Marla Felcher

Good News from the Resistance: Our Kavanaugh hangover is finally over, and we hope yours is, too. Last week, while the television networks were airing the ulcer-producing moral depravity of the GOP, behind the scenes pollsters worked the phones and statisticians crunched numbers. The story that emerged from these activities (which were decidedly less camera-ready than Lindsey Graham auditioning to be Attorney General at the expense of Christine Ford) — provides the spiritual, psychic, and emotional purification of sage. Consider this issue of Good News your personal post-Kavanaugh smudge. Here’s some of our favorite recent numeric Good News:

Trump’s approval ratings have dropped in every state since the election. His biggest plunge has been in Utah, followed by New Mexico and Arizona. GOP vs. Dem turnout numbers in primaries leading up to the midterms are astonishing. On-line donors are throwing gobs of cash into Democratic Congressional campaigns: In August alone (pre-Kavanaugh) Democratic candidates raised $36.8 million (in small increments!), $30 million more than they raised in August 2016; ActBlue, the Democratic on-line giving platform, raised $10 million on October 5 and $9 million on October 6. Democrats are leading in 69 House districts won by Trump. 12 million more people are registered as Democrats than as Republicans – and that was before Taylor Swift came out as a Democrat and produced a Swift Bump.

How’s the GOP responding to all of this Good News? Ted Cruz is sticking his head in the sand, refusing to debate Beto (watch this anti-Cruz ad, it’s a riot); the GOP super-PAC has cut funds from candidates it now thinks will lose to Dems; and the White House has created a task force to prepare for the onslaught of investigations when we take back the House.

And don’t forget: Mueller is still at it. Last week Paul Manafort made good on his plea deal, sat down with prosecutors, and talked. Yes, there’s even more Good News from the Resistance:

• Know that the Dems have their own secret opposition research firm, funded with Dark Money
• Applaud for Barbra Streisand’s new (Resistance) album
• Meet ProPublica’s new class of Fellows, and know that truth will prevail
• Wonder what’s stuck on Trump’s shoe
• Clap for Lock It Up!
• Be inspired by this high school student who got abstinence-only sex ed banned
• Learn how a rising star white nationalist broke free from his hateful family
• Thank Russia for staying out of the midterms
• Cheer for Muslim Advocates who got Hyatt to say NO! to hate groups
• Take Action: Get to work and keep working on midterms

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News October 11

Good News from the Resistance: As we hit SEND, propelling Good News into email inboxes around the world, Anita Hill redux is playing out, 27-years later. No Good News there. But Good News seekers, don’t lament. It takes little more than a scratch of the privileged-white-patriarchal surface (i.e., Senate Judiciary committee) to see that 1992, popularly referred to as the Year of the Woman, is going to pale by comparison to 2018, Year of the Badass Democratic Women Leaders (think Ayanna and Alexandria). In 1992 there were 5 women in the Senate, today there are 21. That’s good, but as we’re seeing through Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, not good enough. Here’s what is good: Our Sexual-Harasser-in-Chief has lit a fire in our Badass Bellies, and we’re not letting anyone put it out.

Yes, it’s taking a village of Women to Bring Down Trump and his enablers. But bring them down we will. It’s a 3-pronged attack: personal, political, and pecuniary.

• Personal: Stormy, Karen, and dozens more have told their stories, are filing lawsuits, and continuing to spill the beans in discovery. They are not going away.
• Political: A record number of women are running for office, which is likely to result in a record number of women in the Senate, and a record-bashing 100 new women in Congress.
• Pecuniary: Indiana sisters Deborah and Cynthia Simon, heirs to a shopping center fortune, have despised Mike Pence before many of us knew his name. He’s been the source of their motivation to donate over $12 million to Democratic candidates… so far. The Simon sisters are just two players in this year’s surge in women’s political donations.

Speaking of sisters, two key voices have played a capacious, yet under-the-radar role in Trump’s eventual demise: Paul Manafort’s daughters, Andrea and Jessica. In February 2017, hackers broke into Andrea’s phone, gaining access to 300,000 texts, many detailing their dad’s relationship with then-candidate Trump (“Perfect allies. Trump probably has more morals than my dad. Which is really just saying something about my dad. My dad is a psycho!!! At least trump let his wives leave him.”), and Manafort’s unsavory work in Ukraine (“Don’t fool yourself … That money we have is blood money. You know he has killed people in Ukraine? Knowingly. As a tactic to outrage the world and get focus on Ukraine.”). 

Imagine Robert Mueller’s glee when he read these texts. And the smile on his face when, soon after, he learned Paul Manafort’s email password: bond007. To which we say, one more time, Go, Bob, Go! There’s more Good News from the Resistance:

• Watch this edgy campaign ad to get young people to vote
• Cheer that a woman bilked out of  Nobel Prize became a $3 million winner
• Be soothed, knowing that Mueller’s Manafort indictments are “prosecutorial masterpieces“
• Be awed that Obama convinced Victoria’s Secret GOP billionaire to switch parties
• Know that Saudi Arabia finally permitted a woman to anchor the news
• Thank Atlanta’s mayor for issuing this Executive Order
• Clap for LeBron’s comeback
• Learn who Jessica Bond is, and why she changed her name
• Laugh when you see how “Plastic Jesus”put Trump behind bars
• Take Action: Click to make sure you are registered vote, then send to others

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News September 27

Good News from the Resistance: This week at Good News we’re feeling a bit nostalgic about the good ‘ole days of Our National Nightmare (ONN), Season 1– the days when the term “Resister” was reserved for us. We marched, we staged die-ins to support Obamacare, we heckled Trump outside of his golf clubs; one man vowed to carry a sign of protest every day. (He’s done it). Our activism was scrappy, grassrootsy, and creative.

Now, in Season 2, the Resistance has gone mainstream: The funerals of two American icons, John McCain and the Queen of Soul, were referred to as Resistance Events. Nike, a Fortune 100 company, is flipping the bird at Trump via a multi-million dollar ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. It’s become so hip to identify as “a resister” (unless, of course, you are Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell) that resister imposters are now scrambling to hop aboard our train. Case in point: An anonymous “senior administration official” still working within the Trump White House wrote in the New York Times, “I am Part of the Resistance.” To which we say: No. Resisters are loud and we are proud. We’re out there. We sign our names. We are not anonymous!

We’re looking forward to ONN, Season 2 answering many questions: Will the anonymous resister imposter come forward on his/her own, or be outed by the “ dumb Southerner” (sic) Trump appointed as his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions? What more will we learn about the lucrative profession of international money laundering from  Manafort’s second trial? What secrets will be revealed by Trump’s newly liberated doorman, and the expanding list of Mueller’s flippers?

Will there be a Season 3? Bookies put the odds for Trump’s impeachment at 44%. While we patiently wait to see what the next episode of ONN will bring, let’s focus on more Good News from the Resistance:

• Pay attention to this spreadsheet of Incoming Hell GOP was circulating
• Laugh at ex-Bush official’s metaphor for Mueller investigation
• Thank Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for suing Trump Tower
• Cheer that Ted Cruz’s attack on Beto backfired so hilariously
• Clap for this 11-year old girl with a book deal
• Wonder why vulnerable GOP candidates scrubbed Obamacare from their websites
• See what happened when angry teachers in AZ and OK organized
• Look forward to Trump revealing his treasure-trove of photos of Comey & Mueller kissing
• Take Action: Take a trip to flip!

Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News September 11

Good News from the Resistance: We’re trying hard, oh so very hard not to gloat. But after last Tuesday, we bet all the rubles in Paul Manafort’s bank accounts that even our beloved Michelle O dipped just a tiny bit down into the “low” she warned us against. (We’re smiling at the thought of Michelle and Barack doing a fist-bump while watching Don Lemon deliver the news on CNN). At long last, after 579 days, the criminal enterprise known as the Trump presidency is getting its due. Trump’s worst hour as president (so far) was one of our country’s finest. Suddenly, Auntie Maxine has a lot more people listening when she dares to utter the “I” word.

Good News seekers, we have much to look forward to in the wheels-of-justice pipeline. A fourth judge just ruled that Mueller’s witch hunt, a.k.a. investigation is constitutional and legitimate. And it’s full steam ahead on Manafort’s upcoming money laundering and foreign lobbying Trial #2. Scheduled to start in 3 weeks, it’s promising to be a blockbuster.

Wait, there’s more! In the wake of Michael Cohen’s squawking, the Manhattan DA is considering charges against the Trump Organization for falsifying financial records; Judge Fernando Tapia ruled that our Thug-in-Chief’s security team must face a jury for punching and choking protesters outside of Trump Tower; Omarosa (and other former White House prisoners) is likely to be on the speaking circuit with more tales of palace intrigue, as Judge Arlene Bluth ruled the Mobster-in-Chief’s mandatory employment NDA (non-disclosure agreement) didn’t prevent an employee from spilling the beans on everything that goes on in the White House; the contents of the Russian pee-pee  tape got closer to seeing the light of day (and CNN) when U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled the FBI has to obey a Freedom of Information Act request from the press that will unseal documents related to their investigation into the Steele dossier; and the National Enquirer CEO was granted immunity in the Michael Cohen case, so it’s likely we’ll soon find out how many papers a pickled Pecker can protect. It’s all Good News.

There’s more Good News from the Resistance:

• Watch this hilarious gospel rendition of Mueller handing down Manafort’s indictment
• Eat animal crackers with impunity
• Break the glass, and then follow this plan if Trump fires Mueller
• Adopt a dog that wasn’t up to snuff at TSA sniffing
• Be grateful most agree on print-at-home guns
• Learn how to bilk a campaign by reading what Duncan Hunter (R-CA) spent funds on
• Clap for these nuns who are rocking the resistance
• Know that the face of Congress will change in 2018
• Laugh about Kellyanne’s husband
• Take Action: Watch this funny/scary anti-Kavanaugh video then make a call

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News August 24

Good News from the Resistance: Last week, Good News met up with Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden in Texas. By the time we joined them, most of the Grannies had been on the road for a week, originating in New York, Oregon, Michigan, and points between. They’d stopped for rallies along the way, raising awareness about the collateral damage of the Trump Administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy: separated families, detained and orphaned children. We met the Grannies in San Antonio, for the 4-hour drive to McAllen, the last leg of their journey.

Why McAllen? Hundreds of immigrants, many of them asylum-seeking families and children, are being detained there. We went to learn.

First, there was Bad News:

Shortly after our arrival, 100+ of us stood in a park in downtown McAllen, where we were greeted by Veteran Service Corp Director of Operations Pate Hutson. Pate had spent the previous two weeks traveling the Texas border and meeting with hundreds of people, to get a sense of what life is like for residents of the Rio Grande Valley. He told us:

“The fear is palpable here. This is real. What’s going on here is not what you hear about. There is a lot to learn. It’s about what you can take home and talk about with your neighbors. Listen. Because it matters.”

We learned that most of our current immigration policy is not new. What’s new is the aggressive nature of enforcement under the Trump administration, which has resulted in:

• forced family separation,
• criminalization of the act of seeking asylum,
• human rights-violating detainment practices, and
• choices no human should ever have to make.

After our briefing, we set off on the Refugee Walk of Significance, tracing the steps taken by immigrants (mostly from Central America, but lately a significant uptick from Cuba) who are “caught and released” by Border Patrol.  

First stop: The infamous McAllen bus station, where Border Patrol releases the “lucky” ones – but not before fitting each with an ankle bracelet. With no money, food, or English, there is nonetheless a glimmer of Good News at the bus depot: Samaritans like Luis Guerrero, a former firefighter who volunteers from the station 24/7, and meets every bus.

 

As we approached the station, a bus full of “released” immigrants had just arrived, many carrying children. As they disembarked, we gave them a standing ovation, clapping and shouting “bienvenidos!” (Thankfully, our guide explained to them who we were – the last thing we wanted was to scare anyone. The smiles indicated we were understood).

Next stop: Catholic Charities Respite Center. Luis and other volunteers  direct the newcomers to the Center, a few blocks away. There, volunteers see that everyone gets a shower, a meal, and a bed for one night. They also receive a backpack filled with toiletries, snacks, and small toys for the children.

For many, this will be all that they have to sustain them through their bus ride out of McAllen — to anywhere in the U.S. where they know someone who has agreed to sponsor them. Who gets to leave the detention centers? Who is separated from their children? Who is sent back to their country of origin? It’s a mystery. 

There is one constant: Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to raise the bar on who gets to stay; “credible fear” for asylum-seekers is harder to prove, and bail is being set at unattainable levels.

After walking by the bus depot, visiting the Respite Center, stuffing backpacks for “the released,”

visiting La Posada Shelter for asylum-seekers and the Wall (yes, a significant piece of it already exists) with a Telemundo reporter,

we ended our visit with a panel discussion led by front-line advocates. There, we learned that many are profiting off of the immigration crisis, which has become a revenue stream for private-sector prison companies. 

“Our tax dollars are paying private companies to put children in prison.”

A few Grannies tried, unsuccessfully, to visit the Ursula detention center in McAllen, a former warehouse that was modified to hold up to 1,000 children in cages made of chain-link fencing. It’s known as “the refrigerator,” because it is kept so cold.

Here’s as close as they could get:

 

There are more than 200 detention centers like it across the U.S.

The Good News? Resistance against the Trump Administration’s immigration crisis nightmare is strong and multi-faceted. Public outcry, the ACLU, and outraged judges have forced the Administration to halt some of its most barbaric actions. Immigration advocates on the ground are well-organized and know what needs to be done. It’s up to us, the Resisters, to help them, and to keep up the fight. Here’s why and how:

• Meet the original New York Grannies and see them off from Union Square, NYC
• Watch Luis greet “the released” at the bus station
• Say hello to the Angry Tias & Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley
• Learn about these young activists who’ve set up a protest camp outside a children’s detention center
• Thank Catholic Charities for creating a Respite Center in McAllen
• See how the Sisters of Divine Providence live their motto, “Welcome the Stranger”
• Sign up with the Texas Civil Rights Project to learn how you can help
• Be grateful that this mother and 5-year old son were reunited
• Use your dollars and voice: Help Beto O’Rourke unseat Texas GOP senator Ted Cruz
• Take Action: Volunteer or donate to help asylum-seekers in U.S. ports of entry

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News Grannies @ McAllen, Texas

Good News from the Resistance: You know we’re living in strange times (in case you forgot?) when at the top of our Good News list is U.S. federal judge Dolly Gee’s ruling that the migrant children U.S. government officials ripped from their parents cannot be drugged. Judge Gee also appointed an independent monitor to investigate the living conditions of the detained children, who have been warehoused in detention centers. The monitor will report directly to Judge Gee. To that we say, thank-you. And now for less disturbing Good News…

We’re less than 100 days from the midterms, and the GOP is looking at their toughest midterm map since 1930. Even Dr. Evil (Steve Bannon) sees it coming: he’s telling anyone who will listen that the 2018 midterms are going to be a referendum on Trump. Who dislikes Trump the most? Key groups are battling it out. As of today, African-American women are taking a strong lead, followed by young people, ages 18-34. Losin’ Donny also is sagging in key Midwest states that helped crown him.

The Best News? We’re on it. Color of Change, a Soros-funded grassroots PAC, is building an army of black leaders who are convincing unregistered black voters that their votes this fall will matter. BlackHer is giving black women (who, we repeat, dislike Trump more than any other group)  the tools to become a key voting bloc, chief among them, The Black Women’s Guide to the 2018 Midterm Elections. And borrowing from the philanthropy world, progressive women are becoming donor powerhouses through “giving circles,” pooling their donations to support candidates. Which may be at least partially why Democrats have taken a fundraising lead in nine key battleground states. As for those anti-Trump youngsters? Billionaire Tom Steyer is putting $110 million into the midterms, much of it into training young people (who, we repeat, dislike Trump a lot, only second to black women) to become advocates who vote, through NextGen America. It’s all good…

… So good, in fact, that the GOP is getting nervous. Key aspects of their 2018 strategy: Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression. There is Good News on those fronts, too. After the Supreme Court dropped the ball this past spring, activists across the country have taken it out of federal hands; anti-gerrymandering initiatives are now landing on state ballots. And voting rights scored a big win this week, when a judge stopped GOP governor Rick Scott’s election officials from banning early voting on college campuses. Let the games begin!

There’s more Good News from the Resistance:

• Make a reservation at Emma’s Torch, a restaurant that honors refugees and Statue of Liberty poet  Emma Lazarus
• Thank basketball star LeBron James for creating this dream school
• Be amazed that a 7-year old would think this up – and get it done
• Look forward to this emoluments suit against Trump – judge says it’s a-go!
• Discover yet another reason to love Canadians
• Cheer for this brave young woman who refused to sit down and be quiet
• Say “well done!” to D.C.’s first all-black Little League team champions
• Know that the anti-plastic straw movement was started by a 9-year old
• Learn why it’s never a good idea to drop your drawers and yell racist slurs (especially on camera)
• Take Action: Sign up with Indivisible to join the movement to take back Congress

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News August 3

Good News from the Resistance:  It was bound to happen. Our Traitor-in-Chief took his bromance with Putin to the next level. In all of his wildest dreams, he could not have imagined a more fabulous bonus excursion to top off his best European Vacation ever, where he got to sit in Winston Churchill’s chair (oops!), walk in front of the Queen (oops!) and admire her brooch (good one, Queen!), take in the witty signs being carried by the hundreds of thousands of supporters who cheered him in London, and wave to the smaller — albeit no less enthusiastic — crowd who greeted him at his Scottish golf resort, including the creative guy who paraglided onto the course just to say, “Good Job, Donald!”

A summit with his beloved Vladdy –on Reality TV nonetheless — was the cherry on Trump’s NATO sundae. He’d been preparing for this moment since 1987. There was no disputing it now: He rocked it like no other American president had ever rocked a summit. No one knew how to do Diplomacy better than DT. As he walked off the stage Donald was bouyant, already planning to invite Vladdy over to his place to meet his peeps.  Flying high on Cloud 9 as he boarded (soon-to-be-redesigned) Air Force One, Donald was a bit confused when most of his aides hid in the back of the plane.

As it turned out, the aides traveling with The Great Negotiator were the lucky ones; they were cut off from the press during the 8.5 hour flight. Their colleagues in D.C.? Not so fortunate. It took a record-breaking 24+ hours for anyone to figure out a lie to defend their boss’s behavior. In those heady first hours, the best they could do was field press calls with questions of their own, notably, How bad was that?

The Good News? Our Russian Asset-in-Chief did not receive quite the Hero’s Welcome he’d anticipated. “Traitor,” “treasonous,” “high crimes and misdemeanors” were descriptors used – and not only by Anderson Cooper – by a Tea Party lawmaker, former CIA director and Russian ambassador, and — like a knife in his heart — his pals at Fox News. An Ohio GOP chairman quit in protest.

The Best News?  Thanks to the on-going TrumPutin bromance, U.S. election security is finally in the spotlight. Suddenly, high-level agency heads are ignoring their boss’s (as of yet) inexplicable longing for Putin’s affection, and his desperate attempts to let the murderer off the hook. Director of national intelligence Dan Coats announced, “we have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election,” and pledged his on-going commitment to providing “unvarnished and objective intelligence”; Rod Rosenstein released DOJ’s anti-hacking strategy report, documenting how, with the help of private sector tech companies,  DOJ has upped its game tackling election hacking and other cyber-crimes; National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command are joining forces to counter Russian election meddling— without input from the White House. Trump’s flaccid performance in Helsinki was the Red Bull shot U.S. election security sorely needed.

As for those sad, lost aides who work in the White House? We’re told they’re depressed.

There’s more Good News from the Resistance:

• Elevate your mood by watching Randy Rainbow sing A Very Stable Genius
• Keep rooting for Mueller – here’s what his 35 (so far) indictments and pleas tell us
• Applaud for activists who got a barbaric Medicaid policy reversed in Kentucky
• Show up at a rally to support Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden, or join them at the McAllen detention center
• Stare at this mug shot and know justice is moving in the right direction
• Prepare for the midterm GOTV blitz with The Last Weekend
• Help Michelle O and her celebrity friends register new voters with We All Vote
• Warm your heart with this story of connection and action — on a crowded Southwest flight
• Thank this CA judge for making life a tiny bit less hellish for detained migrants
• Use this interactive tool to track progress in gun laws since the Parkland shooting
• Cheer for this 11-year old entrepreneur who’s Flexin’ in her Complexion
• Take Action: Sign up for Americans of Conscience Checklist and create your activism plan

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News July 24

Good News from the Resistance:  Catfish Pruitt, the Deepest Swamp Dweller in D.C., is out. So many scandals, so many conflicts of interest, so many lies, how’d the mulit-tasker find the time to steal so much from the American public while at the same time destroying our air, water, and land?  A heartfelt thank-you to the press and Pruitt’s staff, who made it happen. Before we bid him a final good riddance, let’s take a moment to reflect upon yet another tidbit of Good News: Catfish is busily Dialing for Dollars to create a legal fund, as more than a dozen investigations will continue in his absence. Now that there’s a template for how to oust a Catfish, sinking other Swamp Dwellers should go more quickly. Next on the docket: Let’s-Make-a-Corrupt-Land-Deal Interior Secretary Zinke and Insider-Trading Commerce Secretary Ross.

Speaking of templates — the recent spate of bad news has demonstrated that we, the Resistance, are in top form, as we continue to organize and mobilize, with record speed, to halt president  Darth Hater’s policies. Within a few days of migrant families being separated and their children forced into “baby jails,” hundreds of thousands of us gathered in 700+ massive, pop-up rallies across the U.S. to say NO!  Women, with children by their side or on their breasts, drove many of the demonstrations. There were protests at the borders and at ICE offices. Hundreds of Episcopal leaders sang, marched, and prayed outside of a detention center. 650+ women (including a member of Congress) were arrested when they took over the Senate Hart Building. Rabbis, pastors, and other clergy were arrested in L.A., as was actress-activist Susan Sarandon.

The Good News? Acts of kindness and resistance abound. News organizations banded together to track down kids so that they could be reunited with their parents. A librarian at Columbia University created a team of “digital ninjas” to help with the family reunification effort. In just six days, the team created Torn Apart/Separados, a shocking map of ICE detention centers and Child Jails.

We kept the pressure on. Attorneys general sued the Administration to force it to stop separating families. A federal judge ordered ICE to stop arresting all asylum seekers. Remarkably, Darth reversed his own policy, and signed an Executive Order to stop the separations. A federal court ordered the Administration to reunify children with their parents within 30 days; when the Incompetent Deplorables claimed they couldn’t meet the deadline (the it’s easier to steal kids than to give them back defense?), the court denied an extension and said, “Just Do It.” And when Darth requested long-term detention of children as part of his “immigration plan,” a judge said NO. That should wipe the dollar signs off the pupils of Mr. Hater’s private jail contractor buddies.

The nightmare for these families is far from over. But the Resistance – and people all over the world – are with them. We’re not stopping.

Before we get to work on saving the Supreme Court (yes, it’s a long shot, but possible), let’s take a deep breath and keep our eyes on the news that’s being pushed aside for the Supreme Court story– news we can and have affected, and revel in more Good News from the Resistance:

• Continue to celebrate the 4th of July by saying Congratulations to these new citizens
• Thank this woman for Knowing Her Rights (and using them to protect others)
• Be amazed at how easy it is to get Trump to return your call 
• Urge every woman you know to vote – based on this poll
• Applaud these Chicago gun violence protesters
• Get ready for the Educator Spring, as teachers run and win
• Read this and take notes: 20 new ways to protest Trump
• Wonder why Mueller wanted NRA’s tax returns – and what he will do with them
• Sign up for Harvard University’s Resistance School
• Look forward to this coming attraction: Another suspicious Playmate payment
• Take Action: Work like hell to Save the Supreme Court

 Sign Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.

Read more Good News July 10