(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Good News Roundup for Friday, April 28, 2023: Time of Finding Out [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: 2023-04-28 Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News! This week, I’ve grinned a lot. Ever since Fox announced it was firing its star talent — or rather, since I verified it, because these days, who trusts Twitter? — I keep chortling. Tucker Carlson’s abrupt departure does not mean Fox will veer nearer to truth, or that Tucker is silenced forever. But both Fox and Tucker have been weakened, at least for now, and that is a good thing. After so many years of F.A., they are finally finding out. Others have been finding out as well. As Goodie wrote last Saturday, we’re seeing much more accountability. And, as Jessiestaf wrote (April 17), the Rs are learning that when you piss off liberals, liberals get mad. Moreover, when the spotlight shines on you because you have done horrible, newsworthy things, it can reveal things you would prefer to have hidden. As a couple of TN legislators found out. Finding out is part of the FAFO phrase, but it also means discovering information. And we have been learning stuff. Such as the corruption of several SCOTUS justices. The digging and the revealing of the truth has to happen — and I bet we’re only scratching the surface — before accountability can happen. Why doesn’t this happen to our side? Well, of course, sometimes it does. But as we tend to value truth and love, it happens much less often. Come on, my Friday friends, and let us celebrate finding out! Regular Scheduled Programming No one here is naïve; we are aware of the many who are fighting to destroy our country. Some of us expected it: the cheating, the lying, the chaos, and yes, even the attempts to cling to power despite the clear will of the people. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know. Remember: 💙 There are more of us than there are of them. 💛 They are terrified when we organize. THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE TERRIFIED! 💔 They want us to be demoralized. The best way to keep up your spirits is to fight. So, take the time to recharge your batteries, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world. 🗽 Biden as President ! 🗽 Biden, Harris and their administration have been hard at work. Here are the last week’s posts at the White House briefing room. 👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍 President Biden kicked off his re-election campaign this week! Go, Dark Brandon, go! President Biden establishes office of environmental justice Climate Nexus, EcoWatch President Biden on Friday signed an executive order creating a new Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) within the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The OEJ directs federal agencies to work closer and earlier with communities affected by pipelines, highways, chemical plants, and waste sites to address centuries of racist policies that have imposed disproportionate pollution upon Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. “Environmental justice will be the mission of the entire government woven directly into how we work with state, local, tribal and territorial governments,” Biden said. The creation of the White House OEJ marks a major victory for environmental justice advocates. “Today’s executive order is the result of nearly two decades of organizing by the environmental justice movement,” Ozawa Bineshi Albert, co-ED of the Climate Justice Alliance, a national nonprofit representing 89 rural and urban community-based EJ groups and supporting networks, said in a statement. “This win belongs to our communities who have been on the frontlines of the climate crisis, creating solutions, building local power, and engaging lawmakers for decades.” Women get the vote! In the Catholic church Philip Pullella, Raw Story (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church, will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October. In the past, women were allowed to attend the synods, a papal advisory body, as auditors but with no right to vote. I sometimes almost like Pope Francis. But not that much. 🌽 I really like the good people of Nebraska. The good ones, not the bad ones. Because the good ones have worked damned hard: x Nebraska, you did it. Every call, email, meeting, green shirt, and trip to the capitol is why abortion access will remain in place. LB626 failed to overcome the filibuster by 1 vote. #neleg pic.twitter.com/vUhvIClALu — Nebraska Appleseed (@neappleseed) April 27, 2023 💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣 Pence has testified! x BREAKING: MIKE PENCE TESTIFIED BEFORE THE FEDERAL GRAND JURY TODAY. He was testifying before special counsel Jack Smith - per @GarrettHaake on @DeadlineWH for most of today. — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 27, 2023 Cruz caught on tape Jacqueline Alemany and Sarah Ellison, Washington Post Sen. Ted Cruz advocated the creation of a congressionally appointed electoral commission ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to make a credible assessment of unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, according to a recording made by Abby Grossberg, a former producer at Fox News. The Jan. 2, 2021, recording, provided to The Washington Post by Grossberg’s attorney, largely mirrors previous reports and public statements made by Cruz about efforts to overturn the election results. But the tape featuring a previously private conversation among Cruz, Grossberg and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on the push to deny the certification of Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021, sheds new light on the scope of Cruz’s scheming to assist Donald Trump in overturning Biden’s victory. Of course, the only reason anyone thought there was significant voter fraud was because people like Cruz and Bartiromo kept saying there was voter fraud. Oh, and: Second firm hired by tRump team also found no voter fraud Josh Dawsey, Washington Post Former president Trump’s campaign quietly commissioned a second firm to study election fraud claims in the weeks after the 2020 election, and the founder of the firm was recently questioned by the Justice Department about his work disproving the claims. Ken Block, founder of the firm Simpatico Software Systems, studied more than a dozen voter fraud theories and allegations for Trump’s campaign in late 2020 and found they were “all false,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. “No substantive voter fraud was uncovered in my investigations looking for it, nor was I able to confirm any of the outside claims of voter fraud that I was asked to look at,” he said. “Every fraud claim I was asked to investigate was false.” Bannon to be tried: x FYI: Bannon’s co-conspirators in the We Build the Wall scheme have been sentenced by the feds to 3 and 4 years. Trump pardoned Bannon for this fed crime, BUT the Manhattan DA has indicted Bannon on these charges. Trial In November. https://t.co/2YvnTRpXJw — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 26, 2023 I understand double jeopardy does not apply because Bannon was never tried in the federal case. Guo Wengui, Bannon’s yacht friend, denied bail Chloe Atkins, NBC News Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire and associate of Steve Bannon, was denied bail on Thursday after being charged in a $1 billion fraud case in March. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres rejected Guo’s proposed bail package, saying he must remain behind bars pending trial because there is “no condition or set of conditions” that would ensure his return to court or the safety of the community, according to the court order. Torres said Guo “has means and know-how to flee.” While law enforcement officials have confiscated two passports and copies of another passport from Guo, the judge said a “clever defendant with sufficient resources could figure out a way to leave the country without travel documents.” 🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚 We have a great president with an excellent team. x Here are just some of President Biden’s accomplishments so far— and he's just begun. pic.twitter.com/K7M0Zfaq7N — The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) April 26, 2023 Some of President Biden’s remarks to the Tennessee Three: Look, we passed the most significant gun laws that have passed in 30 years, but there’s more to do. ✂️ I signed the most extensive gun legislation in 30 years. But what I’m more proud of is: When I was a senator, I was able to lead the fight with Dianne Feinstein to block the assault weapons — the sale of assault weapons and the number of cartridges that could be in a magazine. And I think we still have to do that. And — but on so many issues, you’ve been out front. And you understand exactly what it’s like. It’s just tragic to see what’s happening in your state in particular, in your city, but also across the country. DOJ sues Tennessee over law blocking gender-affirming care for minors Emine Yücel Talking Points Memo The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Tennessee’s recently passed law that bans gender-affirming care for minors, emphasizing it “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are.” The DOJ argues that the bill, known as SB 1, violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, discriminating against individuals on the basis of sex and transgender status, according to the complaint. “By denying only transgender youth access to these forms of medically necessary care while allowing non-transgender minors access to the same or similar procedures, SB 1 discriminates against transgender youth,” a DOJ press release said. 💜 Unity? 💜 Diplomacy through music — he’s actually pretty good! x South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol grabbed a mic and sang the Don Mclean classic “American Pie” to an astonished audience at the White House state dinner. “I had no damn idea you could sing,” Biden told his counterpart. https://t.co/MIYlQuZvwk pic.twitter.com/uFhJBymKEP — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 27, 2023 Western price caps cut into Russian oil revenue Anastasia Stogi, Financial Times Russia’s revenue from oil exports fell by almost a third in the first quarter of this year, indicating that western price caps were starting to squeeze the lucrative trade for Moscow, according to oil sales records compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics. The data analysis by the Ukrainian academic institute shows that three quarters of the drop in sales of Russian oil and oil products between January and March can be linked to western restrictions. Russia’s revenue from crude and refined products totalled $38.8 billion in the first full quarter after the G7 and EU introduced price caps in December. In the last three months of 2022, that revenue amounted to $54.5 billion. This needs to pass! x BREAKING: The US Senate has just unveiled a BIPARTISAN bill, that if signed into law would require the US Supreme Court to create and implement a new code of conduct for all justices. Details of the 'Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act': - The bill proposes that the Supreme… pic.twitter.com/OtpvCjERhx — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 26, 2023 Alaska Supreme Court rules against partisan gerrymandering Democracy Docket WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, April 21, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled explicitly for the first time that partisan gerrymandering violates the state constitution. This landmark ruling arises from a consolidated lawsuit challenging the state’s legislative districts drawn with 2020 census data. Notably, Alaska has nested legislative districts, meaning that each state Senate district is composed of two adjacent state House districts. Back in December 2021, five separate groups filed legal challenges — which were ultimately consolidated into one case — to the state’s legislative redistricting plan that was approved by the Alaska Redistricting Board (hereafter the Board) in November 2021. 📥 Actions You Can Take 📤 Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying? Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are), you can support and contact these organizations: ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election. Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams 🌱Grass roots. Biden and Harris can do the top-down stuff, but we have to support from the bottom. I don’t know how to deprogram 75 million people, but some things have been written about, such as deep canvassing, and lots of people are talking about this. If you know someone (who did not storm the Capitol), then see if you can be pleasant. Instead of trying to reason with them (logic is obviously not their strong point) distract them with something else. We need to remove the sources of lies and to take down the temperature. If we get more of the Rs to wear masks and to get vaccinated and to vote for Ds, the country will be a better place. We need to coax some of them out of the rabbit holes and diffuse the anger and the crazy. 🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help. Note: they are especially planning to target the 57 Rs in local governments who participated in the insurrection. 👎 Defund the seditionists. Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others. 🔎 Want to check out what’s going on with campaign contributions? Check out this diary. 👀 🐍 Schadenfreude 😈 Just because this is today’s theme: I am enjoying the end of tucker carlson so damned much. x BREAKING: Tucker Carlson's terrible week takes a turn for the even worse as it's revealed by inside sources that Carlson sent a number of deeply offensive text messages and Fox leadership only became aware of the day before the Dominion trial was about to begin. The texts were… pic.twitter.com/rbMfXRWTdV — Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) April 27, 2023 And I love how upset some people — MT Greene and Sergey Lavrov — are about this. Wonderful. This is so funny! x Fox executives have in their possession a dossier of alleged dirt on Tucker Carlson should he attack the network in the wake of his departure, eight sources at and close to the network tell Rolling Stone.⁰https://t.co/KPhMje0hwO — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 27, 2023 Interesting clues in Michigan: x NEW: a special prosecutor probe in Michigan investigating a group of trump allies who obtained voting machines in an effort to overturn the 2020 election IS ACTIVE https://t.co/k9Gz12kQBJ — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 25, 2023 And some voter fraud: x NEW: I FOUND SOME VOTER FRAUD! It’s a Republican. He’s been indicted. https://t.co/YOEEZUt2Td — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 26, 2023 Remember how in Texas a Biden-Harris bus was threatened in 2020? There are consequences. x A Donald Trump-supporting couple who joined a “Trump Train” convoy tailing a Biden-Harris campaign bus on I-35 between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, a matter of days before their candidate lost the 2020 election, have apologized as part of a settlement.https://t.co/tAkOmBtfz9 — Ⓜ️Ⓜ️ Lauren Ash Davis - OG Meidas Mighty 🇺🇦🌻☮️ (@Meidas_LaurenA) April 27, 2023 📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️ Abby Grossberg, the show producer fired by FOX, is being honored today. Of course, she should never have worked for FOX in the first place, but her initial assignment — working for Maria Baritiromo, who once used to be a respectable business reporter over at CNBC — might have been fairly reassonable. x Meet Abby Grossberg, the woman that brought down Tucker Carlson. https://t.co/PYJBvZvMfv pic.twitter.com/tKtxyRRPSi — Molly Ploofkins™ (@Mollyploofkins) April 25, 2023 Abby Grossberg worked under wretched conditions, and because she is female and Jewish, was harassed at FOX. Thanks to her — her refusing to go quietly and her hiring a lawyer after she was fired — Dominion’s case was strengthened. In fact, there’s speculation that Dominion settled now because they fear there may be no money later. Probably she is a large part of the reason why Tucker Carlson was fired. And although he is not in prison and may land on his feet, and although FOX is certainly looking for a replacement, the firing of Tucker is a really good thing for truth. Her recordings — we have heard a few — of creeps like Cruz have been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith. It seems as if much more serious s**t is about to hit that fan. Thanks, Abby Grossberg! E. Jean Carroll also deserves a mention today, because suing someone for defamation is really, really hard, especially for rape. x E. Jean Carroll is undergoing what can be described as a "scorched earth" cross examination by Trump defense attorney Joe Tacopina in the rape and defamation trial she brought against Trump, but Carroll is not intimidated. "You were supposedly raped?" Tacopina asked. "Not… pic.twitter.com/YUiOWnWtu9 — Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) April 27, 2023 More on her next week! 🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️ I love this! x Three years ago, Jon and Erin carpenter took a road trip and saw how important laundromats were in local communities. They eventually bought a run down one, renovated it, and turned it into a community hub. Today, it has picnic tables, a play area, and free laundry days. pic.twitter.com/iA4NMjcfhx — Goodable (@Goodable) April 25, 2023 The equivalent in my little village in the Alps is the communal recycling center (déchetterie). We don’t have play days, but everyone goes, you run into friends, there are always a couple of people working to help you figure out where to toss the random piece of garbage, there’s a second-life section, and there’s upbeat music playing. 📎 Odds & Ends 📎 Rest in Peace, Harry Belafonte: x Sweet spontaneous celebration of #HarryBelafonte in Lincoln Center last night as crowd songs “Day-O” pic.twitter.com/aE8boQXPtZ — SandiCam Bachom 📹 (@sandibachom) April 27, 2023 🐦 Wind farms and birds learning to co-exist Jethro Gauld Reasons to Be Cheerful (karij had this story too, but I decided to keep it) The Fryslan wind farm in the Netherlands is a sprawling array of 109-meter turbines situated in the deep blue waters of Lake Ijssel, north of Amsterdam. Capable of powering 500,000 homes, its sustainability bona fides are obvious. But less immediately apparent are the elements of its design that protect the local ecosystem as well. Built as the world’s first nature-positive wind farm, Fryslan incorporates a number of innovative measures to reduce collision risks to birds, including radar systems to monitor bird movements through the turbine array, and even several man-made islands that provide breeding habitat for seabirds such as the Common Tern, Sterna hirundo. Fryslan is one of a new generation of wind energy projects that asserts it is possible to achieve biodiversity and climate targets in one fell swoop. Its design is a reflection of the words of Dr. Joseph Kiesecker in his 2019 paper in Frontiers in Environmental Science, in which he expressed that in building green energy infrastructure, “we should not rob Peter to pay Paul.” A new market for tablets and zoom: x Parrots taught to video call each other become less lonely, finds research https://t.co/yytcbg7T4S — The Guardian (@guardian) April 21, 2023 Horse helps girl mount: x Horse Helps Girl Who Is Struggling To Get On pic.twitter.com/Gq98iawiWg — B&S (@_B___S) April 25, 2023 Barbie has gone from being an impossible figure for little girls who thought they had to look like her, to an icon: x Breaking Barriers Alert: Mattel has unveiled its first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Designed with the National Down Syndrome Society, the doll introduces features indicative of Down syndrome, and wears colors representing Down syndrome awareness. pic.twitter.com/SYJUAnIP6c — Goodable (@Goodable) April 26, 2023 🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: Hunters of the Feather, a story about a thinker-linker crow who wants to save birdkind from extinction, and sequels, Scavengers of Mind and the brand-new Familiars of the Flock (They’re really good! They’re really cheap! Buy and review or rate positively! And Hunters is also available on Audible!) Other stories, based on Jane Austen novels — including a new one for lovers of Pride & Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet’s Advice to Young Ladies — and others on Greek mythology, can be found here. All titles are available through Kindle Unlimited, but I only get paid if you turn the pages. 💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙 It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time. Current projects: Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters And some other ideas: You can relax and recharge. You can join protests and freeway blog. You can help register new voters. You can smile. You can say something nice to friend or a stranger. You can get out the vote for special elections. You can reach out to upset Republicans. We need to win some back. You can share your ideas below. 🌻 💙 “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.” 💙 President Joseph R. Biden 🌹 🌹 🌹 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/28/2165562/-Good-News-Roundup-for-Friday-April-28-2023-Time-of-Finding-Out 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/