Opening music
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Good news in politics
Before I get to some good political news, I want to share a wonderful blog post from progressive champion Jim Hightower’s Hightower Lowdown: What Should Politics Do? Ask Woody Guthrie:
Woody Guthrie’s prescription for inequality in America was straightforward: “Rich folks got your money with politics. You can get it back with politics.”
For Guthrie, “politics” meant more than voting, since both parties routinely cough-up candidates who meekly accept the business-as-usual system of letting bosses and bankers control America’s wealth and power. It’s useless, he said, to expect change to come from a “choice” between Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber. Instead, common folks must organize into a progressive movement with their own bold change agenda, become their own candidates, and create a politics worth voting for.
Pie in the sky? No! Periodic eruptions of progressive grassroots insurgencies have literally defined America, beginning with that big one in 1776. Indeed, we could take a lesson today from another transformative moment of democratic populism that surged more than a century ago, culminating in “The Omaha Platform of 1892.” This was in the depths of the Gilded Age, a sordid period much like ours, characterized by both ostentatious greed and widespread poverty, domination by monopolies, rising xenophobia, institutional racism – and government that ranged from aloof to insane.
But lo – from that darkness, a new People’s Party arose, created by the populist movement of farm and factory mad-as-hellers. They streamed into Omaha to hammer out the most progressive platform in US history, specifically rejecting corporate supremacy and demanding direct democracy.
That platform reshaped America’s political agenda, making the sweeping reforms of the Progressive Era and New Deal possible. As one senator said of the Omaha rebellion, it was the start of robber baron wealth flowing “to all the people, from whom it was originally taken.” And that’s what Woody Guthrie meant by “politics.”
The thing is, we’ve been doing this again since 2016! We’ve made our voices heard and used our votes to push a corporatist Democratic party into becoming increasingly progressive. The president we elected in 2020 has indeed followed a “bold change agenda,” created “a politics worth voting for,” and we’re starting to get wealth “flowing ‘to all the people, from whom it was originally taken.’ “
It’s not just Biden, it’s his entire administration
Jessica Craven, whom you’ll learn more about in the “Do Some Good” section at the end of this GNR, recorded this excellent big-picture politics video. It’s a good one to share with any family members, friends, and/or fellow workers who are unenthusiastic about voting for Biden.
LGBTQ+ Employees Can’t Be Misgendered or Denied Bathrooms at Work, New Federal Rules Say
Just one of many ways the Biden administration has been supporting LGBTQ+ workers, especially those who are trans.
From The 19th:
LGBTQ+ workers who are misgendered by their employers or blocked from accessing restrooms consistent with their gender identity will now get additional workplace protections as a result of new guidance issued [April 29th] by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
It’s the first time in 25 years that the EEOC has issued new rules on workplace discrimination — a change precipitated in part by the 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark decision that found that LGBTQ+ workers are protected from workplace discrimination.
IRS Direct File Pilot Exceeds Usage Goal, Receiving Positive User Ratings and Saving Taxpayers Money
I sure wish the state of Oregon did new tech rollouts this way —“start small, make sure it works, then build from there.” Oregon just put a new computer system in place for unemployment benefits, didn’t test it sufficiently, and are now playing a lively game of Pass the Blame while out of work Oregonians struggle to pay rent and bills and buy food. Good for the Biden administration for doing it right!!
From Treasury.gov:
[On April 26th,] the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced key data on the performance of the IRS’s Direct File Pilot showing that the program surpassed the Treasury’s goal of 100,000 users, received positive user ratings, and saved taxpayers money. The Direct File pilot program was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and allowed taxpayers in 12 states with simple taxes to file for free, directly with the IRS.
The IRS designed the pilot to follow best practices for launching a new technology platform – start small, make sure it works, then build from there. After successful testing, Direct File opened to broader access mid-way through the filing season. Even so, 140,803 taxpayers successfully filed returns using Direct File, with users reporting a high degree of user satisfaction. Direct File users claimed more than $90 million in refunds and saved an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees on their federal returns alone. The 12 states that participated in this year’s pilot either had no state income tax or a free state filing tool similar to Direct File. Usage was robust in both categories of states. ✂️
The IRS also collected information on user experiences with Direct File. In a GSA Touchpoints survey of more than 11,000 Direct File users, 90% of respondents ranked their experience with Direct File as “Excellent” or “Above Average.” Direct File received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +74, an exceptionally high rating.
Direct File also allowed the IRS to test a large-scale live-chat feature. Direct File customer service representatives (CSRs) handled tens of thousands of chats with an average wait time of one minute and an Average Handle Time of 9 minutes. 90 percent of survey respondents who used Customer Support rated their experience as excellent or above average.
Fix The Tix: 300 Musicians Back New Senate Bill for Reforming Concert Ticket Sales in the ‘Fans First Act’
It looks like we’re finally going to get some relief from predatory ticket sellers.
From Good News Network:
[On April 30th], a bipartisan collection of Senators introduced the Fans First Act, which would help address flaws in the current live event ticketing system by increasing transparency in ticket sales, and protecting consumers from fake or dramatically overpriced tickets.
...the artists and Congressmen allege [that] buying a ticket to a concert or sporting event requires negotiating a minefield of predatory practices, such as speculative ticket buying and the use of automated programs to buy large numbers of tickets for resale at inflated prices. The legislation would ban such practices, and include provisions for guaranteed refunds in the event of a cancellation.
The political campaign organizers, calling themselves “Fix the Tix” write that included among the supporters of the legislation is a coalition of live event industry organizations and professionals, who have formed to advocate on behalf of concertgoers.
This includes a steering committee led by Eventbrite and the National Independent Value Association that’s supported by dozens of artistic unions, independent ticket sellers, and of course, over 250 artists and bands, including Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews, Cyndi Lauper, Lorde, Sia, Train, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and hundreds more which you can read here.
“Buying a ticket to see your favorite artist or team is out of reach for too many Americans,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). “Bots, hidden fees, and predatory practices are hurting consumers whether they want to catch a home game, an up-and-coming artist, or a major headliner like Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny. From ensuring fans get refunds for canceled shows to banning speculative ticket sales, this bipartisan legislation will improve the ticketing experience.”
Halle Berry shouts 'I'm in menopause' on Capitol Hill as she fights for funding to improve women's care
It’s definitely past time for more research and education around menopause. Kudos to Murray and Murkowski for proposing this legislation.
From ABC News:
Actress Halle Berry was joined by a group of bipartisan senators on Capitol Hill Thursday to push for legislation that would put $275 million towards research and education around menopause. The legislation calls for the federal government to spend more on clinical trials on menopause as well as the hormone therapy that is used to treat hot flashes and other symptoms.
Berry, 57, shouted about her own menopausal status outside the Capitol Thursday. "I'm in menopause, OK?" Berry yelled, to laughs from the crowd. "The shame has to be taken out of menopause. We have to talk about this very normal part of our life that happens. Our doctors can't even say the word to us, let alone walk us through the journey." ✂️
Under a legislative proposal advocated for by Berry and introduced by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, $125 million of federal funding would be set aside for clinical trials, public health, and medical research on menopause.
The remaining money would help support menopause detection and diagnosis, train doctors on treating menopause and raise public awareness around it.
"Menopause is not a bad word, it's not something to be ashamed of, and it's not something Congress or the federal government should ignore," Murray said Thursday.
The bill is backed by 17 senators - three Republicans, 13 Democrats, one independent and all of them women. Several senators said Thursday they hope the bill will also encourage doctors, women and men to speak more openly about the health milestone all women experience.
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🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿
There are way too many stories that I could plug in here, and this is already a longer-even-than-usual GNR for me. 😉 But I couldn’t resist making sure you saw this bit of karmic fuck-up by the always-clueless MAGA mob:
Kimberly Guilfoyle Picked The Wrong Day To Announce Her New Dog Book
From Huffpost:
On Monday, Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend announced the pending publication of her children’s book, “The Princess and Her Pup,” on social media.
In a social media post, Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, said the book is a “heartfelt story that teaches children that it’s easier to be courageous with a friend by your side.” She added that she will donate some proceeds to help abused and abandoned dogs and cats.
Sadly for Guilfoyle’s promotional team, her book announcement came after the Republican governor had faced three days of internet heat after a story about excerpts from her upcoming memoir revealed that she once killed a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer for being “less than worthless” as a hunting dog and added that she then shot a smelly goat at the same gravel pit.
[Here are some of the comments on Xwitter:]
”That's a lovely Foreword that Kristi Noem wrote for you: 'everyone loves puppies' “
”Sequel "The Governor and Her Pup" has been canceled.”
”Man the GOP had to counterprogram that Kristi Noem book quick didn't they?”
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The media messing up
Journalists are blaming the wrong people for violence at college protests
I see this as a variant on “if it bleeds, it leads.” MSM loves violence. And let’s give some applause to the student journalists who’ve been putting MSM to shame.
By Dan Froomkin, from Press Watch:
The college campus protests against Israel’s destruction of Gaza have been overwhelmingly peaceful. But elite reporters– following the lead of politicians of both parties – continue to refer to them as violent and chaotic.
With almost no exceptions, the only violence involved in these protests has been the violence perpetrated upon the protesters – either by police in riot gear, or by counter-protesters, or in some cases, like at UCLA, both.
The only chaos has come as protesters try to flee or defend themselves.
The peace has been broken, but not by the protesters themselves.
Even the most extreme measures taken by protesters, the taking over of college buildings, have been nonviolent. Building takeovers have long been a staple of campus protests.
As political newsletter author Hamilton Nolan put it on the site formerly known as Twitter:
Having police violently break up protests and then calling them “violent protests” is an old trick that succeeds only when the press takes the bait which is what’s happening now.
Student journalists, who base their reporting on what they see with their own eyes, have done a vastly superior job of covering the protests.
And ICYMI, here’s a terrific takedown of the NYTimes for choosing to publish what is arguably the worst guest op-ed in history:
A farcical pro-Trump op-ed shows how both-siderism is killing the New York Times
Do read the whole diary. It’s spot on. And if you can stomach it, here’s a link to the op-ed: www.nytimes.com/...
By TheCriticalMind on Daily Kos:
The NYT presented its readers with a piece with the farcical headline “Trump Embraces Lawlessness, but in the Name of a Higher Law.” Read it and feel the disbelief wash over you. (The paywall should be down.).
The author, Matthew Schmitz, bless his heart, founded the Compact online magazine and he contributes to the American Conservative. His journalist schlock is predictable. And he is knee-bending in his bobby-soxer obeisance to Trump.
Undeterred by facts, Schmitz uses his space to paint the 2020 loser as a mythical savior of America’s most abused demographic — heteronormative white conservatives. Because, in Schmitz’s calculus, those poor, put-upon folks have suffered the most at the hands of “the establishment.”
So be it. Schmitz can write what he wants. But why is the NYT giving him a platform? It is one thing to present an opinion. It is another for a (once?) reputable national newspaper to embrace the hate-click business model used by lazy reporters and dollar-blinded editors.
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Good news from my corner of the world
Oregon’s first licensed paralegals hope to widen access to legal help
Oregon has been suffering from a critical shortage of legal aid for low-income folks. This is an innovative solution.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
So far Oregon is offering paralegal licensing in family and housing law. The Oregon State Bar said up to 84% of people in court for these types of cases have no legal assistance. One reason for the lack of representation is the cost. [Paralegal Brandi] Cole said the new profession will help.
“It’s going to be lower cost for people who maybe couldn’t afford an attorney but still need the help to kind of guide them through the process,” Cole said. “It’s going to make a big impact.”
The state bar first proposed the profession, sometimes called the nurse practitioners of the legal field, back in 2017. The Oregon Supreme Court approved its creation in 2022, but it didn’t go into effect until January 2024. ✂️
The first 10 licensed paralegals were sworn in at the Oregon Supreme Court in March. Only four other states have similar programs. Five states are considering creating the license.
Oregon is turning sewage into an endless supply of green energy
Congratulations to the perceptive workers at the water treatment facility who suggested this! And congratulations to Clackamas County for listening to them.
From GoodGoodGood:
In the summer of 2020, as wildfires burned across more than a million acres in Oregon, workers at Clackamas County’s water treatment facility started calling each other. ...If the facility lost power, it could flood the Willamette River with untreated waste, causing untold environmental damage.
In the end, the facility remained powered up and the Willamette was spared. But with wildfires and extreme weather increasingly common, the incident underscored how generating and storing renewable power on site could build resiliency into the system. ✂️
As the region grows in population, the more energy the wastewater plant requires. But what if increasing volumes of wastewater could provide the treatment plant with more energy rather than consume it? That’s exactly what’s been happening at Clackamas County’s Tri-City Water Resource Recovery Facility for the past seven months.
Since August 2021, the plant has been pumping out renewable power produced from methane, a natural byproduct of human waste decomposing in an oxygen-free environment.
Now, this loop of green energy represents a powerful example of how waste can become something we benefit from rather than expend resources disposing of.
By turning human waste into power, wastewater treatment facilities have the potential to become energy generators instead of consumers, while creating clean water that’s returned to the local ecosystem.
Oregon State students work to preserve the past with 3D mapping of Silver Falls Lodge
The WPA lodges in the West are gems. We were all heartbroken when Silver Falls Lodge burned, so it’s wonderful that such meticulous work is being put into restoring it.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
In the summer of 2020, wildfire ripped through several small Oregon towns and sent Oregon State University media instructor Todd Kesterson fleeing from his Mill City home. … In the end, Kesterson’s house survived. But thousands of structures were lost, including some historic spots...
Kesterson said it’s heartbreaking to lose Oregon’s heritage. “We could lose any of this at any time,” he said.
As a new media instructor at OSU, Kesterson knew it was possible to use three-dimensional imaging and radar laser technology known as LiDAR to create a virtual map of any structure. Such maps mean that if a building burns in a wildfire or falls during an earthquake, it can be rebuilt using exact measurements.
Kesterson wrote a grant to the Oregon Heritage Commission, which gave him $22,000 to capture a 3D map of one of his favorite spots, the lodge at Silver Falls State Park. … It’s the same era other Oregon landmarks, like Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, were built. The Silver Falls lodge is smaller than Timberline. But Silver Falls is still a beautiful example of an arts and crafts lodge, built using local raw materials like hand-cut stone and peeled fir logs. ✂️
3D mapping isn’t really a new technology. But Michael Olsen, a professor at the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at OSU, said it is increasingly being used for archival purposes. For example: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. “There was a university that went through and scanned the cathedral,” Olsen said. “It provides the kind of millimeter to centimeter level accurate positioning information on the majority of the elements in the structure. So they know kind of what the spacing is between the beams and the columns.”
Oregon winners of historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot revealed
I was delighted when I found out that immigrants from Thailand had won this huge jackpot.
From The Oregonian:
The winners of Oregon’s largest-ever lottery jackpot — and the eighth-largest lottery win in the history of the United States are married couple from Portland, Cheng Saephan, 46, and Duanpen Saephan, 37, and their friend, Laiza Liem Chao, 55, of Milwaukie, who bought the ticket together. ✂️
Cheng Saephan, who was born in Laos and moved to the United States from Thailand in 1994, said he is especially grateful that he will be able to provide a comfortable life for his family, which includes two children he has with his wife. As for himself, he doesn’t believe he’ll have that much time to enjoy his winnings because he is in the midst of battling cancer. He was first diagnosed in 2016, he said. His most recent chemotherapy treatment was a week ago. … He plans to buy a house with the money, he said.
But Saephan and his wife and friend aren’t the only beneficiaries of this windfall:
Preschool For All Raked in More Than $18 Million From Winning Powerball Ticket
From Willamette Week:
Another big winner went unnamed as Charlie Saephan held up the big posterboard check for the press on April 29: the Preschool for All program. Because the ticket was sold in Multnomah County, the program is entitled to 3% of the winnings, or $18.6 million, a windfall for a program that is already swimming in cash.
As of June 30, the preschool program had a balance of $344 million, having raised a larger-than-expected $187 million from taxpayers in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, and $200 million in fiscal 2023, the latest period for which figures are available.
Taxes from the Saephans and from Chao account for about 10% of those annual totals. Chao, who lives in Clackamas County, still must pay because the ticket was sold in Multnomah [County]. ✂️
The lottery winnings will boost other tax coffers, as well. The Metro regional government will collect about $6.2 million through its supportive housing services tax, a 1% levy on all taxable income of more than $125,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples filing jointly. The state of Oregon, which has a top marginal tax rate of 9.9%, will collect about $61 million.
Conceived by the Democratic Socialists of America and finessed by then-County Commissioner (now Chair) Jessica Vega Pederson, Preschool for All is a tax on the wealthy, by design. Single tax filers pay 1.5% on income above $125,000 and 3% on income over $250,000. For married people, the thresholds are $200,000 and $400,000. ✂️
Because the program is flush with cash, Vega Pederson plans to propose delaying an increase in the tax that’s set for 2026, when the rates are supposed to hit $2.3% and $3.8%.“This is possible because forecasts show the program will have enough savings to provide free preschool to all Multnomah County 3- and 4-year-olds by 2030, right on schedule,” Sara Guest, a spokeswoman for Vega Pederson, said in an email.Vega Pederson is convening a group this summer to examine the preschool program, Guest said, and the delay will provide an extra year of data to guide its recommendations.
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Good news from around the nation
Missouri abortion ballot measure moves ahead — despite many attempts to thwart it
A tsunami of abortion rights measures is on the way. Go, Missouri!!
From The 19th:
A coalition of abortion rights advocates in Missouri moved one step closer to putting abortion rights on the ballot despite legal challenges, delays and a grassroots “decline to sign” campaign waged by anti-abortion groups.
The coalition, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, submitted over 380,000 signatures on Friday for a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to abortion and other reproductive health care in deep-red Missouri, the first state to ban nearly all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. ✂️
Missouri’s abortion ban, which threatens doctors with felony charges, has no exceptions for rape or incest. The proposed Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion to the point of fetal viability, which is determined by physicians but is usually around 22 to 25 weeks of pregnancy, and requires the state to use the “least restrictive means” in regulating abortion. The amendment would also guarantee a right to other reproductive health care, including pre and post-natal care, contraception and miscarriage management. ✂️
Kelly Hall, executive director of The Fairness Project, said Missouri is “a poster child for what can be achieved through direct democracy” with proper investment. The Fairness Project supports progressive ballot measure campaigns around the country, including current efforts to put abortion on the ballot in Missouri, Arizona, Florida and Montana in 2024.
‘Fake electors’ banned under new Colorado law
There wasn’t much danger of fake electors taking over the November election in Colorado, but this legislation sends a good message.
From Colorado Public Radio:
Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law to explicitly make it illegal to serve as a fake elector in future presidential elections in Colorado.
Georgia, Nevada, and Michigan are prosecuting individuals who submitted certificates naming themselves to the Electoral College based on false claims that former President Donald Trump won those states in the 2020 election.
Backers of Colorado’s new law say the goal is to protect the “fundamental safeguards of democracy” by making it clear that such activities are illegal [in the state]. ✂️
The law makes it a crime to conspire to submit a slate of electors to the Secretary of State, the U.S. Congress, or the National Archives that intends to vote for a candidate for president who did not win the popular vote in Colorado. However, Colorado has also signed on to the National Popular Vote Compact. Should that agreement ever take effect, the law would switch. Panels of electors would be required to vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote nationwide.
Republican lawmakers opposed the fake elector proposal and dismissed it as an unnecessary partisan messaging bill.
Williams-Sonoma Must Pay Almost $3.2 Million for Violating FTC's 'Made in USA' Order
YES!! A great example of Lina Khan’s work.
From U.S. News & World Report:
Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order.
Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. That violated a 2020 commission order requiring the San Francisco-based company to be truthful about whether its products were in fact made in the U.S.
The FTC said...that Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a settlement, which includes a $3.175 million civil penalty. That marks the largest-ever civil penalty seen in a “Made in USA” case, the commission said.
“Williams-Sonoma’s deception misled consumers and harmed honest American businesses," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. "Today’s record-setting civil penalty makes clear that firms committing Made-in-USA fraud will not get a free pass.”
In addition to paying the penalty, the seller of cookware and home furnishings will be required to submit annual compliance reports, the FTC said. The settlement also imposes and reinforces a number of requirements about manufacturing claims the company can make.
Judge Rebukes Trader Joe’s For ‘Meritless’ Trademark Lawsuit Against Workers' Union
Trader Joe’s has been appallingly sleazy in their dealings with Trader Joe’s United, the struggling effort by their employees to unionize. I was delighted to see this ruling.
From HuffPost:
A federal judge has rebuked Trader Joe’s for filing a “meritless” trademark claim against its workers’ union and ordered the grocer to cover the union’s legal fees as a deterrent against similar litigation.
The company had claimed that Trader Joe’s United, a new union representing employees at four stores, violated Trader Joe’s trademarks through its name and logo. But U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera dismissed the lawsuit in January, finding that Trader Joe’s had tried to “weaponize the legal system” against its own workers.
In a new order issued Tuesday, Vera went a step further and said Trader Joe’s should have to pay more than $112,000 in attorney’s fees for the union. He wrote that the trademark claim was notable for its “lack of substantive merit,” and reiterated his belief that Trader Joe’s never would have filed it if it wasn’t battling the union in an organizing campaign. ✂️
Union attorney Seth Goldstein said the order should put employers who would pursue similar claims on notice. Goldstein and one other lawyer for the union will be paid by Trader Joe’s under Vera’s order. “This is a very, very good day for labor because companies are now being told that you can’t use trademark law and other types of cases to try to deter workers from organizing,” Goldstein said. “If the company wants to continue this frivolous exercise then they’re going to have to pay for it.”
Strawberry Farmworkers Fight for a Living Wage
It’s wonderful to see immigrant workers who have been oppressed for generations standing up so bravely for their rights.
If you would like to read the report that the farmworkers organizations prepared, here’s a link: Harvesting Dignity: The Case for a Living Wage for Farmworkers.
From Civil Eats:
Picking strawberries is one of the most brutal jobs in agriculture. A worker picking wine grapes can labor standing up. But the men and women in the strawberry rows have to bend double to reach the berries, in raised beds about a foot high, covered in plastic. The pain of this labor is a constant, and it’s worse at the beginning of the season. Workers will say you just have to get through the first week, when your back hurts so much you can’t sleep, until your body adjusts and the pain somehow gets less. In March, rain fills the rows with water and the cart must be dragged through the mud. When summer comes, the field turns into an oven by midday.
Through it all, workers have to pick as fast as possible, filling plastic clamshell containers—eight to a flat, the flat balanced on a cart they push between the rows. ✂️
On April 1, the Alianza Campesina de la Costa Central (Farmworker Alliance of the Central Coast) held a press conference in the city of Santa Maria. The alliance, formed by the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), announced their new report on the harsh working conditions and low wages that are the norm for farmworkers in the region and across the country. A powerful, 44-page document, Harvesting Dignity: The Case for a Living Wage for Farmworkers documents in shocking statistics what [farmworkers] know from personal experience. ✂️
MICOP and CAUSA are holding house meetings with small groups of workers and a general meeting every two weeks. “Right now we’re trying to popularize the idea of a sueldo digno [dignified wage] and explain the justice of this demand,” Martinez said. “The idea is to increase workers’ knowledge. And since so many of us are Mixtecos, we’re getting workers to reach out to their workmates from the same home communities in Oaxaca.” ...
[One of the women featured in the article commented,] ““Why should we get $2 or $2.20 per box when $3 or $3.50 is what’s fair? People have to unite—and we need big demonstrations. It’s necessary to pressure the ranchers so they value our work. Without us they have nothing. We do all the work. I am willing to help organize this, because it will make life a lot better. I hope it will happen soon.”
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Good news from around the world
WCK Palestinian-led teams resume work in Gaza
WCK never gives up.
From World Central Kitchen:
World Central Kitchen has resumed operations in Gaza, serving more than 1 million meals over the past week. The humanitarian crisis remains dire. We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible—by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. Dozens of these trucks have already entered Gaza this week. To date we have distributed more than 46 million meals and we are eager and ready to deliver millions more.
We continue to grieve and mourn the loss of seven of our friends and colleagues who were killed in an IDF attack in Gaza on April 1. We have spent the past few weeks honoring the lives of Saif, Zomi, Damian, Jacob, James, John, and Jim. We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding people as these seven heroes brought to their work every single day. As our work in Gaza resumes, our demand for an impartial and international investigation into the April 1 attack remains.
Our Palestinian-led teams have scaled quickly since resuming operations. Cooks in our field kitchens in Rafah and Deir al-Balah are preparing tens of thousands of meals daily. To further increase capacity, we are building a third Field Kitchen in Mawasi. Our Palestinian team members have affectionately named it Damian’s Kitchen, as it is being built in the spirit of his favorite saying, “No Problems, Only Solutions.”
Reasons to be cheerful about Generation Z
In most of the world, Gen Z-ers (or Zoomers) are thriving. And the ones in the U.S. and UK are flexing their bargaining power in the workplace and raising their voices in politics.
From The Economist, link provided by Fix the News (formerly Future Crunch):
A vast cohort is coming of age. Globally, some 2bn people were born between 1997 and 2012, and so are part of “Generation Z”. In America and Britain this group makes up a fifth of the population, rivalling the share of baby-boomers; in India and Nigeria the young far outnumber the old. For each generation there is a simple narrative: that boomers were shaped by post-war plenty, for example, or millennials by the financial crisis of 2007-09. For Gen Z the popular view is that smartphones have made them miserable and they will live grimmer lives than their elders.
More and more people in the West tell pollsters that today’s children will be worse off than their parents. Youngsters themselves worry about everything from the difficulty of buying a home to the looming dangers from climate change. Social scientists fret that Gen Z-ers, having spent their formative years doomscrolling and suffering from fomo, are now gripped by an epidemic of anxiety and depression. Politicians in America and Britain are mulling banning smartphones and restricting social media for the under-16s; parents and schoolteachers everywhere are trying to police screen time.
All this can make it hard to feel optimistic about Gen Z. But when you look around the world, and at a wider set of measures, the Zoomers are far from doomed. In many respects, they are doing rather well.
For a start, the popular narrative makes an important omission: the roughly four-fifths of the world’s 12- to 27-year-olds who live in emerging economies. Thanks to growth and the spread of technology, youngsters in places like Jakarta, Mumbai or Nairobi are far better off than their parents were. They are richer, healthier and more educated; those who have smartphones are better informed and connected. Small wonder that, in a survey by the un in 2021, the young in emerging economies were more optimistic than those in the rich world. ✂️
Wages for Gen Z are rising at a much faster pace than they are for older workers, and the youth-unemployment rate across the rich world is at its lowest in decades. … Already Gen Z-ers are transforming the world of work. They have bargaining power—and they know it. … Gen Z will shape society in other ways, too. Young people’s concern about climate change will, as they reach voting age, make states more likely to act. More broadly, Zoomers tell pollsters they want bigger government. They may change their minds when they have to pay more taxes—or they may not.
Inclusive Conservation: Engaging Former Poachers in Wildlife Protection
Some of you may remember that Wildlife SOS is one of my favorite nonprofits, one that I’m proud to support with a monthly contribution. This is a great summary of the way in which they create a win-win for exploited animals and impoverished communities.
From Wildlife SOS:
For decades, wildlife conservation efforts have faced a significant challenge: how to effectively protect endangered species while addressing the socio-economic needs of communities involved in activities harmful to wildlife. However, a new approach has emerged—one that recognises the importance of including former poachers as key allies in protecting the very animals they once targeted. Adding former poachers in current conservation efforts is a strategically sound move — These individuals possess invaluable knowledge of local ecosystems and wildlife behaviour, and they understand the movement patterns of wildlife, which makes them vital stakeholders in wildlife conservation.
Wildlife SOS recognises that poverty and lack of alternative livelihoods are prominent drivers of poaching and exploitation. By offering poachers another possibility of acquiring income, education to their community, and capacity-building opportunities, the organisation has addressed the root causes of wildlife exploitation while simultaneously providing financial stability to them.
Pioneering inclusive conservation, Wildlife SOS has spearheaded initiatives that safeguard wildlife as well as those who were once involved in poaching. One exemplary project is the Tribal Rehabilitation Programme, aimed at addressing the exploitation of sloth bears by the Kalandar community. By introducing beneficial substitutes for their livelihoods and education to the community, Wildlife SOS empowered previous poachers to become protectors and caregivers of former ‘dancing’ bears.
Similarly, Wildlife SOS extended support to snake charmer communities by presenting them with better sources of income. By opening training opportunities, the organisation directed their knowledge about snakes towards spreading awareness among local people, as well as conducting rescues. Through our campaigns and rehabilitation initiatives, former exploiters of snakes have now been transformed into advocates for reptile conservation.
Moreover, Wildlife SOS recognised the expertise erstwhile mahouts had in understanding elephant behaviour as well. A specialised training in gentle elephant care has converted them into dedicated caregivers for rescued pachyderms.
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Good news in medicine
A personalized mRNA Vaccine provides ‘real hope’ for melanoma patients
An advanced melanoma diagnosis used to be a death sentence. This new treatment is the most promising advance ever.
From Optimist Daily:
In a major development in cancer research, scientists started testing the world’s first tailored mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma. This revolutionary strategy has enormous promise in the fight against cancer, providing new hope to both patients and researchers.
The customized mRNA vaccine, mRNA-4157 (V940), marks a substantial improvement in cancer treatment. Unlike previous treatments, this vaccination is tailored to each patient, targeting unique tumor neoantigens expressed by their cancer cells. Dr. Heather Shaw, the trial’s national coordinating investigator, emphasizes the significance of this method, saying, “This is one of the most exciting things we’ve seen in a really long time.”
Following promising results from a phase 2 trial that showed a significant reduction in cancer recurrence, a phase 3 trial has been initiated. The University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is leading this global research, which seeks to recruit roughly 1,100 patients, with the UK arm expected to enroll at least 60 to 70 people across various centers.
Chemo can be brutal. This FDA effort aims to make it less so.
Another excellent initiative from Biden’s FDA.
From The Washington Post:
[Cancer patients’] concern [over side effects from possible chemo overdosing] lies at the heart of a Food and Drug Administration effort to make cancer drugs less toxic and more effective. Cancer drug trials are structured to promote high doses, which then become routine patient care. With evidence that thousands of patients become so ill that they skip doses or stop taking the drugs — risking resurgence of their cancers — the FDA has begun requiring companies to pinpoint the right dosage before drugs reach patients.
The initiative, Project Optimus, launched in 2021 just as Amgen was seeking to market sotorasib. At the time, the FDA’s leading cancer drug regulator, Richard Pazdur, co-wrote an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine that said Amgen’s trials of the $20,000-a-month drug were “hampered by a lack of robust dose exploration.” The FDA conditionally approved sotorasib but required Amgen to conduct a study comparing the labeled dosage of 960 mg with one of 240 mg. The trial, published in November, showed that the 960 mg dose may have given patients another month of life, on average, but it also caused severer side effects.
...The $20,000 monthly cost of the 960 mg dose would buy four months of the 240 mg dose. The lower dosage would dramatically cut Amgen’s revenue for sotorasib, which brought in nearly $200 million in the United States last year.
And the FDA lacks the legal power to change the dose. “There’s a gap in FDA’s authority that results in patients getting excess doses of a drug at excess cost,” said Mark Ratain, a University of Chicago oncologist who has pushed for more-accurate dosing. “We should do something about this.”
...Under Project Optimus, however, the agency is doing something about dosage guidelines for future drugs. It is stressing dose optimization in its meetings with companies, particularly as they prepare to test drugs on patients, FDA spokesperson Lauren-Jei McCarthy said. “When you go in front of FDA with a plan to approve your drug now, they are going to address dosing studies,” said Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “A lot of companies are struggling with this.”
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Good news in science
Scientists Are Making Jet Fuel from Landfill Gas Aiming to Launch Circular Economy
Low-carbon aviation has been a very elusive goal. This is a wonderfully promising solution.
From Good News Network:
In a world-first, University of Sydney researchers have developed a chemical process using plasma that could create sustainable jet fuel from methane gas emitted from landfills, potentially creating a low-carbon aviation industry.
Offering the potential to clear two hurdles in a single leap, the scientists believe that if their process becomes cost-effective and widespread, all the world’s landfills could potentially be energy sources.
Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. According to the International Energy Agency, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is currently around two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels, and while methane only exists in the atmosphere for about 9 years, it’s increasing steadily, with waste emissions and the burning of fossil fuels accounting for a significant proportion. ✂️
“Globally, landfills are a major emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly a mixture of CO2 and methane. We have developed a process that would take these gases and convert them into fuels, targeting sectors that are difficult to electrify, like aviation,” said lead author, Professor PJ Cullen from the University of Sydney’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “Modern landfill facilities already capture, upgrade, and combust their gas emissions for electricity generation, however, our process creates a much more environmentally impactful and commercially valuable product,” he said.
How light can vaporize water without the need for heat
What??!
Here’s the link if you want to read the published paper: Photomolecular effect: Visible light interaction with air–water interface.
From MIT News:
It’s the most fundamental of processes — the evaporation of water from the surfaces of oceans and lakes, the burning off of fog in the morning sun, and the drying of briny ponds that leaves solid salt behind. Evaporation is all around us, and humans have been observing it and making use of it for as long as we have existed.
And yet, it turns out, we’ve been missing a major part of the picture all along.
In a series of painstakingly precise experiments, a team of researchers at MIT has demonstrated that heat isn’t alone in causing water to evaporate. Light, striking the water’s surface where air and water meet, can break water molecules away and float them into the air, causing evaporation in the absence of any source of heat.
The astonishing new discovery could have a wide range of significant implications. It could help explain mysterious measurements over the years of how sunlight affects clouds, and therefore affect calculations of the effects of climate change on cloud cover and precipitation. It could also lead to new ways of designing industrial processes such as solar-powered desalination or drying of materials.
The findings, and the many different lines of evidence that demonstrate the reality of the phenomenon and the details of how it works, are described today in the journal PNAS, in a paper by Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering Gang Chen, postdocs Guangxin Lv and Yaodong Tu, and graduate student James Zhang.
The authors say their study suggests that the effect should happen widely in nature— everywhere from clouds to fogs to the surfaces of oceans, soils, and plants — and that it could also lead to new practical applications, including in energy and clean water production. “I think this has a lot of applications,” Chen says. “We’re exploring all these different directions. And of course, it also affects the basic science, like the effects of clouds on climate, because clouds are the most uncertain aspect of climate models.”
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Good news for the environment
What Can ‘Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country?
What people hear from their religious leaders matters. I wish that American Catholics and Evangelicals were getting this message, too.
The New York Times (gift link):
The faithful gathered in an imposing modernist building, thousands of men in skullcaps and women in veils sitting shoulder to shoulder. Their leader took to his perch and delivered a stark warning.
“Our fatal shortcomings as human beings have been that we treat the earth as just an object,” Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar said. “The greedier we are toward nature, the sooner doomsday will arrive.”
Then he prescribed the cure as laid out by their faith, which guides almost a quarter of humanity. Like fasting during Ramadan, it is every Muslim’s Fard al-Ayn, or obligation, to be a guardian of the earth. Like giving alms, his congregants should give waqf, a kind of religious donation, to renewable energy. Like daily prayers, planting trees should be a habit.
The environment is a central theme in the sermons of Mr. Nasaruddin, the influential head of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, who has tried to lead by example. Dismayed by the trash sullying the river that the mosque sits on, he ordered a cleanup. Shocked by astronomical utility bills, he retrofitted Southeast Asia’s largest mosque with solar panels, slow-flow faucets and a water recycling system — changes that helped make it the first place of worship to win a green building accolade from the World Bank.
The Grand Imam says he is simply following the Prophet Muhammad’s instructions that Muslims should care about nature. ✂️
Eternal Mongolia: Harnessing the Power of Conservation to Create a Sustainable Future
This story warmed my heart. My husband and I traveled in Mongolia 20 years ago, and we fell in love with it. It’s wonderful to know that the beauty of the land and the traditional way of life of its nomadic peoples will be preserved.
From The Nature Conservancy:
Thirty years ago, Mongolia adopted a conservation vision revolutionary for its time: to formally protect 30% of its country—a goal now shared around the world. Now, Mongolia is taking the lead again with the announcement of Eternal Mongolia, an initiative that commits all the funding and policy commitments needed for Mongolia to achieve its 30x30 conservation ambitions while providing a secure environmental and economic future for Mongolians.
Eternal Mongolia will dramatically expand conservation of one of the world’s most intact and connected temperate grasslands - one of the least protected ecosystems on earth, as well as sweeping sand dunes, rugged mountains, pristine lakes and over 13,000 kilometers of winding rivers that support rare wildlife and feed much of central and northern Asia.
Through a proven model called Project Finance for Permanence, Eternal Mongolia will unlock USD $198 million of new conservation investment over 15 years and provide new conservation protections to an area the size of the US State of Iowa. This is The Nature Conservancy’s third PFP, and the first as part of Enduring Earth, a global initiative to accelerate conservation worldwide.
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Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rascal, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.
Rascal gets to publish two stories today!
Mega Rare Blue Rock Thrush Spotted on Oregon Beach Is First Sighting in US History
From Good News Network:
...news from Oregon recently broke the story of a ‘mega-rare’ bird never seen before in either the state or the country. It wasn’t made by a birder, but rather an ordinary talented photographer named Michael Sanchez, who was on the beach one morning near Hug Point Falls when he saw a blue and chestnut bird hopping along the rocks.
“I happened to look behind me toward the ocean and saw this cute little bird standing on the sand,” Sanchez told KOIN 6. “The sun wasn’t fully up yet, so to my eyes, it looked like a little black bird. It posed for me for a minute or two, and then it flew up to the rocks. It stayed there for another moment or so, and then it flew away toward the east. I didn’t think much more of it than that.”
In the growing light, it seemed to Sanchez as if the bird was black, but going over the pictures at his house, he realized it was much more colorful. Putting some pictures up on social media, they made their way via a friend to a local birding group, where one member shared it to rapturous applause.
“Spectacular find. A banger record even if nobody can relocate the bird,” said one commenter.
“I see they are year round in Japan but seem to leave SE Asia in the summer. Would this bird be a migrant from last year heading north from a wintering ground in southern North America? Seems like quite a haul to cross the entire Pacific,” said another. ✂️
With the clarity of Sanchez’ pictures, it’s hard to dispute the evidence that, as the commenter speculated, this bird may have come all the way across the Pacific. … Some association members are speculating that this tiny bird may have hitched a ride on a ship, but Hug Point Falls is an awfully long way from any large harbor.
World’s Oldest Bird Named Wisdom Lost Her Mate But is Courting New Suitors at 72
Good for Wisdom the albatross!!
From Good News Network:
The world’s oldest bird may have lost her mate, but she’s now courting new suitors in her 70s.
The Laysan albatross named Wisdom, was photographed dancing with potential mates on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the seabird’s home. Thought to be around 72 years old and recognized by her band number Z333, she returned again for nesting season in late November.
Her long-time mate, Akeakamai, has yet to be seen and was absent the last two nesting seasons. But Wisdom was spotted in the spring socializing with other male birds.
Laysan albatross females lay a single egg in the first half of December, said Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at the national wildlife refuge. ✂️
It is estimated that Wisdom has produced 50-60 eggs and as many as 30 chicks that fledged during her lifetime, according to Plissner. Biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg. They aren’t known to breed before age 5.
Rosy would have enthusiastically approved of this excellent recycling effort!
NFL stage materials to be recycled to build spay and neuter clinic on Detroit's east side
From Detroit News:
Detroit's NFL Draft extravaganza may be over, but the materials that made it happen will still be put to good use.
Turf, fencing, set pieces and other materials used for the draft are doing donated to local nonprofits, including Detroit Dog Rescue, a Detroit dog rescue. The stage materials are being donated to help build the group's free and low-cost spay and neuter clinic and to build out our shelter’s backyard and decompression areas on Detroit's east side.
"That’s right, the same materials you see on TV will be coming to help the dogs," said Kristina Millman-Rinaldi, the group's executive director, in a Facebook post. "This means no waste in Detroit, a whole lot of recycling, and everything you see will be put to good to use. Detroit Dog Rescue was chosen along with a few other non-profits for our outstanding work in the City of Detroit." ✂️
Christopher Moyer, spokesman for Visit Detroit, a tourism group that helped host the NFL Draft last week, said they don't have an entire list of the nonprofits that will benefit but there was an extensive "sustainability plan. … The great thing about working with the NFL is that they don't let good things go to waste..." Moyer said.
Nora would have been plenty loud if this had happened to her! It’s really lucky that Galena’s story turned out so well, considering her tendency to stay quiet. This is a good reminder to cat owners to double-check any boxes they’re about to send!!
Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away
From The Washington Post (gift link):
Carrie Clark’s cat mysteriously went missing, causing her and her husband to panic. They posted on social media and distributed fliers in and around their neighborhood in Lehi, Utah. “We were frantically searching for her for a week,” said Clark, whose 6-year-old indoor shorthair cat, Galena, disappeared on April 10. “We tore our home up trying to find her.”
Seven days into their search, they were beginning to lose hope. Then Clark got a call from Southern California: A veterinarian said Galena had been found 630 miles away from home. Clark thought it was some kind of prank. “I was completely shocked,” Clark said. “I did not believe her.”
Clark was told that Galena had been found at an Amazon return warehouse, inside a 3-by-3-foot cardboard box — next to several pairs of steel-toed boots that Clark’s husband, Matt Clark, had returned. Clark and her husband started sobbing. They realized Galena must have slipped inside the return box while Matt Clark went to grab some tape to close it up. He sealed the box and didn’t give it another thought. “She is the kind of cat who is very quiet and loves to hide,” said Carrie Clark. “She’s not a big meower.” ✂️
Galena spent six days — without food or water — trapped inside the cardboard box, until Amazon employees found her at 1 a.m. in Riverside, Calif. … [Brandy Hunter, a process assistant at Amazon] got a call from her co-worker…, grabbed a cat carrier, a blanket, food, water and dishes and drove there right away. … “The cat was very disoriented and very weak,” Hunter said. “It’s absolutely incredible that she survived.” There was a small split in one of the edges of the box, allowing air to flow to Galena. ✂️
“I knew 100 percent this was an accident,” Hunter said. “There are so many people who don’t understand how this could happen, but they’ve obviously never owned a cat.”
[After Hunter took Galena to a vet and her microchip was scanned,] the vet was able to quickly identify Clark as Galena’s owner and gave her a call. The Clarks booked the next flight to Los Angeles.