(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Great News you Might Have Missed this week: Saturday's GNR [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-21 It had been a really tough couple of weeks. I have family and friends and collaborators in Israel and my heart breaks for them. And for everyone in Gaza. And for everyone in the West Bank. Sometimes it feels like a lot of innocent people are pawns in some really evil people’s game and, somehow, those evil folks have gotten them to hate one another to the degree that baby and children’s lives don’t even matter. It is depressing. But you aren’t here for depressing. And, as always, when life is really tough, I have found that my strength and optimism and encouragement comes from the amazing people around me. So many folks have reached out with kindness and heart. And it matters. It really does. Despite the darkness, there is so much good. In these times, I am brought back to the trump days, when hope was defiant and sometimes ugly and always essential. This poem by Caitlin Seida says it better than I can: What was the great news you might have missed? Well the biggest for me came out of Poland — someplace many had written off as being done with democracy Poland election results favor the opposition in a political earthquake Europe stands on the brink of a political earthquake, as election results in Poland suggest the end of power for a hard-right government that chipped away at liberal democracy, stifled the free press and exerted control over the courts while undermining LBGTQ+ and women’s rights. Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and former president of the European Council, preemptively declared victory for the opposition after the release of an exit poll on Sunday: “Poland has won, democracy has won. We have removed them from power!” “What it means for Europe is a major shift,” said Rosa Balfour, director of Carnegie Europe, a Brussels think tank. “If we get a government without Law and Justice, the relationship between Warsaw and Brussels, which has deteriorated steadily, would change.” “The nightmare ends,” gay Polish activist Bart Staszewski said on X. “I am gay, I am Polish and I am proud today. After eight years of hate against people like me … Poland is BACK on the path of democracy and the rule of law.” and this: Poland offers hope for reclaiming democracy Once illiberal leaders — such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan — gain power through elections, they are difficult to oust. Liberal forces find themselves at a severe disadvantage when ostensibly “free” elections roll around after regimes crack down on dissent, enlarge executive power, cripple courts, foment violence and flood the zone with propaganda and disinformation, However, the stunning election results in Poland on Sunday offer new hope for democracy defenders. “What happened in Poland is proof that when pro-democracy forces cease their bickering and come together as a unified front, they can overcome wannabe authoritarians, even when they’re faced with an uneven playing field,” Uriel Epshtein, chief executive of the Renew Democracy Initiative, told me. Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, tells me, “This is a historic turnout in the face of an unfair election environment. It is a victory against anti-democratic forces in Poland. It’s also the case that it will take time to roll back the damage done by PiS to the country’s rule of law, judiciary, and state services, including restoring the editorial independence of the public broadcaster.” He adds, “The fight for democracy is not over in Poland — it is a long road ahead. But this is a consequential moment and a clear step in the direction of freedom for the Polish people.” And with Poland’s example, pro-democracy forces around the world have additional reason to maintain hope. Oh and I woke up to see THIS which is GREAT news!!! First Aid Trucks Move Through Crossing to Gaza A convoy of 20 trucks carrying aid moved through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday A spokeswoman for the Palestine Red Crescent Society said it was unloading trucks at Rafah. The aid will be taken to warehouses maintained by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinians, according to the spokeswoman, Nebal Farsakh. From there, it will be distributed based on a list received from the Egyptian Red Crescent. Some of the trucks contain aid from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Food Program. now onto more good news! Democrats are Great Despite Fox News’s pre-midterm obsession, violent crime was down in 2022 On Monday, the government released its national data on crime in 2022 (as I said: a significant delay). Violent crime and homicide, the centerpieces of Fox News’s 2022 coverage not only didn’t surge that year, but each also dropped. Property crimes were up, but still lower in raw numbers than they had been in 2019. There was a clear increase in violent crime and homicide over the past few years, but it occurred in 2020. In 2021, the number of homicides again went up, but more subtly. Then, in 2022, the number dropped by more than 6 percent, landing below the number of homicides that had occurred in 2020. President Biden’s Finest Hour Biden stepped into the vacuum. I have read, probably a half-dozen times now, his Oct. 10 speech about the massacres. For its moral clarity, emotional force and political directness it deserves a place in any anthology of great American rhetoric. Without equivocation, without the mealy-mouthed clichés and evasions that typified so many institutional statements about the assault, the president said what Jews desperately needed to hear. x President Biden just announced his 40th round of nominees for federal judicial positions — bringing the total number of announced federal judicial nominees to 193. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 19, 2023 Biden’s Israel Trip Was a Gamble That’s Already Paying Off President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel was a gamble. With it, he became the first U.S. president to travel to that country while it was at war. Missiles rain down on Israel daily. The situation on the country’s borders with Gaza in the South and Lebanon in the north is volatile. And yet, physical danger, while a very real consideration on Biden’s trip, was not the greatest risk he was undertaking. Biden was traveling to a country in which the leader and the coalition surrounding that leader have derided the U.S. president and actively embraced his opponents. Those Israeli leaders have been unreliable allies—failing to support America’s Ukraine initiatives and critical of America’s stance with Iran. Biden’s trip was preceded by a marathon negotiation between Blinken and the Israelis in which the secretary of state sought assurances from the Israelis that humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza and civilians protected. Biden’s trip was not agreed to until the commitment was made. In that respect, Biden and Blinken not only carefully laid the groundwork for the trip but they scored a victory even before it began. Biden also met directly with survivors of the terror attack and his authentic compassion made a deep impression on those in attendance and watching on television. It took a special kind of courage and was profoundly effective. Indeed, the entire speech was extraordinarily well-received. The Washington Post ’s Jennifer Rubin wrote , “A simply magnificent, gut-wrenching and inspiring Biden speech in Israel. As an American, a Jew, a human being, I could not be more touched.” The Washington Post Bad News for Bag Guys x BREAKING: Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell has just pled GUILTY in the Fulton County, Georgia election case is now taking a plea deal. Her trial was supposed to start tomorrow. They just keep on flipping. This is a massive deal & bad news for Donald Trump. Another win for DA Willis. — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) October 19, 2023 x Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee to Sidney Powell, during her plea hearing this morning: "You're also to provide a recorded proffer with the state, which you've already satisfied. You're to testify truthfully, against any and all co-defendants in this matter at any upcoming… — Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) October 19, 2023 Sidney Powell’s Plea Deal Could Be a Threat to Trump On Thursday, in a move that caught the former president and his advisers by surprise, Ms. Powell pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Georgia and agreed to testify against the other defendants in the case — Mr. Trump among them. For the first time, prosecutors have the cooperation of someone who was closely involved in Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his election defeat. x A plea to misdemeanor charges signals that prosecutors see high value in her testimony. Trump should be nervous. & it's likely she'll be a witness in the fed'l case too. Chesebro next? https://t.co/G6m23wyitU — Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) October 19, 2023 and then…... Two plea deals Some thoughts now that Powell and Chesebro have both pleaded guilty:- Re. the conspiracy: they are high-level co-defendants, not mere lackeys. - They were both very public mouthpieces for Trump and the Trump Campaign.- They were both attorneys for Trump and the Trump Campaign. As attorneys, they have direct knowledge and documents evidencing the conspiracy with the other co-defendants, including Trump and the Trump Campaign. - They both provided sworn taped proffers to the State. Chesebro was the "architect" of the fake electors scheme. It was his memos that provided the blueprints for several states to try to overturn the 2020 election results.- Both must testify truthfully in future proceedings, including trials.Judge McAfee was waiting for the Chesebro/Powell trial to conclude before addressing the remaining 16 co-defendants, including Donald Trump. Now, those 16 will get their trial dates, which will be a big deal considering the other trial dates.With these pleas, DA Fani Willis does not have to show all of her cards in a trial yet. So there is a trove of evidence that we haven't seen publicly yet. And, most importantly, these guilty pleas further show Trump did not win the 2020 election; Pres. Biden did. And Powell and Chesebro conspired with Trump to promote a lie and to subvert democracy. RFK Jr. Is Going to Be a Huge Problem for Trump, New Poll Shows President Joe Biden would get a big boost in a three-way race alongside Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr., a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows. Among respondents, Biden wins 44 percent compared to Trump’s 33 percent and Kennedy’s 16 percent. Just 3 percent were undecided. When comparing the two major party candidates in a direct race, Biden’s lead narrows from a 7-point advantage to a 3-point advantage among registered voters nationally, with Biden scoring 49 percent to Trump’s 46 percent and 5 percent undecided. “Kennedy’s presence erodes Trump’s lead among independents and cuts into his support among Republicans,” Marist Poll said in its results. “Trump’s loss among his base is double the loss Biden experiences among Democrats.” Jim Jordan’s pressure campaign backfired Over the past few days, Jordan tried to pressure fellow Republicans into voting for him. He mounted an intense campaign over the weekend to whip up the vote and undermine support for Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise. On Tuesday, he called for a roll call vote. Knowing that he wouldn’t win on round one, Jordan hoped to bully his opponents into a yes vote. As voters saw the roll call, he could then count on pressure mounting within the districts. But momentum moved in the wrong direction. On Wednesday’s vote, fewer Republicans were willing to support him. And some expressed their anger with his tactics. Arkansas Republican Steve Womack decried the “attack, attack, attack” methods that Jordan has been using. “And it has not helped one iota,” Womack said, “That won’t work with us.” Other Good News Hamas released two American hostages A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Hamas’s armed wing released a mother and daughter, both American citizens, into Israeli custody Friday. President Biden said he was “overjoyed” about the return of the two hostages, who were among the hundreds taken in a massive cross-border attack on Oct. 7. Supreme Court lifts restrictions on Biden administration communications with social media companies The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on the Biden administration’s communications with social media companies while a lawsuit targeting the government’s efforts to combat online misinformation plays out. “The upshot is that the Biden administration gets to keep on doing whatever it’s doing with regard to communicating with social media companies until and unless the Supreme Court rules against it on the merits,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. x BREAKING: President Biden’s campaign raises a whopping $71.2 million in Q3 — $26 million MORE than Donald Trump and nearly the same as Trump, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley combined. The campaign added 240,000 new donors since April who did not contribute in 2020. The average… pic.twitter.com/T5XqQPWtjd — MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) October 15, 2023 Airlines say they’ve found a route to climate-friendly flying x NEW: On the same day Donald Trump gets gagged by a Judge, Dark Brandon rises again & goes to the next level, announcing that his campaign has just joined Truth Social to offer some truth on the platform. I'm so here for this trolling. This is how you do it. More of this! — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) October 16, 2023 x Holy cow. After just TWO days, the Biden campaign's Truth Social account has more followers than the Trump campaign's Truth Social account. Donald Trump can't even beat Joe Biden on his social media account. How will he beat him in a real election? Dark Brandon at his best. — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) October 18, 2023 On the Lighter Side What can you do to save democracy? Here are some ideas: We here at the GNR have set up a fundraising ActBlue account where you can donate and have it evenly distributed between 24 races that will be key to winning the House in 24! Go ahead and donate at this link: More worried about keeping tfg out of the WH? You could: Looking for something else? Maybe something that doesn’t involve donating? GREAT! Here are some other ideas: So pick just one and get to it! I am so lucky and so proud to be in this with all of you 💓💚💛🧡✊🏻✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿✊❤️🧡💛💚 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/21/2200684/-The-Great-News-you-Might-Have-Missed-this-week-Saturday-s-GNR?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web 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/