Sunday Salon...let's celebrate more good news and jokes

Weather today: Beautiful

Friday: Don and I used our adventure day to explore the Weyerhauser Bonsai and Rhododendron Gardens in Federal Way, Washington, not far from our house. Don had appointments book-ending his day of furlough so we had to explore closer to home. Surprisingly a few rhodys were still blooming though most of the hike was spent admiring the greenery and a few flowers blooming here and there. It was a lovely day. BTW---the pretty purple flower is a bonsai bougainvillea. Isn't it gorgeous?

Earlier in the week: I spent the early afternoon with my grandson, his mom, and a friend (socially distanced) at a lake not too far from their home. Moments spent with Ian are pure magic. Yes, that is Mt. Rainier peeking out of the trees overlooking the lake.

Hilarious haul: Apparently, the whole time we've been on lockdown due to the pandemic I've been blithely placing books on hold at the public library. This week the library started curbside pickup and contacted me to come and get the books I've placed on hold. When I arrived they placed twelve books and one DVD in my car trunk. I never thought that ALL the holds would arrive at one time. How on earth am I supposed to read all those books in three weeks? See photo above to appreciate my haul.

Books:

• Completed:  
• Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet;
• Evidence: Poems by Mary Oliver. Both from the above above mentioned haul.
• Currently reading:  
• Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore (Audiobook; Book Club selection, 40% completed)
• Close to Birds by Magnusson, et al (Print, from the haul; 10%) 
  
• Bedtime Stories for Stressed Out Adults edited by Lucy Mangan (E-book, title tells you the state of my life right now, 20%)
• Be the Bridge by LaTasha Williams (E-book; Church small group class on anti-racism)
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad (E-book; for book club this coming week; 55% completed)

John Lewis: Civil Rights icon dies at age 80. Here is the statement that President Obama made about John Lewis at his passing. It is short. I recommend you read it. (Medium) I've spent quite a bit of time crying these past 24-hours.

Lewis's words: "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."

Good News:

This week was filled with bad, very bad, and terribly sad news. But even amidst all that, there were tremendously encouraging pieces of good news, too.

• Preliminary studies suggest that a tuberculosis vaccination seems to mitigate the severe, extreme reactions to COVID19. It doesn't keep people from getting the infection, but from getting severe cases. Maybe it could be used to help to keep healthcare workers safer. (Science Daily)

• It is OK to change your mind if you voted for Trump the first time around. All these guys have changed theirs:

• Privilege/Class/Social Inequalities explained in a $100 race. (YouTube)

• Tenino, Washington is giving it's residents wooden money to spend on things they need during this economic crisis. You have got to read or watch this story! (YouTube) (AP)

• City Council in Asheville, South Carolina  to vote to give reparations to blacks. If it passes they will create a commission to help the city, and potentially other local governments, assign money and resources toward "increasing minority home ownership and access to other affordable housing, increasing minority business ownership and career opportunities, strategies to grow equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and fairness within criminal justice." (Citizen Times)

• I know there are still 3-1/2 months to go before the November election, but we must keep our enthusiasm up.

Two charts on why Trump -- not Biden-- has the enthusiasm problem; TLDR a LOT more people dislike Trump than they dislike Biden. https://t.co/eJngFf5J8E pic.twitter.com/dXLJp09Sgi

— Sarah E. Frostenson (@sfrostenson) July 15, 2020

• Double haters: In 2016, nearly one-fifth of the electorate didn't like either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, and exit polls showed Trump won that group of voters by a 17-point margin that easily could have accounted for his narrow wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. But according to newly released Quinnipiac University polling, this bloc of double-hater voters now prefers Joe Biden by a 27-point margin—an ominous sign for Trump. (What seems like bad news may actually be good news.)

• Joe Biden grabs and copies Jay Inslee's climate plan and Inslee is delighted. (Intelligencer)

•  "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man." This advances the conversation on BLM. (YouTube) Go to Emmanuel Acho's YouTube page for more of these uncomfortable (but necessary) conversations.

• A teenager creates an anti-racism activity calendar. Check it out here. Print if off. Try to do some of the suggested activities. (Google Drive)

• There have been more than 3,300 racial justice protests nationwide since late May, including hundreds in sparsely populated communities. These Black Lives Matter protesters don’t always prioritize defunding police departments or tearing down Confederate statues. Their goals are simpler but perhaps just as revolutionary: to force white neighbors not used to encountering so many black and brown faces in their towns to acknowledge their experiences with racism. (WaPo)

• Need some good news on the coronavirus situation? This article identifies six good pieces of news related to the fight against the virus right now. (WaPo)

• More days of loving Joe Biden (From 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden on DailyKos). My favorite---Biden has felt pain and found empathy.
• Day 8: Biden knows love and commitment
  Day 9: Biden knows exactly who Republicans are
  Day 10: Biden understands America
  Day 11: Biden will be a Trojan horse for Warren/Sanders
  Day 12: Biden has felt pain and found empathy
  Day 13: Biden is responsible for the Violence Against Women Act
   

On the lighter side

1. A little snark about people saying if we pull down confederate statues, their history
 will be forgotten.

This weekend marked the 244th anniversary of Americans pulling down the statue to King George III

He fought against America. He lost.

Since the statue is gone, obviously no one remembers that there was a Revolutionary War anymore. pic.twitter.com/rRzh39tUI6

— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) July 13, 2020

2. A little more snark for your listening pleasure: "Thank you for calling the White House." (YouTube)

3. Will this mask stupidity never end? Oh wait...

4. I guess it's true...

5. If you need visual proof of the stupidity factor...

6."But freedom..."

7.Speaking of stupid. Opening schools in the Fall without a plan how to prevent the spread of COVID. Could be deadly for a lot of students and teachers. Makes one think of the Hunger Games.

8. You knew I had to work in something from Hamilton, right? Well, here are some words of wisdom from King George about opening schools. Sing along with me now...

9. Gerry Brooks finally got his call through to Secretary Betsy DeVos. (YouTube)

10. This week the 'mandatory cat photo' made it under the "lighter side" heading. Note there are two cats in the photo. Ignore Fred in the foreground. Look instead at George in the crate in the background. That is the way he was sleeping...on his back with his legs splayed apart. This makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Tootles. Gotta run.

Remember: please leave me a comment so I know you were here. Thanks!

-Anne