GOOD NEWS UP TO JUNE 15, 2024

“From One Old Guy to Another.” Biden is wishing Trump Happy Birthday this week! Need talking points? These are included in Biden’s YouTube birthday message, linked below:

Trump personally dismantled Roe v Wade—Biden is fighting to restore it; Trump gave tax cuts to Big Pharma—Biden lowered the price of prescription drugs; Trump said climate change is… good actually—Biden passed the largest climate action ever; Trump promised to be a dictator—Biden did not do that; Trump fanned the flames of an insurrection—Biden did not do that either; Trump was convicted of 34 felonies—Biden appointed 100 Black women to federal judgeships. Trump is 78 years old this week—Biden is three years older. “Age is just a number but an election is a choice.”

Happy Birthday, Donald. YouTube

Hunter Biden’s trial has only highlighted Joe’s dignity. By finding him guilty, the jury in this solidly Democratic area has exposed Trump’s spin on his own prosecutions by showing legal lack of political bias. Even Lindsey Graham said, “I don’t think the average American would have been charged with the gun thing. I don’t see any good coming from that.” Hunter’s lie is a lie, but the president’s support of his son, and of the legal system, has been moving. The Guardian

Want to Love Kamala Harris? ❤️ Here’s a sixteen-minute interview touching on many topics with intelligence, clarity and composure. Compassionate. Moving. Presidential. YouTube

Biden and Harris have drafted rules to ban medical debt from credit reports and loan decisions. The White House has repeatedly focused on the issue of medical debt, saying it disproportionately harms low-income Americans and communities of color. Vice President Harris says,“Medical debt makes it more difficult for millions of Americans to apply for a car loan, a home loan or a small-business loan, all of which makes it more difficult to just get by, much less get ahead.” The Washington Post

President Biden announced an extraordinary decrease in crime in 2024. Data collected from over 11,000 law enforcement agencies shows that in the first quarter of this year, murders decreased by 26%, robberies by almost 18%, and violent crime overall by 15%. These follow major reductions in crime in nearly every category in 2023 – including one of the lowest rates for all violent crime in 50 years. The White House

Right-wing media is struggling. The many defamation suits and criminal cases against right-wing sites—Alex Jones, Salem Media, The Epoch Times, Steve Bannon, Newsmax, OAN—are having an effect. Protect Democracy promotes public interest lawsuits by going after their egregious lies. Plus, news fatigue appears to be worse for right-wing websites. Traffic to The Federalist, The Washington Times, and the Washington Examiner are all down 90% from four years ago. WGLIN—PBS/NPR

Thousands have signed a Christian petition rebuking Republican’s ‘Hijacking of Jesus.’ Faithful America, a group which supports social justice causes while opposing “Christian nationalism,” accused Florida of “indoctrinating students in the tenets of Christian nationalism” by offering a civics course that the organization believes “wrongly asserts the Ten Commandments form the basis for U.S. law.” Newsweek

There are two-time Trump voters who’ve had enough. The events of January 6 and general fatigue with Trump’s antics have made these voters “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to vote for him again in 2024. His conviction, his lack of remorse, and his disrespect for institutions are also weighing heavily. Sara Longwell in The Atlantic

Paul Ryan says Trump has put himself “above the Constitution,” and has called him “unfit for office.” The former House speaker accused the Republican and convicted fraudster of putting himself above the law. Salon

A former Trump attorney in Wisconsin has been suspended from the state judicial ethics panel. Troupis, a former judge, along with Kenneth Chesebro, another Trump attorney, and former Trump aide Mike Roman, were all charged by state Attorney General Josh Kaul last week for their role in the fake electors plot. AP News

A day of reckoning for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. At last. A federal judge ordered Jones to liquidate his personal assets to pay families nearly $1.5 billion in damages. A trustee was appointed to take over control of his estate. His belongings, from his gun collection to his jewelry, will be auctioned in something like a fire sale. He could even lose access to his account on X, where he currently has 2.3 million followers. NPR

The Port of Baltimore is open. Three cheers for the federal and state governments and the work of many hands. For eleven weeks, more than 1,500 responders, along with 500 specialists from around the world, operated a fleet of boats during the enterprise which involved 56 federal, state, and local agencies. Bridge reconstruction is expected to take three years. Reuters

Retailers are finally cutting prices. Ford recently marked down its electric Mustang Mach-E by 17 percent. Target is slashing prices on 5,000 items. And at Walgreens, some items are discounted by as much as 40 percent. The consumer spending slowdown that prompted these markdowns marks a turning point in the post-lockdown economy, after the sharpest surge in inflation in decades. Washington Post

Inflation pulled back in May 2024. The consumer price index declined to a 3.3% annual rate, down from 3.4% in April. Prices have eased for staples like gasoline and groceries. Housing inflation, stubbornly high, is falling slowly. The CPI data is likely welcome news for Federal Reserve officials, who may see it as evidence they can soon cut interest rates.

The U.S. is tightening car mileage rules, as part of a strategy to fight climate change. The new measure requires automakers to achieve an average of 65 miles per gallon for all the car models they sell by 2031. New York TImes

The Supreme Court unanimously struck down a legal challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone. The ruling preserves access to the mail-order medication nationwide. It’s not over, but safe for now. ABC News

The shout-out: To FridayAction.org from Robert Hubbell:

I have been urging readers to make their support for Joe and Kamala visible. I received a note from Paul Spector, who founded FridayAction.org. In response to comments from readers of this newsletter who have been wearing Biden/Harris tee-shirts to the grocery store, Paul is urging the thousands of members of his group to do the same. Here is an excerpt from his most recent newsletter:

“It’s time for us to be visible! The focus of Friday Action Group’s June project is to counteract the negativity and fear of the MAGA mob by making a statement to our community and to each other that we, and tens of millions of other Americans, proudly support the Biden/Harris administration!

Trump’s campaign strategy, like authoritarians and fascists everywhere, is to create the illusion of invincibility! The MAGA crowd flaunts their allegiance to Trump with their hats, T-shirts, flags, and other paraphernalia to scare us into silence, to make us think they are strong and we are weak, that they are powerful and unstoppable!!! It’s a lie!!! Don’t let them demoralize or frighten you into submission. Be vocal! Be visible!

Besides, don’t you feel better when you see someone sporting a Biden T-shirt or displaying a Biden yard sign or bumper sticker? Enthusiasm is uplifting. Help yourself and each other feel better in these scary times! Join thousands of others in this summer’s Visibility for Victory campaign!!! Go to https://shop.joebiden.com/shop-all/ to buy your Biden/Harris gear.”

Well said, and a great reminder by Paul! —Robert Hubbell

The Story. In our meetings this week, Paul told an inspiring anecdote about attending a college history course on the Holocaust. Two survivors visited and were asked what they wished they could have done at the outset. An expected answer might have been to have had a gun with which to eliminate Hitler. Instead, they wished they had a sign to counteract the Nazi insignia—chilling, intimidating, plastered everywhere. We don’t have a single emblem to slather against MAGA, but we can resist with Biden-Harris signs. We can wear blue hats and T-shirts. And more. Forgive the commerce, but last week people missed our subtle live links, so we’re repeating them here. Click on the Vote Blue T-shirt to buy it. Click here for a lawn sign, T-shirt, cap, and magnetic bumper stickers. Or google whatever represents you best. Buy multiples. Give as gifts. Don’t be cowed by the haters—it’s what they want. Wear with pride. Click here to read about our project. Join us.