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Good News Roundup for 10-31-'23 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-31  

**Introduction: Like most humans (I am a real human, not a cyborg or robot, or chatbot) living thru the past few weeks, I am trying/struggling to keep or regain my balance. The war in Israel, the plight of the Palestinians, and the war In Ukraine, the mass shootings in Maine, and a few other minor events have thrown me (temporarily) for a dismal loop.

For me- and anyone watching a lot of news- it’s often like facing a firehose of cold water. I can only take so much, and occasionally need extra music, walks, Netflix escapism, reading, and time with friends to recover. And that all worked very well. I hope all of my/our readers find similar ways to escape and recover!

Note: arhpdx usually does the Tues GNR, but we switched days- and she will present the Wed am GNR to DK readers. Fear not, you can expect a wide-ranging, colorful, highly interesting, and beautifully written Roundup from her.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chloris’ intro Repeated for good reason:

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.

** Hope & optimism (continued):

** “Optimism doesn’t mean that you are blind to the reality of the situation. It means that you remain motivated to seek a solution to whatever problems arise.”

— The Dalai Lama

** “I choose to feel optimistic, because I don’t think I could get out of bed if I didn’t.”

— Kerry Washington

** “Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face, or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You can't have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.”

— Cory Booker

** “Optimism isn’t a belief that things will automatically get better; it’s a conviction that we can make things better.”

— Melinda Gates

** “Hope is contagious!” — Greta Thunberg

** Musical Theme from the Beatles!!

** NEWS:

**www.dailykos.com/… UAW Wins for Workers and the Environment, and knocks down a key Trump talking point. As of Mon. morning, Oct 30th, all three of the big automakers, including GM, have now made Tentative Agreements with the United Auto Workers Union!!! H/T to Laura Clawson

“Record profits mean record contracts” sounded like an aspirational slogan as the United Auto Workers went on strike against the Big Three automakers. But it’s what the union made happen over a six-week strike that now ends thanks to a tentative agreement with General Motors. Ford and Stellantis had agreed to tentative deals in recent days. Workers still need to ratify those contracts, but workers are back on the job at Ford and Stellantis and will be heading back to work at GM.

The union made big gains on pay and ending the two-tier system that left newer workers making much less than their longer-tenured coworkers. (more)

** FAFO

** Mark Meadows Flips, Makes Deal to testify against Trump!!

ABC News is reporting that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has made a deal with special counsel Jack Smith to testify in the federal trial concerning Donald Trump’s schemes to overturn the 2020 election.

The sources said Meadows informed Smith's team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump's prolific rhetoric regarding the election. … "Obviously we didn't win," a source quoted Meadows as telling Smith's team in hindsight.

**Jenna Ellis Becomes latest Trump lawyer to plead guilty to Attempting to Overturn 2020 Election Results

Jenna Ellis, an attorney and prominent conservative media figure, reached a deal with prosecutors Tuesday and pleaded guilty to reduced charges over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.

Ellis, the fourth defendant in the case to enter into a plea deal, was a vocal part of Trump's reelection campaign in the last presidential cycle and was charged alongside the Republican former president and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law.

Ellis is just the latest to plead guilty, following Sydney Powell, Kenneth Cheseboro, and bail bondsman Scott Graham Hall (a lower level defendent, but still good news).

** Senate Republicans fear House may Screw over GOP in 2024

Sen. Repubs. have gone from salivating over next year's electoral map to shedding conservative tears as they watch their incompetent counterparts in the House sink their brand ahead of 2024.

“My message to fellow Republicans is people elect us to lead, and they’re not leading right now,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told The Hill. Tillis called the House GOP majority's ongoing failure to choose a speaker an “embarrassment.”

** ** TDFG trials info

Note: I am again using the Jack Smith image rather than give more “face time” to TDFG. If you really miss him, I’ll find a photo among my pile of warrants & court orders…

New: Judge reimposes gag order on Trump in federal election interference case

(From NPR, Oct 30th) “The judge presiding over Donald Trump's federal election interference case has reinstated a gag order on the former president.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed the restrictions on Trump two weeks ago, barring him from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff and likely witnesses. Trump appealed, and asked that the gag be lifted as that appeal plays out in the court.”

Note: Trump lost the appeal, surprising almost no one. And again, evidence shows that he has already violated that gag order. Judge Chutkan issued her new order Sunday night, Oct 29th.

** Trial No. 1 (In progress)

New York AG Letitia James' suit against Trump for alleged fraud- in Process now

Begin trial date: Oct. 2, 2023 in New York

After a three-year investigation, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, the Trump Organization's executive team and three of his eldest children, last September.

Given the very challenging terrain, and the flipping of 4 defendants (Powell, Meadows, Ellis, & a minor actor- this will be costly for Trump, even before figuring the total fines and fees.

And no one I’ve read about or talked to believes that the BLOAT (Biggest Loser of all Time) will be able to shut up and avoid more violations of the new gag order by Judge Chutkan!

Breaking (old) News! Trump Basically Just Lost the New York Bank Fraud Case Before It Even Started !!!

In his 35-page opinion, Justice Arthur F. Engoron tore apart what he called the Trump family’s “bogus arguments” and obstreperous conduct. And he summed up the entire defense as “a fantasy world, not the real world.” (Continued at VOX)

So, take That, Donald and company!!!

** Trial #2:

E. Jean Carroll case (Civil Trial)

Expected trial date: Jan. 15, 2024, in New York

In 2019, writer E. Jean Carroll first publicly came forward saying Trump had raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s when Trump was known as just a businessman. Trump responded then (and since), denying the accusation and saying that the writer had ulterior motives.

** Trial #3

Georgia 2020 election interference (Criminal Casel)

Number of charges: 13

Expected trial date: To be determined.

Late Monday Aug. 14, a grand jury impaneled by District Attorney Willis returned an indictment on Trump and 18 of his allies for attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

** But wait- there’s more, of course. This is former Precedent (sic) D J Trump we’re talking about. The “stable genius” who hires “only the best”.

** Trial #4

The Jan. 6 case / AKA the Insurrection (Criminal Case)

Number of charges: 4

Expected trial date: March 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

A 45-page indictment lays out the case that Trump and those around him committed crimes as the former president scrambled to try to hold onto power after losing the 2020 election. It comes after the Justice Department's investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, one of the most sprawling and complex investigations in U.S. history.

** Trial #5

The Mar-a-Lago classified documents case (Criminal case)

Number of charges: 40 Number of charges: 40 Expected trial date: May 20, 2024, in Florida Trump pleaded not guilty initially to 37 federal charges in June for allegedly storing dozens of classified documents at his Florida resort and then refusing to hand them over to the FBI and the National Archives. ** Trial #6 The Stormy Daniels hush money case Number of charges: 34 Expected trial date: March 25, 2024, in New York With this case, Trump became the first former president in United States history to be criminally indicted. The grand jury voted to indict Trump in March on 34 felony counts of business record falsification. ** So far, there is No trial #7 involving the former precedent, TDFG. But it certainly could happen, given his very long history of crimeing. I am hoping there will be, though!

** The Jan. 6 attack: The cases behind the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history An overview of the cases so far Number of people charged, federal: 1,168,

Number of people who have pleaded guilty: 689

Number of individuals who have had jury, bench, or stipulated bench trials: 152

The number with mixed verdicts: 43

The number convicted on all charges: 107

The number acquitted on all charges: 2

Number of people sentenced: 685

The percentage of people sentenced who have received prison time: 64

The median sentence for those who received prison time, in days: 120

The number of cases dismissed: 7 federal

federal XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

** President Erdogan has submitted a bill to Türkiye’s parliament to approve Sweden's application to join NATO. It is not known how soon it will come to the floor...

**

**A $50 Billion Investment in Hydrogen Is Coming.

Energy: Two weeks ago, the Biden administration announced project winners for seven huge regional hydrogen hubs, which is the result of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The $7 billion government investment is supposed to catalyze another $40 billion in private investment, providing lots of jobs and economic benefits across seven different U.S. regions while bringing hydrogen -- an emission-free form of energy ideal in serving heavy industries -- to mainstream use.

**

**Critics have called Sir David Attenborough's latest series of Planet Earth "awe-inspiring" and "magnificent" but also "horrifying" and "sad".

The third instalment of the landmark, award-winning programme began on Sunday on BBC One.

The eight-part series shows animals around the world fighting for survival amid constant environmental change.

** Biden announces $1.3 billion to build new power lines, upgrade aging electric grid

www.cnbc.com/...

”President Joe Biden announced Monday a $1.3 billion federal investment to build three new interstate power lines in an effort to upgrade the United States’ outdated electric grid and transition it to clean energy.

The electric transmission lines will cross through six states: Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Vermont.” From CNBC News, Oct 30, 2023

Note : This is good news on many fronts. First, we need more modernized power infrastructure in any case. Second, the transition to renewable energy in several parts of the US, such as New England & the West requires more capacity to handle the new power sources, like wind power. Third, this means more jobs coming as part of the Biden Infrastructure bill. It’s a win/win!

** “Trumps Insanity Overtakes Him in new speech.” From Countdown with Keith Oberman

www.dailykos.com/… Inadvertently humorous, and interesting yet worrying on several levels

SPECIAL COMMENT: The cheese slid COMPLETELY off Trump’s cracker yesterday in Derry, New Hampshire. The first time I ever posited in public that his brain doesn’t work right was in a piece and video I did for Vanity Fair in 2016 called “Could Trump Pass A Sanity Test?” and I do NOT know what the next step DOWN is mentally or psychologically or intellectually from “No, he could NOT pass a sanity test,” but Trump has now reached it: one speech, five statements that in a previous century would have been examined as signs of possible tertiary syphilis.

“Could Trump Pass A Sanity Test?” and I do NOT know what the next step DOWN is mentally or psychologically or intellectually from “No, he could NOT pass a sanity test,” but Trump has now reached it: one speech, five statements that in a previous century would have been examined as signs of possible tertiary syphilis. At Derry, New Hampshire, he (a) showed he believed he was the first person to ever realize the letters U and S could spell “us” AND “U.S”;

** civiqs.com/… Civiqs Polls Showing Fall in Support for Trump, esp. among Independents

Note: I was unable to print the Civiqs Graph of polling results, but I urge readers to take a close look at the polling, which has details for 1) Overall support, 2) Repub. Supporters, 3) Dem Supporters (only about 2-3% now- but still!), and 4) Ind/Unaffiliated Supporters

Much like his fall in support after the Jan 6th Hearings, TDFG is experiencing another steep drop in support among Ind. & Unaffiliated voters. As I’ve noted before, the more details are released from witnesses, prosecutors, judges, and news reports, the more his support deteriorates. We are very early in the process of his 6 trials, and the first is, of course, still in progress.

I can only guess at the ultimate impact on TDFGs campaign for the Rep nomination, and the same is true for the Nov ‘24 election as well. But I do think that the BLOAT (Biggest Loser of All Time) will help Dems create or experience a Blue Wave election. Why??

SIX reasons I think we’ll see a Blue Wave election:

1) Abortion Rights has proven to be an exceptionally powerful motivator of voters across the US.

2) Youth Voters are falling strongly toward Dems in voter registration, with 63% of them registering as Dems in the 2022 election.

3) The Biden Admin. has a great record of accomplishments.

4) Repub. Voters have little real choice but to go with tRump, an Indep. (Robert F Kennedy, Jr?), or another minor candidate; or sit out the election.

5) House Reps. have created a strong sense that they are i ncapable or irresponsible at governing, with even Rep House members acknowledging the chaos.

6) Fundraising Reps. v Dems.

Chaos in the House is not a good look for anyone raising money for anything. Just as many big- money Rep donors are withholding their donations for TDFG, that same dynamic will hobble the GOP into 2024.

Meanwhile, we are seeing Dem candidates raising more than in 2022, and will probably see ActBlue FR for Dems roughly double that for the 2020 election cycle- all from small donors. In the 2020 cycle, ActBlue recorded $5.080 Billion (vs. $3.463 Billion in the 2022 midterms cycle).

Keeping pace with their historical past growth, ActBlue should be able to help Dem candidates and committees record $9- 10 billion from small donors in the ‘24 cycle. That’s another reason I think we will see a Blue Wave election next year.

In short, I think most voters want to get back to a semblance of Normality in politics. Far less rancor & conflict; more certainty that government will function “normally”; problems like the budget process being addressed in a timely fashion; and big reductions in Fake News spread by X, Facebook, Truth Social, etc.; and finally, tamping down fears of wider wars with Russia, China, and Middle East countries.

** Old news, but a new take on Youth Voters Between roughly Nov. 1st, 2020, and Nov. 1st, 2024, about 15-16 million students will have graduated from US high schools during that period. At the same time, we’ve lost about 10 million people-mainly due to old age. Demographics is creating change, and as many here have noted, about 63% of those newly registering to vote are registering as Democrats. So, Considering those millions of new voters- who are replacing older and more conservative voters, we have a golden opportunity for major change on the state and local level, as well as on the national level- the House and the Senate. Let’s make the most of it! Those 15 million-plus voters are the future of democracy. **Every year, about 4 million Americans turn 18 and gain the right to vote. In the eight years between the 2016 and 2024 elections, that’s 32 million new eligible voters. . So in the same eight years, that’s as many as 20 million fewer older voters. Also every year, 2½ million older Americans die . So in the same eight years, that’s as many as 20 million fewer older voters. Note: I was very concerned that Dems in general and most D candidates were not putting enough focus or emphasis on Youth Voters. I started asking some pointed questions of Dem insiders and union leaders. Wow- I was (mostly) wrong , and my thinking was rapidly and sharply redirected . Our top Democratic leadership is well aware of the potential & promise of youth voters. Believe me, their rising influence has Not gone unnoticed. The Dem Party is putting $$ millions into outreach and inclusion of those voters, both as a Party and as part of individual campaigns. We will soon be seeing and hearing a lot more about them in the coming months as we roll into 2024. * Sure, there’s more to do, and many nonprofits may not have fully embraced them in their thinking about the coming elections. If you’re a member of, or a big fan of one (or more) of the political, environmental, social, or student groups, etc, feel free to ask them (diplomatically) whether they are doing enough to capture that demographic. Action steps for anyone>>>>> First, Take a look at any GNR by arhpdx, Goodie, chloris creator, or any other GNR writer. Second, consider donating to and/or working with your local Dem Party Or, give to Indivisible (Link) indivisible.org “ “ “ Voters of Tomorrow (Link) votersoftomorrow.org Or give to and/or join with Postcards to Voters- a simple and effective way to participate (Link) indivisible.org ** Musical closeout-Thelma Houston x x YouTube Video

I’ll be joining in the action — as long as I can stay awake!!!!

You know what to do!!

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