![\"no](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/704794\/story_image\/22443868_sOptimized.jpg?1565194464\" "\\"no")
<\/p>\n<\/div>Good Day, Gnuville!\u00a0\u00a0I\u2018ve got LOADS of good news for you today, so grab a coffee, tea or whatever you like and settle in for a bit.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with some thoughts on hope:<\/p>\n
Krista Tippett Wants You to See All the Hope That\u2019s Being Hidden<\/a>, David Marchese, New York Times, july 1, 2022.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an honest answer: Part of my role is drawing out voices that deserve to be heard and shedding light on generative possibilities and robust goodness. Not goodness on a pedestal but the messy drama of goodness that makes it riveting and also means it\u2019s not just for saints. I talk about hope being a muscle. It\u2019s not wishful thinking, and it\u2019s not idealism. It\u2019s not even a belief that everything will turn out OK. It\u2019s an imaginative leap,\u00a0which is what I\u2019ve seen in people like John Lewis and Jane Goodall. This is how I feel about the GNR. None of us can maintain our good spirits constantly \u2014 especially in turbulent, worrying times \u2014\u00a0but we can try to step up and present the evidence that there is reason for hope. That there are people \u2014\u00a0many people! \u2014\u00a0in the world who are doing the hard messy work of trying to make the world a better place, step by tiny step. Reading about it, taking that reality into our minds and spirits, is the work of building the kind of muscular hope that has sustained us so far and will sustain us through the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n Here are a few threads that break down what that awful EPA opinion can and cannot do. Yes, it\u2019s a red flag and a sign that we have to fight hard to get the SCOTUS reformed, but No, it is not (yet) a catastrophe:<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of bad, apocalyptic reporting about yesterday\u2019s SCOTUS ruling on @EPA<\/a> CO2 regs for power plants. Please, read up on the actual findings and potential impacts. Good starter thread here from @drvolts<\/a>. <\/p>\n Upshot: EPA retains authority to regulate CO2 from power plants. https:\/\/t.co\/ObIVQTSCXc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Robbie Orvis (@robbieorvis) July 1, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n x<\/p>\n — EPA can still regulate leakage from oil and gas production \u2014 Michael Gerrard (@MichaelGerrard) June 30, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n I am kind of enjoying spending an hour or so going around the country looking for at least one item of good news from as many states as I can. Here\u2019s today\u2019s sample:<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the State of Arizona Over Restrictive Voter Registration Requirements | OPA | Department of Justice https:\/\/t.co\/zK0tmERXW6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n x<\/p>\n California will be the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants who are living in the country illegally, a move that will provide coverage for an additional 764,000 people at an eventual cost of about $2.7 billion a year. https:\/\/t.co\/Hch3pGqmQE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Associated Press (@AP) June 30, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n x<\/p>\n A Tallahassee circuit judge has struck down Florida\u2019s 15 week abortion ban, citing to Florida\u2019s constitutional right to privacy.<\/p>\n The Court notes that Florida\u2019s explicit privacy rights are much broader than those found in the US constitution. https:\/\/t.co\/wizw0NFKT5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Diamond (@BenDiamondFL) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Sometimes the universe does come back around to deliver some well-deserved a**whuppin\u2019:<\/p>\n White GA Candidates Who Ratf*cked Black Lady’s School Job Lose Elections Like Big Old Losers<\/a>, Doctor Zoom, Wonkette, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n You might recall that <\/span>ProPublica story<\/a> back in June about how rightwing activists in Georgia <\/span>mobilized a bogus panic over “critical race theory”<\/a> to drive a Black woman, Cecelia Lewis, out of an administrative job with the Cherokee County School District last year. Lewis had never actually heard of the rightwing moral panic over CRT at the time she took the job. But the position had “diversity, equity and inclusion” in the job title, so clearly, the astroturf groups insisted, Lewis had to be a communist trying to brainwash little white kids into hating America and themselves. Lewis resigned before even starting the job. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n And now, the Nice Time we promised you with our headline: Three of the white people who’d organized to force Lewis out of her jobs lost their election bids in Georgia’s June 21 primary runoff<\/a>elections. Two lost elections for seats on the Cherokee County school board, and a third finally sort-of conceded<\/a> Saturday that she’d lost a run for the Georgia House of Representatives, although she insisted the local board of elections had cheated her by not allowing a recount, even though she claimed to have evidence of serious “discrepancies” in the vote.<\/p>\n ProPublica reports that the two Cherokee County school board candidates, Sean Kaufman and Ray Lynch, were “defeated by wide margins<\/a>” after running as part of a four-candidate slate that promised to make the school board much more conservative. (The other two members of the “4CanDoMore” slate lost their primary runs outright May 24, without getting enough votes to force a runoff against the incumbents.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n My guv isn\u2019t mincing words:<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n And 100% of mass public shootings happen with guns. <\/p>\n As Governor, on behalf of the people of Highland Park \u2014 leave us the hell alone. https:\/\/t.co\/biBV75pWxA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) July 6, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Righteous words for an unspeakable morning:<\/p>\n Otters are thriving in \u2026 Iowa?<\/a> Benji Jones, Vox, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n \u00a0Over the last two centuries, the state has lost more than 99 percent<\/a> of its tall-grass prairie and 90 percent<\/a>of its wetlands.<\/p>\n By the late 1800s, North American river otters \u2014 one of 13 species of otters worldwide \u2014 were extinct throughout most of state, following decades of fur trapping and severe habitat loss. But in the 1980s, Iowa wildlife officials saw an opportunity to bring them back.<\/p>\n At the time, state officials in Kentucky were looking to stock up on wild turkeys, which Iowa had plenty of to trade. In return, Kentucky officials turned to an otter supplier in Louisiana named Lee Roy Sevin, who was selling the mammals for a few hundred dollars each. The two state struck up a deal: Kentucky would buy otters from Sevin and then give them to Iowa in exchange for wild turkeys. \u2702\ufe0f<\/p>\n The deal went through, and in 1985, a truck full of river otters arrived in Iowa. State wildlife officials released them at a large lake not far from Des Moines, kicking off what would become a 20-year reintroduction campaign. (The state later bought otters outright, partly with donations from fur trappers.) Ultimately, more than 300 of Sevin\u2019s otters were released in streams and wetlands across the state, including a lake about 30 minutes from Fairfield.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long for them to spread. While otters were likely still rare around Fairfield when I was growing up, there were roughly 4,000 of them in Iowa by the turn of the last century. By 2006, there were as many as 12,000, and the state opened up a trapping season (the very activity that drove them toward extinction in the first place).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Note: that trapping season \u2014\u00a0or at least some kind of humane annual cull or contraception \u2014\u00a0may be necessary to protect other kinds of wildlife (notably fish). Sometimes a wildly successful recovery of a species in a degraded habitat can have unintended consequences! Still, hooray for the otters!<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n 1\/ We’re proud to share that we have completed the rollout for our One Day project with @MichiganHHS<\/a> \u2014all MDHHS offices are now using an updated process to make same-day determinations possible for benefits delivery across the state\u2019s five largest public benefits programs. pic.twitter.com\/I1vhg1Xwff<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Civilla (@CivillaDetroit) July 1, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n x<\/p>\n NEW: Minnesota Republicans just accidentally legalized edibles statewide. One Republican lawmaker say he didn\u2019t realize what the bill was going to do when he voted for it and is now calling to roll it back\u2014 but Democrats aren\u2019t letting him. https:\/\/t.co\/P6SbVrC7Wc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) July 1, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n One really good thing that has come out of\u00a0Missouri this week (and here\u2019s hoping that Jason Kander will one day return to politics, if he is interested):<\/p>\n More good news from New Jersey:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n New York passes constitutional amendment codifying abortion rights in the state:<\/p>\n With national data on drug overdoses lacking, University of Texas project looks to help provide a solution<\/a>, Renuka Rayasam, Texas Tribune, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n The University of Texas project, known as TxCOPE, is one attempt to solve a problem exasperating officials nationwide who are trying to lower the record number of drug deaths: getting an instant, accurate picture of both nonfatal and fatal drug overdoses. Community groups are now using TxCOPE\u2019s data dashboards and heat maps to see where overdoses are spiking and then target those hot spots with prevention efforts such as naloxone training and supplies, said Christopher Bailey, project coordinator at Project Vida, a health center in El Paso.<\/p>\n It is one of the few projects in the U.S. pooling crowdsourced overdose data from harm reduction groups in a systematic way, according to Leo Beletsky<\/a>, a public health law expert at Northeastern University. Such projects compensate for the lack of an accurate picture of the decadeslong overdose crisis. \u201cIt\u2019s scandalous,\u201d Beletsky said. \u2702\ufe0f<\/p>\n Privacy is a key feature of the TxCOPE project \u2014 people need to be able to share overdose information without fear of consequences, Claborn said. Texas passed a law in 2021 intended to shield from arrest people who call emergency services during an overdose, but <\/span>it\u2019s narrowly tailored<\/a>. People who have a felony drug conviction, for example, don\u2019t qualify. And someone is protected from arrest only once. TxCOPE has a federal certificate of confidentiality that protects it from court orders, and Claborn doesn\u2019t share raw data with the state. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers and harm reduction groups say this nebulous data is better than what they\u2019ve had in the past. Even though the project\u2019s anecdotal data isn\u2019t thoroughly vetted, the step toward timeliness is great, Stein said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n x<\/p>\n “There are those in this country who thirst for power but have no love or respect for what makes America great: devotion to the Constitution, allegiance to the rule of law, our shared journey to build a more perfect Union.” \u2014 January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) July 3, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n \ud83d\udea8 Heads up!<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to have all the information and updates about the January 6 Hearings in one place, well, this is the link for you! \u00a0January 6 Clearinghouse, Just Security.org<\/a><\/p>\n Welcome to this all-source repository of information for analysts, researchers, investigators, journalists, educators, and the public at large. <\/span><\/p>\n Ahead of a series of public hearings by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol during the month of June 2022, Just Security<\/em> and Protect Democracy prepared a Primer that contains capsule summaries of key facts and findings to date and what to look for during the hearings<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n (see below the categories and sections you can click on and read all about it)<\/span><\/p>\n (from former White House counsel, W. Neil Eggleston, who should know!)<\/p>\n Pat Cipollone Could Go to Jail If He Refuses to Testify About Trump<\/a>, W. Neil Eggleston, Slate, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n Now that Pat Cipollone, Donald Trump\u2019s last White House Counsel, has received a subpoena<\/a> for testimony from the January 6 Select Committee, he faces two key decisions. He must first decide whether to appear at all. If he does appear, he must then decide whether he should refuse to answer certain questions by asserting legal privileges. In my view, Cipollone has no valid legal basis to refuse to appear\u2014and once in the witness chair, there are no valid claims of privilege that would permit him to refuse to answer questions relating to matters the committee is investigating.<\/p>\n Starting with the first decision, there is no proper basis for Cipollone to refuse to appear. Given the nature and gravity of the offenses that the January 6 committee is investigating, a failure to appear would rank as a disgraceful dereliction of duty. That is particularly true in light of the extraordinary testimony offered by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Under oath, she stated<\/a> that Cipollone warned his colleagues that if the mob marched to the Capitol, \u201cWe\u2019re going to get charged with every crime imaginable.\u201d The committee has the right to explore whether he made this comment just to a relatively low-level staffer\u2014which seems unlikely-or whether he similarly warned Trump and his close associates. The committee has also heard testimony<\/a> that Cipollone described a proposed letter from Jeffrey Clark (initially supported by Trump) as a \u201cmurder-suicide pact\u201d that would \u201cdamage everyone who touches it.\u201d Because Cipollone\u2019s own conduct is squarely at issue\u2014and because he had unique access to Trump throughout the fraught period under investigation\u2014the committee can very easily establish a legitimate and legally compelling basis to obtain his testimony.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n From a professor of criminology and criminal justice:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Indictments are coming: At long last, criminal justice will catch up with Donald Trump<\/a>, Gregg Barak, Salon, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n After the first five public hearings held by the House select committee investigating the organized and coordinated activities of Donald J. Trump and his allies to steal the 2020 presidential election, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, it seemed apparent that Attorney General Merritt Garland would not prosecute Trump for two likely federal crimes: “obstructing an official proceeding” and engaging in a “conspiracy to defraud the United States.” \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n But the sixth hearing, and the <\/span>dramatic testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson<\/a>, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows \u2014 the proverbial “fly on the wall” \u2014 was truly a game-changer. Knowing that Trump welcomed the armed weapons and the assault on the Capitol was certainly no surprise to most people who have been paying attention. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n Following a lifetime of crime, corruption and impunity, it now appears that the criminal law is at last catching up with the man who has <\/span>operated a criminal enterprise within the Trump Organization<\/a> since the early 1980s. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n The impending criminal charges to be filed against Donald Trump by the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, and the U.S. Department of Justice are both very different from the thousands of previous lawsuits in Trump’s career. Those \u00a0civil cases, both past and present, have always been about money. The soon-to-be criminal cases will be about Trump’s personal freedom \u2014 and whether he will be wearing an orange jumpsuit for the next several years. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n x<\/p>\n Things just got a lot worse for Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.<\/p>\n The Grand Jury investigating Trump for criminal interference in the 2020 election just subpoenaed Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesbro, Jenna Ellis and others.<\/p>\n \u2014 MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Fulton grand jury subpoenas Giuliani, Graham, Trump campaign lawyers<\/a>, Tamar Hallerman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n The Fulton County special grand jury investigating potential criminal interference in Georgia\u2019s 2020 elections has subpoenaed key members of former President Donald Trump\u2019s legal team, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to copies obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to Giuliani, those being summoned include John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis, all of whom advised the Trump campaign on strategies for overturning Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s wins in Georgia and other swing states.<\/p>\n The grand jury also subpoenaed U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump\u2019s top allies, along with attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n NEW: here are the subpoenas filed today in Fulton County special grand jury investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn 2020 election today – Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Jacki Pick Deason, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro #gapol<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/E2NctTpPYQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump attorney with \u2018unique knowledge\u2019 ordered to testify in Georgia election case<\/a>, David Edwards, Raw Story, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n A Georgia judge has ordered an attorney from former President Donald Trump’s campaign team to testify in a special grand jury investigation about efforts to overturn the 2020 election. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n Chesebro allegedly had a role in organizing an “alternate” slate of electors that would elect Trump instead of Joe Biden. On December 14, 2020, the group assembled at the state capitol to cast their illegitimate votes for Trump.<\/p>\n “The court’s order said he was involved in the ‘coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 individuals meet at the Georgia State Capitol on December 14, 2020 to cast purported electoral college votes in favor of former President Donald Trump, even though none of those 16 individuals had been ascertained as Georgia\u2019s certified presidential electors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp,'” (Joe Henke of) 11Alive reported. \u2702\ufe0f<\/p>\n The House Select Committee on Jan. 6 and the Justice Department have also <\/span>subpoenaed<\/a> Chesebro.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Fox News Potentially Facing Major Financial Damage In Dogged Suit Over Election Lies<\/a>, Mary Papenfuss, HuffPost, July 4, 2022.<\/p>\n What\u2019s particularly bad for Fox, she noted, is that Dominion asked the network to stop disseminating the lies and correct the record, yet \u201cFox persisted in spreading misrepresentations about the voting machine company.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A particularly intriguing development could be the exposure of text and email messages among the Trump White House, Fox News personalities, and even Rupert Murdoch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think once you start to pull the discovery material, what you\u2019re going to find is there was a lot of communication<\/a> between the Trump people both internally and externally about pushing very specific lies and narratives,\u201d Angelo Carusone, chief executive of Media Matters<\/a> for America, told The Guardian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Don\u2019t be so sure that Republicans will win the Senate<\/a>, Thomas F Harrison, Courthouse News, June 29, 2022.<\/p>\n BOSTON (CN) \u2014 Expectations that Republicans will win control of the U.S. Senate in November, like the apocryphal reports of Mark Twain\u2019s death, may have been greatly exaggerated. \u00a0<\/p>\n Republicans face an uphill battle and could very easily lose seats, despite political winds in their favor with President Biden\u2019s approval rating hovering near 40% and as many as three-quarters of Americans telling pollsters that the country is on the wrong track. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRight now I\u2019d say the Democrats are very slightly favored\u201d to hold the Senate, said David Niven, who teaches American politics at the University of Cincinnati.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the fundamentals, you\u2019d rather have the Republicans\u2019 hand this year, but when you look at it race by race, the Democrats are not in bad shape,\u201d agreed Stephen Medvic, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College.<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n It is no more written in the stars that Ds will lose in November because of incumbency that it is that Rs are bound to lose because failed coups and brazen judicial overreach have consequences. Everything depends on political exertion.<\/p>\n \u2014 Joseph O’Neill (@JosephONeillx) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n x<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t realize at first glance that the topline Monmouth number was \u201call adults.\u201d<\/p>\n In the registered voter crosstab, the June congressional generic ballot is 48 R 46 D<\/p>\n That\u2019s a 5-point D swing from May (50 R 43 D).<\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Scher (@billscher) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n David Pepper (Ohio Democratic Strategist)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 \ud83d\udea8 <\/p>\n KEY WHITEBOARD<\/p>\n On our nation\u2019s birthday, remember our history: there have ALWAYS been forces trying to subvert a diverse democracy.<\/p>\n But our fate is not in their hands.<\/p>\n History tells us that what matters most is the strength of those fighting FOR democracy.<\/p>\n WATCH: pic.twitter.com\/nEsc7oUHnS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 David Pepper (@DavidPepper) July 4, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Seems like only a matter of time now before BoJo is forced out:\u00a0<\/p>\n This is the endgame for Boris Johnson \u2014 but it may not be quick<\/a>, Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times, July 5, 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n x<\/p>\n Ultimately all Johnson’s crimes boiled down to the same offence, a near total disregard for the ethics and integrity of high office. Everyone who worked for him was tainted by association Finally two cabinet ministers have had the gumption to say enough https:\/\/t.co\/ab9QQ3nhuf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 robert shrimsley (@robertshrimsley) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Published mid-afternoon Tuesday:<\/strong><\/p>\n Finally, Boris Johnson\u2019s ministers have had enough of defending the monstrously indefensible<\/a>, Polly Toynbee, the Guardian, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n What took them so long? The chancellor and the health secretary have gone. Others may have jumped before the ink is dry on this, kicking themselves for not taking the lead as this cabinet of accomplices finally calculates that loyalty is doing their careers more harm than good. Late, too late, they conclude that protecting Big Dog for one more catastrophic Today programme interview will finish off their chances for good.<\/span><\/p>\n Are these the end of days for the prime minister? The party may yet need to prise his fingers off the cliff-face before he crashes to the Tarpeian rock. Health secretary Sajid Javid was first off the mark<\/a>, so chancellor Rishi Sunak was pipped to the post by a few minutes. Javid writes that the country needs a \u201cstrong and principled Conservative party\u201d. Yes indeed, but the country needed this through every scandal that has engulfed Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n Sunak echoed those words with an equally empty sentiment: \u201cThe public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.\u201d Yes indeed, but the country needed that before the Conservatives<\/a>knowingly selected the most unfit man in their clan to lead them.<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n Sunak, Javid and every Conservative MP knew who Boris Johnson was when they backed him only weeks ago. <\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t just Boris Johnson. It\u2019s the whole Conservative Party. <\/p>\n They are out of ideas, out of steam and out of touch. They are unfit to govern.<\/p>\n \u2014 Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Toynbee (author of the Guardian article above) was prescient when she said, \u201cothers may have jumped (ship) before the ink is dry on this\u201d.<\/p>\n With all of these dominoes falling so fast, it\u2019s hard to imagine how Johnson survives even another day, though he will of course try to hang on:<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n Losing track. \u2014 Jamie Hynes (@ArtfulDoctor) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n There will still be hurdles to jump (see: Turkey), but this is still very good news:<\/p>\n NATO nations sign accession protocols for Sweden<\/a>, Finland, Raf Casert, AP, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n The move further increases Russia\u2019s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February and military struggles there since.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO,\u201d the head of the alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said.<\/p>\n The 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives formally approved decisions made at a NATO summit in Madrid last week, when the leaders of member nations invited Russia\u2019s neighbor Finland and Scandinavian partner Sweden to join the military club.<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n BREAKING:<\/p>\n All 30 NATO member states have just signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden & Finland.<\/p>\n All 30 national parliaments will now have to ratify it for \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee to become members.<\/p>\n Estonia will be first. <\/p>\n PM Kallas summoned parliament for a special session tomorrow. pic.twitter.com\/aM0YQGOrdD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Visegr\u00e1d 24 (@visegrad24) July 5, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trillions spent on health care, safety net credited with narrowing EU wealth gap<\/a>, Amanda Pampuro, Courthouse News, July 5, 2022.<\/p>\n (CN) \u2014 The European Union\u2019s top 5% wealthiest people earned nearly five times as much as the bottom 5%, but its statistics agency <\/span>found<\/a> social transfers \u2014 including social assistance and sickness benefits \u2014 reduced income inequality by nearly 60%. Analyses of <\/span>health care<\/a> and <\/span>child<\/a> benefits published by Eurostat on Monday reveal parallels between a strong social safety net and lower income inequality. \u2702\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n The EU\u2019s boost in benefits followed increased spending on allowances, childbirth income maintenance and child care.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rise in expenditure on child day care is perhaps unsurprising given that EU employment policy has strongly encouraged the importance of affordable child care in allowing parents to work (if they want to) while raising a family,\u201d the report explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hello Everybody, it\u2019s me, Curlygirly! \u00a0Look at this little animal tasting an almond for the first time:<\/p>\n Mama used to have a different dog than me. The older dog was a bichon frise and she was the dog who came into the family when Mama didn\u2019t even have all of her human children yet! And that little dog lived to be 17\u00bd\u00a0years old and when she went over the Rainbow bridge, Mama and all my human siblings were so sad! Mama said she would never ever have another dog. \u00a0Never. Ever.<\/p>\n BUT! After a couple of years, and a lot of changes in her life, Mama changed her mind and she started to dream about her dream dog \u2014\u00a0ME! And then she decided to look for me, and she found me!\u00a0I am SO GLAD that Mama decided to bring me into her life! And Mama says she is even gladder! \ud83e\udd70\ud83d\udc95\ud83d\udc29 Here is an article that I think is perfect:<\/p>\n\n
These are people who said: \u201cI refuse to accept that the world has to be this way. I am going to throw my life and my pragmatism and my intelligence at this insistence that it could be different and put that into practice.\u201d That\u2019s a muscular hope. So, to your question, I don\u2019t always feel robustly hopeful. Depression is something I\u2019ve struggled with. I\u2019ve found the world an unbearable place for months at a time in the last two years. But at the same time I don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a place in my work for my despair.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n
Some perspective on the SCOTUS EPA opinion<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
— Doesn’t limit the considerable powers of states and cities
— Doesn’t limit the massive buildout of wind, solar, and transmission that we need
— Doesn’t limit the essential work of improving energy efficiency<\/p>\n\ud83c\udfb6 Music for our wonderful world \ud83c\udfb6<\/h3>\n
\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 States RoundUp \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8<\/h3>\n
Arizona\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
California\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
Florida\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
Georgia<\/h4>\n
\n
Illinois\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
Iowa\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
How Iowa got its otters back<\/h3>\n
Michigan\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
minnesota (lol)\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
Missouri\u00a0<\/h4>\n
New Jersey<\/h4>\n
New York\u00a0<\/h4>\n
Texas\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
\ud83c\udfb6 Musical Shoutout for DOJ and J6 Committee \ud83c\udfb6<\/h3>\n
January 6 Investigation<\/h3>\n
\n
– Chair @BennieGThompson<\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"ScreenShot2022-07-05at1.15.48PM.png\"](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/1088486\/large\/ScreenShot2022-07-05at1.15.48PM.png?1657044957\" "\\"ScreenShot2022-07-05at1.15.48PM.png\\"\/")
Pressure increases on recalcitrant witnesses<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\u2696\ufe0f Other Legal Trouble for TFG & Associates \u2696\ufe0f<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\ud83c\udfb6 Musical Shoutout to TFG and Republican Enablers \ud83c\udfb6<\/h3>\n
\ud83d\uddf3 Midterms 2022 \ud83d\uddf3<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Polling news\u00a0<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\ud83c\udf0e International News \ud83c\udf0d<\/h3>\n
Boris Johnson\u2019s government appears to be collapsing<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
This evening #BorisJohnson<\/a> has lost:
Javid (Health & Social Care)
Sunak (Chancellor)
Murrison
Saqqib (PPS)
Crosbie (PPS)
Richards (PPS)
Afolami (Vice Chair)
Gullis
The numbers are going up quicker than petrol & Lurpak costs\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ltPrtJJZFX<\/a><\/p>\n\ud83c\udfb6 Musical Shoutout to BoJo and Tory Enablers \ud83c\udfb6<\/h3>\n
NATO signs off on Sweden and Finland<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa European Union \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa<\/h4>\n
\n
Ukraine Rebuilding Plans take shape<\/h4>\n
\ud83d\udc29 \ud83d\udc99 CGs Picks \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc29<\/h3>\n
![\"IMG_5033.jpeg\"](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/1088512\/large\/IMG_5033.jpeg?1657051369\" "\\"IMG_5033.jpeg\\"\/")