Dear friends,
Apparently, my calendar broke and I failed to properly celebrate good-news-Tuesday (a holiday of my own invention) this week. My apologies! Hopefully, you will welcome some good news on a Thursday.
Biden’s lead in the popular vote total now exceeds 5 million. It amused me that Boris Johnson referred to Donald Trump as the “previous president” when addressing Parliament yesterday. It looks like Lauren Underwood may be able to hold onto her House seat in Illinois District 14; she flipped the district blue in 2018. Results should be final by the middle of next week because there’s a Nov. 17 deadline for counting mail-in ballots.
In response to the disturbing results when the police respond to 911 calls involving people in the midst of a mental health crisis, the city announced a pilot program to send mental health teams, made up of EMS workers and crisis experts to respond to 911 calls in two neighborhoods, probably East Harlem and the north Bronx. “The program is modeled after a program in Eugene, Oregon, the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program, in which paramedics and crisis workers have been incorporated into 911 calls.”
SUNY announced yesterday the formation of a Veteran and Military Action Council designed to increase college access by closing the tuition assistance gap for all students in Active Duty, Reserve, and in the National Guard. “This means that military-connected students would be paying about $250 per credit.”
Republican Congressman Tom Reed, who represents the people of Corning, Hornell, Elmira and Ithaca, recognizes Biden as the President-elect. It may seem like a paltry piece of good news, but in this political climate, it qualifies as an act of courage.
One useful thing we can do while we wait for an end to election-denial is to thank the election officials working at the county and state level for their work. This will take one minute. Important note: Kings County NY will not turn up; for reasons that elude me, our county is listed as New York City: Brooklyn.
Finally, a reminder, in case you missed it yesterday: Before Federal and NYS protections for folks facing evictions expire at the end of the year, please write a letter to your state legislators, urging them to pass the Emergency Housing Stability and Displacement Prevention Act, a comprehensive eviction moratorium. This is a ready-made action that will take you one minute.
A dear friend forwarded a powerful essay, written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Here’s a little excerpt:
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.
We are needed, that is all we can know.
Have a good day!
with love,
L
Thanks, Lynn - good news is especially appreciated this week!