Spontaneous Musings

1. I feel I need to explain in detail how a Bill becomes a Law in the United States. Since a lot of people think now that the Senate passed the Big Beautiful (more like Butt-Ugly) Bill - it will now go to the House and voila, signed into Law. Uh, no, this is not how it works, folks.

But wait, another lawyer did it for me! To the tune of I'm only a Bill, just a little old bill...via School House Rock, which oversimplified it.

How A Bill Becomes a Law by Anne P. Mitchell

First and foremost: In order for a bill to be sent to the president to be signed into law the House and the Senate MUST pass *identical* versions of the bill!  This is what we are seeing happen right now with the budget bill, the House originally passed their version and sent it to the Senate. The Senate made massive changes to it, then voted on that changed version just now, so now it goes back to the House. If the House makes ANY changes, then it goes back to the Senate for them to either vote on or make additional changes.

( Here is How a Bill Becomes a Law )

The process gives me hope. It did have a lot gutted from it. Also the Senate added 800 billion to the national debt. Meanwhile various States are in the process of passing laws to withhold federal taxes, since the federal government is not representing them in a fair and reasonable manner.

2. What is in the Big Butt-Ugly Bill aka the Big Beautiful Bill that the Senate Passed? (Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder apparently?)

Here's What got in and What got cut from the Big Butt-Ugly Bill

It went from 1000 pages to 940 pages.

In the bill: ( what stayed in the Bill )

On the Medicaid Cuts, what got in and got cut out of the bill:
( Read more... )

What is left out of the bill or was cut:

Public land sales
( what they were trying to do and why it was cut )

Excise tax on wind and solar, State AI provisions (The Senate stripped a provision barring states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI). )

For a more precise and total breakdown? Go HERE - The link is NY Times article via remove pay wall.

This tells you exactly what the Senate removed from the bill, changed, altered and left in and why.

Note they removed everything that wasn't budgetary related and broke the rules.

Example?

Measure to limit court contempt powers

The parliamentarian rejected a measure in the bill that would have made it harder for courts to enforce lawsuits against the Trump administration. The measure targeted preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges against Trump’s executive orders and other directives. MacDonough argued that limiting courts’ ability to hold Trump in contempt violates Senate rules.

Go HERE for complete list of no-gos that can't be in the Bill at all

Note, it's still a controversial bill.

3. Want a way to help either in the US or out of the US?

We The People Defend provides information on how.

It's a non-profit site that provides emails with contact information, and instructions on how to go about contacting Senators, White House, Congress, Etc.

You don't have to do everything or anything at all. There's no pressure. But it helps explain how the law works and how to help change what is going on in a pro-active way.

So far, folks have managed to change a lot of things by doing this, so it is working.

If however, you are too pissed off like myself to rationally call and explain in a calm manner, you might want to hang back for a bit or do something else?

4. [ETA: Folks? Be mindful of my blood pressure and please knock off the defeatist talk or keep it out of my journal. I get we're all worried, scared and angry. But it does nobody any good, including you. And I honestly have enough troubles sleeping as it is. I'm on medication for anxiety. So be mindful and keep it to yourselves?]

Actually, Jay Kuo states all of this better than I can - so I'm reposting his words below:

"Folks, some real talk.
( Read more... )

What he said.

The temperature dropped outside. It's now in the 70s. As Breaking Bad put it - night and day outside today.

At work, I ran into a neighbor in the lobby of my building (it's all Crazy Org).

He saw me, first. Told me this was his last day - he was retiring. (I honestly thought he was retired. He is definitely older than me.) We pass all the time in the laundry room and elevator - he lives across the hall from me with his family. He has a dog, and a neurodivergent son, who I think has either Touretts or Ausbergers?

Apparently he was a legal investigator for one of the agencies in Crazy Org since roughly 1993. I was somewhat envious - it sounded more interesting than editing legal documents and financial analysis and negotiations. I'm admittedly bored and frustrated at the moment. It's making me cranky? Well that and struggling with sleep, lingering chest congestion, and brain fog.

Below is a photo of Crazy Org today, standing tall against a gray sky.



It was bound to happen - that I'd run into a neighbor as they are retiring, considering Crazy Org employs over 75,000 New Yorkers.

I took a walk at lunch - it was mild, pleasant even, and overcast - also the last day of school in New York, apparently, so not that many tourists wandering about mucking up the works. Or many bikes for that matter.

And I saw a wild turkey in Battery City Park. Breaking Bad and I decided that the turkey probably escaped from Staten Island via the Ferry. [ETA: Where the turkey came from was/is a joke. We've no clue. We were just joking that it escaped a farm in Staten Island and came by ferry. (Which didn't happen). And since the photo is horrible - no I did not approach the wild turkey.]

( bad photo of a turkey )

Other than that the day was slow. So slow, I worked on my novel, played with spreadsheets, and played on my phone. Art History Major is off to see her family in Ohio.

***

Some good news?

The Senate Parliamentarian managed to take a hatchet to the Big Shitty Bill. Apparently you can't just add everything you like to a reconciliation bill which is meant to balance the government's budget. It's basically an accounting bill - that gets quickly passed because it's needed to balance a budget. They tried to add a bunch of stuff that had zip to do with that to the bill, which is in violation of the Senate's rules.

Parliamentarian removes medicaid cuts from Reconciliation Big Beautiful Bill

Violations Continue to Mount on Big Beautiful Bill

As one commentator aptly put it - adding the things the Republicans did to the Bill would be akin to balancing your household budget and adding a fancy new car for yourself.

For those who have raised valid concern following the Parliamentarian rulings knocking out some of the worst aspects of the GOP’s budget bill, Thune has reiterated no overruling.

***

R.I.P Bill Moyers

"Legendary journalist Bill Moyers has died at age 91. Moyers was the former White House press secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and leaves behind a distinguished legacy in American journalism. Over five decades, he became known for his in-depth interviews and thoughtful documentaries on programs such as Bill Moyers Journal and Now with Bill Moyers. A champion of public broadcasting, Moyers received more than 30 Emmy Awards, nine Peabody Awards, and the National Humanities Medal for his contributions to civic discourse. Rest in peace, Bill."

On the day that a wannabe king held a military parade (allegedly) in favor of his seventy-ninth birthday [in reality it was for the Army's 250th Birthday and the army was in very poor spirits, shuffling down the road - they also protested in their own way by marching to Creedence Clearwater's Fortunate Son] - across the United States, in all fifty states and territories, and in and around Europe inclusive of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, etc, people marched and protested against the wannabe king, and all dictatorships, fascism and kings, peacefully, side by side, carrying signs and singing songs in protest. Shouting so all could be heard: This is what Democracy Looks Like!

Over 11 million [ETA: actual headcount is now 12.1 Million] or 3.5% of the overall population showed up in the US alone [as reported by Alt National Parks and those who counted on the ground and provided reports as they happened - they use drones, and handcounters apparently, and multiple by size of crowd and square footage of the area], more than any other protest on record in the United States. They marched in solidarity and peacefully. Waving signs. They marched in the rain. It was pouring in New York City and in the sixities. They marched in scorching heat, across the Southwest and in California and in Florida, and Mississippi, and Texas. Veterans marched up the Capital Steps, and elderly women from nursing homes came out in their wheelchairs and canes and walkers, to march in their small communities. They stood on sidewalks in Metropolitan DC waving signs, and along highways, in towns. They formed signs with their bodies along the beaches of California. And in Mountain Towns they shouted down the slopes. They came out in droves. Filling city blocks for as far the eye could see.

All chanting. No Kings. Impeach. Remove. This is What Democracy Looks Like.

From sea to shining sea. Every single State across the country showed up and protested the wannabe king. Every one.

While very few attended the military parade, which had prepared for 200,000 and got maybe 10,000 [ETA:8,900 was the official count, don't trust the broadcast news media - they are lying. It was 8,900.] if that. And many were people protesting it, discreetly.

NYC outdid itself, with about 25,000 by 9 am, after noon, it had risen to well over 50,000, among the largest protests in its history astonishing those who've gone to them. San Francisco got creative and made Human Banner that can be seen from the sky ...



The police stood silently by. Some helped and marched with them.



They protested in small towns across America. They protested on Long Island. They protested in Alaska. They protested in Boise, and they protested in Grand Rapids. They protested in Arizona and in Texas. They protested in Nashville, Tennessee, and Talahassee, Florida. They protested in Red States and in Blue States. They came out rain or shine.

The people came and stood shoulder to shoulder, shouting and waving signs.
No Kings! No Kings! No ICE! Everyone is legal here! This is what true Democracy Looks Like!

And those of us who watched, cheered them on, and were there in spirit if not in body.

Links:

NBC NEWS - No Kings Day Protests

ABC NEWS - No Kings

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2025/06/14/livestream-video-of-no-kings-protests-from-across-the-us-how-to-watch/84200645007/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-kings-day-demonstration-protest-rally-trump-military-parade/

ETA:Mid-year estimates: U.S. pop is 345,275,807. Which puts 12 million at 3.5 percent. (If 3.5% of the population protests continuously, studies state they win. )

ETA:*Note a No Kings Rally wasn't held in Washington DC - and held instead in Philly, which had over 100K show up. Also people did protest in DC, they stood on the sidewalks holding signs in the Metropolitan Area, and some went to the parade to protest discreetly, but bravely, making their voices heard.

ETA: per the headcounters in their towns - posting on FB, it's reliable. They were on the ground and counting and got it from their local outlets.
( the headcount in various cities, towns and villages across the US for the protests - pretty much all the towns and cities came out to protest on Saturday, regardless of weather. Do not trust the broadcast networks - they are run by corporations. )

Yes, it's that time again - for the weekly Good News Report from the American Resistance and it's Global Allies in the War against Fascism, Cancer, Disease, and Climate Change, or just trying to fight for kindness and general well-being overall.

As always, mileage may vary on what is good news, or good news may well be in the eye of beholder. You can also call it the Hope Report if you prefer.
Whatever floats your boat, as my father used to say.

( the Good News Report )

***

Reading: When Leaders Attack Judges as Enemies, the Global Authoritarian Play Book and How to Stop It

As always, the good news depends on your perspective, and mileage may vary on this.

To the tune of We're Accentuating the Positive, Eliminating the Negative...and Hanging on to the Affirmative but Don't Mess around with Mr. in Between...sung by Aretha Franklyn (mainly because her version is the only one I like.)

A lot of it is just showing the positive results from non-violent resistance via the courts, etc. But basically as my source states: "We the people are pushing back and making good news." However, there's also a lot of positive environmental news - showing that progress happens regardless, and we are globally making progress in regards to managing climate change and preserving the environment.

1.The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction that will block the Trump administration’s unlawful reorganization of the federal government while the case proceeds.

( Read more... )

https://democracyforward.org/updates/massive-coalition-of-unions-non-profit-groups-and-local-governments-file-omnibus-challenge-to-unconstitutional-reorganization-of-federal-government/

The court filing can be found HERE

2.This week was the deadline for Congress to act on a resolution that could have overturned the ban on TCE [not to be confused with ICE, this is a toxic chemical]. But thanks to your voices, your stories, and your pressure—Congress didn’t act. The ban on TCE stands.

( Read more... )

https://toxicfreefuture.org/blog/we-finally-won-a-ban-on-toxic-tce-now-some-in-congress-are-trying-to-roll-it-back/

3. Calling for “freedom from partisan interference in programming,” administrative staffers at the Kennedy Center went public with a push to unionize following an overhaul of the institution by the Trump clan.

Go HERE

4. The MeidasTouch Podcast, a show critical of Trump, won Podcast of the Year at the Webby Awards.

https://www.newsweek.com/medias-touch-podcast-webby-award-donald-trump-democrat-2071984?emci=c60a435f-ab32-f011-a5f1-6045bda9d96b&emdi=d3638486-ab32-f011-a5f1-6045bda9d96b&ceid=417324

5. Trump’s support among Latino voters, including those who voted for him in 2024, is fracturing.

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/exclusive-trump-losing-the-latino-voters-he-won-in-2024-equis-poll-survey-registered

6.Democrat Sam Sutton defeated his Republican opponent to win New York’s 22nd State Senate District special election — a district Trump won by 55 points in 2024.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5310726-democrat-sam-sutton-wins-new-york-seat/

7. New record for batteries in California (CAISO) On May 20, 2025, battery discharge crossed 10 GW for the first time. That was enough meet a third of evening peak demand. Solar moved fast, but batteries are moving even faster.

https://energycentral.com/c/em/batteries-hit-new-heights-californias-energy-mix

8. In 2019, California's state wide battery capacity was 770 MW. California’s Energy storage has surge to 15,700 MW - including 2300 MW added since last September. That means a clean resilient energy grid to meet peak demand.

https://energycentral.com/c/em/batteries-hit-new-heights-californias-energy-mix

9. Fusion overtakes scission April 2025: for the first time ever, solar power generated more electricity than nuclear worldwide.

https://environmentamerica.org/center/updates/theres-now-five-times-more-solar-than-nuclear-power-in-the-world/

10. For the first time, a surge on China's renewable energy output has led to a 4.7% drop in the countries carbon and missions despite a 2.5% increase in power demand. This marks is major mile stone and China's energy transition.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-just-put-chinas-co2-emissions-into-reverse-for-first-time/

( the rest )

There you have it. This weeks list of how people helped slay their monsters and change the world peacefully and without violence. Slayers every one.

And an advertisement.

"Three weeks from right now, people will be taking to the streets across the United States on No Kings Day. Over 1,000 events are planned in all 50 states. Find an event near you: Click on the link and enter your zip code to see all the gatherings near you."

https://www.nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=indivisible

Join us on June 14th, all across this country, when we all show up and say NO, we have no kings, we are a representative democracy and we the people have a say in how our lives are run. Let's stand up for those being harmed by these policies, let's take care of our communities, let's take care of each other."

[No pressure, I'm not doing it - I can't physically and mentally do it. I do this instead. But if you can - please do.]

And here's a picture:

[Not only was I out on a much needed vacation last week, but I also couldn't find any good news on FB or my other sources while I was out. It didn't pop up on my news feed until yesterday and today. (I'm thinking my sources took a break for Mother's Day?)

It was quite distressing, not helped by Mother - who likes to watch CNN, ABC News, and occasionally FOX to see what a lot of her friends and neighbors are digesting news wise and to try and understand them better. Mother is 82, and an information junkie. She and my father spent most of their dates debating politics in bars to the wee hours of the night while they were in college. Every time I'd try to be optimistic or bring up good news, Mother would discount it and play devil's advocate, mainly because she watches CNN, Fox, NPR, ABC News, and all their discussions of it. I read it - in the Atlantic, New York, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. Although now, I'm overwhelmed with magazines. So not reading as many articles as I'd like. I'm trying to support a free press. Not everybody has one - after all. And I'm not taking mine for granted.]

That's clearly not necessarily good news? Or it is depending on one's perspective? Good news much like beauty and humor is more often than not in the eye of the beholder.

Good News from the American Resistance and It's Global Allies

[As always this is in the eyes of the beholder.]

1. Supreme Court extends block on some Alien Enemies Act deportation flights. Go Here.

The gist:

Supreme Court rules 7-2 AGAINST Trump on Deportations.
No, they cannot deny due process
No, they cannot remove these people under Alien Enemies Act.
And of course Alioto and Thomas were the dissenting votes. [Sigh.]

( Read more... )

2. The GOP suffered a stunning election loss in Omaha, Nebraska, where Democratic candidate John Ewing Jr. will go on to win defeat the longest serving incumbent Republican mayor in the United States former Mayor Jean Stothert. The election swung 20 points over to the Democrats.

3. New York’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signs a law that will require fossil fuel companies to pay for climate damage repair. The new state law requires the companies responsible for the bulk of emissions produced between 2000 and 2018 to pay out roughly $3 billion a year for the next 25 years. ( Read more... ) GO HERE.

4. A federal court denies the Trump administration’s request to stay an injunction blocking its ban on transgender military service members. [Source: Lambda Legal & Human Rights Campaign.]

5. US District Court mandates that ICE restore 133 international student visas and halts deportation proceedings. Go HERE

6.ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero is named to the TIME100 list for his commitment to America’s civil-­liberties tradition. Go HERE

7. ProPublica wins 2025 Pulitzer for Public Service for reports on deaths of pregnant women in abortion-restricted states. Ann Telnaes, who quit The Washington Post in protest, wins the 2025 Pulitzer for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary. The Pulitzer Prize board soundly rebuked Jeff Bezos by awarding the former Washington Post cartoonist who quit after her cartoon was scrapped. Book on Soviet dissidents wins Pulitzer Prize. "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans won a Pulitzer Prize on May 5. Percival Everett won the award for fiction for his novel James, a powerful re-imagination of Huckleberry Finn. [Oh lovely, Wales gave me that book for my birthday (at my request), looking forward to reading it after Parable of the Sower.]

8.The Associated Press wins reinstatement to White House events after a judge rules that the government cannot bar its journalists. Go HERE

9.In a win for voters, North Carolina settled with voting rights groups and the DNC to permanently block part of a law that required officials to reject some voters' ballots due to address verification issues and offered no remedy to fix the problem. Go HERE.

10. Harvard refuses to comply with a list of extraordinary demands from the Trump administration, asserting its academic independence and constitutional rights.

( the rest )

As always, good news is in the eye of the beholder.

Hope you found something to smile about or to relieve anxiety. I know I did.

It's late, off to bed. Have a good night. Or Good Night and Good Luck - Edward R. Murrow (historic newsman during the McCarthy Hearings in the 1960s, who reported against the Blacklist and the McCarthy Hearings.)

Also, here's another pretty picture...

Struggling with rage and frustration, and a sense of futility. I honestly don't know what to do?
( conversations with family )
**

I wanted to get another storage basket container like the one I'd gotten about three years ago from Amazon, when...I found out Bestos is best buddies with the Doofus, and afraid of him. I'm not sure it really matters if I buy stuff from Amazon - most of it is from third party sellers, and it's low-priced. He won't notice. Meanwhile the stock is diving, which is a good thing. Dive Amazon Stock, Dive.

***

The rage sometimes threatens to engulf me. It hurts. It is a physical ache in the center of my chest, it's a catch in my throat, it's a throbbing headache, it's an ache in my feet...and I find myself reaching for chocolate or eating things I shouldn't. I meditate daily. Deeps breaths. Letting the thoughts roll aside like angry thunderclouds in the sky before lightening can strike. I look for hope in all the corners, and good news in the oddest of places. Even as my mind occasionally rages in futility.

The worst part? Is this feeling of powerlessness in the face of an encroaching darkness. I want to scream at people, shake them, until they topple - "WHY? WHY? WHY? WHHHYYYYYYYY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING TO STOP THIS? WHY DID YOU VOTE FOR HIM? WHY WON'T YOU IMPEACH???" The Whyyy part reminds me of the song Gethsame from Jesus Christ Superstar. I listened to about five different people singing this song over the Easter Holidays.
Ted Neely and Ian Gillen do it the best. Here's the Ian Gillen version - and his range on WHYYYYY is phenomenal.

This is my favorite song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and my favorite of all of their musicals. (Although the Tango between Che and Evita comes close from the musical EVITA). It's an odd pick, I know. Almost nonsensical. And it may sound strange, but the character that resonated the most with me from that story is Jesus. And that song just fascinates me - and it really expresses the feeling of powerlessness and despair in the face of the inevitable or what you know is coming but can do nothing to stop. It's almost better if you don't know it is coming...knowing and being unable to stop it, makes it a hundred times worse.

What a lot of people don't appear to know or realize about the Jesus story, is Jesus was a radical revolutionary and a socialist.( Read more... )

People, I remind myself every single day, are more than one thing. But watching what is happening at the moment it's hard to remember that. I am lucky. I work for a State Agency, in a liberal progressive state, and for an agency that is necessary and not solely dependent on Federal funds, actually it can to a degree survive without them. And while I live in a heavy immigrant community, all are well documented, and no ICE in sight.

But I am still angry. Still fearful. And I still feel much like Jesus may have felt...raging at a distant, and unknowable and often silent Universe.

As always this may depend on your point of view or your mileage may vary. I'm getting the news via verified social justice advocates on FB, I have several that I follow.

On a purely personal note? I wrenched my back last night struggling with IBS issues in the middle of the night. So was up for about two hours dealing with that. Went to work at 6:50 am, and for the most part was okay - outside of getting on and off the subway, on and off the toilet, and up and down from my chair. I had a heat pad on my back throughout most of the day. And alas, I'm working off of 4 hours of sleep. So suffice it to say? I am cranky. Proceed with caution. I'm not my best self when I'm cranky.

1. 12 states sue the Trump administration claiming tariffs cause illegal tax hikes. CNN and AP News Wire. Actually it's Thirteen, California is suing too. Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont are the others. I have a feeling more will join. (I'm right: "Gov. Gavin Newsom and CA state Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration over Trump's sweeping tariffs, arguing that it was illegal for him to use emergency powers to impose them." Newsom gave everyone else the idea, and when New York found out, they jumped on board immediately. Go Here [This is probably what happened? Newsom came up with the idea, and the other State Governor's and Attorney Generals - thought, wait? We can do that? Yes, we can! Let's do that!]

2. A new satellite, launched in March 2025, will detect and monitor wildfires globally, providing near-real-time data to improve wildfire response and management. Go HERE

On the same link:

3. Last month, world leaders came together at a U.N. conference in Rome and finally opened their wallets. ( Read more... )

4. It may still be foggy in London Town, but that fog is now a lot cleaner. A study found that vehicle emissions in London have dropped 27% since a 2023 expansion of a clean air program that charges the most polluting vehicles. ( Read more... )

5. The U.S. power grid added 50 gigawatts of solar energy in 2024. That's more energy added in a single year from any source in more than two decades. ( Read more... ) [On a personal note - I switched to Clean Energy about ten years ago, as did many New Yorkers. We have both Wind and Solar available. Mine is 100% wind, although my building is equipped with Solar.]

6. A devastating Tesla earnings report came out Tuesday… Net income fell 71%. Total revenue slid 9% from $21.3 billion a year earlier.
Tesla stock down 41% so far in 2025, suffered their worst quarterly drop since 2022.[Although from what I've seen, the stock seems to go up and down as does Amazon's, but it's been mainly going down.]

7. Speaking of stocks? I figured out why the "Trump's" preferred Bitcoin went down yesterday. Go Here and HERE.The Swiss National Bank has rejected holding bitcoin reserves, citing concerns over cryptocurrency market liquidity and volatility. ( Read more... )

8.Yellowstone’s bison herds reunite into a single group for the first time in a century due to successful conservation efforts. Go HERE

9.In 2024, global renewable energy capacity grew by 50%, the fastest rate in two decades. Go HERE

10.At Marjorie Taylor Greene's town hall, a protestor with a “Jail 4 Insider Traders” sign was removed. [People are protesting her at least. Although whether this is good news or not...]

( the rest )

Okay off to bed.

There's some hope in all of this. Also talking to mother tonight, who is a news junkie, fascism has been pushed back in various countries because of Trump. Canada which was on the verge of electing an ultra-conservative leader, and fascist, flipped the other way. As has Australia, and Great Britain. Also, France.

China denies being in any negotiations with Trump and wishes he'd stop lying about it. Meanwhile other countries are beginning to do trade negotiations with China which hadn't previously.

Also ...in the wake of Judge Duggan fighting back on the immigration issue?
"An immigration or administrative warrant is *not* a judicial warrant. You are not obliged to obey it. Indeed, you can let the person out the back door." Go HERE

And..for your weekend reading pleasure: Non-Violent Resistence Beats Violent Force in Effecting Social Political Change (I strongly believe this is true. Violence only results in more Violence. No good comes from it. All you are doing is giving the enemy what they want.)

The sun came out after three-four days of rain. It was warmer. I walked around Battery Park at lunch, looked out at the harbor, stopped and smelled or rather took pictures of the flowers, and managed to circumnavigate the insane number of tourists. (Foreign tourists are still visiting NYC at least and in droves, apparently they didn't get the memo? Because they were here in droves. I know they were foreign because they either didn't speak English, or with a heavy accent, and I know they were tourists because they were all standing in an insanely long line to go see the Statue of Liberty. New Yorkers - know they can do it whenever, and do not stand in line. )

And yes, my knees ache still (stupid arthritis) and I've a dull headache that I can't seem to dislodge (I blame the barometric pressure drops - which I kind of blame for the arthritis flare up as well - what can I say? I'm a humane weather vane. My body knows it's going to rain tonight).

Anyhow, without further ado...the Good News Report:

There's over 100 items, so I'm going to try and split them up into sections, for easier viewing - well to the extent that I can? That way you can pick and choose, as opposed to scanning down a huge list. As always, this may well be in the eye of the beholder? So your mileage may vary on the level of good news some of these items are?

Scientific and Medical Research, Animals, Space, National Parks, Climate Change, Environmental issues [Note this category includes court cases and legislation that involve environmental or medical issues, along with research advances, discoveries, educational programs, and position bits on the above. This is the first 46 items.]

1.Sequoia National Park’s caverns are having a moment right now. The stunning Crystal Cave has been closed for four years. No more. The sprawling subterranean landmark will be open again this summer. There are about 275 known caves in Sequoia and neighboring Kings Canyon National Park, but Crystal Cave is the only one accessible to visitors. The park offers 50-minute guided tours through mineral formations and rare geology.

Go Here

2. Construction begins for 40,000-square-foot women’s medical center in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Go HERE
The Center for Women’s Health at East Cooper Medical Center will be a two-story facility and serve as a central hub for women’s health services in the Lowcountry. ( Read more... )

3.Genomes of the apes Go HERE

After more than two decades of work, researchers have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species. ( Read more... )

4. Coho Salmon swam up the Navarro river for the first time in decades this Winter in response to the gift of rain, years of river restoration work, and dedication to remembering to giving everything on behalf future generations. Go HERE

5. Manzanita generously burst open hearty late winter blossoms - precious nectar for local hummingbirds. Go HERE

( the rest below the cut )

News from the Courts, Legislative Bodies, and the Political Resistance in both the US and Globally against The Doofus Administration [Includes court cases (on migrants, free speech, transgender.. seriously there is a long list), mainly court cases, and political news (mainly voting suppression cases among other things political), along with financial news/business news in regards to tariffs.]

1. Newsmax defamed Dominion Voting Systems, Delaware judge rules. Newsman settled a similar defamation case with Smartmatic last year.

2.In an unexpected win for antitrust, one of the Republican commissioners remaining on the Federal Trade Commission will save the agency’s investigation into pharmacy benefit managers by unrecusing himself from the case.

3. Hold on to hope (accompanied by action): Four countries—Brazil, Thailand, Zambia and Poland—have successfully reversed democratic decline in recent years.

4.A judge finally blocked the White House’s Associated Press ban. [That just keeps going back and forth...LOL!] Go HERE (Trump banned them from covering White House events for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, and this has been going back and forth in court since February. )

5.Sen. Brian Schatz is placing holds on over 50 Trump nominees. He has also placed holds on all nominations at the State Department, bringing his total to over 300 positions. Also Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced that he plans to place a hold on ALL Trump nominees going forward.[ I think they must have decided this after the last group proved to be well...a disaster is an understatement? Note this is important, since it prevents Trump for doing a lot of things.]

6. This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions. They are currently tracking 171 cases filed against Trump and his Administration. Tracker of Trump Administration Legal Challenges.

( The rest of the 37 items under the cut )

Items about social media, and other oddities that I can't slot into a category easily.

1. Bluesky’s Quest to Build Nontoxic Social Media
X and Facebook are governed by the policies of mercurial billionaires. Bluesky’s C.E.O., Jay Graber, says that she wants to give power back to the user. Go HERE

2.More than 100 people in need are expected to attend Passover dinners this weekend, offered by Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe Chicago at its synagogue in West Ridge in collaboration with Bubby Firas Food Bank. Despite rising costs, they served eggs and matzoh.
( rest beneath the cut )

Whew. For all the bad news, of which there is plenty, there is a lot of good news, which is reassuring at least. I'm trying to just post the Good News, since you can pretty much get the bad from well everywhere?

Mother attempted to cheer me up over the phone by stating that someone named Nathan Brooks (no, it's David Brooks - mother gets names wrong all the time), was optimistic because our country already went through this type of nightmare with another President who tried to destroy the economy and went after the banking, and stock market.

Sigh. Here's the Atlantic article she's talking about

( Excerpt From the Article )

Sigh, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

Who was he? In case you didn't make it through the above excerpt? A populist president in the 1800s who tried to become King.

"Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army (War of 1812 (the last time the US attempted to snag Canada, spoiler alert? US lost, Britain kept it) and the Native American Wars or American Indian Wars - which resulted in genocide, and Tribal Reservations, it was a horrific time in our history) and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress (at least he had a little civic background?). His political philosophy became the basis for the Democratic Party. Jackson's legacy is controversial. He has been praised as an advocate for working Americans and preserving the union of states, and criticized for his racist policies, particularly towards Native Americans. "

He was in all actuality? A walking nightmare. Among other things? Including but not limited to the genocide of various Native American Tribes and the Trail of Tears. He crushed the National Bank, we had to rebuild it, and thrust the US into a Depression. His policies lead eventually to the Civil War. And yes, the Democratic Party up until around the time of Roosevelt, was pretty much the asshole party. Both parties have had their periods in the asshole seat.

Someone on FB wondered if the Fall of Rome was as painful as what we are going through now? And I thought, does no one study history any longer?
Or even read the Bible for that matter? It was a hundred times worse.

Oh well, at least somebody is optimistic about this working out in the end. I know it will. I just don't know if I have the physical, mental and emotional stamina to fight my way through it? Maybe I need to go off all sugar and do more yoga.