The Top 10 Good News Items Buried In The Headlines
My grandfather, William Kopolsky, was brought to America as a small child, fleeing the pogroms in what is now Ukraine. He worked in the family’s dry goods business by day selling schmattas (clothing only slightly better than rags) while attending NYU for college and law school, all at night. He went on to establish a small law firm that included representing the fur industry in negotiations with their unions. He risked his livelihood and reputation to travel to Washington, D.C., to our Capitol, where he testified before Senator Joseph McCarthy on behalf of one of those union leaders he bargained against who was being unjustly accused of being a communist. Despite being on the wrong side of the bargaining table, he was a hero to those unions for the rest of his life.
My grandfather knew firsthand what life is like when thugs take to the streets with malice in their hearts and weapons in their hands. He knew personally what it felt like to stare down a demagogue who was inciting hatred and violence. And yet, my grandfather was the funniest, happiest guy I ever knew. He was sustained by an unshakable belief in the institutions of American democracy and his total confidence that the goodwill of the American people would always win out.
And so, today, in the midst of all this darkness, I want to give you the Top Ten Reasons Things Are Looking Up. And if you want to lift a glass to each one, Grandpa Kopolsky would have liked that.
#1. Lock ’em up. The Capitol, we discovered, may have lousy security, but it does have zillions of cameras. Plus, what Trump saw as the “deep state” we know is actually a huge cadre of loyal public servants who will not be moved from their mission to protect and defend the USA from threats, both foreign and domestic. The violent thugs who desecrated our nation’s sacred Capitol are being plucked out of their filthy dens across America, being banned from flying and being indicted now with more charges to come. The guy with his feet on the desk in Pelosi’s office? Arrested in Arkansas. The Trumpist with the Camp Auschwitz t-shirt? Busted in Virginia. The bozo in the fur hat with the horns and a spear? Nabbed in Phoenix.
#2. The Empire Strikes Back. America’s CEO’s are usually thought of as R-leaning. They and their corporate PAC’s tend to be big GOP donors. But they understand the economic impact of the chaos and violence that Trump foments, so they’re ready to shut down this evil lie that the election was rigged. Wal-Mart, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Dow, and AT&T are cutting off donations to any legislator who voted against accepting the results of the Electoral College last week. Even Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot and a huge Republican donor, says he feels betrayed by those in the GOP who have received his support. I’m particularly happy since I no longer have to pass two Home Depots on my way to Menards.
#3. There actually are limits to hate speech. The government of the United States is limited in what it can do to suppress hate speech by the First Amendment. Private companies have no such limitation. So bravo to Twitter, Facebook, and now YouTube, for shutting down the accounts of Trump and some of his more prominent co-conspirators. Hooray for Amazon and Google for shutting down Parler. (BTW, do these guys know that’s French?)
#4. Even some conservative media outlets have had enough. Cumulus Media, which owns 416 talk-format radio stations in 84 markets (including WLS in Chicago), has ordered its hosts to stop spreading the lie that the election was rigged. Rupert Murdoch hasn’t reined-in Presidential wannabe Tucker Carlson, but he has allowed the NYPost and the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal to turn on Trump.
#5. The Republican leadership is studying the tea leaves. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Minority Leader in the House, has been among the Trumpiest defenders of Trump. But when Trumpists were marauding through the halls of Congress looking to lynch VP Pence, even he started having second thoughts. While in the Senate, Mitch McConnell is having a real hard time holding back his loathing for the lout in the White House. It might be anger at losing his majority status due to Trump’s malpractice in Georgia, or it might be something far more sinister. Lucian Truscott IV (whom you may remember from the Village Voice) is reporting that the intelligence briefing given to Congressional leaders made a direct link between the insurgents and Trump himself. If true, that might be what turned the Republican leadership.
#6. The rats are jumping off a sinking ship. There has been a rash of resignations from Trump’s Executive Branch. One can wonder why it took four years for them to suddenly discover what they were a part of, but okay. Cabinet members Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos are out. Really, really insiders Mick Mulvaney and Stephanie Grisham bailed. We’ll never know if they had a moment of morality or if they are just trying to wash enough Trump stink off so they can land seats on corporate boards, but at least they are gone.
#7. The country has had enough. After four years of almost no change in his approval ratings, they have now taken a nosedive. A new Politico/Morning Consult poll puts Trump’s approval at a new low, 34%, with 63% of our country disapproving. Those in the 34% are the folks who will be with him no matter what. But anyone whose loyalty is not totally blind is leaving him behind.
#8. We impeached the bastard. Back in September, 2019, Trump was impeached for using extortion tactics against the government of Ukraine in his desperate attempt to manufacture “dirt” on Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. It turns out that Trump was correct in being more scared of Joe Biden than any other Democratic candidate.
#9. We impeached the bastard all over again. The House sat idle when they saw Trump engage in the same type of extortion he used on Ukraine against the Secretary of State of Georgia. But when Trump actively incited an insurrection that killed five people in the Capitol of the United States of America, a record-breaking 10 Republicans joined them in saying enough is enough. He will forever be the only president to have been impeached twice no matter what ultimately transpires in the Senate.
And now, the top reason why Things Are Looking Up:
#10. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be our president and vice-president in less than a week, giving Democrats control of the White House, the Senate and the House.
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