Four Reasons I Am Not Sweating the Supreme Court Texas Decision GNR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 06, 2025 · 4:05 AM PST

2025/12/06 · 04:05

Before I get to this week’s good news (and there was a lot!) I want to talk about why I am not sweating SCOTUS’s awful decision to let Texas Gerrymandering stand.

First, this SCOTUS is terrible and I only expect terrible from it. I keep my mental health by thinking “yah that sounds right” for most of their awful decisions and being genuinely surprised and pleased when they occasionally do the right thing. Some decisions (like overturning Roe) stayed with me longer but this one did not because…

They still won’t keep the House. The second thing keeping me from being upset is that, in this environment (see below) the extra seats would not be enough to keep the house.

Third, this awful decision also allows democratic states to fight back with their own awful maps. We are no longer the party of going high when they go low. Good.

Finally, with Dems overperforming and the loss of so many Hispanic votes, this Gerrymandering may backfire on them. If you turn two +20 R districts into four +10 R districts, you only gain two seats if +10 wins the seat. Based on how we are doing (see below) you may have just LOST two seats, not gained two.

We should all hate gerrymandering and want to end it and I’m glad to see Dems have a long term plan to do that. But, this particular news shouldn’t keep you up at night. At least not by my accounting.

Now onto the good news!

Reasons to be hopeful about 2026

Tennessee

Van Epps beat out Democrat Aftyn Behn by about 9 points in a district Donald Trump and Republican senator Marsha Blackburn each won in 2024 by 22 points. Yesterday’s vote shows a 13-point shift toward the Democrats in about a year.

Aaron Pellish and Meredith Lee Hill of Politico reported the comment of a House Republican after officials called the election: “Tonight is a sign that 2026 is going to be a b*tch of an election cycle. Republicans can survive if we play team and the Trump administration officials play smart. Neither is certain.”

As G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers noted, “[t]he fact that a rural Tennessee district ended up just a high-single-digits win for Republicans should be a five-alarm fire for the party ahead of the 2026 midterms.” Morris explains that congressional special elections have swung 17 points on average toward the Democrats, while special elections for seats in state legislatures have swung toward the Democrats by about 11 points. Morris combines these results with turnout differences in special, midterm, and presidential elections, to estimate that—as of right now—the 2026 midterms can be expected to see a swing of 7 to 8 points toward the Democrats. These numbers would give Democrats control of the House of Representatives and put the Senate into play as well.

It is safe to assume, Morris says, “that something big has shifted in the national environment.” He adds that the Republican Party “will likely find itself defending an unusually wide array of seats next year, even in districts previously thought to be immune to national swings.”

Tennessee is best sign yet for Democrats' 2026 hopes

Republicans are in a full-on panic following Tuesday's special election in Tennessee's 7th District, after the GOP candidate underperformed Donald Trump by a whopping 13-point margin.

And it's easy to see why.

Republicans had to spend $3.5 million to defend this seat. Given that there are roughly 102 GOP-held House seats that voted for Trump by smaller margins than Tennessee's 7th, according to data from The Downballot, that would mean Republicans would need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in areas that were not expected to be competitive.

Even worse for the GOP is that if every House race in the 2026 midterms swung toward Democrats as much as it did in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, Democrats would knock off a whopping 44 Republican seats, according to Downballot data

What We Just Learned About the Battle for the House

Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee, was a very strong candidate. The GOP had a spending advantage. And while Aftyn Behn, the Democrat, ran a vigorous race, she was a poor ideological fit for this very red district.

Earlier this year, Republicans (and some in the media) dismissed strong Democratic showings in special elections by pointing out the low turnout. The argument — which has some merit — is that Democrats tend to do better when fewer people vote. That helps explain why Democrats overperformed in specials in 2023 and 2024 but still lost the presidential race.

But Tuesday’s election in Tennessee was not a low-turnout special. The turnout was shockingly high — roughly on par with the 2022 midterms.

That midterm-level turnout makes this result far more instructive than your typical special election. The race drew big money and national attention. It was highly nationalized — just like the midterms will be. Tennessee-7 was about as close to a simulation of next year’s midterms as we’re going to get.

And check this out. They are a party of losers and we have so many great candidates and more and more:

500+ new people signed up with @runforsomething.net to run for office since last night. 2026 will be a great year to run for office & it's not too late (just barely!) to get started! runforwhat.net
— Amanda Litman (@amandalitman.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T15:36:03.500Z

and it isn’t just Tennessee:

The cracks keep getting BIGGER

Here is a shocker. They don’t like one another! And as things get worse for them (see election news above) they will turn on one another. And that will only make us stronger and Trump weaker.

The reason those headlines about “Dems in Disarray!” are so annoying (aside from that they are usually BS) is because (a) disarray makes things impossible to get done and (b) disarray usually means that things are going wrong.

That is why the Rs in disarray is such good news!

So enjoy the disarray:

Cracks have emerged in the Maga coalition

The sharks can smell blood in the water. After a decade in eerie command of the Republican party, with primary voters in his cult-like thrall and down-ballot elected officials feeling they have no choice – and often no inclination – to diverge from him, Donald Trump suddenly seems not quite in control of his own political machine.

Fractures have emerged in the Maga coalition; Trump’s approval is sinking; the Democrats, long anemic and risk-averse in the opposition, showed signs of life in elections last month; and the cumulative effect of a series of long-running scandals, most particularly the Epstein affair, seem to have alienated core components of the Trump faithful. Trump has faced some rebukes from a once largely compliant federal judiciary: his personal attorney, Alina Habba, was recently declared ineligible to serve in the US attorney role Trump had appointed her to, and his signature tariffs seem likely to be struck down by a conservative supreme court majority.

For one thing, more and more Republicans seem willing to break with Trump – something that would have been unthinkable for them, and a kind of career suicide, just a few months ago. While Trump was able to compel Republicans in the Texas state legislature to draw new congressional district maps with just a command (an effort that is now facing an uphill battle in the courts), Republicans in Indiana are resisting Trump’s push to have them do the same, with one GOP legislator saying that she “will not cave” on redistricting even as she announced a pipe bomb threat had been called into her house.

Republican Anger Erupts at Johnson as Party Frets About Future

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York called Speaker Mike Johnson a habitual liar.

Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina has told people she is so frustrated with the Louisiana Republican and sick of the way he has run the House — particularly how women are treated there — that she is planning to huddle with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia next week to discuss following her lead and retiring early from Congress.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida has gone around Mr. Johnson in a bid to force a vote he has declined to schedule on a bill to ban members of Congress from stock trading.

Less than a year out from midterm elections in which Republicans’ vanishingly small majority is at stake, Mr. Johnson’s grasp on his gavel appears weaker than ever, as members from all corners of his conference openly complain about his leadership. Some predict that he may not last as the speaker for the rest of this term.

Why Elise Stefanik went to war with Mike Johnson

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is now engaged in an open war with Speaker Mike Johnson, a very public rift at the highest level of the House Republican Conference.

This fight is ostensibly about a dispute in the NDAA, the annual Pentagon policy bill.

Stefanik is so frustrated that she’s prepared to tank the must-pass defense bill — approved by lawmakers every year for more than six decades — if the speaker doesn’t include a provision requiring the FBI to alert Congress if it opens a counterintelligence investigation into an elected official or candidate. Democrats are opposed to this provision.

“I’ll take down the rule,” Stefanik told us in an interview. Stefanik has made this message clear to House GOP leaders as well.

Pam Bondi is pissing off Republicans by dodging Epstein files release

A bipartisan group of congressional leaders has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi for a briefing on when, exactly, she’s going to get around to releasing the Epstein files.

They picked a good day to send a letter to Bondi, as the House Oversight Committee Democrats just released a trove of pictures and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, including an incredibly creepy photo of a room with what appears to be a dentist’s chair and multiple deeply weird wall hangings.

They also reportedly plan to release records from J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank soon.

The administration is no doubt incandescent with rage that two Republicans—Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky— signed onto this letter. But it’s not surprising, given that they were two lead sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

47 members of Congress deciding they’ve had enough

What’s remarkable about this mass exit is that it actually benefits Democrats more than it harms them. On their side, the retirements—Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Nadler, Jan Schakowsky, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Danny Davis, Lloyd Doggett, Dwight Evans—are coming from solidly blue districts. These departures don’t weaken the party; they renew it. These are safe seats that will stay blue. Even Jared Golden and Jesús “Chuy” García’s departures, while notable, don’t spell doom. Democrats have the ability to hold those districts with a disciplined recruitment effort and a decent candidate.

Across the aisle, the picture is more chaotic. Don Bacon stepping down. Michael McCaul leaving. Jodey Arrington, Morgan Luttrell, Troy Nehls calling it quits. These aren’t fringe members or backbenchers. They represent districts that could become competitive with the right Democratic challenger, especially when independents and suburban voters are drifting away from the GOP in large numbers. And then there’s the noisy departure of Marjorie Taylor Greene, stepping down after clashing with the administration. Her district will stay Republican, but the political drama surrounding her exit says something bigger: the MAGA label no longer guarantees longevity. Loyalty to this administration is no longer a shield; it’s a liability.

Then you have the career climbers: twenty-four House members running for higher office. Elise Stefanik wants to be governor of New York. Nancy Mace is going for South Carolina. Byron Donalds wants Florida. Andy Biggs, Dusty Johnson, David Schweikert, John Rose, John James—heading out in search of statewide power. In another era, this would be chalked up to ambition. Right now? It looks a lot like strategic distancing. Politicians don’t abandon comfortable House seats when they believe their party is strong. They do it when they see the ground shifting under their feet.

The Senate isn’t immune either. Mitch McConnell, arguably the most consequential Republican leader of the modern era, is retiring. Joni Ernst and Thom Tillis are leaving too. These aren’t minor exits; they reshape the political map. On the Democratic side, departures from Dick Durbin, Gary Peters, Tina Smith, and Jeanne Shaheen matter, but those seats are winnable. They don’t create a structural disadvantage.

Trump Allies Are Freaking Out About Him Abandoning MAGA Voters

Those close to Donald Trump are increasingly concerned that the president is neglecting the needs of his MAGA base during his second term in favor of frivolous or controversial pursuits.

A damning feature in The Atlantic describes how the 79-year-old Trump has become more isolated in office, drastically reducing domestic travel, and appears out of touch with what voters want from his presidency.

“People voted for him to lower prices, to bring manufacturing back, to stand up to those taking advantage of them,” a close Trump ally told the magazine. “They didn’t vote for him to build a damn gilded ballroom. He’s not hearing them.”

There is reportedly growing fear among Republicans and within the White House that Trump is not only ignoring the concerns of the voters who elected him, but actively dismissing them.

These worries come as multiple polls show Trump hitting all-time low approval ratings, with backlash to the president expected to severely damage the GOP in next year’s crucial midterm elections.

Which leads us to….

Everyone Hates Trump

Devastating Poll Shows Even Trump Voters Blame Him for Painful Prices

The MAGA base is turning on Donald Trump over the cost-of-living crisis, which nearly half of Americans say is the worst they’ve ever seen, a stunning opinion poll reveals.

A staggering 46 percent of all Americans say soaring unaffordability across the United States is firmly the responsibility of the Republican president, the Politico survey found.

Trump’s Job Approval Among Independents Is Astoundingly Low

the “polarize, mobilize, demonize, then win” formula that Donald Trump has perfected depends on a relatively neutral state of mind among independent voters. And lurking within Trump’s generally sinking job approval ratings are some really bad numbers among independents

that 25 percent job approval number among independents is significantly lower than any Trump registered in Gallup’s monthly surveys during his first four-year term. His job approval rating among independents was at 39 percent the day he lost his 2020 reelection bid. And it was still at 30 percent in January of 2021, immediately after the January 6 Capitol Riot made him look dead politically for a good while. He’s in uncharted territory right now.

Let’s compare this terrible standing among the unaligned with the famously unpopular presidents of the past. At this same point in his one term as president, Joe Biden’s job approval rating among independents was 37 percent. It hit an all-time low of 27 percent among independents in November 2023, before improving back to 37 percent by the end of his term. George W. Bush actually did worse late in his second term, when the bottom was falling out of the economy; his October 2008 job approval among independents was at 19 percent, but that wasn’t much worse than his 25 percent approval rating among all voters. Bill Clinton briefly plunged below 30 percent among independents during his rocky first few months as president, but was up to 44 percent prior to a disastrous 1994 midterm election, and eventually reached 67 percent by the end of his presidency. Richard Nixon didn’t reach Trump’s low levels of job approval among independents until he was in the depths of the Watergate scandal; he hit 23 percent when impeachment proceedings against him began, and 22 percent the day he was forced to resign.

Suffice it to say that it takes a lot of controversy and bad vibes for independents to sour as much on a president as they have with Donald Trump. Since his appeal to Democrats is nil, and his appeal to Republicans has all but maxed out (and may be declining slightly), this era of bad feelings among the non-aligned is worth watching.

GALLUP poll: President Trump's job approval rating is 36% positive, 60% negative. It is down among Republicans and independents. One warning sign: just 69% of Republicans approve of his handling of health care, a major 2026 issue. And US approval of Congress has fallen to 14%.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T14:55:52.586Z

CNN Data Guru Reveals How Much Americans Hate Trump’s Signature Policy

CNN data guru Harry Enten revealed damning numbers on the signature Trump policy informing his economy: tariffs.

“On the key policy that Donald Trump has been pushing since the start of his second term, the American people have shifted completely away from the president,” said Enten, 37, on Wednesday’s CNN News Central.

Reviewing polling on tariffs conducted in November 2024 and October 2025, Enten found that American opinion on tariffs went from a +4 favorable rating to a -24 unfavorable rating in 11 months, with 62 percent of Americans now opposing Trump’s signature policy.

I spent most of the Biden presidency trying to convince people that economic data was good. I did so because economic data was good. Biden and his team did a lot of amazing things to help us recover from the COVID related economic issues. Unempolyment was at record lows. Child poverty: record lows. I could go on, but it wouldn’t matter because no matter how good the data was, people did not believe it

Why? Inflation. It doesn’t matter if most people’s pay bumps covered the increasing costs. Seeing higher prices on everything is a daily distressing thing. And no one can convince anyone of anything else.

So when I saw this:

The president will go on a national tour to insist there is nothing wrong with the economy.

Donald Trump is preparing a national public-appearance blitz amid concerns that he is ignoring the financial anxiety of tens of millions of Americans.

The president will appear in the key swing state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday to try to convince voters that his economic plans are working, with additional events expected this month and into the new year across the country, Axios reports.

Oh girl! That is NOT going to work. LOL LOL LOL LOL

Biden actually had GOOD economic numbers and he couldn’t make this work. Trumps are… not good. So him lying to people’s faces is going to BACKFIRE.

Moron.

King Trump's indifference to affordability will cost MAGA everything.

There is no universe, in this one or any alternate timeline, where “let’s lock up the economic data and build a shiny new ballroom” is a winning affordability message.

Yet here we are.

You saw Donald Trump’s 18th iteration of his affordability message yesterday, when he said of affordability, “It doesn’t mean anything to anybody…The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats.”

The vibe is late Bourbon decadence and indifference, King Donald the Corpulent in his palace, while the peasantry starves. I’m going long on pitchforks and tumbrels.

At the precise moment when Americans are standing in the cereal aisle doing battlefield math over whether the kids get brand-name or generic Wheat-os, Donald J. Trump is obsessing over chandeliers, parquet floors, and the sightlines in his new, ever-expanding plan for a White House ballroom with the square footage of a large Costco.

He is micromanaging the golf-leaf design for a ballroom that only the upper tier of the donor set will ever enjoy, while telling the rest of the country they ought to be grateful for the privilege of getting economically hit in the face.

Other Good News

hey look! A backbone! → New York Times Sues Pentagon Over First Amendment Rights

The New York Times accused the Pentagon in a lawsuit on Thursday of infringing on the constitutional rights of journalists by imposing a set of new restrictions on reporting about the military.

In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, The Times argued that the Defense Department’s new policy violated the First Amendment and “seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done — ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements.”

Federal grand jury declines to reindict Trump target Letitia James

A federal grand jury on Dec. 4 rejected an attempt to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, a key target of President Donald Trump's ire, less than two weeks after a judge threw out the Trump administration's first indictment against her.

The grand jury’s rejection of charges marks the Justice Department’s second attempt at indicting the New York attorney general whom the president has railed against in recent weeks. James brought a lawsuit against Trump in 2022.

In a statement, James slammed the attempted indictment, calling the charges against her "baseless."

Trump-MAGA are *losing* the online culture wars over deportations, because the humane side is info-warring better

Trump's white nationalist aides are churning out vile videos glorifying migrant suffering. But Trump-MAGA are *losing* the online culture wars over deportations, because the humane side is info-warring better. Check out @paulwaldman.bsky.social and me on this: newrepublic.com/article/2038...
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T14:55:56.342Z

You all are great

I started a substack to share joy midweek (via my job as a behavioral scientist) and so many of you have followed me there and subscribed and supported that effort. I can’t even begin to tell you what that means to me. I am humbled and happy.

Here is this week’s post on not forcing yourself to try to “connect” in ways that don’t speak to you throughout the holidays.

Stop Forcing Holiday Cheer—Connection Comes in Many Forms

Thank you. 💛💜💚

What can you do to save democracy?

First, continue to find joy in your life! Don’t let that fuckface live rent free in your mind! This is your life!!!!!

Second, if you can, it is time to start donating. I set up a fundraising page!

It splits our donations among the 15 seats held by Republicans in swing districts. These are seats that were either won by a margin of 4% or less or were won by Harris in 2024. In other words, these are seats we can win in 2026. None of them are in CA or TX (and thus likely to be redistricted). Any money you donate will go directly to whomever our candidate will be in 2026. We only need to flip three of these!

Here is the link:

Take the House in 2026

Some other ways to get involved

If you can, I strongly recommend going to an in person meeting in your area. One way to find a local group is through indivisible: indivisibleproject.formstack.com/…
Election Response Center is a project hosted by Working Families Party, MoveOn Civic Action, Indivisible, and Public Citizen. They are organizing lots of events to get people fighting. Join one at this link
The ACLU plays a key role in filing lawsuits that often stop voter suppression. Get involved with them at this link.
Get involved with the Democratic party. We aren’t perfect, but they are fucking evil.
Get involved with the States Project They are working on turning state legislatures blue
Get involved with Swing Left. They are working on races right now!
People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. Get involved with them here
Center for American Progress Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan policy institute and advocacy organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Get involved with them here

Looking for something more specific?

Want to focus on the ENVIRONMENT:

Want to focus on CIVIL RIGHTS:

HUMAN RIGHTS - GENERALLY:

Physicians for Human Rights https://phr.org/...
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org
The Leadership Coalition on Civil and Human Rights https://civilrights.org

LGBTQ+:

The Campaign for Southern Equality/Trans Youth Emergency Project https://southernequality.org
GLAAD https://glaad.org LGBTQ+ centered news
Lambda Legal https://lambdalegal.org
Folx Health https://www.folxhealth.com/...
National Black Justice Coalition https://nbjc.org/...
Glad Law https://www.glad.org

WOMEN:

Huge thanks to DKos user dabug for help with this list.

Don’t let the options overwhelm you! Try to pick one thing and see if it calls to you. If it doesn’t find something else.

There are so many ways to get involved and help!

Some inspiration before I say goodbye

“Whatever happens, stay alive.

Don't die before you're dead.

Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction.

Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell of your body, with every fiber of your skin.

Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design.

Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope.

Stay alive with joy.

There is only one thing you should not waste in life,

and that's life itself..."

by Virginia Woolf

At Albany Bulb with Elaine

By Alison Luterman

Side by side on a log by the bay.

Sunlight. Unleashed dogs,

prancing through surf, almost exploding

out of their skins with perfect happiness.

Dogs who don't know about fired park rangers,

or canceled health research, or tariff wars,

or the suicide hotline for veterans getting defunded,

or or or. We've listed horror upon horror

to each other for weeks now, and it does no good,

so instead I tell her how I held a two-day old baby

in my arms, inhaling him like a fresh-baked loaf of bread,

then watched as a sneeze erupted through his body

like a tiny volcano. It was the look of pure

astonishment on his face, as if he were Adam

in the garden of Eden making his debut achoo,

as if it were the first sneeze that ever blew,

that got me. She tells me how her dog

once farted so loudly he startled himself

and fell off the bed where he'd been lolling,

and then the two of us start to laugh so hard

we almost fall off our own log. And this

is our resistance for today; remembering

original innocence. And they can't

take it away from us, though they ban

our very existence, though they slash

our rights to ribbons, we will have

our mirth and our birthright gladness.

Long after every unsold Tesla

has vaporized, and earth has closed over

even the names of these temporary tyrants,

somewhere some women like us

will be sitting side by side, facing the water,

telling human stories and laughing still.

please, keep this in mind when you despair:

The Third Reich didn't last 1,000 years.Pinochet was ousted with a referendum.And the US isn't exactly dealing with the smartest, most competent fascists.Those of you insisting that 2025 is forever need to read a book, touch grass, go to therapy, anything other than trying to make others quit.
— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) 2025-09-18T15:02:19.789Z

I am so proud and so lucky to be in this with all of you. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 💙❤️💛💚✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

GNR for Friday, December 5, 2025: Hope makes a difference

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 05, 2025 · 4:00 AM PST

2025/12/05 · 04:00

Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!

Several other GNR authors have brought up a fairly study showing how important it is to have hope in our lives. Here’s another article about it (Andy Corbley, Good News Network).

Individuals in an Australian cohort of 25,000 randomly-sampled people that were more hopeful had on average improved well-being, education, economic, and employment outcomes measures years later, both better perceived health and objective measures of health, and were less likely to be lonely.

“Hope is not just a belief that things will get better (i.e., optimism), but the determination to make them better, which reflects agency and determination,” they wrote in their introduction. “The distinction between tragic optimists and hopeful pessimists is another way to think of this.”

Reading this helped me a lot. Sometimes — not always — I wonder if working at these GNRs does any good? And although I thought they did — and so many of you feel like real friends — it was great seeing scientific research supporting it.

We have seen the power of hope in action this year, and we know we have made a difference.

We still have a long ways to go. First, the felon and his enablers still have a lot power. Second, many are desperate, because, as Bannon says, many of them expect to go to prison once they’re out of power. Third, cornered rats fight hardest, and these are very unscrupulous people. So they will try to do more terrible things.

But we have more power. We will not give up in advance, because we have hope.

You’ll see hope in a lot of these stories today. It’s a real thing. It lightens us and enlightens us in these dark days.

Come on in, gnusies, and happy first Friday of December.

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, and the chaos. 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 and the planet from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know.

Remember:

💜Although they lie all the time, reality matters. And our goals — based on reality — are more popular.

💙 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, make sure to protect yourself, your family and your friends, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.

🗽 Reports on Resisters 🗽

I’m not sure about hacking billboards, at least not if they are neutral, such as where to find a motel to sleep in.

But I love this message. And one thing about billboards is that they reach whoever is on the road, no matter what news outlet they usually pick. Billboards can penetrate silos.

Some might say, hacking billboards is noble work. 😉
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) 2025-12-02T04:05:01.641Z

Economic boycotts can make a huge difference.

Over the last 3 months, Home Depot’s and Spotify’s stocks have plummeted by 20%. This is what we, the people, will do to any company that sides with Trump’s fascist regime. Target ❌ Disney ❌ Spotify ❌ Home Depot ❌ Amazon, you’re next. Learn how to take these companies down at weaintbuyingit.com.
— 50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 (@50501movement.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T12:37:08.747Z

💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes, Chaos and Cowardice💣

This article in Politico highlights how fractured the GOP in the House is. Meredith Lee Hill Politico

House Republicans spent this week venting about Mike Johnson, questioning the speaker’s hold on his tenuous House majority. Next week, he has to prove he’s capable of governing.

The annual Pentagon policy bill is due on the floor just in time to test Johnson’s ability to command and cajole his conference with must-pass legislation at stake. Already GOP leaders have had to delay release of bill text as they deal with a host of 11th-hour intraparty flare-ups that show just how hard it will be for the speaker to lead ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Johnson is already bruised from a high-profile fight with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a member of the GOP leadership team, over a surveillance provision she wanted attached to the sprawling defense package. She got her way after publicly accusing the speaker of lying and sandbagging conservatives.

Other deeply divisive issues remain, ranging from cryptocurrency policy to in vitro fertilization, that could threaten to further splinter the House GOP and imperil the typically bipartisan Pentagon bill. The brouhaha threatens to complicate Johnson’s effort to hammer out a still-brewing Republican health care plan he’s promised to unveil by early next week.

“I think there’s a lot of members that are frustrated that we’re not doing the things that we said that we were going to do,” said Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) when asked about Johnson’s leadership. “His response to that would be, we only have a [three] vote majority, but I think if you govern conservatively, Republicans will show up and vote for it.”

I also just listened to Rick Wilson’s Against All Enemies podcast. It was mostly about how the felon is never going to do the “Affordability Tour”, mostly because he’s a sick, tired old man, but there’s a bit near the end where he talks about how unhappy many people are inside the White House. How they just don’t have the energy anymore. Wilson is a former GOP operative, and he still has sources, so this is interesting.

And to fit in with today’s theme, what does it mean? That they don’t have much hope! 😄

Democratic overperformance unnerves many Republicans

The reason this was a serious race in the first place is @aftynbehn.bsky.social and the people-powered movement she built. The result of this overperformance: a lot of Republicans in so-called "safe seats" are scared tonight, and Trump's redistricting push will take another huge hit.
— Leah Greenberg ❌👑 (@leahgreenberg.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T03:43:57.733Z

That’s one reason many are resisting redistricting. Also, it is pissing off voters:

Indiana Republican state senator. I appreciate her not caving, but they are all still afraid to ever use Trump’s name. I guess doing so exponentially increases the threats. Trump rules the GOP with fear and intimidation. What a broken party.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T00:48:42.449Z

Enjoy!

Trump drops 11 points - 11 points! - in the past month in Gallup. Just a staggering decline. 1/
— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) 2025-11-28T17:32:46.736Z

More on this in the unity section, but including it here because the felon is a weak horse / lame duck

This is genuinely big news. Shldnt be but is. Republicans are challenging Trump now because he seems weak. No one wantst to back a weak horse. Trump looks like the weak horse.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T15:00:07.438Z

🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚

Simon Rosenberg knows hope is a thing. That’s why he writes Hopium

Strong election performances, a deeply unpopular President, a regime cracking and unraveling - 2026 is shaping up to be a year of opportunity for Democrats. My latest 👇 www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/strong-ele...
— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T15:47:53.240Z

From the link in the flutter:

As I’ve been writing here various measures of party strength and the results from special elections and the November elections put the shift in the national political landscape at somewhere between 7 and 13 points towards the Democrats all across the country. As G. Elliott Morris writes above it’s a big enough shift to make it likely the House flips and the Senate will be in play.

While 2026 is turning out to be a year of opportunity for Democrats and the pro-democracy movement we still have one more election to win this year - electing Eileen Higgins the Mayor of Miami

Aftyn Behn may have lost on Tuesday (although her concession speech sounded triumphant), we did flip a mayoral race in Georgia:

NEWS: Democrat Mary Robichaux has defeated Republican incumbent Kurt Wilson in a runoff election to become the next Mayor of Roswell, Georgia. A major upset and another sign of shifting suburban politics in the South.
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-12-03T04:49:01.025Z

There is so much for the Ds to do, and many are doing things. The Oversight Ds are really impressive:

This week, Oversight Democrats launched the Immigration Enforcement Dashboard to expose misconduct and abuse under Trump and Kristi Noem’s dangerous assault on immigrants and U.S. citizens. Thank you to Ranking Member Robert Garcia and committee staff for leading this important effort.
— Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (@repyassansari.bsky.social) 2025-11-30T22:48:03.791Z

Go Pritzker!

Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that formally establishes a process for state-level vaccine guidelines and expands pharmacy access to COVID-19 and other shots for young children across Illinois.
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune.com) 2025-12-03T01:16:59.443108Z

From the article, by Olivia Olander:

Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that formally establishes a process for state-level vaccine guidelines and expands pharmacy access to COVID-19 and other shots for young children across Illinois.

“While RFK Jr. and his QAnon-inspired colleagues, spreading conspiracy theories and dangerous misinformation about vaccines, are running around Washington, Illinois is stepping up to protect the health of our people,” Pritzker said at a news conference downtown, referring to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The new state law follows months of changing federal vaccine policies and growing backlash from blue states, which say current federal guidelines are less supportive of vaccination than previous presidential administrations.

Illinois health leaders had already recommended the state part ways with the federal government on the COVID-19 vaccines, recommending the shots for all adults and many children following an executive order from the governor in September. Pritzker’s order called for the state to develop its own guidelines on vaccines “where federal actions fail to protect the public health.” The Illinois Department of Public Health quickly adopted those recommendations.

I feel sorry for people in the red states.

💜 Unity?💜

On the war crimes /murders being committed by the felon and Hegseth, Republicans are tightening the screws. In the unity section because the Dems are already there. Noah Robertson, Alex Horton Washington Post

In a classified briefing for lawmakers scrutinizing the Trump administration’s killing of suspected drug smugglers around Latin America, top Republicans in the room appeared frustrated.

The Pentagon, facing questions about its legal basis for attacking civilian vessels, sent no lawyers to the meeting — a move multiple lawmakers in the room considered inexplicable. The Defense Department officials who did attend, those people said, were unable to explain the mission’s strategy and scope — even as President Donald Trump openly mused about expanding the campaign to include land targets inside Venezuela.

Rep. Mike D. Rogers (Alabama), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, condemned the secrecy, saying Congress had gotten more information from the Pentagon during the Biden administration, according to two people in the room. Like some others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private or otherwise sensitive conversations.

The above is the House. Here is the Senate:

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T22:33:42.739Z

And it’s not just the boat strike. Senator Thom Tillis is also talking trash about Hegseth Ewan Palmer The Daily Beast

A senior Republican senator has rejected Pete Hegseth’s claim to have been completely exonerated by a watchdog report into the “Signalgate” scandal.

An Inspector General report found that the defense secretary risked endangering the lives of American troops when he used the messaging app Signal to discuss secret plans to launch airstrikes targeting Houthi fighters in Yemen. ✂️

Speaking to CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the Pentagon chief is not out of the woods, noting that the report found a foreign adversary could have intercepted the information he shared on Signal.

“Anytime you release mission-set information before the strike, you run that risk, and thank goodness that we did not tarnish one of the most extraordinary precision strikes in recent history,” Tillis said. “It’s a mission-critical piece of information that our adversaries could have used to blow those planes out of the sky. You just don’t do that.”

Why is this all so important?

The felon wants to be a dictator. However, becoming a dictator without the support of the military is pretty much impossible. We are seeing, over and over, how the military is not willing to go along. Also, a dictator needs competent soldiers, especially at the top. Hegseth is a leaky drunk.

And, a remark: Hegseth and the felon spend a lot of time worrying about their hair. Senator Mark Kelly, the real deal, doesn’t bother with hair…

There is no clearer justification for the video put out by 6 Democrats to not follow unlawful orders than this.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T12:08:22.427Z

Momentum builds for a stock-trade ban bill as some House Rs join in Ben Werschkul Yahoo Finance

Impatient with a slow-moving committee process, advocates for a ban on lawmaker stock trading moved this week to force the issue.

A discharge petition was put forth on Tuesday evening by Republican Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett. It had more than a dozen signatures after just one day on the floor.

That leaves a long way to go before it reaches the magic number of 218 needed to circumvent Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on the measure, yet it was a notable initial show of force, especially as this week's effort is being led by Republicans in apparent open defiance of their speaker.

Combined with high support in Democratic ranks for the proposal, the push could give new energy to an issue that has been stalled for years.

Among the initial wave of 14 signees, nine were Republicans. And three of those Republicans — Reps. Elise Stefanik, Gregory Steube, and Michael Lawler — had not previously co-sponsored the underlying bill.

📥Actions You Can Take 📤

Note I have removed the tax thingy for now because it is so unlikely that this IRS under the felon’s badministration will do anything about it. Will reinstate when conditions change.

Chop Wood, Carry Water — This always has a lot of ideas about what you can do today. Also, Jess Craven has some state specific newsletters.

Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are),you can support and contact these organizations:

ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union

Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.

Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams

🌱Grass roots. Join with local communities to make a difference. It could be your local Dems. It could be your school board or your library. Reach out to people. We all need each other these days.

🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help.

👎 Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.

🐍Schadenfreude 😈

Russian tankers are disappearing:

Ukraine has now successfully struck a fourth Russian shadow fleet tanker. More than 1,000 shadow fleet tankers are sailing around the world serving Russia and Ukraine has put them all on notice than any could be targeted next.
— PKs Powerfromspace1 (@powerfromspace1.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy) 2025-12-04T08:47:05.000Z

Note the NY Post (!!!) story about the incompetence of Kash Patel and Bongino:

This FBI “pulse check” report on the dept under Patel and Bongino is a mixed bag - the fibbies love having no more sensitivity training but many hate going on ICE raids and think leadership is weak - but this anecdote is clearly gold: K$H Patel wearing the traditional FBI Director’s ladies clothes.
— Helen Kennedy (@helenkennedy.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T18:24:17.168Z

We keep telling her to go away:

Alina Habba's disqualification upheld on appeal www.allrisenews.com/p/alina-habb...
— Black Pearl (Slava Ukraini!) (@ndperels.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T16:44:22.388Z

⚡️ Grand jury refuses to re-indict Letitia James KeithDB, Daily Kos

Whatever you may think about the Tish James case, the defense's legal claims of vindictive prosecution and the evidence of a corrupt use of DOJ power just got ... stronger (trying a second indictment) and stronger (grand jury denial) and stronger (DOJ determined to try again)
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T22:47:20.775Z

⚡️ The felon fires the ballroom architect, so perhaps it will never get built annieli Daily Kos

Gosh, just like Target, anti-woke does not sell:

In case you’re in the mood for some good news . . .
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T22:14:55.564Z

More fallout for Larry Summers

Academic society bans Larry Summers for life over his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein
— CTV News Winnipeg (@ctvnewswinnipeg.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T05:30:27Z

📣 Let’s Honor Truth☀️️

This week we’re honoring The Guardian, the British media outlet that does so much excellent reporting. It just won — or rather, got dismissed — a lawsuit from one of the felon’s companies. Ja’han Jones MS NOW

A judge on Monday dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s media organization against The Guardian over reports on its ties to a Russian oligarch.

The president’s legal onslaught against the media – launched via personal lawsuits and through his companies – has resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements from two media outlets, despite the judgment of reputable legal experts that the cases were relatively weak. The president’s track record in court, however, hasn’t yielded quite the same outcomes.

Trump Media & Technology Group brought a suit against The Guardian; Will Wilkerson, a TMTG founder turned whistleblower; and the Sarasota-based Herald-Tribune and one of its reporters, Chris Anderson, over news reports the outlets published in 2023 about federal investigations into payments, totaling $8 million, made to the company by financial institutions linked to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Guardian reported at the time that investigators were looking into these payments for potential money laundering, and included the caveat that Trump’s media company hadn’t been charged or implicated in any crimes. Follow-up reporting noted that the Putin-linked official, Anton Postolnikov, had provided a lifeline to the president’s faltering media company at a crucial moment.

🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love❤️

This is a really sweet love story

Couple that met in the hospital after waking up from comas as teens get engaged In 2018, Zach Zarembinski and Isabelle Richard each survived life-threatening injuries and met after they woke up from a coma. Now, as Lana Zak shares, they're getting married. Source link
— (@articleweblog.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T03:44:41Z

From Good News Network Andy Corbley

At 18, Zach Zarembinski was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul in a coma after suffering a traumatic brain injury on the high school football field. At 16, Isabelle Richards arrived 9 days later in a coma after a car crash on her way to a grocery store job.

There they lay, shattered, unconscious, and together. Alongside them, their mothers feared the worst, having been told by the medical staff to prepare for the same. But they supported each other.

“I remember she was laying there. She had shards of glass still in her hair and she was unconscious,” Esther Wilzbacher, Richard’s mother, recalled.

“Isabel had to have her right skull piece removed. Zach had to have his left skull piece removed.” ✂️

In Regions Hospital, at the same spot where Zarembinski gave a conference as a teen, the pair of TBI survivors recorded a special episode of their podcast Hope in Healing.

After reading out Joel 2:25 and John 10:10, Zarembinski asked Richards to marry her, and the hospital staff that had ensured they both survived erupted into applause as she said yes.

Partners in comatose, partners podcasting, and now, partners for life. Mysterious ways.

Also, congratulations to Cory Booker and Alexis Lewis, newlyweds!

Sen. Cory Booker and Alexis Lewis married in a courthouse ceremony on Nov. 24. The couple also held a private interfaith wedding ceremony in Washington.
— USA TODAY (@usatoday.com) 2025-11-30T21:30:26.632Z

📎Odds & Ends📎

Daddy-daughter dance in notorious Louisiana prison turns the worst of the worst into loving fathers again Andy Corbley Good News Network

In a Louisiana state penitentiary, incarcerated men were able to dance with their daughters for one special night: many of whom had not seen each other for years.

The tear-jerking occasion was organized by the brilliant God Behind Bars, a nonprofit that partners with churches and ministries on behalf of jailed men and women, in Angola Louisiana.

“When I turned around and saw my baby in that dress and she busted out crying… I sobbed, man, and I ain’t no crier,” said Leslie, an incarcerated father in Angola, who participated in the dance. ✂️

37 daughters attended the dance, aged between 5 and 20, with 29 fathers, each one of whom wore a suit donated by Amor Suits.

Other donations included the time and expertise of hair and makeup estheticians, a beauty product bag courtesy of T3 Micro, and decorations and floral arrangements by God Behind Bars.

Need to take a break from the stress? I really enjoyed this video about a guy building birdhouses and then tracking what happens. Long but so relaxing!

YouTube Video

🐦 I do a lot of other writing. Newest offerings: Messing with the Myths — two books so far in this series. Older offerings: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction (Hunters of the Feather). Mysteries based on Jane Austen’s novels, such as The Meryton Murders. Others based on history and Greek mythology, e.g., Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus. All titles also available through Kindle Unlimited. Want to support me but not interested in my books? Buy one and donate to a library.

**💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy** 💙

It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time.

I know it’s tough to see the path forward. And I can’t guarantee that there is a path forward. But people who are smarter and braver than I have seen ways to move ahead.

Their (the fascists’) plans really are dark, but many of them are also dumb, in the sense that they don’t make sense. So many of them cannot succeed.

Here are some quick hits.

Stay involved. Yeah, that’s tough. I want to look away too, but by taking simple actions you can make a difference. Keep contacting your representatives, both in DC and at home.
Support causes that will fight. Send money if you can. Also, spread their news with clicks and conversation.
Slow them down. Oppose and block at every turn.
Make tRump unpopular. Doing this weakens him. And it should not be that difficult. The GOP made a lot out of Biden is old and eggs cost too much. Well, tRump is older than Biden was at the beginning of his term and tRump has no policies that are going to bring down inflation. And a host of other problems, like he’s a convicted felon.
Divide the GOP from each other. They are a coalition based on contradictory promises, so there’s plenty to work with.
Keep telling the truth and showing love.
Make sure to pace yourselves in this marathon and to practice self-care.

Current projects:

We need just 3 seats to take back the House. GoodNewsRoundup (a.k.a. Goodie or Madam Mayor) has put together a page for donations via ActBlue. Note you can opt out of emails.
bilboteach has another fundraiser: Win the Majority 2026 – and here you can also opt out of all those fundraising emails.
Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters

And Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny Lessons:

(1) Do Not Obey in Advance; (2) Defend Institutions; (3) Beware the One-Party System; (4) Take Responsibility for the Face of the World; (5) Remember Professional Ethics; (6) Be Wary of Paramilitaries; (7) Be Reflective if You Must Own a Gun; (8) Stand Out (this means, speak up, even when others do not); (9) Be Kind to Our Language; (10) Believe in Truth; (11) Investigate; (12) Make Eye Contact and Small Talk; (13) Practice Corporeal Politics; (14) Establish a Private Life; (15) Contribute to Good Causes; (16) Learn from Peers in Other Countries; (17) Listen for Dangerous Words; (18) Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives; (19) Be a Patriot; (20) Be as Courageous as You Can.

🌻

💙 President Joseph R. Biden: “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.”

💙 Sir Winston Churchill: When you’re going through hell, keep going.

🌹 🌹 🌹

TRUTH MATTERS. LOVE MATTERS.

The Epstein Class: the through line

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 04, 2025 · 4:45 AM PST

2025/12/04 · 04:45

A statue depicting President Donald Trump, left, and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands stands at sundown on the National Mall with the U.S. Capitol in the background, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

We Dems often suck at messaging, but now we have the perfect opportunity: The Epstein class.

With this simple phrase, it connects so many dots.

Calling it the Epstein Class puts it all in perspective.“The Epstein class is a group of people with extreme wealth who have donated to politicians and been part of a system where they think the rules don’t apply to them, and they have created a system that has shafted a lot of forgotten Americans."
— Coop (@linjurz.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T11:29:18.989Z

The Epstein class means the oligarchs who are OK with kidnapping, trafficking and raping children, with being above the law, and stealing everything they can from the current population as well as crushing the future generations with debt.

And people are starting to use it. The phrase has been used by Ro Khanna, and repeated by the not-always-very-brave Washington Post

11. The stakes, meanwhile, are much bigger than one authoritarian president. Everyone pays for the crimes of what some are now calling “the Epstein class.” Here’s the Post: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...
— The Editorial Board (@editorialboard.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T13:33:11.697Z

I have heard it being used, so it’s catching on.

Just a few of the many examples that fit into this:

Pardons — both pay for play and also, get away with it:

Trump announces a “full and unconditional” pardon for Juan Orlando Hernandez, a former president of Honduras sentenced to 45 years for drug trafficking and weapons offenses. My latest on Trump’s continued abuse of the presidential pardon power: youtu.be/M3VzVlHhQM8?...
— Katie Phang (@katiephang.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T03:08:21.600Z

and

Former nursing home executive and convicted fraudster Joseph Schwartz was pardoned by Trump earlier this month. Schwartz secured the pardon after paying two other convicted fraudsters nearly $1M to lobby Trump on his behalf. Everything is for sale. youtube.com/watch?v=NflcWXdV-B0&feature=youtu.be
— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T23:31:13.201959Z

and

Want to know what a presidential pardon costs? $1 million. Paul Walczak was convicted of tax fraud. His mother attended a $1 million per person dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Weeks later, Trump pardoned him. The presidency has become a pay-to-play criminal enterprise. Your government. For sale.
— Hussein Hallak (@darkal777.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T05:47:29.164Z

Washington Post did a piece on the corruption back in June:

🧵Trump is for sale. High powered lawyers, thugs, racketeers, drug traffickers, murderers, fraudsters, and scammers are all lining up to get a pardon from Trump, and he says, "Come on in." Trump’s pardon racket has literally become a lucrative cottage industry.
— Denise Wheeler (@denisedwheeler.bsky.social) 2025-11-06T20:11:11.711Z

The Big Beautiful Ugly Bill

This one is really vile, and have to applaud those who refused to ruin the word “beautiful” and to call it what it is, ugly.

Economically it’s a disaster, but great for billionaires — or let’s not forget, The Epstein class.

Some of the tax breaks for the uber wealthy Scott Neuman NPR

Lower tax brackets During the first Trump administration, Republicans in Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), which temporarily reduced the top marginal tax rate from 39.6% to 37%. This change was originally set to expire at the end of 2025.

But now, the 37% top rate is set to continue indefinitely, applying to income above $626,350 for single filers and $751,600 for married couples filing jointly.

Bonus depreciation "Not everybody can go out and buy a private jet — but if you can, now that private jet is deductible in year one," Nitti says

Big Ugly Bill Steals from Poor to Give to Rich House, Ranking member

CBO analyzed the combined effects of the tax policies and spending reductions and found that working families will experience a net loss in household resources, while the ultra-rich will get richer. Specifically:

Families already struggling to make ends meet lose the most. Households in the lowest income decile, making $24,000 a year or less, lose about $1,200 every year, mostly due to deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. That amounts to over 3 percent of their total income, a devastating hit for people who can afford it the least.

Everyone in the bottom twenty percent of the income distribution, or those making less than $43,000 a year, will see a net decline in household resources.

Middle-class families get next to nothing. For those in the 5th and 6th decile, or the middle of the distribution, they will experience a resource gain of only 0.8 to 1 percent. That is barely enough to keep up with rising costs due to President Trump's reckless actions.

The ultra-rich get a windfall. Families making over $700,000 a year will see a $13,600 boost, almost entirely from tax cuts. That figure does not even count the massive estate tax giveaways for the ultra-rich.

It also works to reduce many of us to serfdom with provisions large and small. This will make many women poorer (Stacy M Brown, Milwaukee Courier)

The Trump administration has declared that nursing is not a professional degree, striking directly at the heart of America’s healthcare workforce and landing hardest on Black women, who make up nearly 13 percent of the national healthcare labor force and almost 10 percent of registered nurses. The administration frames the move as a technical adjustment to loan classifications. For Black women and the communities that rely on them, the consequences are far more severe.

“This is a gut punch for nursing,” Patricia Pittman of George Washington University stated. “Education from ADN to BSN and beyond is the single best way to retain nurses, especially in underserved communities.”

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, nursing, physical therapy, physician assistants, and other frontline health professions have been stripped of professional degree status. Students in these fields can borrow only $20,500 per year with a total cap of $100,000. Students in law, dentistry, medicine, and other protected fields can borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total. Nursing students report tuition and clinical training costs that far exceed the new caps, leaving many unable to continue their education.

Not only does it hurt many in underserved communities, it sucks for health care, too. But the Epstein class is doing well!

Expiring ACA tax credits will hit small businesses especially hard. Meanwhile, 74% of small business owners are worried that their business won’t survive due to Trump’s tariffs. Trump is crushing small businesses while doling out tax breaks to his big corporate donors. Priorities.
— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T18:01:07.160568Z

The Epstein ballroom

While the government was shut down in order to starve Americans and to destroy our health care, the felon destroyed part of the White House (OUR White House) in order to create the Epstein ballroom.

Trump’s demolition of the White House is a demolition of our history. I’m proud to join @raskin.house.gov and over 50 other members in demanding answers.
— Mike Quigley (@quigley.house.gov) 2025-11-29T17:31:02.577Z

Who is funding this ballroom?

This is the list of Epstein Ballroom donors. Do what you will with that information…
— Democrat Cats (@democratcats.bsky.social) 2025-10-23T21:22:48.552Z

The fact that the felon does not care about affordability, not even for his voters, who thought the face-eating leopards would not eat their faces, is seeping through. And we can blame it on the Epstein class.

Builds on what Bernie Sanders and AOC have been saying in their “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies. The message works well, but the word oligarchy does not. The expression the Epstein class is much easier for people to say and people also know what it means.

The "Fighting Oligarchy Tour" is still underway, and AOC and Sanders continue to call for a fight against the political power of the rich. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fightin...
— (@aniebvkk.bsky.social) 2025-10-13T14:19:02.815Z

I think what Sanders did was great. He spoke to a lot of people in red areas, places where their own Congressional representatives were refusing to meet with them.

He pointed out, too, how the wealth has been traveling upwards for decades.

Note, not the graph used by Sanders, am just using what I found in the image library.

All this can be grouped in the one message, the felon and the GOP are working for the Epstein class. To reiterate, to repeat:

"There is a growing sense that an elite group of wealthy people is running the world without accountability to the law, and that the Trump administration is protecting and even advancing the people in that group." It's the "Epstein Class." November 30, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
— Colleen D Swain 💙 (@colleen4content.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T15:03:48.871Z

It is the way to phrase it (and actually should appeal to some on the right, who thought there was an Epstein class all along, even though they were wrong about Hillary Clinton and the pizza restaurant).

Spot on messaging. Nearly all the stories, with perhaps the exception of the felon’s mental and physical decline, fit. And it gives a way to go forward even after he’s gone.

The Epstein class. The best branding for these vile people.

Thursday GNR: Resistance vs. Epic Fails Galore

Mokurai

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 04, 2025 · 4:00 AM PST

2025/12/04 · 04:00

Lotus blossom and leaves emerging from dirty water

There are a lot of would-be bad guys around, but they are mostly superlatively bad at it. That is especially true for those who claim that karma doesn’t apply to them, and that they are getting away with everything. I am collecting Epic Fail memes to use in my GNRs, as you will see below. I know of no more Epic Fail in fact or fiction than the Sith Lords whose PLAN is for their chief disciples to kill them and become the next galactic Sith-in-Chief.

At Luke Skywalker's plea to his father for help, Darth Vader picks up the Emperor and throws him down a deep shaft, killing him. — Palpatine’s ultimate Epic Fail, provoking Darth Vader to pick him up and throw him away, when Luke asks his Dad for help.

In full,

Vader Kills Palpatine in Return of the Jedi with flashbacks & Star Wars Theme REUP

YouTube Video

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 03, 2025 · 5:00 AM PST

2025/12/03 · 05:00

In the last month, we have seen significant weakening of the felon and his enablers.

A brief summary of some of the evidence of the increased weakness:

The elections in November proved that. And, although we lost in Tennessee yesterday, we moved it from a (+22) to (+8 to +10). Note this election result may stop some of the push to redistrict, as Republicans in districts that are +15 or so don’t want to risk their seats
The fact that many GOP are allegedly considering departing early shows he is weaker
The leaks show he is weaker.
The polls show he is weaker.
The fact that some of the MSM is actually producing stories that do not flatter the felon and the badministration means they are weaker (the NYT had a story on how he is keeping shorter hours and WaPo broke the very important story on Hegseth’s command to “kill everybody”).

Although this diary tries to put stories into different categories, I heard Lawrence O’Donnell talk on The Last Word from last night (12/2) in a way that connects the dots. The felon and the GOP are protecting themselves as they steal from and abuse the rest of us. So issues such as the economy, Epstein, corruption and more are all related.

As always, add more if you want to! Thanks for being here.

EPSTEIN AND PEDOPHILES

Heather Cox Richardson had a really interesting video yesterday about many things, but one thing she talked about was the realignment of the American electorate against what she calls the “Epstein class”. She talks about this issue at 26 minutes.

YouTube Video

Bloomberg got information, through a FOIA request, about some of the efforts of the administration to cover up the felon’s involvement.

Newly released internal FBI emails, obtained by Bloomberg, show the bureau spent over $850,000 in overtime in a single week in March 2025 on an effort to analyze and redact the Jeffrey Epstein files. The project was internally dubbed the "Special Redaction Project". @markdolk.bsky.social
— paulpro (@mariopro.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T19:06:24.954Z

As Bloomberg is hard to get into because of a paywall, here’s Michael Popok at Legal AF

YouTube Video

* Still don’t want to watch/listen? I don’t blame you, it doesn’t always suit when you’re in the mood to scroll and read. Here’s the summary of the video:

In new reporting, the FBI, working thousands of hours of overtime, was ready to produce to the public ALL the Epstein Files in April-May 2025 at the instruction of embattled FBI Dir. Patel, but AG Bondi and Trump killed the project when it reached 75% complete, according to new FBI emails. Popok reports on the countdown to the release of the files allegedly on 19 December, and the existence of a devastating Exhibit List from Epstein's trial that sheds new light on what depraved materials may be in the files.

Popok also reminds us that the firing of Maurene Comey was part of the cover up. Sure, the felon hates all people called Comey, but Todd Blanche did not want M Comey by his side as he interviewed sex trafficker and pedophile Ghislaine Maxwell pointing out all the times Maxwell was lying.

The exhibit list will help us keep tabs on how much is being covered up.

*There’s evidence they are protecting the felon and other pedophiles, but going after the victims in order to punish them for having spoken out.

The #Maga crooks at the #FBI & #DOJ redacted #Trump's name from the #Epstein documents but not the victims. Law firm representing alleged Epstein victims sends scathing letter over #DOJ document release. abcnews.go.com/US/epstein-a...
— ZenArchie (@zenarchie.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T09:05:15.009Z

😄 But some people are being shunned!

Academic society bans Larry Summers for life over his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein
— CTV News Winnipeg (@ctvnewswinnipeg.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T05:30:27Z

ECONOMY

People are noticing more and more that the felon is America and Americans last.

This could go into the unpopularity segment, but putting it here.

Fox News poll: 76% of voters view economy negatively. “President Affordability” is full of baloney.
— Nancy Levine Stearns (@nancylevinestearns.bsky.social) 2025-11-30T17:08:56.035Z

Paul Krugman goes into it in more detail here:

YouTube Video

Don’t want to take the time to watch and listen? Here are some of the highlights:

The Tax Foundation (not at all left-leaning, actually center right) has calculated that American families are being hit by an average of 1200 in tariffs in 2025, and it will go to 1600 in 2026.
The Tax Foundation describes this as the largest tax increase on Americans since 1993, and it falls mostly on low and middle income households
The Congressional Budget Office has said that recent rollbacks of tariffs have wiped out 800 billion of deficit reduction over next decade
Because of the tariff rollbacks — due to lots of pushback — we have the worst of both worlds. Uncertainty causing hard to economy, and insufficient revenue causing harm to the economy
The White House repeatedly lies about prices, claiming grocery prices are way down when they are not. Krugman points out the steep increases for ground beef and coffee (partly due to tariffs).
Krugman points out that core inflation (inflation with food and energy removed) has gone down a tad, while wages have gone up. But people notice food and energy all the time.
By a 2 to 1 margin, voters blame Trump and not Biden for current economic conditions. Even among Republicans only 53% blame Biden
Among Independents, approval of the felon has dropped to 25%
Krugman discusses tariffs and SCOTUS and the big ugly bill and the deficits that are always getting bigger
Also discusses the crypto currency corruption as detailed in the House report

CORRUPTION

There’s way too much corruption to cover in a little diary. We’re going to need be on the ball for years to investigate and to clean up and to claw back.

The pardons, now for drug trafficking. This one is especially hypocritical, as the felon and the drunk and other minions are murdering people out in boats who might be engaged in drug trafficking (but may not be).

Breaking News: Juan Orlando Hernández, a Honduran ex-president convicted for drug trafficking, was freed from prison after a Trump pardon.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-12-02T14:47:31.616635Z

Ukraine/Russia: The original “US” peace plan turned out to be Russian. And for oligarchs. We know this in part because anyone who looked at the actual plan realized it sounded Russian, not just that it is good for Russia, but actually sounded Russian, as if one had taken a Russian wish list and put it through a translator and not bothered to edit.

Surprise! The “peace plan” is really just a plan for Trump, Witkoff, Don Junior and their friends to get rich. Everything is a grift. (And the Hunter hunters are silent)www.wsj.com/world/russia...
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T13:25:28.960Z

And it is not just the felon and his family, but many others in the administration as well:

“This is what corruption looks like,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett said about a firm with ties to Kristi Noem secretly working on a DHS ad campaign. “They’re stealing money from the American people’s pockets and depositing it into their bank accounts.”
— ProPublica (@propublica.org) 2025-11-27T20:00:14.19209363Z

INCOMPETENCE

Incompetence may seem different from everything else, but it is not. The felon and the oligarchs want to ruin the US, so they can be kings. So, putting in people such as RFK Jr, Kash Patel and Pete Hegseth is not a complete mistake. These people, and others, have done great harm to the areas where they were assigned, with respect to their policies, firing good people, demoralizing those who remain, and causing reputational damage at home and abroad. This harm is deliberate.

I also think the felon has such an inferiority complex that he sometimes prefers to be surrounded by idiots.

Nevertheless, the general incompetence is also an opportunity, as it is so very, very unpopular. Also, good and capable people have an opening against them.

Here are recent stories of incompetence.

The FBI

Initial scoop by the NY Post, but I did not want to link to them. So here’s The Independent

FBI ‘is rudderless ship’ with director Kash Patel ‘in over his head’, damning report by agents claims
— The Independent (@the-independent.com) 2025-12-01T15:33:31.410Z

From the article in the flutter:

The FBI is a “rudderless ship” under director Kash Patel, who was described as being “in over his head” in a damning assessment by active-duty and retired agents.

Days after President Donald Trump denied reports he was considering ousting Patel from his post as FBI director, a group of 24 experienced agents has shared a scathing report detailing their thoughts on his first six months in office, due to be presented to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees later this week.

The report, obtained by the New York Post, comes after Patel has faced the heat for his use of government aircraft for multiple personal trips, assigning a SWAT team to protect his girlfriend, and reported clashes with senior Trump administration officials.

The DOJ

First, Lindsey Halligan. Now, Alina Habba. This DOJ is breathtakingly incompetent, not just because it appoints idiots to cases, but because it is willing to break laws to appoint idiots to cases.
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T19:39:30.447Z

The GOP still wants to focus on culture wars instead of competence. But because of them, measles has made a comeback (well, others are also antivax).

— Republicans R Evil 👿 (@republicansrevil.bsky.social) 2025-10-04T04:12:36.969Z

UNPOPULARITY

The felon’s unpopularity keeps growing. This is good for us, because it encourages the GOP to break with him. And, what is lovely, is that the more they break with him, the lower he will go! 😄

This was fun!

Today in Politics, Bulletin 261. Everything you need to know about what happened today in politics. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T23:05:30.555Z

And more from Gallup:

Trump drops 11 points - 11 points! - in the past month in Gallup. Just a staggering decline. 1/
— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) 2025-11-28T17:32:46.736Z

MURDER, WAR CRIMES & OTHER CRUELTIES

I have not included this category in the past, but the article in the Washington Post and the murder of shipwrecked sailors is getting a lot of attention.

This is genuinely big news. Shldnt be but is. Republicans are challenging Trump now because he seems weak. No one wantst to back a weak horse. Trump looks like the weak horse.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T15:00:07.438Z

We know this event — and others — are sinking the felon’s popularity with the military. Kind of hard to do a coup when the military is against you.

A woman in the National Guard was murdered — and she was only there because the felon put her there.

Sara Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard, was picking up litter in DC when she was murdered. Twenty years old. He may or may not attend her funeral because obviously, her life meant nothing to him~Although he does recognise West Virginia voted for him in 2024. Let that sink in.
— Thomas/Thom (@thomasfein.bsky.social) 2025-11-30T18:33:26.446Z

Hmm, could this harm the felon’s popularity with the National Guard?

And ICE is also deeply unpopular:

Suburban Chicago cop arrested by ICE returns to duty reut.rs/4peyxdd
— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-12-03T05:50:15Z

Not many people like ICE. It has sunk the felon and the GOP with many Hispanics. Now it will sink them with some in the police.

HEALTH AND COGNITION

The felon went on a mad screed of truth social posts over Thanksgiving, while the rest of us were enjoying food and family.

He also fell asleep in his cabinet meeting

Sleepy Trump
— Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T23:49:44.970Z

Apparently more than once

Trump fell asleep FOUR TIMES during today's cabinet meeting. What incredible strength and virility.
— David Pakman (@davidpakman.bsky.social) 2025-12-02T19:53:07.490Z

Although I guess it could be worse

People are angry Trump keeps falling asleep on the job every day. Not me. I'm angry he keeps waking up.
— Texas Paul (@realtexaspaul.com) 2025-12-02T04:09:02.188Z

That’s all I have time for this week, friends, but please post more bits in the comments!

Poll

453 votes Show Results

Which story do you think is the worst for the felon this week?

453 votes Vote Now!

Which story do you think is the worst for the felon this week?

Epstein and Pedophiles

9 votes

Economy

24 votes

Corruption

5 votes

Incompetence

2 votes

Unpopularity

7 votes

Murder, War Crimes and Other Cruelties

83 votes

Health and Cognition

2 votes

All of the Above

274 votes

Some of the Above

19 votes

None of the Above

3 votes

Something else, will discuss in the comments

0 votes

I still haven't gotten a kitten

4 votes

I want pie

3 votes

I want coffee

3 votes

I want pie and coffee

15 votes

Need Some Early Holiday Cheer? Special Delivery! December 3rd Good News Roundup (GNR)

bilboteach

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 03, 2025 · 4:00 AM PST

2025/12/03 · 04:00

No matter what holiday people celebrate this time of year is usually celebrated. The days are getting super short and the harvest is in. For us Americans, Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza are rapidly approaching. It is a time for reflection and a time to be generous. My Good News Roundup is meant to spread some holiday cheer and be generous!

Speaking of being generous...

Don’t forget to donate to Take the House in 2026! GoodNewsRoundup has selected the 15 most critical races to flip so you can donate to them! I’m probably going to change the focus of or cancel my fundraising effort soon. More details later in the Roundup.

We at the Good News Roundup choose hope instead of fear, good news instead of doomscrolling, and love instead of hate. We’re not naïve — we know that the forces of evil are strong and currently have power in the halls of Washington, D.C. However, we also know that the forces for good are strong too!

Here goes my December Good News Roundup…

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 02, 2025 · 5:03 AM PST

2025/12/02 · 05:03

There is so much corruption and criming being done by the felon, the felon’s family, and his cronies and minions.

On top of it, he has pardon power, which means many of them are getting away with it (at least at the federal level — I really, really hope that Democratic AGs are taking note).

But we have seen weakness during the month of November. Which means that reckoning may come.

In the meantime, while we work to regain power, we need to document everything they do. Because having attention called to it may actually stop some of it.

The Dems on the House Judiciary (ranking member, Raskin), have created a report on some of the terrible corruption. Obviously, this is just a snapshot, and certainly not all of it.

The report was released last week, just before Thanksgiving, so it did not get the eyeballs and the attention it deserves from the mainstream media (perhaps the dems hoped that it would serve in conversations at Thanksgiving).

Anyway, trying to give it a little extra attention now.

Here’s the press release on the report:

November 25, 2025

Press Release

Explosive Report Details How Trump is Exploiting the Presidency to Enrich Himself and His Family While Dismantling Anti-Corruption Safeguards and Pardoning Corporate Cronies

Washington, D.C. (November 25, 2025)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a new staff report revealing how President Donald Trump and his family have transformed the presidency into a personal money-making operation, adding billions of dollars to his net worth through cryptocurrency schemes entangled with foreign governments, corporate allies, and criminal actors.

“Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into the world’s most corrupt crypto startup operation, minting staggering personal fortunes for him and his family in less than a year. Meantime, Trump has been pardoning criminals who commit fraud through crypto and dismantling the regulations that protect legitimate American investors. We don’t know where all the money is coming from yet, but America has never seen corruption on this scale take place inside the White House. This Report shows how Trump’s so-called ‘pro-crypto agenda’ is just one more Trump family self-enrichment plan, built on pay-to-play deals and corrupt foreign interests seeking secret channels of access and influence,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “Congress must expose this dangerous grift, and defend the rule of law against the profiteers and criminals who would destroy it.”

The report, “Trump, Crypto, and a New Age of Corruption,” documents how the President has used his office to enrich himself and his family—with crypto holdings worth as much as $11.6 billion and income of more than $800 million from the sale of crypto assets in the first half of 2025 alone—while dismantling federal oversight and safeguards that once protected Americans from fraud, scams, and financial exploitation.

Foreign actors and corporate interests have been buying access and favors from the President and his Administration by funneling money into the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures and making large, politically motivated donations. In return, these financial backers have received swift returns: regulatory rollbacks, policy giveaways, and the quiet termination of federal investigations into major players in the crypto industry.

The report presents extensive evidence of presidential self-dealing, foreign influence, and obstruction of justice, revealing how the Trump Administration’s crypto policies were designed to advance Trump and his family’s personal financial interests at the expense of the law, ethics, and national security. Key findings include:

President Trump and his family have earned hundreds of millions of dollars and added billions to their net worth through a network of cryptocurrency ventures launched during and after the 2024 campaign, including World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP memecoin.

The Trump family’s crypto ventures have attracted substantial investments from foreign nationals and state-linked entities seeking to curry favor with the Administration—raising severe constitutional, ethical, and national security concerns.

The Trump Administration has intervened to halt or terminate federal investigations and enforcement actions involving multiple cryptocurrency firms that have donated to the President or invested in his companies, including Coinbase, Gemini, Robinhood, Ripple, Crypto.com, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and Kraken.

Trump has issued pardons and rolled back sanctions for known bad actors that have provided financial support to his ventures.

The Administration has systematically dismantled anti-corruption and financial integrity safeguards, including dissolving the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), and repealing investor protection rules adopted during the Biden Administration—moves that have directly advanced the President’s personal financial interests.

President Trump and his family kept lining their pockets while he and his allies in Congress closed down the federal government—refusing to extend tax credits to make healthcare affordable for American families, putting continued food benefits for women and children in doubt, and placing active-duty military personnel in danger of missing their next paycheck.

The Committee’s report warns that Trump’s ability to accumulate billions of dollars through his family’s cryptocurrency ventures in less than a year exposes severe weaknesses in the nation’s campaign finance, conflict-of-interest, and anti-bribery laws, and underscores the urgent need for congressional reforms to restore accountability and integrity to the presidency.

Click here to read the report.

Here is the executive summary of the report:

Since taking office, President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Congress have cut funding to Medicaid and Medicare, thrown millions of Americans off their health insurance, refused to extend tax credits that help make healthcare more affordable, and used a government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire federal civil servants and withhold food benefits for 42 million American citizens, including children, individuals with disabilities, and veterans. At the same time, President Trump and his family have been pocketing billions of dollars through corruption of unprecedented scale. This report shows how the President has leveraged his office to make himself a crypto billionaire and how he has extended broad protection to fraudsters, scam artists, and other online criminals—who, in turn, repay the President and his family with millions of dollars in tribute. Perhaps most troublingly, these crypto ventures allow anyone—including foreign governments, organized crime groups, corporate interests, and criminals seeking pardons and persons seeking government contracts, appointments, or other presidential favors—to secretly place huge sums of money directly into the President’s pockets. In the year since his victory in the 2024 election, Donald Trump’s fortune has expanded monumentally, largely because of his crypto dealings. According to Reuters, the Trump family raked in more than $800 million in income from sales of crypto assets in the first half of 2025 alone.

Although it is difficult to determine the precise value of President Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings, public reports make clear the number is in the billions with some estimates putting the value of the holdings as high as $11.6 billion. He has built this wealth from the Oval Office by steering investment to his family firm, shielding his investors from federal fraud and securities investigations and prosecutions, bilking his political base, and degrading the federal agencies ordinarily responsible for investigating bribery and tracking known bad actors

Yeah, not my usual good news, but we need to commend the Ds in the House for doing their jobs while the Rs tweet, complain about the president in private, and take extended vacations.

I also think it’s important to have a sense of how much the felon and the felon’s family have stolen during the first year. Getting this story out there may help us win elections (fingers crossed for the elections on Dec 2).

I hope we can claw some of this back.

More to add? Please post in the comments.

GNR for December 2, 2025

niftywriter

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 02, 2025 · 4:00 AM PST

2025/12/02 · 04:00

22443868 - bleeding heart flowers (dicentra spectabils). shallow dof

Good Day, Gnuville! I hope you all had a pleasant Thanksgiving. 🥧🧡🍗

I’d like to open with this nice discussion about Thanksgiving by Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman.

Something that really caught my interest and which made me appreciate Thanksgiving even more was that the two historians talked about what both Washington and Lincoln called on the country to give thanks for: this unique country of government by the people. I love that perspective. Maybe you will enjoy it, too:

YouTube Video

🫏 💙 Democrats Being Great 💙 🫏

🚨 Today is Election Day for the race for TN-7! Aftyn Behn has shocked the TN GOP by closing in on the Republican candidate to within 2 points. The seat was won by the current Rep. in 2024 by more than 20 points! Maybe this Democratic woman won’t be able to pull off the victory today, but if she comes within less than 20 points in this heavily gerrymandered red district, it’s a big win for Democrats and for her. (But, Newsies, Aftyn just might pull this off! 🤞)

‘Bananas!’ CNN analyst stunned as race tightens in deep red state, Nicole Charky-Chami, Raw Story, December 1, 2025.

Political analyst David Chalian told CNN that Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn has focused on affordability in the tight race in Tennessee's seventh congressional district, which could show major shifts in the historically Republican-led state.

"Listen, the fact that we are even talking about this race is bananas, right?" Chalian said. "Donald Trump won the district a year ago by 22 percentage points. But we're talking about it because not just this district. We've seen in all the special elections for the House this year, significant Democratic overperformance; now it would have to be turbocharged, and it would be a political earthquake if she ends up the winner in this ruby red district. But, you know, she's taking a 22-point district and getting both sides to spend millions of dollars to say, 'Hey, this is actually competitive.' That shows you the political climate that we're in right now."✂️

Van Epps and Behn are vying for the seat left vacant by Rep. Mark Green, a Republican, that could ultimately flip a House seat. Polling was showing the race is now much closer than expected in a district Trump won convincingly in each of his three campaigns

x
Still a longshot, but the fact that a district Trump won by 20 pts is now polling within two has the GOP in total panic mode www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/u...

[image or embed]
— Clara Jeffery (@clarajeffery.bsky.social) December 1, 2025 at 7:52 PM

Aftyn Behn’s rise challenges Tennessee’s GOP establishment, Russell Payne, Salon, December 1, 2025.

In 2024, Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from Congress earlier this year, won the district by 22 points. As of this morning, Behn is within 2 points of Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee for the seat, according to a survey from Wednesday.

Behn’s run also pushes back against what has become conventional wisdom in many Democratic circles: that Democrats need to chase centrist voters even harder by running more conservative candidates, in the mold of the former senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, who switched from a Democrat to an independent at the end of his career.

Behn’s success in the district, which encompasses much of Nashville and a large swath of central Tennessee, has been built on a progressive platform focused on improving the material conditions of the working class while refusing corporate PAC and special interest donations.

Sen. Mark Kelly… for President?

In attacking Mark Kelly, Trump is elevating a 2028 contender, Jason Kyle Howard, Salon, December 1, 2025.

By virtue of the Pentagon investigation, as well as rumors of his presidential ambitions, Kelly has received the lion’s share of attention. That’s bad news for Republicans and constitutes a major error on the part of Trump, whose actions have had unintended consequences: He has elevated Kelly as a potential 2028 rival, if not for himself then for his MAGA successor, whether that ends up being Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Donald Trump Jr. — who’s in second place behind Vance according to a recent poll — or even Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently announced her retirement from Congress.

Like any politician worth their salt, Kelly is taking advantage of the increased attention from Trump’s attacks. Over the past 10 days, the senator has been on a media blitz. With the notable exception of Fox News, he has chalked up appearances on every major network and cable news channel. ✂️

In interview after interview, Kelly denounced Trump’s comments and underscored his reason for making the video. “We’re concerned because of this president, with this secretary of defense, that we could have a significant problem,” he told Welker. “I’m not gonna be intimidated. I’m not gonna be bullied. Especially by people like Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth.”

x
Mark Kelly is not going to be silenced by the sick buffonery of Trump and Hegseth, two deeply unserious people. They picked a fight with the wrong guy.

[image or embed]
— Steven Beschloss (@stevenbeschloss.bsky.social) December 1, 2025 at 10:26 PM

😃 Da Guv meets with Da Pope

My governor visited Pope Leo XlV last month and this interview where he tells NBC Chicago about it is a delight:

YouTube Video

😫 💔 Republicans in Disarray 💔🫣

⚓️ The felon is the biggest drag on the party (of course)

CNN Data Guru Breaks Down ‘Disaster’ Trump Poll, Vic Verbalaitis, Daily Beast, December 1, 2025.

The latest Gallup poll shows Trump’s job approval rating at 36 percent—its lowest ever since his first term nadir of 34 percent, which occurred immediately following the January 6 Capitol riots.

“Look at this, in January, Donald Trump’s net approval rating: not too bad, not too great. It was at minus one point, right within the margin of error, breaking even,“ Enten said on CNN News Central, speaking with anchor Sara Sidner. “But look at this now, negative 24 points. Way, way down!”✂️

Currently on The New York Times’ polling aggregator, Trump’s average disapproval rating is 55 percent, and every tracked pollster predicts that Democrats will recapture control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.

Even Trump’s “favorite pollster,” the conservative McLaughlin and Associates, warned that Republicans are rapidly losing support from independent voters.

😵‍💫 And he’s not on the ball

Confused Trump, 79, Instantly Forgets He Just Refused to Comment, Will Neal, Daily Beast, December 1, 2025.

President Donald Trump declined to answer a question from a reporter—only to instantly forget and then confirm exactly what she’d just asked him.

During the flight back to D.C. from his Mar-a-Lago holiday stay on Sunday, a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One: “The New York Times reported you spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Did you?”

“I don’t want to comment on it,” he said before adding, without pause: “The answer is yes.”

'Dead giveaway': Trump revives rumors on cognitive health by blurting out 'brain' denial, Travis Gettys, Raw Story, December 1, 2025.

The felon’s MRI result, probably.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz challenged the 79-year-old president to release findings from the MRI test after Trump slurred him as "ret*rded," and Trump doubled down on the ableist slur when asked for comment Sunday evening aboard Air Force One, and then a reporter asked for specifics about that exam.

“What part of your body was the MRI looking at?” the reporter asked

I have no idea, it was just an MRI- what part of the body?" Trump fired back. "It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it — I got perfect part, which you would be incapable of doing! Goodnight, everybody. You, too!”✂️

"If Trump denies they did a MRI of his brain, then it sounds like they did a MRI of his brain," opined Bluesky user Zobear.

"90% probability MRI was on his brain," posted the Angry Staffer account. "Trump also says it’s ok to release it. Journalists, do your thing."

"If you had an MRI and didn’t know what it was taken for, it definitely was the brain," agreed Bluesky user bd-nola.

Staffers rattled by increasing focus on 47’s age

Something that has irked many Democrats for awhile is the way that the media never stopped harping on Joe Biden’s age (and implied infirmity) while seeming to portray the mango menace as almost youthfully energetic. I am here to tell you that is not really true anymore. Stories about 47’s age and mysterious health screenings are multiplying daily, and the Republican handlers, sycophants and assorted fluffers are getting frantic over it.

Leavitt Loses It at Trump’s Shrinking Schedule Being Exposed, Laura Esposito, Daily Beast, December 1, 2025.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt flew into a rage against The New York Times while doing damage control over 79-year-old President Donald Trump’s diminishing schedule.

On Nov. 15, the Times reported that the president has scaled back his official appearances by 39 percent—from 1,688 during the first 10 months of his first term to 1,029 this year. Their analysis found that Trump now starts his days far later than he did in his first term, with official events typically beginning after midday rather than at 10:30 a.m.✂️

As the Times also noted, Trump and his team often deflect questions about his age by criticizing former President Joe Biden, who at 82 was the oldest president in U.S. history and whose cognitive decline aides worked to obscure. Trump, however, will surpass that record when he finishes his term at 82.✂️

The Times’ investigation comes after months of Daily Beast reporting on the president’s diminished state. It also comes as Trump faces intensifying scrutiny over his fitness for office, particularly after multiple incidents where he has appeared to nod off during public appearances.

Notice that the Daily Beast often includes 47’s age in headlines… the WH is feeling the pressure because these questions about his age and health are becoming more insistent.

💪🏼 There are resistors everywhere, including within the badministration

FBI Agents in Coup to Oust Keystone Kash and ‘Clown’ Bongino, Sarah Ewell-Wice, Daily Beast, December 1, 2025.

The 115-page report was put together by a group of active-duty and retired agents and analysts for the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as a “pulse check” on the first six months of Patel’s tenure in the top job.

The blistering assessment slammed the FBI under Patel’s leadership as “dismal”, “all f---ed up,” and a “rudderless ship,” and concluded the director is “in over his head.”

It also included a bruising observation that Bongino is “something of a clown.”

The report, first leaked to the New York Post, spread like wildfire with a series of damaging headlines across numerous publications and has sparked debate over whether the inexperienced FBI director is hurting rather than helping the Trump administration and the president.

More cracks in the dam

[image or embed]
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) November 28, 2025 at 10:50 PM

⚖️ Appeals court disqualifies Trump’s N.J. prosecutor pick Alina Habba, rejecting DOJ challenge, Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, December 1, 2025.

KEY POINTS
- Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, remains disqualified, a U.S. appeals court ruled.
- The unanimous decision upheld a prior ruling from a lower federal court that Habba was unlawfully appointed.
- Habba was Trump’s former personal lawyer and a key figure in multiple civil cases against the president, including those brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and writer E. Jean Carroll.

🥙 🍻 To Your Good Health 🥂 🥗

Do you like pie? How about Pecan Pie? Here’s a yummy recipe from Atlanta! And it uses less fat and calories but is (supposed to be) just as delicious as traditional pecan pie. I like pecan pie so I am going to try it out. Still looking for a good recipe that uses maple syrup instead of corn syrup though!

🥧 Buttermilk makes pecan pie less sweet but just as delicious, Virginia Willis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 15, 2025.

Traditional pecan pie has a sugary, gooey center, with both fans who love it and foes who consider it too cloying. This buttermilk pecan pie recipe uses a lightly sweetened, spiced custard base made with low-fat buttermilk, eggs and all-purpose flour. If you like a traditional pecan pie, you’ll love this version. The lighter combination allows the rich flavor of the pecans to shine and reduces the fat and calories.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the pie crust, divided

1 recipe for a single unbaked pie crust or one premade pie crust, thawed if frozen

3 large eggs

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

½ cup low-fat buttermilk

½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ cup cane syrup or dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of fine sea salt

2 cups pecan halves

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare pie crust and keep in refrigerator until ready to fill.

In a medium bowl, In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flour, eggs, butter, buttermilk, brown sugar, cane syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Whisk until well-combined. Stir in pecans.

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and add the filling to the crust. Bake the pie until the custard is set and the pecans are golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Slice with a serrated knife and serve. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to four days.

🍹 Make mulled-wine sangria for a cosy and crowd-pleasing holiday cocktail, Dhivya Subramanian, CBC, November 27, 2025.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh blackberries, divided, plus more to serve

⅓ cup water

1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine

¼ cup maple syrup

1 cup orange juice

Seeds from 1 small vanilla bean (or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste)

2 rosemary sprigs

4 or 5 whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed

Zest of 1 orange

1 orange, thinly sliced into rounds

1 orange or blood orange, thinly sliced into rounds and cut into quarters

To serve:

Ice

Sparkling water (optional)

Preparation

Mash 1 cup blackberries in a small bowl until completely crushed, add water and stir, then strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a Dutch oven. (Alternatively, add 1 cup of blackberry purée.)

Add wine, maple syrup, orange juice, vanilla bean seeds, rosemary, crushed peppercorns, orange zest and orange rounds to the Dutch oven. Set over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until just steaming, about 10 to 12 minutes — do not let it boil.

Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.

Set a fine-mesh sieve over a glass measuring cup and strain out the solids. Pour the sangria into a large pitcher. Add orange triangles, reserving a few pieces for garnish, and 1 cup blackberries. Chill fully.

Serve in glasses filled with ice, reserved orange triangles and more blackberries, and top with a splash of sparkling water, if desired.

Serves 6

🤟🏼 Mental Health Break — this is surprisingly good! 😄

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🐩 💙 CG’s Picks 💙 🐩

Hello Everybody! It’s me, Curlygirly! Did you have a happy Thanksgiving? I did! We had loads of company as four of my human sibs came visiting! Some of them participated in something called a “turkey trot” (but I didn’t see any turkeys!) and we all had lots of delicious food. Me and Mama waved off our last two visitors Monday morning. We are very tired, but happy!

I was so busy being a hostess dog that I didn’t have much time to find stories for you. But I managed to fetch a few cool videos.

We had snow here in Chicago over the holiday weekend! And the animals at Brookfield zoo really enjoyed it!

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Here is a video about a sheepdog puppy who is learning the trade from a shepherd and his older, experienced dogs.

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🐕 Here is the We Rate Dogs top 5 dogs of November. One of them was featured in a GNR last week — the one whose cat sibling gives him paw massages!

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🐋 A whale of a story!

Imagine looking out your window and seeing a WHALE right by the dock near your house? Apparently, this is not the first time for these people!

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That’s all I have for you for this week. Bye for now! Luv, CG 💙🐾

⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️

⚡️ GOP goes all-in on culture war—and it's not going great, Kos, DailyKos, November 30, 2025.

⚡️ A Leaky Ship Is a Sinking Ship: Nine Examples in the Badministration, chloris creator, December 1, 2025.

⚡️ Consider this: Let’s agree to stop ‘keeping the peace’ this holiday season, Veronica Kirin, Waging Nonviolence, November 25, 2025.

⚡️ Really helpful! The playbook of every successful nonviolent struggle, Jamila Raqib, Waging Nonviolence, November 21, 2025.

⚡️ Have you signed up for Goody’s weekly newsletter yet? It is SO GOOD! Stop Forcing Holiday Cheer—Connection Comes in Many Forms, Many Ways to Belong, December 1, 2025.

⚡️🎧 What Sets Gary Stevenson Apart - And Why it matters: Barry's Economics, Barry’s Economics, YouTube, November 30, 2025.

⚡️🎧 Week 47 of the Trump Admin: Tragedy Strikes the National Guard, Airport Attire, War Crimes and More!, Daniella Mestyanek Young, Knitting Cult Lady, December 1, 2025.

⚡️🎧 Weak Trump Losing Physical and Mental Grip: Wolff | Inside Trump's Head, Daily Beast, YouTube, November 30, 2025.

⚡️🎧 Here’s a different take that made me pause and think: Weapons Herd Immunity is Keeping America Safe, Daniella Mestyanek Young, Knitting Cult Lady, YT, November 26, 2025.

💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙

That’s it from me and CG for another Tuesday. Remember to take good care of yourself and those you love. Eat nutritious food, get some rest and get yourself outdoors each day for at least a few minutes, if you are able. And while you are out, say “Good Morning!” to a stranger. 😃

CG and I are heading out for a stroll in snowy Chicagoland! Have a great day, Newsies!

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A Leaky Ship Is a Sinking Ship: Nine Examples in the Badministration

chloris creator

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 01, 2025 · 5:11 AM PST

2025/12/01 · 05:11

No administration likes leaks, except for the leaks they send out on purpose, such as trial balloons in order to find out how popular an idea might be, or to smear a foe or to praise a friend.

The felon, criming on steroids, stealing our money and selling his influence, has more reason than other presidents to hide facts. He and his maladminstration have fired people, lots of people, to keep unpleasant facts from coming out. Such as people in the military. The head of BLS (don’t like the economic data).

But the felon’s administration is leaking, and leaking badly.

Now, a lot of it is due to sheer, actually MIND-NUMBING incompetence and, well, cognitive decline (which can be lumped with incompetence). If you include a reporter in your group chat and don’t say off the record first, if it’s at all interesting, it will get reported! Also, the felon is the one who announced to reporters on AF1 that he had gotten an MRI, something left out initial reports on his most recent ~~annua~~l ~~semi-annual~~ who-knows-how-often? physical.

Incompetence is a sign of weakness.

But leaks that are both voluntary and intentional are a sign of weakness for an administration. The felon and his minions do not have control over everything. They go around shaking their big sticks, and sometimes they do real damage with them, but they have built up so much ill-will among those in the government (and everywhere else). People may not like their colleagues getting fired. They may not like how they are being treated. Moreover, the plummeting polls and the fact that the felon is often asleep in the Oval Office is helping people go out to the press and to tell the truth.

Anyway, here’s a list of NINE leaks, due both to incompetence and to the intentional whistleblowing.

Please, add more in the comments!

1. FBI talking to Allison Gill about the Epstein files.

I did a diary about this (amazingly, my most popular ever). We won’t revisit the details of what these people said about the Epstein files (which was plenty), or even about the incompetent process of trying to review (and presumably, redact) those files.

For the point of this diary the important thing is that they actually said it.

They were pissed enough to contact her and tell her about it. Lots of them.

Here’s her video on the matter.

YouTube Video

Now one reason there were so many leaks is because the administration involved so many agents.

Some were willing to talk, and we have to assume it is because they did not like what they were doing.

This leak is due to Incompetence for assigning so many people to the project, and running it poorly, but mostly voluntary, as people are disgusted by what they had to review.

2. X letting us know that Maga and “America First” has a lot of non American accounts

A little more than a week ago, X turned on a feature that showed where account origins are based. And we learned — or rather, many of us had confirmed — that a large portion of them were not based in the US. Nigeria, India, Russia, and the Balkans.

X/Twitter added a transparency feature to reveal account origins and expose bots. Instead, it showed countless MAGA-branded profiles posting from Nigeria, India, Russia, and the Balkans — shocking no one. After the backlash, the feature quietly disappeared.
— David Earl Williams III (@dewforpolitics.bsky.social) 2025-11-23T00:54:49.327Z

Not sure how to characterize this. Incompetence? Perhaps the people at X did not realize what this feature would show (that seems unlikely; they cannot all be that stupid).

Perhaps Musk realized it and it was a warning shot to the felon. In that case, voluntary?

Perhaps the people working at X were rebelling against Musk. That’s also interesting. And much more voluntary.

Yes, it was turned off, but we have screenshots. Who knows if it could ever be turned on again?

And the fact that it was turned off screams COVER UP. Which we should remind people of, again and again.

3. Republicans in the House telling people they hate Mike Johnson and the felon, and blame them for the GOP’s difficult position

Now, Marjorie Taylor Greene was not at all quiet about her resignation. Her resignation was not a leak.

But other members of the GOP spoke to Jake Sherman over at Punchbowl News.

🚨 Punchbowl News is reporting that more high-profile resignations are coming following Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise announcement last week, citing a “senior House Republican.”
— Jacob Redman (@jacob-redman.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T17:42:25.210Z

Remember, not everyone speaks up.

The iceberg goes much deeper.

And it’s not just the rank and file. I think Mike Johnson looks miserable. And, out in the rest of the country, including places such as Indiana, GOP in state legislatures are complaining about death threats and getting swatted.

Clearly these conversations on the part of GOP House members are voluntary, but driven by the felon’s treatment of the people who worked for him. People don’t like death threats or primary threats or just plain being ignored.

4. Hegseth got mad when Signal chats were leaked

In case you don’t remember Signalgate (there have been so many!) here’s a reminder about what happened. The Conversation

Depending on what you think of Donald Trump, his administration could fit either of the following two descriptions. Chaotic, vindictive and accident-prone, marked by mendacity, driven by impulse and bent on securing the will of the leader, rather than – as in the US constitution – the will of the people. Or it could be a government masterminded by a man playing 4D chess while all around him are playing chequers. A president whose deal-making skills and focus on outcomes ensure the security and prosperity of America and its allies.

If you base your assessment on the people Trump has chosen as his key national security advisers then, after the recent Signal chat group intelligence debacle, you’d almost certainly opt for chaotic and accident-prone, at the very least.

Looking around the Signal chatroom, who do we have? National security advisor Mike Waltz, Vice-President J.D. Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe and a supporting cast of other senior Trump staffers. And, unwittingly, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.

Still, despite this being entirely the fault of the administration, Hegseth has been totally paranoid about leaks:

Breathalyzer, anyone? ‘I’ll hook you up to a f***ing polygraph test,’ a furious Hegseth told acting chair of the Joint Chief of Staff in hunt for leak: report www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
— (@carpenter22.bsky.social) 2025-04-25T12:20:48.892Z

Some of this belongs at least, in the incompetence category.

5. Hegseth/the felon gave the order to murder people

Hegseth really hates the free press. That’s why he banned the old free press and is now planning to rely on a very right-wing press.

But not everyone hates the press. And so, people are talking. Now, the attack described in this article took place in September, so it took a while for it to reach the press and to get vetted and reported. But it was.

Washington Post, Alex Horton and Ellen Nakashima

The longer the U.S. surveillance aircraft followed the boat, the more confident intelligence analysts watching from command centers became that the 11 people on board were ferrying drugs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said. ✂️

The alleged traffickers pose no imminent threat of attack against the United States and are not, as the Trump administration has tried to argue, in an “armed conflict” with the U.S., these officials and experts say. Because there is no legitimate war between the two sides, killing any of the men in the boats “amounts to murder,” said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign.

Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boat’s occupants if they were no longer able to fight “would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,” said Huntley, now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law.

This report is based on interviews with and accounts from seven people with knowledge of the Sept. 2 strike and the overall operation.

In other words, 7 people talked to reporters. 7 people who, we can assume, are disgusted with current conditions in the military.

Why is this so very important? It’s because the felon and his minions, even though they have the titular command of the military, they take their oath to the Constitution. (Props to Senator Mark Kelly and others for reminding them of this.) And, over and over we have seen that many in the military do not like the felon, such as when

Even if these people are hand-picked (although this group might be as incompetent at picking loyalists as they are at nearly everything else), seven of them went to talk to the Washington Post.

Leaking is a big step. We have to assume that those who speak to reporters are just the tip of the iceberg of discontent with the felon and his orders.

This falls in the category of voluntary, and seriously so, as they would certainly be

6. The demolition of the White House’s East Wing

Amazingly, the felon and his minions tried to keep this unseen, when, you know, it’s out there in the world to see.

Dan Rather on the destruction of the East Wing: "The only reason we know the East Wing is being bulldozed is because Treasury Department employees, who work next door, defied a White House order by sharing photos taken from their offices of a national historic landmark being leveled."
— Michael Whelan (@michaelwhelan.bsky.social) 2025-10-24T13:00:18.634Z

How nice to see something from Dan Rather, who is a national treasure.

I heard a discussion on some podcast on how the bulldozing of the East Wing was like a gut punch for a lot of Americans, and that is when the felon’s polls started sinking.

Let us say well done to the Treasury employees who took these pictures and got them out there despite being told not to do so. This move was absolutely voluntary, although I don’t see how the felon could hope to keep this secret. We would notice that the White House looked different!

7. No backsies for Lindsey Halligan when she texts Anna Bower

Anna Bower Lawfare

It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11. I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix, having spent the morning reading news stories, occasionally tweeting, and watching TV. It was a rare day off.

Then my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

Lindsey Halligan—the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia—was texting me. As it turned out, she was texting me about a criminal case she is pursuing against one of the president’s perceived political enemies: New York Attorney General Letitia James.

So began my two-day text correspondence with the woman President Donald Trump had installed, in no small part, to bring the very prosecution she was now discussing with me by text message.

Over the next 33 hours, Halligan texted me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Through the whole of our correspondence, however, there is something Halligan never said: She never said a word suggesting that she was not “on the record.”

This appears to be due to sheer incompetence, which is in line with all of Halligan’s other work.

8. Maxwell’s getting golden treatment at Club Fed

We got this story due to a whistleblower — who was discovered and fired. Rusty Surette, KBTX

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - We chose a breakfast restaurant in College Station to meet on Monday afternoon, with hopes we’d have an uninterrupted discussion about her time at the women’s Federal Prison Camp in Bryan. She’d been fired from the facility for sharing communications from its most notorious inmate, convicted child-sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, with members of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C.

Her name is Noella Turnage; she’s 46, resides in south Brazos County, and is a longtime healthcare professional who had been employed by the Bureau of Federal Prisons since 2019.

She is also the so-called ‘whistleblower’ mentioned last week in a CNN report that said Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the sexual abuse operation operated by Jeffrey Epstein, had copies of her correspondence with an attorney and others shared with Maryland representative Jaime Raskin.

“I actually emailed them from work, from my Bureau of Prisons email address, and said, ‘Hey, this is who I am. This is where I work, and I have some things I think you might be interested in, and documents you may be interested in.’ I didn’t even specify what it was,” said Turnage.

Not sure on the timing of her leaks being discovered and her firing, but this woman was willing to do the right thing and to contact the press.

Even in Texas. Even someone who works for the Bureau of Federal Prisons. Too many perks for a pedophile.

Clearly voluntary.

9. Dementia Drips

The felon was the one who mentioned his MRI, an unforced leak, while on Air Force One Anna Commander, Newsweek

President Donald Trump told reporters while on Air Force One Friday night that he had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan as part of his "standard" physical last month and that "the result was outstanding." ✂️

The comments from Trump, 79, spark renewed focus on presidential health transparency and medical protocols for U.S. leaders. The absence of immediate details on the specific purpose of the MRI, combined with the president's repeated assertions of exceptional health, has generated lingering questions about both necessity and clarity in presidential health reporting.

MRIs are not standard. MRIs are also specific for particular problems.

The fact that the felon has been talking about it means that he himself is a great leaker. We have to put this into the incompetence bucket.

I didn’t include the stuff about Russia’s surrender plan for Ukraine, because information seems to have been leaked by Ukraine — and the leak was clearly to their advantage -- and was also just due to analysis of what was shown. I haven’t been following this that closely.

Any more? Please include in the comments.

From the GNR Newsroom, its the Monday Good News Roundup

Jessiestaf

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 01, 2025 · 4:00 AM PST

2025/12/01 · 04:00

Welcome back friends to the Monday Good News Roundup, that time of the week when your intrepid GNR Newsroom (Myself, Killer300, Bhu, and the GNR Discord) bring you all the good news to start your week off right.

And its MOVING DAY! Yes, I am writing this Sunday night, but tomorrow I’m going to begin my move to my new residence. Its more spacious, safer, on the bus line, and I will be living on my own again. Wish me luck!

Anyway, in honor of this momentous occasion, a special musical arrangement: The theme from the Jeffersons.

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Planting the first new national forest in decades starts

The planting of what will become the UK's first new national forest for more than 30 years has begun.

The 30-hectare Pucklechurch Wood will be part of the UK's new Western Forest, stretching across Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

We have a lot of work to do, but the process of fixing our Earth starts in a hundred little ways, and this is one of them.

Model based evaluation of HIV cure on HIV transmission dynamics

The development of an HIV cure is a global health priority, with the target product profile (TPP) for an HIV cure guiding research efforts. Using a mathematical model calibrated to data from men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Netherlands, we assessed whether an effective cure could help end the HIV epidemic. Following the TPP, we evaluated two scenarios: (i) HIV remission, where the virus is suppressed in an individual without ongoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) but may rebound, and (ii) HIV eradication, which aims to completely remove the virus from the individual. Here, we show that sustained HIV remission (without rebound) or HIV eradication could reduce new HIV infections compared to a scenario without a cure. In contrast, transient HIV remission with a risk of rebound could increase new infections if rebounds are not closely monitored, potentially undermining HIV control efforts. Our findings emphasize the critical role of cure characteristics in maximizing cure benefits for public health and highlight the need to align HIV cure research with public health objectives to end the HIV epidemic.

I am super jazzed I might live to see the end of AIDS

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New Yorkers foil ICE raid

For the second time in just over a month, a large-scale raid by dozens of immigration agents in New York City was met with a similarly large-scale counter-protest. This time, however, the protesters thwarted the authorities' plans before they began.

Multiple arrests were made on Saturday during scuffles on the edge of Chinatown, during which hundreds of protesters faced off with federal agents, eventually supported by the New York Police Department (NYPD), as they prepared to launch a raid in the area.

It comes just a month after a raid by 50 federal agents using military-style vehicles stormed nearby Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, and was met with a protest of hundreds in response.

Don’t mess with New York.

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GOP state Senator will vote no on redistricting in Indiana

Indiana state Sen. Michael Bohacek said Friday that he wouldn’t support an effort in his state to redraw congressional district lines that favor Republicans after President Donald Trump used a slur for those with intellectual disabilities to describe Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references and his choices of words have consequences. I will be voting NO on redistricting, perhaps he can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority,” Bohacek wrote in a Facebook post after explaining that he has a daughter with Down syndrome.

Once again Trumps aspirations to fix the next election fall flat on their face, and once again Trump is his own worst enemy.

Solar and wind are meeting and exceeding power demands

The world is clamoring for more electrons. It’s getting them from solar and wind.

Between January and September, the two clean-energy sources grew fast enough to more than offset all new demand worldwide, according to data from energy research firm Ember.

Power demand rose by 603 terawatt-hours compared to that same time period last year. Solar met nearly all that new demand on its own, increasing by 498 TWh. Wind generation, meanwhile, climbed by 137 TWh.

Solar and wind are kicking ass and taking names.

Democrats win key school board races nationwide

Democratic-backed candidates won numerous school board seats nationwide, unsealing Republican incumbents who rose during the COVID-19 pandemic culture wars.

Voters prioritized academic performance, fiscal responsibility, and routine school operations over ideological battles, leading to Democratic gains in key battleground districts.

Groups like Pipeline Fund reported strong Democratic success and plan to expand efforts to 21 more states, emphasizing community-focused school governance.

Step one to getting our country back is fixing the schools that the GOP broke, so this is a good step towards that.

We’re entering a new phase of the resistance

The news is moving so fast that it’s hard to make meaning out of each twist and turn. In a 24-hour span, Border Patrol turned tail and left Charlotte, Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting, and Mamdani both called Trump a fascist to his face and got Trump to say he would happily live in a New York City under his mayorship.

We’re indeed in a new phase of the struggle against authoritarianism in the U.S. — and it’s helpful to step back to track where we are and adjust our bearings accordingly. We’ve shaken off the early months of shock and the steamrolled losses. Now we’re showing we can sometimes defend and even get on the offensive.

Things are not going well for Trump. Its been only a year and he’s already flailing. I doubt he will last the full term this time at the rate things are going.

Vance’s chances of becoming 2028 presidential candidate are failing

And in the most recent poll in November, the vice-president’s margin continued to fall. According to the survey of 439 voters conducted between November 17 and 24, Vance’s lead over Trump Jr had plummeted to just 10 points. The latest results put Vance at 34 percent and Trump Jr at 24 percent.

Mark Shanahan, an associate professor at the University of Sussex, believes Vance’s apparent fall in popularity is linked to his connection to Trump.

“The issue for Vance is that he’s so closely tied to this administration,” Shanahan told Newsweek. “For the moment, he has to be in lockstep with the president. If he’s not, he simply isn’t doing the job he has been elected to fulfill. So, while Trump’s polling is languishing, Vance suffers.”

Yeah maybe he should have asked Pence how that was gonna work out for him.

Anyway, time for a music break: Green Day, Welcome to Paradise.

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Our Wins of the Week

Just ten months into Donald Trump’s second term and more than a year since he was reelected, the American people are sending a clear message in poll after poll that they are just not that into him.

This week, a new Reuters poll found Trump’s approval has fallen to a new low of 38% as a result of two distinct issues weighing him down:

Another reminder that Trump 2.0 Rise of the Machines is crashing and burning.

Student loan forgiveness is back

The Department of Education appears to have resumed processing student loan forgiveness for borrowers in income-driven repayment plans, following a brief hiatus due to the government shutdown. Borrowers on Reddit have reported receiving the “golden letter” from the department on Tuesday indicating that their student loans have been approved for discharge, and practitioners have corroborated these accounts.

Excellent news, something I will have to look into for myself one of these days.

ACLU of Oregon sues Trump

Protesters and freelance journalists are suing the Trump administration, claiming federal officers’ use of force against them during protests outside the Portland immigration facility violated their First Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Oregon, names President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security as defendants.

Good job ACLU go get him.

MAGA world left spinning after Trumps Mamdani meeting

A flurry of social media posts from Maga influencers have laid bare the disorientation felt by members of Trump’s base at the spectacle of Friday’s cordial Oval Office meeting with Mamdani, who the president previously painted as a “communist lunatic”.

“Wild to allow a jihadist communist to stand behind the president’s desk in the Oval Office. Sad to see,” wrote far-right activist Laura Loomer, one of Trump’s most fervent online backers.

She returned to the theme several times. “I had to drink a bottle of ginger ale today after seeing Mamdani in the Oval Office because it physically nauseates me seeing Islamic jihadists infiltrate our government and continue to get a pass to promote Islamic jihad and anti-American values with zero push back,” Loomer wrote.

Its kind of sad that this is what it takes for them to Turn on Trump but you know what I’ll take what I can get.

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Bolsorano starts prison sentence

Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to start serving his 27-year sentence in a 12 sq metre bedroom in a police base in the capital, Brasília, after his conviction for plotting a coup.

The far-right populist, 70, who governed Latin America’s largest democracy from 2019 until 2022, was handed the punishment in September after the supreme court found him guilty of leading a criminal conspiracy to stop his leftwing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, taking power.

The plot – which involved a plan to assassinate Lula and his running mate, Geraldo Alckmin – foundered after military chiefs refused to take part and the court later convicted Bolsonaro and six accomplices of trying to “annihilate” Brazilian democracy and plunge the country back into dictatorship.

And justice is served. I know a lot of people despair Trump will never get the punishment he deserves. All I can say is, I bet Bolsorano thought he was untouchable too.

Trump may be done with Kash Patel

President Donald Trump is considering removing Kash Patel as FBI director in the coming months, as he and his top aides have grown increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines Patel has recently generated, according to three people with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

Patel has come under scrutiny for his stewardship of bureau resources, including his girlfriend’s security detail and use of a government jet, and for his squabbles with other Trump loyalists.

Yeah it turns out that just putting some random guy in charge of the FBI was a bad idea. Who knew?

GOP Strategist warns of recent exodus

A prominent GOP strategist says House Republicans are so fed up with Congress that many are eyeing the exits — and he explained why this particular wave is “unusual.”

Strategist Doug Heye told CNN News Central on Monday that the dysfunction on Capitol Hill has turned Congress into a “bad workplace.”

“We could have had this same conversation last week, last year, eight, 10, 12 years ago. What we’ve seen in Congress, over now a generation, is it has become a bad workplace,” Heye said.

Yeah it looks like morale is at an all time low among the GOP congressfolk having to deal with Trumps BS, so a lot of them are quitting. And their loss is our gain.

And on that note I think we have enough for this week. Now for Pokemon.

YouTube Video

And now the cute corner.

YouTube Video

And that’s it for this week. See you next time from my new place.

GNR Sunday ☀️ 67 Good Pips ☀️ 2 Polls: WWtW? + Donate to replace the damage done to the White House?

2thanks

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday November 30, 2025 · 4:02 AM PST

2025/11/30 · 04:02

Three Gnus Dancing with Joy in Gnuville. Drawn for the GNR Authors group on Daily Kos by Starhawk. Uploaded 9/4/2021. Tags 3 gnus Gnuville community Good News Roundups gnhap

We began posting Good News Roundups (GNRs) in 2017. Our writers collect upbeat news about the nation and world, news that we do not get from down-beating corporate media. Choosing not to flee or freeze, with the help of Good News Roundups we engage (fight). We don’t passively wait for the future to arrive, we invite the future with our actions. At our cores, we know that doom-scrolling beats down and inhibits our physical and mental health, so we choose to wash and feed in a flood of good news. You can read more good news by our writers here.

Welcome to this Good News Roundup!

Welcome to Gnuville University, where we study Good News and focus on its beneficial effects on Our Bodies, Our Selves, and Our Communities. Here we are not plagued, infected, or infested by down-bringing news as brought to us by our major corporations, our traditional media, and our current federal administration, all of whom want to induce fear in us.

US Flag against blue sky. [Size small, 248 x 248] Tags Good News Gnus — We are fully clothed in patriotism, no specious garb for us.

The Good Gnus group is a community of readers, writers, activists, supporters, community builders, and patriots. We begin gathering every day at 7 a.m. ET to celebrate national good news. Our most active members are of course a subgroup of members of Daily Kos, whose Front Pages celebrate “News, Community, Action.” However, you don’t have to be a member of Daily Kos to be a Gnusie.

We are realists, not fools, idiots, or ostriches. We seek the truth. We know we live in a world where active, nefarious, and evil decision-makers do very bad things, and create stress and anxiety in us, our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, and our allies, and destroy people and systems we hold dear. However, we choose to focus on the good news that people create around the country.

Sometimes we ourselves create Good News. Together we are strong and resilient. We return regularly to these pages to revitalize.

In a Good News Roundup, the weight of bearing good news is not borne by the author alone: Gnusies can be counted on to adorn the comment section with good news.

We bring good news, we celebrate good news, and we create good news. We accomplish the latter in many ways. Our members participate in real-world activities to create justice.

Let us be worthy of the moment

GoodNewsRoundup brought us this in her Roundup yesterday. It bears repeating.

Mike Madrid, Great Transformation Substack:

I want to offer some perspective.

Every generation of Americans has been summoned to defend the promise of democracy. Some have stood in snow-covered camps with no shoes and no certainty of survival. Others have crossed oceans into fire, fighting for freedom not only for themselves but for the world. Some marched in the Deep South against the racist laws that have scarred us since our founding. And some have stood their ground at home, marching, organizing, speaking up, so that our institutions might endure and our ideals might live.

Now, it is our turn.

Our moment may not look like Valley Forge, Gettysburg, or Omaha Beach. We are not dodging bullets or charging trenches.

But make no mistake, we too are in a war for democracy. It is a different kind of battle, fought not with muskets and bayonets, but with ballots and truth, with civic engagement and institutional defense. The stakes, while less visible than physical combat, are no less meaningful. If we fail to engage, if we lose faith in truth or drift into apathy, the American project, the promise that people can govern themselves, will erode from within. This bloodless war may be quieter than its predecessors, but defeat for our freedoms and our Constitution would be no less final.

Let us be clear-eyed: we are not asked to cross icy rivers or charge into enemy fire. We are asked to vote, to speak, to organize, to protest, to resist authoritarianism not with muskets or tanks, but with conviction and clarity. It is not glory we are called to, but responsibility.

To believe that our time is uniquely cursed is a form of arrogance. We are heirs to people who endured far worse and prevailed. But to believe that democracy will survive without our effort is a form of delusion.

This nation has survived civil war, global war, economic collapse, racial injustice, and constitutional crisis. It has done so not by accident, but because enough people, sometimes just barely enough, rose to the challenge.

We must do the same.

This is a moment of choosing. Between fact and fiction. Between hope and fear. Between democracy and something much colder.

Let us be worthy of the moment. Let us honor Washington's quiet plea for courage, Lincoln's call to finish the work, and Eisenhower's faith in ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Today, fear has gripped millions of Americans, but the moment must be met with catalyzing action, not paralysis. Turn fear into righteous anger. Do not let it leave you frozen.

The cause of liberty has always depended on imperfect citizens rising to perfect occasions.

Now it depends on us.

Herd of gnus migrates in the distance across a veldt with acacia trees and hills in the dry background. Copyright 2thanks at dailykos.com 2025. All rights reserved.

What’s a Pip?

In the Sunday Good News Roundups, we post a brief note about a Good News item, a pip (a small seed), which could be a phrase or a sentence or two with a link. A section includes more information about a Good News item, usually an excerpt, occasionally a comment. Some Sundays bring no sections at all, only pips.’

How to read pips: Slowly and with pauses. I recommend taking a moment to process each Good News pip. Don’t just speed-read the list. Instead, possibly invite the pip to sink down from your mind into your body, maybe letting go of any fear or anxiety you may find. Maybe take a deep breath? Deep breathing is good. Smell and sip your beverage, nibble on a bit of food, look out the window, discuss with a companion, make a note to discuss it with or email it to a friend.

Poll #1: Who Won the Week?

Bill in Portland Maine in the kiddie pool at Netroots nation in Minneapolis

Gnusie Bill in Portland Maine lets me repeat the results of his research. He arrayed the following items in his popular Who Won the Week? poll in Friday’s Cheers and Jeers. Many people already voted in that poll. Please enjoy Bill’s on-point analysis and wit, vote in his poll, Rec his diaries, get on his bandwagon, send him a donation, and earn his blessing.

Cheers and Jeers archive and future editions here. Way, way more than 2 thanks to The One, our Wicked Wizard of Wit and writer of Who Won the Week, Willhelm von kosland!

James Comey and Letitia James, as a federal judge rules that one of "Trump's Angels" (Lindsey Halligan) was illegally appointed US Attorney, thus her prosecutions of them are null and void
The power of vaccines and early screenings, as Australia records zero cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking it in the 80s
Bloomberg News, for exposing how the Trump administration is working with Russia to forge the worst possible deal with Ukraine to stop Putin's invasion
New York's Gotham Football Club, for beating the Washington Spirit to win their second National Women's Soccer League Championship
Decorated American war hero and astronaut Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), for taking the lead in pushing back against Defense Dept. stooge Pete Hegseth's threats after 6 Dem veterans reminded our troops that "You can refuse illegal orders."
Everyone taking part in the holiday "We Ain't Buying It" boycotts of companies sucking up to Trump
Brazil's justice system, for setting an example we should've followed by throwing former president Jair Bolsonaro in prison for plotting a coup attempt after he lost his reelection bid
Pennsylvania's legislature and Governor Josh Shapiro (D), for enacting a bill that prevents discrimination based on hairstyle
Whoever ended up with the long end of the wishbone on Thanksgiving

This way to Bill’s Friday poll → here.

Which item did you vote for? Why?

Who made a winning move after Bill's deadline on Friday?

Above Image: Bill in Portland Maine in the kiddie pool at Netroots Nation in Minneapolis.

ICYMU: This Week in Gnuville

In case you missed us: Miss a day or two? Need more Good News? Need a respite from ruin scrolling? New to Good News Roundups? Kicking doom scrolling out of your life?

Three writers of the Good News Roundup on Daily Kos stand in front of a good gnu. Image created by Edward Song:

10 Things For Which I Give Thanks. Saturday GNR
GoodNewsRoundup

GNR for Friday, November 28, 2025: Truth getting a boost
chloris creator

Thursday GNR: I Give Thanks That I Can Give Thanks
Mokurai

Thanksgiving Eve Good News Potpourri: Wednesday GNR 11/26/25
alamancedem

GNR for Tuesday, November 25, 2025 — The people have the power
arhpdx

From the GNR Newsroom: Its the Monday Good News Roundup
Jessiestaf

GNR Sunday ☀️ 68 Good Pips ☀️ 2 Polls: WWtW? + Support CA's new laws which limit federal thugs?
2thanks

Sunday the 23rd dawns upon us. This year, the 23rd is a mere 5 days until the Great American Gathering unto Turkey and all the Trimmings Day…...complete with out-of-town relatives and family connections in frequent cases. Thank you each and all for taking a break from a) starting to thaw the turkey, b) fretting about politics around the table (a serious concern for many) and c) getting enough fixin’s ready in order to serve pumpkin pie slices UNDER the home made whipped cream (which is REQUIRED to hide any vestige of the slice being visible-----you know, just like the Pilgrims did it…..)

In order to pace ourselves for what can be a good but trying week, you have come by the Gnuville Breakfast Brunch for…..a break! OK, you’ve got it: there are all sorts of stories, comments, recs, click-links, replies and chuckles here, and while often political, mostly served up (this morning by 2thanks) with positive, uplifting, affirming stories. It is good for us to NOT consume a steady diet of doomer-ism and corporate media, so please, come in. Find a sofa, recliner, wingback, ottoman for the feet, a rocker, or even a hammock here in the Lets Exhale Together Lounge. Tune in the WiFi, and beckon (beckon, I say!) one of the Brunch staffers for your drink order (coffee, tea, mocha, mimosa, margarita) and your Sunday Morning Breaking of the Overnight Fasting Meal.

Image: Three writers of Good News Roundups stand in front of a good gnu. Image titled "Good Gnus by 2thanks, chloris creator, and Mokurai." Created by Edward Song, 2024. Thank you, Edward!

Extra! Extra! by Jess Craven

On Sunday afternoons, Jess Craven sends Extra! Extra! emails, free for sharing. Therein she lists many good news items. Excerpts from last Sunday’s Extra! Extra! follow.

In some of them, she notes good resolutions of difficult situations. Perhaps you heard a bad-news item but did not hear the good followup.

Jess describes herself: “Activist, organizer. Author of Chop Wood Carry Water Daily Actions. Political content creator. Co-host of the Practivist Pod. Mom to a 🏳️‍⚧️ kid.” She’s #29 on the Substack political leaderboard.

You can subscribe to her almost-daily emails here. On weekdays, she provides easy action steps for resisting patriots. Here is the archive of all her emails.

It appears that U.S. Border Patrol has ceased its “surge” operations in Charlotte. They did a lot of damage, but the courageous and fierce response by Charlotte residents very likely shortened their stay…and saved lives. BRAVO!

After massive public pushback, the village of Palmyra, WI, announced it will no longer pursue a partnership with ICE.

Federal prosecutors will dismiss charges against a woman shot by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago. (Yes, SHE was charged. Go figure.)

Greystar, the largest landlord in the country, agreed to pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit over using software that incorporates non-public data from other landlords to set higher rents.

Pope Leo isn’t letting up about the treatment of migrants. Good!

An ICE agent is facing felony assault and child endangerment charges in Riverside County after being caught on camera detaining a 17-year-old boy at gunpoint.

Home Depot is on the defensive about their association with ICE as boycott calls grow louder.

Three years after its ‘radical ownership’ restructuring, Patagonia has given another $180 million to nature.

More than 30,000 students in Charlotte, North Carolina were absent from school on Monday in protest of ICE’s presence in the city and the deportations of their classmates.

13,000 square miles of Gabon’s Congo Basin rainforests will be protected under a recently signed landmark deal.

The House and Senate voted to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files. Finally! And the bill has been signed by the President. It means the DOJ now has 30 days to release the files.

A growing number of ‘repair cafes’ are popping up around the world to curb consumer waste.

Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since January 6.

A report found that renewables could increase developing countries’ GDP by around 10% in 25 years.

Four years after the European Union banned neonicotinoid use in fields, France’s population of insect-eating birds has increased by 2%-3%.

Iowa City made its buses free. Traffic cleared, and so did the air.

Siembra NC hosted a “Safe to Work, Safe to School” training at a church in Charlotte. Over 1000 people registered—they had to turn people away!

The House Ethics Committee is investigating Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a leading Senate candidate in Georgia, and his top aide Brandon Phillips. Not sure what for yet but it can’t be good.

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given millions of dollars in no-strings-attached gifts to tribal colleges. It’s apparently been a game-changer for them.

A company that sought a data center development in Kalkaska County, MI announced it is dropping the plan after clear opposition from the community.

In an announcement at COP30, Germany said it’s committed to contributing €1 billion ($1.15 billion) over the next decade to Brazil’s new global rainforest fund.

According to a new Fox News report, 76% of voters view Trump’s economy negatively.

A global survey found 41 percent of electric vehicle drivers would avoid Tesla for political reasons.

Trump is facing pushback from his own party in Indiana as he threatens Republicans who refuse to go along with his election rigging plans

A significant victory in South Carolina—SB 323 failed to advance out of the Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee. This dangerous bill would have imposed the harshest total abortion ban in the country while further stripping South Carolinians of essential reproductive health care.

Santa Fe passed a new ordinance that will calculate minimum wage based not on the Consumer Price Index alone, but on the cost of housing, too.

A mass coral spawning event is opening a critical window for reforestation work on the Great Barrier Reef.

Students will get free tuition at Johns Hopkins University if their families make $200,000 or less.

In a clinical trial, a tiny drug-releasing implant wiped out bladder cancer in 82% of patients. The new therapy is the most effective one reported to date for the most common form of bladder cancer.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is seeking a federal trial for a charge he was hit with during an act of civil disobedience against immigration agents inside 26 Federal Plaza in September — rejecting an offer to drop the case.

Democrats reached their largest lead in decades on the generic Congressional ballot.

Target reported sales dropped during its latest quarter. In fact, CNN thinks Target “may have hit rock bottom.” (We’ll see.)

A Tennessee judge blocked Trump’s use of the National Guard in Memphis.

A US Judge upheld a New York law barring immigrations agents from courthouses.

Zelensky announced that Ukraine will acquire 100 Rafale jets made in France.

A New Orleans man who spent three decades in prison before his murder conviction was vacated was just elected as the city’s chief record keeper.

Energy and environmental groups are suing the Trump administration—again! This time, the lawsuit is a direct response to the cancellation of nearly $7.6 billion in grants for clean energy projects in blue states, which the plaintiffs assert is politically motivated and violates the First and Fifth Amendments.

California has reached 16,942 megawatts of available battery storage — about one-third of the estimated capacity needed to reach its goal of 100% clean energy by 2045.

Lula stared down Trump and scored a tariff victory for Brazil.

South Korea will shut down all of its coal power plants by 2040 as it commits to “accelerating a just and clean energy transition,” the country’s climate minister says.

After a massive public backlash over the Coast Guard’s proposal to declassify Swastikas and nooses as hate symbols, the leader of the Coast Guard announced that the changes would not be going into effect after all. Nice job, y’all!

A new American Research Group poll shows just 35% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 62% say they disapprove.

Trump met with Zohran Mamdani, and to say that it went well for Mamdani—and therefore New York City as well—is an understament. (See the photo above.)

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt its National Guard deployment to Washington DC while a lawsuit over the matter plays out in court.

A judge ordered the release of more than 300 people detained by the federal government as part of the ICE operations being conducted in the Chicago area.

Voters now rate the economy worse than they did under Joe Biden. (Not good news, necessarily, but bad for Trump, so sort of good).

A federal judge ordered some public school districts in Texas to remove Ten Commandment displays from their classroom walls by next month, a victory for families who had argued that the posters infringed on their religious freedom.

The House unanimously voted to claw back language in last week’s government funding bill that could award some GOP senators hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for having their phone records searched as part of the January 6 investigation.

NPR secured a legal settlement restoring a multimillion-dollar contract that was revoked under pressure from the Trump administration.

For the first time ever, American car companies will soon be required to test vehicle safety using dummies that are representative of women.

Former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison is launching what he calls a seven-figure campaign aimed at “expanding the map” for Democrats in rural areas and small towns that tend to be friendly to Republicans.

Oversight Committee lawmakers subpoenaed major financial institutions linked to Epstein: JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, which have been accused of funding the sex offender’s exploits long after he was convicted in 2008.

A federal judge plans to ‘promptly’ move ahead with an effort to find out which Trump administration officials were responsible for flouting his orders in a high-stakes immigration case – and whether they will face punishment for their actions.

Members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma must pay billions of dollars to settle a flood of lawsuits over the harms of opioids, in a new deal formally approved by a federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday.

A federal appeals court panel rejected an effort by Trump to revive a “meritless” lawsuit against CNN for the network’s use of the term “Big Lie” to describe his false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

John Oliver launched a ‘Last Week Tonight’ auction, including an original Bob Ross painting, to support public broadcasting.

In NYC, Met Museum employees have petitioned to create a union. The proposal, for a union to represent nearly 1,000 employees, would make the Met one of the largest unionized museums in the country.

The Washington Post’s editorial board blasted Trump for comments dismissing the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a Tuesday meeting with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Five R’s of the Resistance:

I’ve repeated these for many years.

Resist: Protest on the streets, call senators and representatives, boycott, etc.
Rebel: Run for office, GOTV (Get Out The Vote), support a progressive.
Revolt: Change the laws, change the culture, build your communities.
Rely: Trust that millions of others are fighting the good fight.
Rest: Take care of yourself, we are in this for the long term.

Regular Good News

Chop Wood, Carry Water/Jessica Craven—
Civil Eats—
Democracy in Africa—
Fix the News (Future Crunch)—
Good For All News—
GoodGoodGood—
Good News Network—
Hopium Chronicles/Simon Rosenberg—
Media Matters for America—
News From the States— On Bluesky as ‪States Newsroom‬
Parnas Perspective—
Positive News—
Rappler—
Reasons to Be Cheerful—
The Brighter Side of News—
The Contrarian—
The Happy News—
The Optimist Daily—
The Progress Network—
The Smile—
Today: Good News—
r/UpliftingNews—
Upworthy—
Waging Nonviolence—

Herd of gnus migrates in the distance across a veldt with acacia trees and hills in the dry background. Tags Gnuville Copyright 2thanks at dailykos.com 2025. All rights reserved.

WineRev’s Good and Goofy Notes

Watch for WineRev’s History Corner in the comments: “Here there be highlights, lowlights, and sidelights from events of this date from years ago, so you might get a different and longer perspective on how humans have coped, as well as a few items that will help you win Bar Bets on Trivia Night at your favorite watering hole.” You can find all his comments here, even today’s, once he posts it. Tech Tip: You can search for >>> in Roundups to quickly find his comments.

WineRev, last Sunday:

Sunday the 23rd dawns upon us. This year, the 23rd is a mere 5 days until the Great American Gathering unto Turkey and all the Trimmings Day…...complete with out-of-town relatives and family connections in frequent cases. Thank you each and all for taking a break from a) starting to thaw the turkey, b) fretting about politics around the table (a serious concern for many) and c) getting enough fixin’s ready in order to serve pumpkin pie slices UNDER the home made whipped cream (which is REQUIRED to hide any vestige of the slice being visible-----you know, just like the Pilgrims did it…..)

In order to pace ourselves for what can be a good but trying week, you have come by the Gnuville Breakfast Brunch for…..a break! OK, you’ve got it: there are all sorts of stories, comments, recs, click-links, replies and chuckles here, and while often political, mostly served up (this morning by 2thanks) with positive, uplifting, affirming stories. It is good for us to NOT consume a steady diet of doomer-ism and corporate media, so please, come in. Find a sofa, recliner, wingback, ottoman for the feet, a rocker, or even a hammock here in the Lets Exhale Together Lounge. Tune in the WiFi, and beckon (beckon, I say!) one of the Brunch staffers for your drink order (coffee, tea, mocha, mimosa, margarita) and your Sunday Morning Breaking of the Overnight Fasting Meal.

Thank you for coming by with your thoughts, ideas and uplift to and for others here.

Science

Please share good science news with us! (Especially JWST, health, environment.)

A good place to look for science news if you are waiting for the Sunday Roundup is the archive of Overnight News Digest. On Saturdays, the OND always focuses on science, though not all of it is devoted to what I would call Good Science News.

Need more good news?

… arhpdx posted a list of good news sites toward the top of a recent Roundup, or you can find that same list in my comment: Good News Sources. Thank you, arhpdx and Mokurai!

[On a desktop, you could open that comment in a new Tab by clicking the timestamp, and then you could Bookmark that page or save it to your Favorites.]

Sunday, Mapday: Pin Dropping

Worldwide snapshot of members of Daily Kos's Gnuville (the Good News Roundup) on 14 May 2023.

Our map of Gnuville: 900 of us have shared our global locations!

To leave your mark, please Reply in the comments to tljdk or the map-building comment. Please indicate only your general location, NOT street number and street. (Please persist, we are volunteers.)

Image: Screenshot of the Google Map of the world showing locations of members of Daily Kos's Gnuville (the Good News Roundup group) on 14 May 2023. You can use the map’s zoom arrows to resize the view and focus on your pin to find neighbors. Please note that the Google Map, though convenient to operate, is visually inaccurate because, among other issues, it enlarges North America and shrinks Africa [Maps present a distorted view of the world by kos].

If you join us regularly, are you Following us? More than 490 Kosacks Follow us.

Tech Talk for Kosacks

Got a Daily Kos tech question? Let us know. No question is too basic.
Solved a tech question recently? Please ~~brag~~ mentor in the comments.

Solving Kosmail Issues

Workarounds for overcoming common kosmail glitches:

Always save a copy of the text of your kosmails in a text file. (You could have one text file in which you keep copies of all your kosmail attempts. I have a text file )
Always press the Preview button, wait, check your text, and then press the Send button.
If you get an error message, you can press the Back button and sometimes recover your text, if you forgot to copy it.
Later, check your Messages page. Your message may have been sent, even though you received an error message.

🎩 to elenacarlena who inspired this section. She also suggested starting with a very brief kosmail, and, if that one goes through, add text of greater length as a reply. But always keep a copy!

I should probably make “Solving Kosmail Issues” a diary.

Where Ever is Herd

Morning Good News Roundups at 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd at 7 a.m. ET, 7 days a week:

Mondays The GNR Newsroom (Jessiestaf, Killer300, and Bhu). Jessie’s invitation to the Good News Roundup Discord.
Tuesdays arhpdx and niftywriter.
Wednesdays 1st bilboteach, 2nd MCUBernieFan, 3rd WineRev, 4th and 5th alamancedem.
Thursdays: Mokurai: GNR on Bluesky: Authors Starter Pack.
Fridays chloris creator.
Saturdays GoodNewsRoundup, the one and only!
Sundays 2thanks — A brief roundup of Roundups, a retrospective, a smorgasbord, a bulletin board, an oasis, a watering hole, a thunder of hooves, a wellness, a place for beginners to learn the rules of the veldt. For instance, we do not welcome grammar-police comments in Roundups.

Evening Shade diaries at 7:30 p.m. ET every day: Sundays girasol. Mondays kraigo. Tuesdays Nanny Ogg. Wednesdays Momma O. Thursdays Nanny Ogg. Fridays girasol. Saturdays kraigo. After a long day, Gnusies meet in the evening shade and continue sharing Good News, good community, good actions, and many cats. Find most Evening Shades on the Trending List.

For more information about the Good News group, please see our detailed Welcoming comment, one of the first comments in our morning diaries.

How to Resist: Do Something …

”Build your communities,” said Kamala Harris

KOS Katalogue 2025: Support fellow Kosacks by buying goods and services.
Helping Humpday Diaries: Gnusies PeterHug, zenbassoon, and 2thanks.

A Cascade of Protests. Be proactive and find a nonviolent protest near you:

Sun Day protests — September 21
- Rise Up for a Sun-Powered Planet
No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings — October 18th
- Millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people. (Do not travel more than an hour.)
FiftyFifty.one — Find events
Mobilize.Us — Find events

How to call 3 Reps calls a day in less than 5 minutes

To determine my script for calling my Senators and Representative every day, I use the following:

Write a personal script for yourself: Here’s mine: When I read my introduction aloud, I can speak fast, and I forget nothing. Feel free to copy and edit my personal script and make it yours.
Chop Wood, Carry Water: Jessica Cravens provides great scripts every day.

Action Steps from Gnusies

Seven of our Good News writers regularly post a panoply of fantastic action steps in their Good News Roundups. If you don’t see a way to become active that suits your personality, your funds, or your time, please review their most recent diaries for many different options to volunteer and/or donate:

Donating?
Take the House in 2026!
Win the Majority 2026

Take the House in 2026!

GoodNewsRoundup’s fundraiser “splits our donations among the 15 House seats held by Republicans in swing districts. These are seats that were either won by a margin of 4% less and/or were won by Harris in 2024. In other words, these are seats we can win in 2026. Any money you donate will go directly to our 2026 candidate. We only need to flip three of these!” [Goodie]

By using ActBlue and not a PAC, GoodNewsRoundup keeps our funds out of the greedy pockets of Mothership Strategies and other grifters. You may opt out of sharing personal information with candidates.

Again: Take the House in 2026!

Win the Majority in 2026!

bilboteach’s fundraiser supports 15 races with no repeats! His fund splits donations among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents and other strong challengers to GOP seats. We need to win these races to have a strong House majority, especially with all the gerrymandering going on.

All the donations to Win the Majority in 2026 go directly to the candidates or is held until after the primary for the district. “Because I allow you to opt out of sharing your info, there are no scams and no text spam.”

Again: Win the Majority in 2026!

Thank you to our Mayor and our Downballot Doyen!

We announce new weekly totals every Sunday as a reply to the Welcome comment at the top of the comments.

Democrats Fight Back!

Please support the following Daily Kos authors. Follow the Democratic Party Spotlight Group here to find these stories easily in your Stream (DK Inbox for diaries).

And These:

Postcards to Voters: Watch for comments by Progressive Muse.
The Black Kos Community posts diaries on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. ET. Diaries here. This white guy is very, very grateful to the Editors and commenters of The Porch! And we love to see them here!
How to find Kosacks near you: The persistent mettle fatigue regularly updates: Where the Daily Kos Groups Are: Links to Daily Kos’s 280+ Local, In-Real-Life, Political, and Geographic Groups, Organized by State and Beyond, 2011-Present

Right horn, ear, and eye of a gnu, looking at us. — Looking at you, listening for your comment. On the horn of a dilemma?

… Say Something

We welcome certain comments in Roundups every day regarding:

National or local Good News.
Links, stories, music, videos, quotes, and posts from Bluesky. No tweets.
What was YOUR favorite good-news item, and why?
Your resistance activity.
We stick to Good News, no meows or databases.
Group Admins and 96% of Gnusies do NOT want images of the lying conman in diaries or comments.

In my Sunday smorgasbord Roundups, I especially welcome the following types of comments:

Who won YOUR week?

Questions about Daily Kos tech issues or our map.
Good News Roundups and you.
How are you resisting?
How are you supporting Democratic candidates?

In the comments of all Roundups, we do not welcome Grammar Police or Debbie Downers.

Notes on Images

^{Top Image: Our Starhawk created the above sketch of 3 gnus in brown, green, and black on white. Letters above and behind the three: “Happy Dance’in.” Signature: Nick Korolev, 1-21. — Thank you, Starhawk, for our dancing gnus!}

^{Section-Divider Images:}^{Gnus range across the veld in the distance with a few acacia trees and sunlit desert hills. [Copyright © 2024 2thanks, a member of dailykos.com. All Rights Reserved. Use is permitted on dailykos.com in articles by authors of the Good News Roundups. 2thanks.dkos@gmail.com.]}

A Little Bit About Me

Thanksgiving Week: We came, we saw, we celebrated! It was a week full of Thanksgiving for me! I hope your week was as wonderful as mine. Visiting Gnuville is necessary every day for many of us, and I can't imagine life without Gnuville: Good News, Camaraderie, and Action Steps! Thank you, my friends! 💙

A Little Bit About Us

GNR Authors have been busy behind the scenes this week, thinking, planning, and making decisions about how our Roundups could be better, how we could do a better job of bringing Good News to Gnuville. We are very grateful for the dozen authors who participated! More next week.

An idea for building and strengthening our Gnuville community: I encourage Gnusies who frequently participate in the comments, chit-chatting with specific other Gnusies in the comments for a long time, to go ahead and share email addresses via kosmail. Strike up a conversation. Especially if you are feeling isolated or housebound. Tell them I sent you. :wink:

Our Roundup is almost open!

Thank you for fighting for truth, justice, and Democracy with all us Gnusies! 40% of our Readers don’t visit every day, 50% of us do, and 10% are here for the first time! We all do what we can. Since 2017, we’ve shared positive news, laughed, organized, resisted, rebelled, revolted without being revolting, relied, rested, mentored, created, crossed rivers, chewed our cud, and laughed. Here’s looking at you, kid, and standing upwind! Beginners, you are cordially invited to comment!

As always, please share more Good News than I can find or provide.

This is a group diary, and by my power I declare this Good Gnus Salo(o)n open! Let the good-news sharing and community building begin! Laissez les bonnes nouvelles rouler!

Hugs and Love, and Power with, Not Power over ❤️ ✊ ❤️

2thanks (he, him)

May I please be your starfish? Please help my wife and me pay for her medical treatments. You could use PayPal (click “Friend”), Venmo, or CashApp. For Amazon gift card or snail mail, send me a kosmail or email for our details. Donors sent us $200 this week. Current total is $3,438 toward our $12,000 goal. Almost one third of the way there! If you already sent us a gift, I bow deeply in gratitude, Namaste. With 💙, 2thanks

Poll

169 votes Show Results

Would you donate to replace the damage done to our White House by the mangling mango?

Yes, a lot

Yes, a medium amount

Yes, a little

I don't know, maybe, neutral

This poll has flaws: Disorganized! Unscientific! Not random! You left something out! You left ME out! [Please let me know in the comments]

I never vote in polls like this because mind your own goshdarn, goldarn business, and/or something-something central federal homeland mumfle-mumfle Internet privacy

Pie, definitely pie, OMG pie! This poll is way too effin hard! You want me to click something and it's only now o'clock on a Sunday? Between you and me, one of us is out of their blooming gourd, and it ain't me!

The author of this poll is generally but not firmly opposed to adding "pie" to polls, but, obviously, as results will demonstrate, a not-tiny contingent of Daily Kos poll participants requires the option of pie, so here it is. Enjoy!

Herein the author also offers pie, as much as you want and free of calories. But with this option, you get the beverage of your choice: large or small, hot or cold, with herd or solo. Horn strap extra

Herein the author offers smoked salmon or miso as well as cream cheese, and bagels with or without your special beverage, and with or without pie. Bagels do not require horn straps

Something else which I will suggest or explain in the comments, and I know I can join Daily Kos and comment immediately, and I know frolicking Gnusies all over this blooming, greening Earth will welcome me [Please see the Gnuville Map]

169 votes Vote Now!

Would you donate to replace the damage done to our White House by the mangling mango?

Yes, a lot

13 votes

Yes, a medium amount

25 votes

Yes, a little

36 votes

I don't know, maybe, neutral

20 votes

67 votes

This poll has flaws: Disorganized! Unscientific! Not random! You left something out! You left ME out! [Please let me know in the comments]

0 votes

I never vote in polls like this because mind your own goshdarn, goldarn business, and/or something-something central federal homeland mumfle-mumfle Internet privacy

0 votes

1 vote

0 votes

2 votes

Herein the author offers smoked salmon or miso as well as cream cheese, and bagels with or without your special beverage, and with or without pie. Bagels do not require horn straps

1 vote

4 votes

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