Good news for people who want to do good: Day 305

Welcome to your daily roundup of good news about good people, how you can help make a difference — and a picture of President Obama to get your week started right. Protesters take to the National Mall to call attention to ongoing struggle in Puerto Rico The hurricane may be long gone, but the damage […]

By Alison R. Parker - November 20, 2017

Protesters take to the National Mall to call attention to ongoing struggle in Puerto Rico

The hurricane may be long gone, but the damage and recovery in Puerto Rico is still front and center. And the relief package that the Trump administration has offered falls woefully short of what is urgently needed.

Worried that the U.S. territory’s struggle in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is being forgotten by those in Washington, protesters hit the National Mall in droves to call attention to this humanitarian crisis.

They sang and chanted: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” and “Who’s in the house? Puerto Rico’s in the house!” Citizens, politicians, and renowned playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda made The Unity for Puerto Rico March a sight to see, and an urgent message to hear.

Proud that @Lin_Manuel is spending his Sunday standing w/ #PuertoRico …and having fun doing it! #Power4PuertoRico #unitymarchforpuertorico pic.twitter.com/Y24qr92qfd

— Power4PuertoRico (@Pwr4PuertoRico) November 19, 2017

Something tells me this crowd hasn’t forgotten about that paper towel stunt. #UnityMarchforPuertoRico pic.twitter.com/YdWtFJL8Db

— Alejandro Alvarez 🫡 (@aletweetsnews) November 19, 2017

Unfurled a huge flag outside the Lincoln Memorial. @Lin_Manuel was there, speaking about fundraising efforts. #UnityMarchforPuertoRico pic.twitter.com/2ic1HGaQCI

— Alejandro Alvarez 🫡 (@aletweetsnews) November 19, 2017

We march for a just recovery for PR, led by the people, and for the people of Puerto Rico. #UnityMarchforPuertoRico #Power4PuertoRico pic.twitter.com/xVon7Zxhqz

— Hispanic Federation (@HispanicFed) November 19, 2017

#unitymarchforpr pic.twitter.com/wA2tX8sU5o

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 19, 2017

Presente! Thousands in DC holding up PR flag for #UnityMarchForPuertoRico pic.twitter.com/pvLLdXbz4U

— Center for Popular Democracy💥 (@popdemoc) November 19, 2017

Thousands marching in DC for at #UnityMarchforPuertoRico. #PuertoRicoSeLevanta #JustRecovery @Pwr4PuertoRico @HispanicFed @popdemoc pic.twitter.com/D2v7D2H6rI

— Ana Maria Archila🦋🐺 (@AnaMariaforNY) November 19, 2017

ACTION ALERT: Your regular reminder to #GetCovered during open enrollment!

If you’ve been meaning to sign up for health insurance but just haven’t quite gotten around to it yet, consider this your friendly reminder to #GetCovered while you can.

Obamacare open enrollment lasts through Dec. 15, but there’s no time like the present to take care of yourself.

Visit healthcare.gov to find the plans available to you, and check out covered.indivisible.org to get all the information and guidance you need.

Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett has a handy breakdown of some of the facts you need to know:

California on track to hit 50 percent renewable power goal — 10 years early

California has long been a leader on environmental issues, and they’re not slowing down yet.

Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law directing utility companies in the state to hit a goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.

It was a highly ambitious notion — and companies stepped up in a big way. Rather than 2030, the state is on track to hit Brown’s target 10 years early.

In 2016, 32.9 percent of the electricity PG&E sold to its customers came from renewable sources, according to the report. Edison reached 28.2 percent renewable power in 2016, while SDG&E — the state’s smallest investor-owned utility — hit 43.2 percent …

Brown has touted California’s ability to boost renewable power and lower emissions while growing its economy. Even as President Trump has moved to scale back federal efforts to combat global warming, Brown has been pushing other states and foreign governments to join California.

“We don’t want to do nothing and just sit there and let the climate get worse,” he said Monday by phone from Germany, where he is attending climate talks. “California is all in.”

Brown has been standing up to Trump for a long time, on issues from climate change to health care to immigration, and his state is proving that good works can be done despite the federal government’s best efforts to thwart them.

Spanish music star Alejandro Sanz dedicates his award to DREAMers

“They are DREAMers, they are our children, they are from our community. This goes to them.”

With those moving words, Spanish superstar Alejandro Sanz dedicated his ‘Person of the Year’ award at the Latin Grammys to young undocumented immigrants across the nation.

Joined on stage by a group of young immigrants wearing t-shirts reading “WE HAVE ONE DREAM,” Sanz’ powerful moment brought the house down.

“The world spends half its life trying to build walls, and its other half trying to break them down,” he noted. “For every stone, there is a DREAMer.”

As Puerto Rican playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda noted, there was “not a dry eye in the house.”

Rep. Jackie Speier offers hope: “There is a new day for women in the workplace.”

The seemingly daily accounts of sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by men in powerful positions has not been an easy thing to confront for those who have been victimized.

But the brighter sunlight now shining on the issue is undoubtedly a good thing, as targets of such heinous behavior may now feeler safer and braver in coming forward and telling their stories — and holding abusers to account.

California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier has been leading the way on this issue, starting in the very halls of Congress. And when asked if things have changed since the election of admitted abuser Trump, Speier declared that they had, and that progress on the issue will continue to come as more and more people speak up about the harm that has been done to them.

Well, I think there is some truth to that. If the president was running today, I bet he would not be elected, because I think that we have had a huge cultural shift that is 40 years in the making. But I think all of us are grateful now that there is a new day for women in the workplace, where they do not have to put up with sexual advances that are unwanted, that they do not have to live and work in a hostile work environment. And that’s going to be good for all of us in the workplace.

Three former DoD Secretaries write to Congress to oppose any tax scheme that adds to the deficit

Former Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta, Ash Carter, and Chuck Hagel have sent a joint letter to Congress, urging them not to pass any form of the GOP tax scam that would increase the national deficit.

The three men noted how past budget cuts have “seen military readiness erode” and have “hollowed out” our military forces.

“It is difficult, if not impossible, to properly plan for future budget contingencies” with so much uncertainty already surrounding the process. And the GOP’s tax scheme would do nothing to assuage that.

“Now added to all of this uncertainty is a tax bill under consideration by Congress that is estimated to add anywhere from $1.5 to $2 trillion dollars to the national deficit over the next decade,” the letter continues.

The Republican bill “is not part of a disciplined process that addresses all parts of the budget,” but would rather, “in the absence of a comprehensive budget that addresses both entitlements and revenues, force even deeper reductions in our national security capabilities.”