(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . 12/21 Good News Roundup: The GOP Suicide Pact [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-21 How do I hate me? Let me count the ways. I hate me to the depth and breadth and height my thoughts can reach when putting off the right, to do Its work and hasten my disgrace. šŸŽ© Elizabeth Barrett Browning, with apologies. It is a maxim of the law with precursors going back to Jefferson and Lincoln that We are not in the peril of the United States with a third of them in open rebellion, and we can hold fast to the rule of law today. But Republicans have thrown all of that overboard on the pretense that the Ship of State is sinking by the doings of the ever-evilā€”No. You know what? I donā€™t have to stoop to their level, not even in rhetoric. They want to blame us for everything, but especially the loss of long-standing privilege. They want to wreak havoc, and vile, disgusting revenge, andā€”Oh, sorry, it keeps trying to creep up on me. Never mind. Put aside the fear, and rage, and hate directed at us. What counts in this coming election year is what they are directing at themselves. 1 Thingā€”Chip Roy For this, some of them are denouncing Roy as a RINO. This is becoming like the depths of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when everybody was denouncing everybody as a Leftist Adventurist or a Rightist Running Dog, phrases that eventually lost all meaning. Suicide pacts are nothing new in US politics and economics, among those who demand to be on the wrong side of history. Religious denunciations of Ben Franklinā€™s lightning rods for interfering in Godā€™s will to smite whom he might. Until only churches were burning down from lightning strikes, and the Denialist preachers were tossed out. We have a wolf by the ears, and can neither hold on nor with safety let her go. (Thomas Jefferson, on slavery) Federalist attacks on Jefferson, allegedly for planning to burn down all of the churches. The Know-Nothing Party The Civil War Jim Crow and the Klans The Gilded Age Sen. Joseph McCarthy and HUAC The Republican Southern Strategy Turning the Party over to the Evangelical Christians Reagan Democrats The Housing Bubble and crash The Tea Parties QANON Antivaxxerism, and other forms of Dying of Whiteness (Jonathan Metzl) The Big Lie and J6 Constant bogus moral panics and oppressions Allying with Putin and other despots Meanwhile, good things continue to happen. Votes for women. The Civil Rights Era. Dark Brandonomics. Massive reductions in global poverty and oppression. Peak Carbon. A hundred million smaller miracles every day. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. MLK and Thomas Piketty They shall have their reward. Rabbi and Prophet Yeshua bar Yosef Without fail, evil is vanquished and good prevails. Dogen Zenji Science, the environment, efforts toward peace on Earth and good will toward sentient beings, and a quiet tsunami speeding across the ocean, not even a visible bump on the deep, that can rise to a hundred feet high as it comes in to shore, after the ocean seems to disappear. Thatā€™s right. The trough of a tsunami arrives first, and then the solid wall of water. While everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about 100 metres (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2 metres (6.6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a much larger wavelength of up to 200 kilometres (120 mi). Such a wave travels at well over 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph), but owing to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete a cycle and has an amplitude of only about 1 metre (3.3 ft).[54] This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water, where ships are unable to feel their passage. Wind only affects a thin layer on top of the ocean, but tsunamis are movements of columns of water all the way from the ocean bottom to the top. How to Make the Best News While the Trumpish Death Cult is trying to make everything as bad as possible, I have been collecting methods of helping those stuck in bubbles of hate and denial to break out from the inside. It follows naturally from my training as a teacher of Zen Buddhism. We have proven techniques for rescuing cultists and Klansmen, among others. British counterintelligence turned every German spy working in the UK during World War II with similar methods. See The Double Cross (XX) System, based on the work of the Twenty Committee (also XX). Step One: Make friends with them. Find some non-political common ground with each. Children, animals, nature, cooking, hobbiesā€¦Maybe not the weather, these days. Step Two: Let them talk about their views. Pay attention. Donā€™t interrupt and donā€™t argue about the issues. If they get nasty, you can stop them. Tell those making bigoted statements, ā€œI am very uncomfortable with that kind of language. I find it offensive. It hurts me.ā€ Research shows that these I-messages are more effective than arguments or accusations. To Live Woke, by Rupert Nacoste Step Three: Ask what they recommend on any issue they bring up. This takes some flat aback, as sailors say. Others have their stock answers, from deporting refugees to civil war. Step Four: Ask how that would work. Ask again and again, like a little child. We can make lists of talking points on every issue for you not to talk about, but to keep in reserve. This has been shown to work in focus groups of Republicans set to talking about one particular issue. If they demand your views, or ask for evidence on anything, you can say Well, I have heard thus and so, but why donā€™t we go look it up together, and see who has the facts, and how we can tell? Google and Wikipedia are your friends, and many of us here know more particular resources on specific subjects. A fair number of them, and at least a third of their children, can be talked down in this way. Certainly not all. Look at what the converts, like the Never-Trumpers, say about what was their last straw. Former Republicans Nicolle Wallace and Joe Scarborough and Michael Steele talk about what got to them as Republicans all the time on MSNBC. Yes, I have to work at it, too. Itā€™s really hard with trollish Dominionist Creationists, but Iā€™m getting better with practice. Koan: Does Donald Trump Have the Buddha Nature? We know about the monk who asked whether dogs have Buddha Nature. Such a question arose at Shasta Abbey, about Richard Nixon. We offered him merit every day, but some objected. The Abbess asked, ā€œWho needs it more?ā€ and that was that. And so it is today. If you have difficulty starting with this method, which is to be expected, you can ask for more help, here or in a private message. Dark Brandon Our people are still not the droids they are looking for Our founder, Good News Roundup herself, will start diarying Biden/Brandonā€™s accomplishment five days a week on January 1. She has laid out a plan, and asked for volunteers to help out. Iā€™m in. Bad News for Them Colorado Supreme Court Throws Trump off Ballot Go, Colorado! x šŸšØBREAKING: Colorado Supreme Court rules Donald Trump is DISQUALIFIED from holding the office of President pursuant to section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Court stays ruling until Jan 4, 2024 for Trump to appeal to SCOTUS. https://t.co/9Kok2BkIYf pic.twitter.com/pGjCNWZN1Y ā€” Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 19, 2023 x Some are saying this is a 4-3 decision, with 3 Justices disagreeing. True, but much of the dissents are about Colorado state election law, which is irrelevant as this case goes to the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Ct cannot second guess the Colorado Supreme Ct on its own law https://t.co/B6LxX94Ji0 ā€” Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) December 20, 2023 x Trump faces similar challenges to his eligibility in 16 active lawsuits across the country. https://t.co/WP2LzjMuJW ā€” Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 20, 2023 x Thankful for Colorado SCOTUS... Check out Bret Baier list off ALL the States lined-up next for 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution challenges. John Robert's is having a very bad night. Three Cheers for #TeamDemocracy pic.twitter.com/54ZYU6N6jD ā€” LAšŸ† šŸ†‚šŸ…°šŸ†‚šŸ†‚šŸ†ˆ šŸ…»šŸ…°šŸ†‚šŸ†‚ (šŸ˜…) šŸ¦ (@LA_SassyPants) December 20, 2023 SCOTUS x SCOTUS justices will likely be canceling holiday plans after CO Supreme Court DQā€™s Trump from ballot under 14th Amendment. Ballot must be certified by Jan 5. This likely takes priority over Jack Smithā€™s request for quick SCOTUS review of immunity question. https://t.co/VLsmFuBdxu ā€” Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) December 20, 2023 x The Colorado Supreme Court has held Trump is disqualified from being on that state's ballot because he engaged in insurrection. Now it goes to SCOTUS. What does it all mean for us as voters? https://t.co/pKoAmnDNi9 pic.twitter.com/9WdCLCq7kW ā€” Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) December 20, 2023 Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance: Next Steps TL;DR: Vote in record numbers. x New Trump's lawyers urged SCOTUS to deny Jack Smith's petition seeking speedy resolution of the presidential "immunity" issue. They want to slow-walk it in a "cautious, deliberative manner." Developing, via @DSamuelsohn & @BySteveReilly, @TheMessenger https://t.co/WplmmcXaVp pic.twitter.com/wENahJjStz ā€” Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) December 20, 2023 Then there are all of the trials, past, present, and future. I canā€™t actually keep track of them all, and I thank those whose job it is to do so and keep us up to date. I do know that Giuliani beat Trumpā€™s record for losing a defamation case and defaming the victim again ASAP. Judge rules defamation case against Kari Lake can go forward Arizona Senate hopeful Kari Lake must be a little concerned about the recent ruling in Georgia that awarded Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman $148 million in their defamation case, because Lake basically did the same thing that Rudy Giuliani did: defamed an election worker with lies and upended his life, resulting in threats to him and his family. The election official is Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican. Lake and her lawyers, who are themselves facing additional penalties for clogging up the courts with frivolous lawsuits stemming from Lakeā€™s never-ending court battles over her 2022 gubernatorial loss, have been trying to get Stephen Richerā€™s lawsuit tossed. In addition to making a free speech defense, arguing that Lake has a First Amendment right to express her opinions, yesterday they said in court that Lakeā€™s statements were ā€œrhetorical hyperboleā€ that shouldnā€™t be taken as fact. Thatā€™s rich, because a whole lotta MAGA shitheads did take her statements as fact, and acted on themā€”violently. Issues We have established that we have majorities on all of the major issues. Sometimes even a majority of Republicans agree with our common sense solutions. Nevertheless, the Party leadership is intent on running on all of their bogus moral panics, and on scaring Democrats into action. More RINOs Fox News: Conservatives lash out at Trump after he attacks Chip Roy, calls for him to face primary challenge: 'Idiotic' "Has any smart and energetic Republican in the Great State of Texas decided to run in the Primary against RINO Congressman Chip Roy. For the right person, he is very beatable. If interested, let me know!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Monday after Roy appeared in Iowa in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign. Conservative politicians and commentators quickly jumped to Roy's defense on social media, blasting Trump's comments as "laughably insane" and "idiotic." x The RINO hunt has begun! Join me in taking back the Texas GOP from the double dealers, the backstabbers, the liberals, and the teachers' union shills! DONATE today to help me beat the RINOs in 2024https://t.co/oh4drFQlfQ pic.twitter.com/Y5uxYbV9TO ā€” Sid Miller (@MillerForTexas) December 20, 2023 Funny or Fuggedaboudit x In loving memory: pic.twitter.com/KstB9tLl6K ā€” Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) December 19, 2023 Yes, he went there. x pic.twitter.com/dyRi7pzX6b ā€” Section 3 of the 14th Amendment! (@TTriggered2020) December 20, 2023 x The MAGA Republican perspective of immigrants, a superposition on opposing views, both wrong at the same time. pic.twitter.com/xaNIcqdaML ā€” DrDinDšŸŸ§šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡²šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡¦ He/Him (@DrDinD) December 18, 2023 They are the vanguard of the Great Replacement and at the same time essential workers. Still relevant. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/21/2212364/-12-21-Good-News-Roundup-The-GOP-Suicide-Pact?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/