A GOOD WEEK FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Trump stared blankly ahead as the verdict was read. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” Heather Cox Richardson, The New York Times
Colorado suspended ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis’s law license for 3 years over Georgia election lies. Ellis wrote that she “turned a blind eye” during the “cynical Stop the Steal campaign.” The Denver Post
Anti-Trump conservative lawyer, George Conway, was never in doubt about the verdict. If it will do your heart good to hear his matter-of-fact clarity about the outcome and repercussions, how Biden is going to win, how Trump will face the other three trials, how he will go to prison and deserve it, then here’s a fortifying thirty-minute podcast: George Conway Explains It All To Sarah Longwell
POLITICAL WINDS
The President is deep door knocking! Gotta love this. Instead of big fire and brimstone rallies, Biden is meeting with small groups across the country, unexpectedly, last minute—a Wisconsin grandmother and her two grandchildren in a community center, lunch with a North Carolina family in their kitchen, encounters with ordinary Americans, listening to what’s important to them. These micro events turn into campaign videos and first-person TikTok posts, viewed by millions. Here’s one on YouTube. Reuters
More deep door knocking. More listening. Positive feedback about Biden. In one recent week, Hope Springs From Field volunteers knocked on 250,000 doors and talked to 20,000 voters. 13,000 answered surveys in AZ, FL, GA, MI, NV, NC, OH, TX, and WI. (Most polls are limited to 400-1200 participants.) This chart shows what they’ve been gleaning, that Biden’s trend lines have been inching up in 11 states since March. Get into the beautiful weeds here: Daily KOS
More Simon Rosenberg. Can one have too much of his steadfast, well-argued positivity? Here, Rosenberg once again points out Trump’s poll lead is among voters not paying attention. Biden leads Trump by 4% among likely voters, people who voted in 2020 and 2022. He leads by 20% of Latina voters who voted in the last three elections and by 80% in a similar demographic of Black voters. Rosenberg reminds us that in the massive campaign being built now, we have tools to overcome the Right-wing Noise Machine. When people get more informed, they vote Democrat. YouTube
Karl Rove warns that the guilty verdict could cost Trump Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Mediate
Larry Hogan, GOP Senate candidate in Maryland, and well-liked ex Governor, told voters to respect the Trump verdict. Whereupon a Trump aide declared Hogan’s campaign dead, possibly handing the Maryland Senate seat to Democrat Angela Alsobrooks. Axios
McConnell sees incumbency as an obstacle to the GOP takeover of Senate. The Hill
“Defeat by Truth” supporters sign up to automatically donate as little as 1 cent every time Trump posts misinformation on immigration, criminal justice, civil liberties, or supports hate and ill will. Contributors can cap their monthly donations at any amount. The money raised will support a coalition of progressive organizations in swing states. While this Black Church PAC opposes Biden on his Gaza policy, defeating Trump is their north star. Their “Defeat by Tweet,” in 2020 raised $9 million, and they aim for $15 million by November. The New York Times
Democrats are changing their convention protocol to help Joe Biden. We hope you haven’t been worrying about this, but until this week, due to Republican machinations, Joe Biden was not on the ballot in Ohio. Democrats have moved their roll call vote to occur before the convention, satisfying Ohio rules. Newsweek
Bi-partisan election officials in key battleground states say they’re prepared for 2024 elections. Secretaries of state from Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Michigan joined “Meet the Press” to discuss how they’re dealing with threats and misinformation. A new election threat task force is prepared to respond quickly. There are checks and balances all the way through the system to the end. NBC News
Climate Voters have enough impact to shift elections. Climate concern is increasing among voters across the political spectrum. As a result, climate change gives the Democrats an electoral advantage. And, worth repeating, 8 million environmentalists didn’t vote in 2020. 13 million skipped 2022. The Environmental Voter Project accurately identifies these new voters and brings them to the polls, developing a critical mass “too big for politicians to ignore.” ABC News
MORE GOOD NEWS
Inflation is expected to keep falling through the second half of this year, says Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams. He adds that, while inflation is still too high, Fed policy is well positioned and the imbalances between supply and demand are easing. When this happens, interest rates will come down. Bloomberg
CLEAN ENERGY
Odd bedfellows plan to defend Biden’s climate law from a possible Trump administration. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (a deeply conservative organization—not the U.S. government, despite its misleading name,) and the American Petroleum Institute, two groups that fight liberal policy tooth and nail, who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, will now defend a number of its provisions, including ones that help them transition to clean energy. Politico
The Biden administration announced Thursday that New York is launching a federally backed energy rebate program, making it the first state to deploy a portion of $8.5 billion in funding authorized by one of the largest climate initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act. The rebates target low-income residents and can be used for heat pumps, insulation, electric stoves and other equipment that cuts home energy costs. E&E News
Large sources of lithium have been discovered in Pennsylvania, already existing in wastewater from Marcellus Shale gas wells. 40 percent of the lithium used in the United States could come from the wastewater in Pennsylvania. Other states have yet to be studied. Lithium is essential for computers and presently comes from sources like China and Chile. The U.S. government aims to have all lithium domestically produced by 2030. CBS News
AND FINALLY
Using solar panels over existing water canals. California is an arid, water-hungry state, using 4000 miles of open canals. Placing solar panels over these waterways will limit evaporation, and could save upwards of 63 billion gallons of water annually. Also, solar panels actually work better over water and, built over existing facilities, can help to protect any biodiversity threatened by expanding solar land farms. Youtube