified documents. Trump has railed against these investigations, dismissing them as politically motivated and "prosecutorial misconduct." But a majority of Americans disagree, according to the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. By a 56%-to-41% margin respondents said the investigations are fair and not a "witch hunt."✂️ Those most likely to say the investigations are fair are those in the Gen Z and millennial generations, people who live in big cities and suburbs, and white college graduates, especially college-educated white women."

The MAGA movement seems to be weakening

Even TFG’s most rabid supporters in congress hightailed it out of there the moment they realized the violent support TFG tried to summon had not materialized. When people actually shouted back at her, Marjorie Taylor Greene ran away. I’m not sure her heart and soul were really in it, to be honest! 🤔

Marjorie Taylor Greene didn't stay long at her own rally, Rachel Treisman, NPR, April 4, 2023.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene headlined a pro-Trump rally outside the Manhattan courthouse hours ahead his expected arraignment — but it didn't last long. "I’m here in NY to protest with my voice against the weaponization of the justice system on innocent President Trump, but the counter protestors are coming to commit assault that can cause audible damage to everyone’s ears including NYPD," the Republican lawmaker tweeted just after 8 a.m. ET, two hours before the event's planned start time. Journalists on the scene — who reportedly outnumbered protesters by a large margin — say Greene's remarks were brief and barely audible because of the crowd. Greene spoke to the crowd through a small handheld megaphone and was whisked away by security after a few minutes, NBC New York reports.

Populism appears to be falling out of favour. For now, Robin Eveleigh, Positive News, March 28, 2023.

The number of populist leaders around the world has fallen to a 20-year low after a series of wins for progressives over the past year. According to analysis from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), the number of people living under populist rule has fallen by 800 million in two years. The dramatic shift follows a run of victories for progressives and centrists, particularly in Latin America, where the notable defeat of hard right winger Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil has set the tone for the entire region. Furthermore, in the US midterm elections, people turned away from Trumpist candidates instead supporting more moderate Republicans. The TBI found that the number of populists in power has fallen to 11, down from a near all-time high of 19 in 2020. However, it warned that “populism remains strong across Europe”, highlighting its rise in Italy and Sweden.

Mehdi Hasan summarizes how very much the kids are all right!

x Last night in DC, on my book tour, I was asked by an audience member to do a spontaneous "60-second rant" - in praise of something.



Off the cuff, I chose young people. Young people who are saving our democracy.



Start the clock...and watch what happened:pic.twitter.com/PvrD1Xm0uq — Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 2, 2023

🪐🔭 Cool Science 🔭🪐

“This is humanity’s crew” — NASA announces astronauts for next moon mission

NASA names astronauts to next moon mission, first crew under Artemis, Chicago Sun Times, April 4, 2023.

WASHINGTON — NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced the four astronauts who will venture around the moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The agencies revealed the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers — the Artemis Generation.”✂️ The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.

Full Pink Moon Thursday (but it will look full tonight, too!)

Watch the full 'Pink Moon' rise into the sky on April 6, Jamie Carter, April 4, 2023.

This month's full moon, known as the Pink Moon, will be at its fullest on Thursday, April 6, 2023, and will shine close to the bright star Spica. The moon will also appear bright and full on Wednesday and Friday. According to Timeanddate.com (opens in new tab), April's full moon is called the Pink Moon after the pink phlox wildflowers that are native to North America and often bloom in April. Other names for April's full moon include the Breaking Ice Moon, Budding Moon, Awakening Moon and Egg Moon. Many Anishinaabeg, or Ojibwe, Indigenous people of the Great Lakes region know it as Popogami Giizis, or Broken Snowshoe Moon, according to the Center for Native American Studies (opens in new tab). This month's full moon also gets the name Pesach or Passover Moon, as well as Paschal Moon for its associations with religious festivals. The Jewish festival Pesach or Passover begins at sunset on Wednesday, April 5, and ends at nightfall on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Meanwhile, the date of the Paschal Moon is how the date of Easter is calculated, as Easter is held on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Western Christianity will be celebrating Easter on Sunday, April 9, 2023 — the Sunday after the Pink Moon. According to NASA (opens in new tab), Eastern Orthodox Easter will be a week later on Sunday, April 16.

🐩 💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩

Hello Everybody! It’s me, CurlyGirly! I am very bored today because Mama was watching the TV and reading newspapers ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT and I wanted to play sometimes! Anyway, I guess it was important and everything and eventually there was some cheering, so that was kind of fun.

Anyway, I couldn’t use the computer much, so I had to grab everything from the Dodo. But that’s OK because I really like the Dodo stories and I found really good ones today about dogs and cats and even BEARS! 😱 But not the scary kind of bears, actually. OK, here goes!

🎸🐶 Guitarist Makes Surprisingly Good Music From 'Songs' Performed By Dogs, Stephen Messenger, the Dodo, March 31, 2023.

Musician and TikTok user @savbeat is a multi-instrumentalist — but to capture the right sound in his most memorable recordings, he’s had to turn to some unlikely collaborators. Pups who sing. For the past few years, @savbeat has been sharing videos like this one, wherein he adds background music to match a dog’s vocalizations. The results are surprisingly tuneful:

You have to go to the link to hear the songs because I couldn’t link it in the story which is very annoying! But it is such a nice story, I think you should go look!

🐻 Now THIS is a surprisingly not scary story about bears! Well, not actually a story, but a video. But the video tells a story — a story about a patient Mama Bear who has an awful lot of cubs and they do not understand that she wants them to follow her across the street and so it gets kind of funny!

x Mama bear attempts to cross the street with her 4 kids 😂 pic.twitter.com/ADJP483G2u — The Dodo (@dodo) April 2, 2023

🐈🐕 This next video is so sweet and I think Mama should look at it and see how nicely that dog and cat snuggle together!

x Dog gets anxious when she's home alone, so her parents set up a hidden camera — and see her and the cat doing the cutest thing every day of the week! pic.twitter.com/8kaipUilzp — The Dodo (@dodo) March 29, 2023

🐶 I think sometimes corgi dogs are the cutest dogs out there. Also, it is pretty neat that the little boy in the video wrote a nice letter asking his father for a puppy and HIS FATHER GOT HIM A PUPPY! What a lucky duck! I sure wish that would work for me. Maybe Mama will watch this video and get ideas! 😃

x Little boy writes his dad a convincing letter asking for a corgi puppy — watch his reaction when his dream comes true 💙 pic.twitter.com/TYzXcBzdNi — The Dodo (@dodo) April 4, 2023

That’s all I have for today! Bye for now! Luv, CG 💙🐾

⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️

⚡️ This is a really good, clear explainer: The 4 criminal investigations into Donald Trump, explained, Ian Milhiser and Andrew Prokop, Vox, April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Calm down, everybody! Trump is not going to be helped by his indictments, Amanda Marcotte, Salon, April 3, 2023.

⚡️ Gift article: New York Already Knows a Lot About Donald Trump, Mara Gay, New York Times, April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Trump's entire presidency was 'unprecedented.' His arraignment is just plain embarrassing. Rex Huppke, USA Today, April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Could Trump Avoid Jail by Agreeing Not to Run for President? Shirin Ali, Slate, April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Abortion Wins Elections: The fight to make reproductive rights the centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s 2024 agenda. Rebecca Traitor, The New Yorker, March 27, 2023.

⚡️ How to live well: five ideas for better wellbeing, Robin Eveleigh, Positive News, April 4, 2023.

⚡️ Why are some people always late? Sascha Pare, LiveScience, April 4, 2023.

💗 How Can You Help Build Our Democracy Back Better? 💗

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