Breakfast Bites (5/5)
Hello friends (and a big welcome to my newest friends!),
Last year at about this time, large swathes of the US experienced a brilliant and ongoing display of aurora borealis for several nights in a row. It was up in Canada too, of course, but the US doesn’t see shows like this as often as our northern neighbors do.
For a few days there, it seemed like everyone I knew was uploading photos and videos—to the point where we started poking fun at ourselves for doing so. The trails of color were gorgeous, best seen on camera, and ever-shifting. We also all got a chance to practice the art of patience and wait for peak moments.
As I was remembering all this, a couple things occurred to me:
We were all relying on a NOAA/Space Weather website to track when the electrical storms would arrive and what time of night the activity would be greatest. That website is still up, at least for the moment, and I hope it remains so, even through the cuts that are happening; and
Our resistance now is quite a bit like those northern lights. It shifts and fades and reemerges and you sometimes have to know where to look for it, but it’s getting stronger all the time.
But mostly, I was thinking about the collective experience of wonder. Of how breathtaking it is to feel united with someone who you might ordinarily never exchange a single word with… knowing that at a certain moment in time, you were both out there participating in the same activity.
We’re at another one of those inflection points. April 5th, April 19th, May 1st… how many of us were out there at the same time, doing the same thing, our bodies charged with the same intent? How many times have I teared up, looking at pictures of clever protest signs and marveling at the sheer number of people who believe enough in the good parts of our country to stand up and defend it? I’ve lost count.
I deliberately cultivate my hope because to do otherwise is keeping my gaze on the ground instead lifting it to the sky. I will not give in. And because you’re here, I know you won’t either. So let’s do this, my friends. Let’s go chase some northern lights.
(Note: I normally stick to just five or so things on Mondays. But there is so much good news that I don’t want to sit on it and have it go stale by Friday. Just consider it an especially hearty breakfast this week!)
Libraries and schools get the win!
Texas has traditionally been a stronghold for the Republicans, but that is changing. These wins are being touted as bad for book bans and good for LGBTQIA+ rights…
In Katy Independent School District (one of Texas’s largest districts near Houston), Victor Perez, who helped pass a policy requiring transgender students to be “outed” to their parents and is a proponent of book bans, lost his seat to challenger James Cross.
In nearby Fort Bend, another Houston-area district, Afshi Charania and Angie Wierzbicki won their elections for positions on the school board, flipping two conservative seats. This is important because this school board adopted a strict book banning policy on a 5-2 vote… and this election looks to have flipped that majority. The Houston Chronicle reports that the new board members have also challenged the district’s anti-transgender policy and the “Bluebonnet Curriculum,” which has a Christian-focus in its lessons.
In the Grapevine-Colleyville district (between Dallas and Fort Worth to the north), Matt Foust ousted incumbent Tammy Nakamura. Anti-transgender policies and biased curriculums have been implemented there just like the other districts.
In Mansfield (still between Dallas and Fort Worth but to the south), three conservative incumbents lost their seats to new challengers. This particular school board has become notorious for its policies regarding library books.
Finally (not in Texas), a book ban challenge to “Gender Queer: A Memoir” in Ashland, Wisconsin, “fell short after dozens of school staff, parents and others attended the April 21 school board meeting.”
The Chicago Teachers Union has voted for an agreement that covers 500 public schools in the Chicago area and includes a number of wins, including pay raises, better medical care and leave, and protections for academic freedom, Black history, and culturally relevant curriculum.
In the states…
Remember how Governor Janet Mills (Maine) told Trump, “We’ll see you in court”? Well, they did. And they won. The US Department of Agriculture signed an agreement “not to freeze, terminate or interfere with the state’s access to USDA funds based on the alleged Title IX violations without going through the legally required process.”
Governor Katie Hobbs (Arizona) vetoed Senate Bill 1164, which would have mandated that police and sheriff’s offices comply when ICE asks them to hold someone.
A judge ruled to broaden the medical exceptions to Idaho’s abortion ban, increasing healthcare access for pregnant people.
The challenge to Section 504 services arguing that gender dysphoria should not be considered a disability and therefore not accommodated—has been dropped. Seventeen state attorneys general had signed on to that lawsuit. Thank you to everyone who made calls on this!
In Iowa, Democrat Angel Ramirez won Tuesday’s special election in House District 78. This is considered a “safe” area, but it’s notable because she won 79 percent of the vote, out-performing Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election by 14 points. Her win follows Mike Zimmer’s, who flipped an Iowa senate seat in January.
Hitting them in the profits…
The Star Tribune in Minnesota (Target’s home state) published a story outlining how Target CEO Brian Cornell’s earnings have fallen 45 percent due to declining equity awards. In other words, Target didn’t make as much money, so he didn’t either. Keep up that boycott!
Tesla’s lawyers have included the Tesla Takedown events as an official “risk factor” in the paperwork they filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Wednesday, acknowledging that the ongoing protests are causing a “negative impact” on the company. Here again, people have power.
In April 25th’s newsletter, I mentioned that anti-DEI proposals at Apple, Costco, John-Deere, Goldman-Sachs, and Levi Strauss & Co were all defeated, at 99-1 percent margins. Let’s add American Express and Coca-Cola to that list. There is also a report that the Heritage Foundation withdrew its anti-DEI proposal from an IBM shareholders meeting, but I can only find one source and it’s a nuanced read.
But, continuing on that note, I had to chuckle at this article in Bloomberg where two of the Heritage Project architects (Jerry and Susan Bowyer) behind this push to eliminate DEI programs admit that “…we can’t be coming in at 1% forever and be taken seriously.” The article also states that “Currently, resolutions opposing diversity, equity and inclusion programs struggle to attract more than 2% support from shareholders.”
Bowyer says this unpopularity is because liberal causes have dominated for the past 40 years. But it also could just be that, oh… I don’t know… people recognize that some people have it tougher than others due to systemic inequity and a host of other factors (DEI encompasses considerations for pregnancy, religion, disabilities, gender, and so much more), and maybe we shouldn’t be [redacted] to each other?
Just two more things…
5 Calls dropped their April stats, and people care a whole lot about defeating the SAVE Act, bringing unlawfully deported immigrants back to get their constitutionally mandated due process rights, and stopping tariffs! Maine logged the most calls, followed by Alaska, Utah, and Montana.
And… I don’t know how many folks are following the politics in other countries, but Australia has followed in Canada’s footsteps and solidly rejected MAGA-ism. Although I don’t particularly like that the US is the proving ground for just how bad these policies are, I am glad that the citizens in other countries see how dangerous this road is and are choosing not to go down it.
That’s all from me for the moment. Remember to make good trouble and lend a hand where you can!