(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Thursday Good News Roundup 10/26 The Helpers are Looking for You [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-26 The helpers are always on the lookout for more people to help, and then for more people to join in with them. They need us to raise the banner, to volunteer where and when we can, to send money (of course), and to recruit others to the various causes. Most of all they need us to shift the political climate, no matter how gradually, so that they are not out there on their own. They are particularly delighted when we show up and thank them. So make today, and every day, Thank a Helper Day. The greatest unrecognized conspiracy in the world has been undertaken by all of those who want to do everyone the maximum good possible, even to those who particularly can’t stand that. Those who have declared all of us to be the vile enemies of everything that is Good and True, namely their particular privilege, know that we have taken them on, but cannot recognize that it is for any good purpose. Well, never mind them. They shall have their reward. Meanwhile, we have a third of their children. In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be grateful for. For myself, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. H. L. Mencken Good News for Us Future Crunch is looking for you. Good News on Education for Girls, Crime in the United Kingdom, and Ocean Conservation in New Zealand Plus, progress on tax evasion, Americans with disabilities, a breakthrough on cervical cancer, fishing bans in Cameroon, mangroves in China, anti-trafficking in Malaysia, and plastic reduction in Indonesia. The next time you're on your phone looking at all the ways the world is broken, remember this: globally, there are 50 million more girls in school today than there were in 2015. Completion rates for girls have increased from 86% to 89% in primary school, and from 54% to 61% in high school. There are five million more girls completing each level of education every year now compared to seven years ago. Bad news happens suddenly. Good news happens slowly. UNESCO Between 2002 and 2022, the Global Fund saved over 59 million lives through its HIV, TB, and malaria programs. Last year the fund achieved record-breaking results: 24.5 million people received antiretroviral treatment for HIV, 6.7 million people were treated for TB, and 220 million mosquito nets were dispersed to at-risk communities. Between 2018 and 2022, Mozambique exponentially increased its number of community health workers, from 1,000 in 2018 to 8,300 in 2022. Together, these community health workers now reach an estimated two million households countrywide, up from 240,000 households in 2018. World Bank Between 2013 and 2021, cases of measles in Indonesia decreased by 95%, from 33.2 to 1.4 cases per million, and rubella incidence decreased by 89%, from 9.3 to 1.0 cases per million. Progress was set back in 2022 due to disruptions in immunisation services caused by the pandemic, but efforts are now back on track. WHO In 2015, the equivalent of 9% of global GDP was held in tax havens. Today, thanks to the automatic exchange of bank information, this is down to around 3%. There's still a long way to go on a global minimum corporate tax and taxation on billionaires, but this shows that progress can be made when there's the political will to do so. EU Tax Observatory The UK's Office of National Statistics says that crime in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, with incidents of violent crime falling by 28% for 2023, up until June. A separate survey, which polls members of the public, suggests theft has dropped by 20% and incidents of anti-social behaviour are down 15% compared to pre-pandemic levels. BBC And so much more I can’t even paste in all of their headlines. Bad News for Them They think they’’re looking for you too. No, our people are not the droids you are looking for The House House Republicans unanimously elected Mike Johnson as Speaker yesterday. That’s good, right? Up to a point, yes. We have to have a House Speaker. But Johnson is a vicious, election-denying, anti-abortion, anti-vaxxer troll who will immediately set off even the crazies who joined in voting him in, by moving to fund the US government, Israel, and Ukraine. But worry not. Democratic operatives and the Internet Meme Squads are trawling through his record for material to make pro-Democracy ads, and coming up with gems like this. x Mike Johnson: “If you lend your 16 year old child the family car and they bring it home dented, is it okay to abort them, just answer the question.” pic.twitter.com/QdWPv2wi7f — 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖_𝔻𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕖 (@SundaeDivine) October 25, 2023 x FLASHBACK: GOP Speaker nominee Mike Johnson called cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security “the #1 priority” When they tell you who they are, believe them. (From @MeidasTouch)pic.twitter.com/HD2EIw9wcz — The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 25, 2023 Mike Johnson is the new speaker of the House. Here's what happens next. "We're going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new speakership because we have no time for either one," Johnson said after the vote. "The American people's business is too urgent in this moment. The hour is late. The crisis is great." Johnson has laid out a tentative legislative schedule to approve new spending and take up other pieces of legislation, but things could change quickly as he confronts the realities of governing, especially given the fractious nature of the Republican conference. Johnson sent a letter to his colleagues on Monday laying out a tentative schedule for how he would approach the next several months' worth of House business. He endorsed a plan to bring up 12 individual spending bills, rather than a single massive piece of legislation to fund executive branch departments. The consideration of individual spending bills was one of the demands made by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other who rebelled against McCarthy when he endorsed a temporary extension of government funding. GOP Rep. Scott Perry, a conservative member from Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that members will likely give Johnson some leeway on government spending bills. "We're in overtime right now, right? So you don't blame the backup quarterback for the failures of the guy that just came out of the game," Perry told reporters. Johnson said his first priority would be to pass a resolution denouncing Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that left more than 1,400 people dead. The White House has requested an emergency aid package worth $106 billion, which would include $14 billion in aid to Israel. The administration also wants $61 billion to fund further aid to Ukraine and replenish U.S. stockpiles of weapons and ammunition. That has already emerged as a sticking point with some Republicans who want to consider aid to Israel separately. Johnson said, “We are going to establish a bipartisan debt commission to begin working on this crisis immediately." Congress passes a package of legislation that sets policy for agricultural and food programs, known as the farm bill, every five years. The most recent package was approved in 2018 and expired Sept. 30, though some of its provisions remain in place, according to the Department of Agriculture. Work on the farm bill has been ongoing. The House and Senate Committees on Agriculture have been holding field hearings, and the Republican and Democratic leaders of those panels met with Mr. Biden in May to discuss the importance of passing the legislation this year. In his blueprint for the rest of the 118th Congress, Johnson proposed the House take up the farm bill in December and begin negotiations with the Senate "as soon as possible" following action by the upper chamber. In July, the House passed its version of the must-pass defense policy bill, which included a number of conservative policy priorities on abortion, health coverage for transgender service members, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The legislation, titled the National Defense Authorization Act, typically earns wide bipartisan support and has passed Congress each year for more than six decades. But the House bill won approval in a near-party-line vote of 219-210. Four Republicans voted against the bill, while four Democrats voted for it. Legal News Haaaaalp! Jenna Ellis enters plea deal in Georgia election interference case Trump hauled to witness stand in unexpected twist during New York fraud trial Once Trump was seated, Engoron issued his order fining Trump $10,000 — which he called “on the liberal side.” “As the trier of fact, I find that the witness is not credible,” Engoron said. Architect of fake elector scheme to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election admits guilt Ex-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty Friday in Fulton County Superior Court to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents for his role in attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. Chesebro was promptly sentenced by Judge Scott McAfee to five years probation after admitting in court that he illegally devised a multi-state false Republican elector scheme in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory over incumbent Donald Trump. Science! Animals! Weirdness! Science needs you! The entire ecology needs you! Um, whatever this is, it needs you! x Boo! Just in time for Halloween, our #JunoMission captured this view of Jupiter's swirling clouds during its 54th close flyby of the planet. Spend some face time with the giant planet:https://t.co/4t0j5d55gm 📸 Image processed by Vladimir Tarasov pic.twitter.com/733DKzEL1p — NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) October 25, 2023 x Three explosions, two stars, and a rare discovery. Webb recently detected tellurium, an element rarer than platinum on Earth, in the explosive aftermath of two neutron stars merging. The detection may help reshape our understanding of the cosmos: https://t.co/lRPR89aGD0 Thread👇 pic.twitter.com/bMtRGc6SlG — NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) October 25, 2023 Funny or Fuggedaboudit Support your local cartoonists and the striking actors, among others. They look for you every day. Not a gag, Previous Guy storms out of the civil trial after being 'put on the stand' Too many not-funny cartoons today. Come on, people, this is supposed to be a target-rich environment. Did you know that Lowly Worm in the Richard Scarry picture books comes from a Scots Border ballad? 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