“Don’t you think that a 400-pound person wants to twirl just like a 120-pound person?” Louie Anderson said during a 2016 interview. He then recounted that while he and the crew were shooting an episode of Baskets in Paris, not far away terrorists were planning an attack at Le Bataclan theatre that, a day after the shoot wrapped, killed 118. “It just gave me so much pause and thought,” he continued, ‘that here we are on one hand making art and on the other hand destroying humanity, in this proximity, and it made me think that we all need to be making art with each other. And the only way that that can happen is if we twirl, if we allow everybody to twirl or to do their thing without judgement.”
Plenty of people did their best to tear down democracy or make their fellow citizens’ lives worse this week but, as always, there were also plenty of humans doing the right thing.
Please vote for the one person you think did the most good this week—and explain why you think they should be our Good Human of the Week.
I don't have a name, but I would like to nominate whoever it was at the National Archive who notified state Attorneys General about the faked Electors documents that were submitted. They took an extra step, and we should all be grateful.
As a proud Georgian voter, my vote goes to Senator Raphael Warnock who took to the floor of the senate on January 19th to remind us that “history is watching”. His powerful speech filled me with resolve and only reinforced my fierce commitment to do all I can to get out the vote in this upcoming election. It is up to us to “safeguard democracy”!
I believe that Pres Biden deserves an honourable mention. He is a role model for decency and self control. Even his criticism of the previous president is denigrating. Nor does he descends into name calling and ugly personal name-calling.
My vote this week has to go to my first Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh who passdd on early Friday morning in Hue, Vietnam at the age of 95. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by MLK his colleague and friend. Memorial services are being held around the world. Listed at plumvillage.org🙏🏻
YES. I also will miss his presence in this world. I believe that he made a huge difference worldwide to many many people, and influenced a large number to follow in his footsteps and also teach meditation and mindful living. Words are not enough to describe the impact of his passing but hopefully his teachings will live on in those who continue to practice. ❤️
My good human of the week is Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her steadfast devotion to voting rights and how forcefully she is about it in interviews, press conference statements and on social media. She should be the Senate Majority Leader, not Chuck Schumer.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is getting spectacularly more impressive. She is so smart, clearly a wonderful Democratic Senator, and YES, she would be a great Majority Leader.
Since it was Dolly Parton’s birthday this week I nominate her as the Good Person of the week. I don’t know if she did any extraordinary kind or good things this week, but she spreads so much joy and has a history of doing good: from investing in the Moderna vaccine, to investing her earnings from Whitney Houston’s recording of I Will Alway Love You in a Nashville African-American neighborhood, to starting Dolly’s Library that has given away hundreds of millions of free books to children. Dolly is a living Angel.
My nominee is my good friend Anne Beaupre Herendeen, who died this week of cancer at the age of 58. In her 40s, she went back to school and became a middle school math teacher in an age when teaching has become one of the toughest professions. She was always ready for a beer and a laugh. She genuinely cared about her friends and students, and adored her husband and two adult kids. She had a strong sarcastic edge that kept her from being sappy or overly sentimental and made her very relatable. She was an ordinary very good person who was loved by many.
I am so sorry for your loss. As a recently retired teacher I know the kind of person it takes to be a good teacher. Your Anne sounds like she was not only a good person, but had all the qualities of a great teacher.
Anne wins by a landslide. This planet needs each and every "ordinary good person who was loved by many." My condolences to you and Anne's family and friends.
Representative Katie Porter is my good human of the week. She was unknown to me until my niece showed me a video of her and her white board, just slaying a head bank honcho earning millions vis a vis an average American worker. She is No. Bull. Sh**t!
I nominate rabbi Charlie from Texas. The more I read about his actions, the more I see his good character: from welcoming a stranger who seemed to need a cup of tea ; to listening calmly to him for many hours, even while being terrified; to realizing from his security training that he needed to find an opportunity to escape and finding one; to making sure his congregants were safe before he exited.
I got chills reading about how he stayed calm & managed to plan an escape right in front of the guy that was holding them hostage in the synagogue. Amazing!
I agree. So many deserving people being nominated, but this man's character rose above all else to reveal the hero within himself even he may not have known existed despite one's training.
Rachel Maddow has been a bulldog on the fake elector issue. She’s done a superb job of unpacking each new development of the story. She’s my good person of the week.
I nominate the late Betty White who’s 100th birthday sparked a huge explosion of donations to animal shelters all over North America. She is literally and figuratively the gift that keeps on giving!
Today Mark Cuban launched an online pharmacy that offers over 100 generic drugs at affordable prices with a goal of being “radically transparent” in its price negotiations with drug companies. He bypasses the middleman to lower the cost.
Mark Cuban isn't overly liberal sometimes, seems like he wants to be fair to all, and looks for something he can agree with. But I saw what a truly great heart he has a few times on the show Shark Tank. Last night's show had a 19 year with a product that was not up his alley, but when all the sharks bowed out, he came in at the last minute and decided to give the young woman the money, but only on the bases of assisting her with how to proceed business-wise, with a second criteria to agree for her to meet his teenage children, as he looked obviously moved by this young, entrepreneur.
I don’t judge Mark by a television show. He is a fellow alum, and he has invested millions to create a state of the art sports media center at Indiana University. His generosity and good deeds are well known in Indiana.
Well so you agree. I didn't mean to suggest that I based my opinion on just one incident, I've watched him through the years, and I based my opinion on any of his good deeds.
I love this! The good person of the week. Joe Biden / honest ., hard working and caring. What America used to be- mistakes and all. I love that he said he needs to be . President not senator President. It gives me hope
Everyone in the Senate who gave barn burning speeches from Raskin to Booker for voting rights. There words are on the record speaking about the facts of our history. I need to utube more of them. Truly an inspiration.
Mark Cuban! A billionaire doing good by opening a business to sell reasonably priced meds instead of focusing of going off to Mars or somewhere else. Love this!
Tish James, for giving us some much needed good news about the investigation into Donnie's deals. Anyone who has been paying attention the last 5 years have seen the signs, heard the warnings, we are starting to put pen to paper in getting a resolve to the ongoing litigation's, including in Georgia. I hope he is sweating bullets. Meow & love to your kitty.
I vote absolutely for Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and father of the mindfulness movement, prayers and actions for peace leading to a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and teacher to hundreds of thousands in the arts of meditation, mindful breathing and peaceful resistance via total acceptance of the here and now. He doesn’t get my vote because he died just yesterday, 1/21/22. He gets my vote for reminding us this week of all the people today - including one of my teachers, the amazing Jon Kabot-Zinn, who now practice and teach the never-more-important art of mindfulness. Of being present in the NOW. Of paying attention to our breath and honoring the transitions we all take every single day which we can respond to without reaction in haste or anger or grief. We are reminded this week, at a time when the world seems to be at its most chaotic and unpredictable, that we can take pleasure and joy in the smallest parts of life. Maybe we are in quarantine, home schooling or home teaching, once again? maybe we are fearful of all the sickness and death? Maybe our urge is to rage at those who seem so intent upon destroying this fragile democracy which is, in the big scheme of things, so very new as an experiment for human governance? Hanh’s life reminds us to slow down. To sit with our thoughts. Sit with the silence of quarantine. Feel gratitude for the smallest things in life … which are often our greatest gifts. And to remember that peace is always the only way to achieve more of the same. I truly can think of nobody who deserves ‘good human of the week’ more.
Good human? Why, Beto, running for governor in Texas! His commitment & compassion & perseverance are phenomenal. He IS a people person and demonstrates exemplary competence. We all think so! What might our future be if we had leadership & support as Beto could deliver, if elected!
Louie's books are startlingly honest and compelling. The man was so sensitive & soulful & wry. On some level, I feel like I've lost a friend. May he find freedom and unconditional love in heaven.
My vote is also for Thich Nhat Hanh. He led an extraordinary life and was such a gifted teacher. His focus on peace and “engaged Buddhism” of spreading kindness, compassion, healing, and love worldwide really is transformative.
Stephanie Grisham stopped in her tracks and quit her job on the spot. As well she has helped the Select Committee by being forthright in her testimony thus aiding in establishing a timeline for the events of January 6th. Stephanie Grisham is a Republican with a backbone!
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who this week even more than the hundreds of weeks before, stood up calmly and resolutely for the rescue of our democracy. She simply brought time to a halt when she spoke to the need for one person, one vote, and that each vote be counted.
So many good suggestions. I was going to add Stephen Colbert for making us think. Elizabeth Warren was on the show, he stunned her by asking: "Do we really need a Senate, if they can't legislate?" Those Senators costing taxpayers millions and do nothing but obstruct should fear the possibility of losing their jobs. But actually my final choice is MARK CUBAN, taking on big pharma is at the top of being a good human.
President Joe Biden - a 2-hour press conference where he didn't yell at anybody, just explained quietly what he wants to do. He's a good president. I wish the press would give him the credit he deserves.
The one and only Senator Reverend Rafael Warnock: "History is watching us. Our children are counting on us.And I pray this body will have the courage to do what is right for our country and stand up in this defining moral moment in America to protect our sacred right to vote."
I know this good and powerful man will never give up fighting for this human right, and for that I am grateful.
I nominate Mark Cuban. A very wealthy American who took it upon himself to provide a profound service for others. Our Government couldn’t get it together to do it so Mark stepped up!
This week I choose to celebrate Thich Nhat Hanh. His words changed my life. I will forever be thankful for his simplistic advice to the most complex problems that we always seem to create for ourselves.
It blows my mind that I can say this, but I vote for the eight Supreme Court justices for agreeing that the January 6 Committee could have access to the documents etc from TFG’s White House records.
I like Sen. Tammy Duckworth! Her speech at the Senate debates moved me to tears. She spoke about the heroes like my dad and stepdad who fought for this freedom we have, and how insulting it is that others are so spoiled by their freedom that they don't even see the value of it - of what our heroes have fought and died to save and protect, but rather are more than willing to trash it all -- and for WHAT? Sen. Duckworth is my hero of the week, for sure.
After reading all the nominations I feel better about humanity. There are so so many good humans who we don’t know their names but everyday shows love, compassion, decency & dedication for the betterment of all. This gives me hope. I’ve spent the last five years focusing on the anger & hate and not appreciating the true goodness of my fellow humans. I pledge that 2022 for me will be the year of being a better steward of being a good human. I love & support you all💙💙💙
Typo in this sentence where off should be of: "Please vote for the one person you think did the most good this week—and explain why you think they should be our Good Human off the Week." Should be Good Human of the Week.
I nominate Janis Joplin. We remembered her birthday this week. Janis inspired many young women to explore and accept their sexuality, even long after she passed. She also inspired and keeps inspiring many songwriters. Her legacy is humane, awesome and effing fantastic!
I don't have a name, but I would like to nominate whoever it was at the National Archive who notified state Attorneys General about the faked Electors documents that were submitted. They took an extra step, and we should all be grateful.
As a proud Georgian voter, my vote goes to Senator Raphael Warnock who took to the floor of the senate on January 19th to remind us that “history is watching”. His powerful speech filled me with resolve and only reinforced my fierce commitment to do all I can to get out the vote in this upcoming election. It is up to us to “safeguard democracy”!
I agree, my vote goes to Senator Warnock
I believe that Pres Biden deserves an honourable mention. He is a role model for decency and self control. Even his criticism of the previous president is denigrating. Nor does he descends into name calling and ugly personal name-calling.
I, too, was going to nominate President Biden for his constant optimism is the face of such horrendous double dealing.
Typo: ... is NOT denigrating.
My vote this week has to go to my first Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh who passdd on early Friday morning in Hue, Vietnam at the age of 95. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by MLK his colleague and friend. Memorial services are being held around the world. Listed at plumvillage.org🙏🏻
Oh yes!!!!!❤️
YES. I also will miss his presence in this world. I believe that he made a huge difference worldwide to many many people, and influenced a large number to follow in his footsteps and also teach meditation and mindful living. Words are not enough to describe the impact of his passing but hopefully his teachings will live on in those who continue to practice. ❤️
My good human of the week is Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her steadfast devotion to voting rights and how forcefully she is about it in interviews, press conference statements and on social media. She should be the Senate Majority Leader, not Chuck Schumer.
I second your proposal for Sen Klobuchar to be the leader of the Democrats in the Senate.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is getting spectacularly more impressive. She is so smart, clearly a wonderful Democratic Senator, and YES, she would be a great Majority Leader.
In a better future world, Senator Klobuchar would become president.
I also agree
Since it was Dolly Parton’s birthday this week I nominate her as the Good Person of the week. I don’t know if she did any extraordinary kind or good things this week, but she spreads so much joy and has a history of doing good: from investing in the Moderna vaccine, to investing her earnings from Whitney Houston’s recording of I Will Alway Love You in a Nashville African-American neighborhood, to starting Dolly’s Library that has given away hundreds of millions of free books to children. Dolly is a living Angel.
Another great choice for "Good Human" of every week.
My nominee is my good friend Anne Beaupre Herendeen, who died this week of cancer at the age of 58. In her 40s, she went back to school and became a middle school math teacher in an age when teaching has become one of the toughest professions. She was always ready for a beer and a laugh. She genuinely cared about her friends and students, and adored her husband and two adult kids. She had a strong sarcastic edge that kept her from being sappy or overly sentimental and made her very relatable. She was an ordinary very good person who was loved by many.
She sounds extraordinary. Thank you for sharing this.
So sorry for your loss. Sounds like she was an amazing person!
I am so sorry for your loss. As a recently retired teacher I know the kind of person it takes to be a good teacher. Your Anne sounds like she was not only a good person, but had all the qualities of a great teacher.
Anne wins by a landslide. This planet needs each and every "ordinary good person who was loved by many." My condolences to you and Anne's family and friends.
Representative Katie Porter is my good human of the week. She was unknown to me until my niece showed me a video of her and her white board, just slaying a head bank honcho earning millions vis a vis an average American worker. She is No. Bull. Sh**t!
Love Katie Porter, she is AMAZING!!
I second that!
That lady has the FACTS, and is not intimidated. She presents them with courage and honesty and power.
I nominate rabbi Charlie from Texas. The more I read about his actions, the more I see his good character: from welcoming a stranger who seemed to need a cup of tea ; to listening calmly to him for many hours, even while being terrified; to realizing from his security training that he needed to find an opportunity to escape and finding one; to making sure his congregants were safe before he exited.
I got chills reading about how he stayed calm & managed to plan an escape right in front of the guy that was holding them hostage in the synagogue. Amazing!
I agree. So many deserving people being nominated, but this man's character rose above all else to reveal the hero within himself even he may not have known existed despite one's training.
I agree! Amazing
Rachel Maddow has been a bulldog on the fake elector issue. She’s done a superb job of unpacking each new development of the story. She’s my good person of the week.
Rachel should be Good Person of the YEAR.
Raphael Warnock gets my vote.
I nominate the late Betty White who’s 100th birthday sparked a huge explosion of donations to animal shelters all over North America. She is literally and figuratively the gift that keeps on giving!
Yes, we should be like Betty!
Today Mark Cuban launched an online pharmacy that offers over 100 generic drugs at affordable prices with a goal of being “radically transparent” in its price negotiations with drug companies. He bypasses the middleman to lower the cost.
Amazing!
Mark Cuban isn't overly liberal sometimes, seems like he wants to be fair to all, and looks for something he can agree with. But I saw what a truly great heart he has a few times on the show Shark Tank. Last night's show had a 19 year with a product that was not up his alley, but when all the sharks bowed out, he came in at the last minute and decided to give the young woman the money, but only on the bases of assisting her with how to proceed business-wise, with a second criteria to agree for her to meet his teenage children, as he looked obviously moved by this young, entrepreneur.
I don’t judge Mark by a television show. He is a fellow alum, and he has invested millions to create a state of the art sports media center at Indiana University. His generosity and good deeds are well known in Indiana.
Well so you agree. I didn't mean to suggest that I based my opinion on just one incident, I've watched him through the years, and I based my opinion on any of his good deeds.
Justice Sotomayor, for being a lion in defense of Roe v Wade. Marc Elias for kicking ass in court to defend voting rights.
I love this! The good person of the week. Joe Biden / honest ., hard working and caring. What America used to be- mistakes and all. I love that he said he needs to be . President not senator President. It gives me hope
Everyone in the Senate who gave barn burning speeches from Raskin to Booker for voting rights. There words are on the record speaking about the facts of our history. I need to utube more of them. Truly an inspiration.
Mark Cuban! A billionaire doing good by opening a business to sell reasonably priced meds instead of focusing of going off to Mars or somewhere else. Love this!
All those who voted to carve out the filibuster so we could pass voting rights.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Tish James, for giving us some much needed good news about the investigation into Donnie's deals. Anyone who has been paying attention the last 5 years have seen the signs, heard the warnings, we are starting to put pen to paper in getting a resolve to the ongoing litigation's, including in Georgia. I hope he is sweating bullets. Meow & love to your kitty.
I vote absolutely for Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and father of the mindfulness movement, prayers and actions for peace leading to a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and teacher to hundreds of thousands in the arts of meditation, mindful breathing and peaceful resistance via total acceptance of the here and now. He doesn’t get my vote because he died just yesterday, 1/21/22. He gets my vote for reminding us this week of all the people today - including one of my teachers, the amazing Jon Kabot-Zinn, who now practice and teach the never-more-important art of mindfulness. Of being present in the NOW. Of paying attention to our breath and honoring the transitions we all take every single day which we can respond to without reaction in haste or anger or grief. We are reminded this week, at a time when the world seems to be at its most chaotic and unpredictable, that we can take pleasure and joy in the smallest parts of life. Maybe we are in quarantine, home schooling or home teaching, once again? maybe we are fearful of all the sickness and death? Maybe our urge is to rage at those who seem so intent upon destroying this fragile democracy which is, in the big scheme of things, so very new as an experiment for human governance? Hanh’s life reminds us to slow down. To sit with our thoughts. Sit with the silence of quarantine. Feel gratitude for the smallest things in life … which are often our greatest gifts. And to remember that peace is always the only way to achieve more of the same. I truly can think of nobody who deserves ‘good human of the week’ more.
My good human of the week is Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her efforts on voting rights. Plus her efforts to reach across the aisle."
I'm twirling, Louie. Thank you.
Good human? Why, Beto, running for governor in Texas! His commitment & compassion & perseverance are phenomenal. He IS a people person and demonstrates exemplary competence. We all think so! What might our future be if we had leadership & support as Beto could deliver, if elected!
Louie's books are startlingly honest and compelling. The man was so sensitive & soulful & wry. On some level, I feel like I've lost a friend. May he find freedom and unconditional love in heaven.
My vote is also for Thich Nhat Hanh. He led an extraordinary life and was such a gifted teacher. His focus on peace and “engaged Buddhism” of spreading kindness, compassion, healing, and love worldwide really is transformative.
Louie Anderson was as nice as he was funny. One of my coworkers ran into him and was struck by just how kind and warm he was.
Louie, Bob Saget, all who bring humor and joy without inflicting wounds.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh, of blessed memory.
Yes I believe he should be remembered this week. What a beautiful life albeit troubled. He made a way and he taught so many others 🙏🏻
Stephanie Grisham stopped in her tracks and quit her job on the spot. As well she has helped the Select Committee by being forthright in her testimony thus aiding in establishing a timeline for the events of January 6th. Stephanie Grisham is a Republican with a backbone!
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who this week even more than the hundreds of weeks before, stood up calmly and resolutely for the rescue of our democracy. She simply brought time to a halt when she spoke to the need for one person, one vote, and that each vote be counted.
So many good suggestions. I was going to add Stephen Colbert for making us think. Elizabeth Warren was on the show, he stunned her by asking: "Do we really need a Senate, if they can't legislate?" Those Senators costing taxpayers millions and do nothing but obstruct should fear the possibility of losing their jobs. But actually my final choice is MARK CUBAN, taking on big pharma is at the top of being a good human.
Christine Baskets is one of TV's great characters, but my vote goes for beloved teacher and inspiration to so many, Thich Nhat Hanh, rest in power.
President Joe Biden - a 2-hour press conference where he didn't yell at anybody, just explained quietly what he wants to do. He's a good president. I wish the press would give him the credit he deserves.
The 48 Democrats who voted to carve out the filibuster to pass the voting rights bills.
The one and only Senator Reverend Rafael Warnock: "History is watching us. Our children are counting on us.And I pray this body will have the courage to do what is right for our country and stand up in this defining moral moment in America to protect our sacred right to vote."
I know this good and powerful man will never give up fighting for this human right, and for that I am grateful.
I nominate Mark Cuban. A very wealthy American who took it upon himself to provide a profound service for others. Our Government couldn’t get it together to do it so Mark stepped up!
Amen!
So many good people! Monday through Friday I catch Rachel Ray👍
She is always so positive and upbeat and contributes to so many! She makes my day happy🙏🏻
☔️ I will miss him. 💧
This week I choose to celebrate Thich Nhat Hanh. His words changed my life. I will forever be thankful for his simplistic advice to the most complex problems that we always seem to create for ourselves.
It blows my mind that I can say this, but I vote for the eight Supreme Court justices for agreeing that the January 6 Committee could have access to the documents etc from TFG’s White House records.
Betty White RIP
I like Sen. Tammy Duckworth! Her speech at the Senate debates moved me to tears. She spoke about the heroes like my dad and stepdad who fought for this freedom we have, and how insulting it is that others are so spoiled by their freedom that they don't even see the value of it - of what our heroes have fought and died to save and protect, but rather are more than willing to trash it all -- and for WHAT? Sen. Duckworth is my hero of the week, for sure.
After reading all the nominations I feel better about humanity. There are so so many good humans who we don’t know their names but everyday shows love, compassion, decency & dedication for the betterment of all. This gives me hope. I’ve spent the last five years focusing on the anger & hate and not appreciating the true goodness of my fellow humans. I pledge that 2022 for me will be the year of being a better steward of being a good human. I love & support you all💙💙💙
I’ll nominate Robert Reich, the economist who helps us to understand about the economy in his newsletter on a daily basis.
Raphael Warnock gets my vote.
I agree, the Reverend Raphael is a wonderful human being.
Typo in this sentence where off should be of: "Please vote for the one person you think did the most good this week—and explain why you think they should be our Good Human off the Week." Should be Good Human of the Week.
I nominate Janis Joplin. We remembered her birthday this week. Janis inspired many young women to explore and accept their sexuality, even long after she passed. She also inspired and keeps inspiring many songwriters. Her legacy is humane, awesome and effing fantastic!
The government of Australia for revoking Novak Djokovic‘a visa and the Judges for rejecting his challenge to stay in the country!