The Good Gnus groupis 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. Often commenters create three times as many comments as Recommendations! If you cannot linger with us for hours, I recommend you return in the mid or late afternoon, learn who your favorite commenters are, and Find their names on return visits. We count on certain favorite Gnusies to bless us in the comments with humor, hope, history, and analysis every day.
Joan McCarter, Daily Kos Staff: President Joe Biden announced asweeping new antitrust executive orderFriday intended “to promote competition in the American economy, which will lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth.”
Biden wants to start breaking down monopolies, fight corporate consolidation, and give small businesses and start-ups a better shot at competing in the marketplace. It’s broadly aimed at monopolies and concentrated markets in industries including agriculture, airlines, broadband, banking, and health care. “The heart of American capitalism is a simple idea: open and fair competition,” Bidensaidin remarks on Friday afternoon. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s exploitation.”
Image:US President Joe Biden smiles prior to signing three Congressional Review Act bills into law during a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, June 30, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
By Myah Ward of Politico: President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a [previous] administration appointee, after he refused to resign from the post.
The move follows a tension-filled two-year tenure as congressional Democrats and elderly and disability advocates pushed for the president to oust Saul, who was known for his staunch anti-union stance that became increasingly controversial as the executive agency dealt with federal employee unions amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats also blamed Saul for delaying stimulus checks sent out earlier this year.
Vaccine Rollout — Good News
Andy Slavitt’s Tweet: Biden’s accelerated vaccine rollout has saved over 1 million people from being hospitalized & hundreds of thousands of lives based on a new Yale study. More work to do but vaccines save lives.
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Biden’s accelerated vaccine rollout has saved over 1 million people from being hospitalized & hundreds of thousands of lives based on a new Yale study.
Peter Baker’s Tweet: Such a remarkable change: In February, COVID deaths in the US topped 5,000 on the worst day. Yesterday, with two-thirds of adults at least partially vaccinated, it was 250, a 95% drop.
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Such a remarkable change: In February, covid deaths in the US topped 5,000 on the worst day. Yesterday, with two-thirds of adults at least partially vaccinated, it was 250, a 95% drop. pic.twitter.com/1vxga42ZLv
By Zarrin Ahmed, UPI: On the six-month anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday announced a number of departmental changes that it says will better protect officers and members of Congress — and offer new therapeutic support, including two wellness dogs. Acting USCP ChiefYogananda Pittmanannounced the updates in a statement titled, “After the Attack: The Future of the U.S. Capitol Police.”
Tuesday’s update detailed many changes developed or implemented since radical supporters of [the yellow foghorn] attacked the Capitol in a bid to disrupt Congress’ certification of PresidentJoe Biden‘s electoral victory.
Pittman noted changes in eight main areas — expanded wellness services, member protection, training, critical incident response planning, law enforcement and operational planning experts, equipment and technology, communication, and recruitment.
By Ellie Silverman and Jasmine Hilton, The Seattle Times:
The metal fencing and concrete barriers that encircled the Capitol after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the complex on Jan. 6. gave way Saturday to an open plaza filled with families lounging on picnic blankets, dogs on leashes and visitors in sunglasses and hats. The sidewalks where soldiers once stood holding their guns in protection of the complex now filled with walkers with strollers and bike riders.
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Emily Durham, 22, and Colleen Calhoun, 23, both residents of the District, said that they heard the fences were coming down and knew they had to stop by.
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“Now that it’s down and we’re able to walk around this beautiful day … it almost feels like normal again,” Durham said as she tugged at the leash of Harris, a black dog named after the vice president.
Kerry Eleveld for Daily Kos: Newpolling from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Maristreleased late last week found that just 47% of Americans think the nation is headed in the right direction while 49% say it is not. On their face, the numbers don’t seem particularly positive, while also not being overwhelmingly negative. But in actuality it’s pretty good news for President Joe Biden and Democrats for a couple of reasons.
First is the fact that the numbers represent a dramatic improvement from January, when the same poll found that just 20% of respondents viewed the nation as on track in the days following the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. At the time, fully 75% of respondents said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
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So sitting around 42% or higher on the “right track” measure is actually pretty good territory.
As the United States prepares to pull the last of its troops from Afghanistan, most recently abruptly turning over Bagram Airfield to Afghan authorities, the journey the U.S. has taken from the beginning of its longest war to what appears to be its end is one that many Americans would just as soon forget.
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The U.S. poured $2 trillion into trying to rebuild the country in the image of a Western democracy, but public opinion surveys now indicate aclear majority of Americans back President Joe Biden’s decisionto leave Afghanistan. More than one in three say they believe the war there cannot be won.
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The tone of Biden’s comments when he announced the troop withdrawal was far from triumphalist: “We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal, and expecting a different result,” he said. “I’m now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.”
Nikole Hannah-Jones Issues Statement on Decision to Decline Tenure Offer at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and to Accept Knight Chair Appointment at Howard University
Sherrilyn Ifill: If you read nothing else on this platform [NAACP Legal Defense Fund] today, take a moment and read the entire statement from @nhannahjones on her decision not to take the Knight Chair at UNC, and to teach instead as a tenured professor at @HowardU.
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If you read nothing else on this platform today, take a moment and read the entire statement from @nhannahjones on her decision not to take the Knight Chair at UNC, and to teach instead as a tenured professor at @HowardU. https://t.co/MZ3YsKLiKk
Gnusie Bill in Portland Maine lets me repeat the results of his research. He arrayed the following items in his popularWho Won the Week?pollinFriday’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 earnhis blessing.
President Jimmy and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, for celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary
Howard University, after dithering over tenure by UNC results in Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones accepting a position there…with tenure
NASA’s Vanessa Wyche, who becomes the first Black woman director of a space center (Johnson Space Center)…and Janet Petro, now the first female director of Kennedy Space Center
The American patriots who chased the racist “Patriot Front” marchers in their little Nazi costumes out of Philadelphia
The medical personnel and essential workers who helped New York City through the COVID-19 pandemic, as New York City throws a ticker tape parade to thank them
Team Biden-Harris: opens White House for July 4th BBQ to thank COVID responders; economic recovery humming; announces 8/31 end of Afghanistan misadventure; issues anti-trust executive order
Chile, whose constitutional assembly held its first convention to create the world’s first constitution drafted by an equal number of women and men
Zaila Avante-garde, 14, the first African American winner of the National Spelling Bee (and the first winner from Louisiana)
The war on cancer, as the latest data show death rates falling in men, women, and all racial/ethnic groups, led by a drop in melanoma and lung cancer
Karma, as Rudy Giuliani is suspended from practicing law in both New York and DC
Who won the week for you? Who made a winning move after Bill’s deadline on Friday?
Science
Science gives us the headlights to let us see the risks along our road. Recent findings may be deeply troubling. However, they give us hope because they show us how to fix things.
Over 80% of Earth’s oceans remain unmapped. Saildrone intends to map the world’s oceans in the next 10 years:
The uncrewed, autonomous, Saildrone Surveyor will arrive inHawaiitoday after a groundbreaking maiden voyage fromSan Franciscoto Honolulu.
While ocean crossings are nothing new for Saildrone’s autonomous surface vehicles, the Saildrone Surveyor is a new, much larger class of vehicle optimized for deep-ocean mapping. During the 28-day voyage, the Saildrone Surveyor sailed 2,250 nautical miles and mapped 6,400 square nautical miles of seafloor.
Using renewable wind and solar energy for its primary power source, the Saildrone Surveyor is the only vehicle in the world capable of long-endurance, uncrewed ocean mapping operations. The valuable data it collects will help address issues impacting our world including climate change, offshore renewable energy, natural resource management, and maritime safety.
Open access to scientific papers allows for quick and free spread of new scientific discoveries and rapid collaboration between scientists.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is pleased to announce a two-year transformational open access (OA) pilot agreement between Jisc and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The “Publish-and-Read” agreement will allow corresponding authors at participating institutions in the United Kingdom to publish OA articles in PNAS without incurring article page charges. Researchers at participating Jisc institutions will also be able to access all PNAS content, dating back to 1915, free of charge. This is the first such agreement between PNAS and a national consortium; Jisc consists of 156 UK universities.
To leave your mark, please Reply in the comments totljdkorsilverfoxcruiser. Please includeyourcity and stateonly,NOTstreet number and street. (Please persist, we are volunteers.)
Image:Two maps of the United States, one above the other. Both maps indicate the approximate locations of members of the Good News Roundup community. The lower map contains many more blue pin-markers than the upper map.Upper image:A map of Gnuville from February 15, 2019 with fewer than 50 Gnusie pins.Lower image:A map of Gnuville from March 21, 2021 with 582 pins across our orb. [Thanks Kluger2!]
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Tech Talk for Kosacks
On a desktop or laptop, to banish the Daily Kos “Load More” buttons, clickthis link, whichopens the main Daily Kos page and shuts off the Load More buttons at the same time. After that, you’re good to go.
Got a Daily Kos tech question? Let us know.
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Where Ever is Herd
Morning Good News Roundups at 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd at 7a.m. ET, 7days a week:
Saturdays: GoodNewsRoundup. Heart-stirring and soul-healing introduction and sometimes memes to succumb to.
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.
hpg posts Evening Shade diaries at 7:30 p.m. ET every day! After a long day, Gnusies meet in the evening shade and continue sharing Good News, good community, and good actions. In the words of NotNowNotEver: “hpg ably continues the tradition of Evening Shade.” Find Evening Shades here.
oldhippiedude posts Tweets of the Week on Sundays at 6 p.m. CT. Our second evening Gnusie hangout zone! In search of a TOTW diary? Look hereor here.
For more information about the Good News group, please see our detailed Welcoming comment, one of the first comments in our morning diaries.
The 6 R’s of the Resistance
Joe Biden is now our President. However, we continue to stay vocal and active, we continue to pull Joe to the left, and we continue resist the GQP.
Refresh and Rest:Take care of you, the hero: Eat well, exercise, and rest.
Resist:Protest on the streets, call senators and representatives, 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.
Donate to the AMAZING Florida Rights Restoration!They are taking buses around Florida to empower returning citizens, remove financial barriers to voting, and increase public safety. They are really amazing
Make phone calls FROM YOUR OWN HOME to protect voter rights.There are phone banks onWednesdaysand onSaturdays.
The League of Women Voterswork year-round to combat voter suppression through advocacy, grassroots organizing, legal action and public education.You can get involved with them at this link
Volunteer with Black Votes Matterat this link. They have on the ground work in 10 states and people from other states can write postcards, phone bank, fundraise, and text.
Most important: DON’T LOSE HOPE. This is a giant and important fight for us but, win or lose, we keep fighting and voting and organizing and spreading truth and light. We never give up.
TheBlack Kos Communityposts 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!
We welcome comments inRoundups every day regarding:
National or local Good News.
Links, stories, music, videos, quotes, tweets. (No tweets or images of the saffron chlamidiot, please.)
Yourresistance activity.
In my Sunday smorgasbord Roundups, Iespecially 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?
Top Image: Starhawk created this diary’s top image of the rampant gnu and gave it to the members of the Good News Roundup group (Gnusies)! Thank you, Starhawk! This is a quite detailed sketch of a gnu drawn in brown, green, and black. A happy and dynamic gnu dances on its left hind leg in a classic rampant heraldric pose. Joyful letters prance above and behind the mane: “Happy Dance.” Signature: Nick Korolev, 2021.
The Roundup is almost open!
Thank you for fighting for truth and justice with all us Gnusies! 40% of ourReaders don’t visit every day, 50% of us do, and 10% are here for the first time! We all do what we can. For 3-1/2 years, we’ve shared positive news, laughed, organized, resisted, rebelled, revolted without being revolting, relied, rested, mentored, created, crossed rivers, chewed our cud, puffed methane out both ends, and laughed. Here’s looking at you, kid, and standing upwind!
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!
Power with, not power over ❤️ ✊ ❤️
2thanks (he, him)
If my work on Daily Kos helps you or gives you hope, please help support it here.
Are you pleased that President Biden has set a date to end the Forever War in Afghanistan?
Yes
200 votes
I’m ambivalent
8%
19 votes
No
0%
0 votes
I don’t know
3%
6 votes
This poll is flawed: Not organized properly, item omitted, not scientific because no random selection of participants, and/or other reasons
0%
0 votes
I never vote in polls like this because mind your own gosh-darn business and/or something-something central federal homeland mumble-mumble Internet privacy
0%
1 vote
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? You must be out of your blooming gourd!
1%
3 votes
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!
0%
0 votes
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
0%
1 vote
Herein the author offers smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels with or without your special beverage, and with or without pie. Bagels do not require horn straps
1%
2 votes
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]
0%
0 votes
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