Dear Friends,
Jeffrey Weiss, Charles Goldman, and I found plenty of stories to feel good about this week. Before I give you the detail, I need to make a quick pitch, because our success relies on your support:
Donate $10 or more this month and we’ll include you in a drawing to win one of six $50 Orchestrate Hospitality gift cards, redeemable at Gateway Market, Centro, Django, Malo, South Union Bread Cafe, Zombie Burger, and Liberty Street Kitchen. (If you’re donating monthly, you’re name’s automatically in the hat.)
LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S “GOOD NEWS” PROGRAM
PANDAS (1:00). The iconic Chinese bear’s numbers are on the rise. Doing my part, I assure Jeffrey I will continue to abstain from eating panda steaks. Charles, who reminds us that good news isn’t his wheelhouse, suggests that if the National Zoo in Washington, DC, can secure a couple new pandas, it would deter China from nuking the Deep State.
Solar panels on the roof of Broadmoor Community Church, New Orleans.
NOLA COMMUNITY POWER (4:00). In response to the extended power outages caused by hurricanes Katrina and Ida, a network of churches, unions, and environmental groups formed Together New Orleans. TNO is now building the nation’s largest network of solar and storage hubs to “provide charging and cooling stations, lights, food, and other vital resources and information when the power goes out.”
FRANCE’S ZERO-WASTE AGENDA (5:30). France is leading the way in efforts to eliminate waste. A 2020 law requires public buildings to install water fountains, bans businesses from destroying unsold clothing, bans supermarkets from tossing food they can’t sell, and sets a goal to eliminate single-use plastic by 2040. The city of Roubaix recruited 100 families into a program to cut their waste in half and save each family $1,000 per year. Meanwhile in Paris, since 1990, driving has fallen by about 45%, public transportation has risen 30%, and bicycle use has increased 1,000%.
CLASSICAL MUSICIANS HELP CONVINCE DUTCH TO DITCH OIL SUBSIDIES (8:30). Over the past two years, Dutch climate activists organized a series of blockades of a major highway to protest $50.9 billion in annual fossil-fuel subsidies. The blockades grew from 150 people to 10,000-25,000, including a stunning performance by 180 classical musicians. The sustained campaign resulted in the Dutch Parliament voting to phase out the subsidies.
THE LASTING IMPACT OF NONVIOLENT ACTION (12:45). The New York Times (aka, the Mouthpiece of the Status Quo) recently derided progressive movements like Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo as failures. In response, in a well-researched column, “Think #MeToo didn’t make a real difference? Think again”, Paul and Mark Engler lay out clear evidence of the broad, lasting impact of all three movements. Specifically regarding #MeToo, progress is evident in 25 states, where more than 80 anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault laws have been enacted since the launch of #MeToo.
A WAR THAT WAS LITERALLY SWEET (15:30). In 1839, the border between Iowa and Missouri was unclear. Each state’s governor sent troops to the disputed border, and Missouri officials tried to collect taxes from Iowans living there. After the Missouri tax collectors were driven off by pitchfork-wielding Iowa farmers, they decided to steal honey from three beehives in lieu of taxes. It could have gotten much worse, but both governors opted for a diplomatic solution in the courts. Iowa won, but Missouri got to keep the honey. Moral: Diplomacy works.
WOMEN’S WELL-BEING IMPROVES ACROSS THE GLOBE (20:00). Globally, the empowerment of women is bringing down fertility rates and raising living standards. Mexican and Belizean women now outlive US men. Many South American countries are improving life expectancy, a result of government initiatives over the past few decades. Iceland is #1 in gender equality. Cuba sends more doctors overseas than the entire World Health Organization. On the flip side, US men are now living 73.7 years, six years less than US women — about which Jeffrey quips, “This is good news because the idea of a country full of US men is terrifying.”
DESPITE THE NEWS, VIOLENCE ACROSS THE WORLD LESSENS (31:15). Globally, despite the handful of terrible conflicts that make the news, we’ve seen a growth in democracy and a decrease in political violence. Rwanda is showing the world how to move from genocide to harmony. South Africa established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bring peace between peoples with long histories of tension. Costa Rica is the most successful presidential republic in the world. Switzerland has the most unique and arguably the most democratic national government in the world, and Ireland is governed so well it’s restored peace after the British spent centuries screwing things up.
TOM BRADY VINDICATED AS GREATEST OF ALL TIME (40:00). I know you saw this coming: Charles lays out incontrovertible proof that the New England Patriots’ historic Super Bowl run was attributable to Tom Brady, not Bill Belichick.
EXPOSING THE LIES IN DEATH PENALTY CASES (45:15). Charles discusses the work of the Innocence Project, which has now exonerated 250 people from death row. The death penalty is highly discriminatory, against both racial minorities and the poor. The Innocence Project has exposed ineffective counsel, the inaccuracy of eye-witness testimony, the often brutal and biased nature of forced confessions, and forensic malpractice. And as Jeffrey reminds us, most countries around the world have eliminated the death penalty completely.
ONE MORE WAR TO FIGHT (53:00). Earlier this year, we had Charles’ brother, Stephen, on the program to discuss his new book. Relying on unpublished letters and other primary sources, Dr. Goldman uses the veterans’ words and actions to depict their steadfast struggle to preserve the memory and understanding of why the Civil War was fought, and to confront the implications of remembrance, commemoration, and reconciliation for America’s future.
SMALL, SUSTAINABLE FARMS ON THE RISE (58:45). The decline in the number of farms in the US is less than it’s been in previous years. That’s actually good news, given that the proliferation of farm-to-market operations is taking off and sales at those farms reached $10.7 billion in 2020 — a 35% increase from 2019.
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. Thanks also to the small businesses, non-profits, and individual donors who help make this program possible. And again, if you donate in January, we’ll throw your name in a hat for the Orchestrate Hospitality gift card drawing.
Ed Fallon
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Ed Fallon