Breakfast Bites (6/30)

Hello my friends,

Happy Monday and welcome to the new folks. I’m glad to have you here.

Well, the budget is back in the Senate and the Republicans’ goal is to vote on it today. (Apologies if I’m behind the news even as I publish this… this is a fast-moving story.)

What we do know is that public pushback can work. Sen. Mike Lee (UT) ultimately withdrew the public lands sale provision—ostensibly because he couldn’t get the safeguards he wanted—but plenty of folks are talking about how overwhelming public pressure forced him to back down.

So the lesson is to call your representatives. (Or email them if you really can’t stand being on the phone. I like using Resist.bot for emails.) Indivisible National has published a list of senators and house representatives to focus on if you live in their districts, picked either because they’re wavering or are going to be vulnerable in elections this fall.

And don’t lose hope… there’s another chance to stop this abominable bill in the House.

So with that, here’s a few positive things to fuel your week.

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Love is fierce…

An Italian American restaurant in Chicago parodied Chick-fil-a branding and sold chicken sandwiches as a fundraiser for Brave Space Alliance, a Black- and trans-led community organization, saying they were offering a "more gay, less repressed version of that chicken chain you’re thinking of."

I usually stick to US-based news, but Budapest’s Pride Parade—reported to be its biggest ever, despite being outright banned by Orban—deserves a mention. A word to the wise, most establishment media have consistently given conservative numbers when reporting how many people show up to the protests and rallies here in the US. Organizers of the Budapest Parade estimate that 200,000 showed up, breaking the previous record of 35,000, but most media are reporting around 100,000.

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Saying h*ll no…

DOGE has lost control of the grants.gov website, according to a story broken by the Washington Post. Federal employees received an email instructing them to resume “standard” procedures for posting grant opportunities.

The American Academy of Pediatrics will “continue to publish its own evidence-based recommendations and schedules,” for childhood vaccines, standing in opposition to the new CDC Advisory Committee’s board.

You may have seen that the Department of the Interior wanted the public to report incidents of “negative” history… well, apparently hundreds of comments have come in that A) told them to go f*** themselves and B) overwhelmingly supported more funding and better protection of public lands.

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In the courts…

The Supreme Court’s recent rulings have included some real doozies, but they did uphold a provision in the Affordable Healthcare Act that ensures full insurance coverage of certain healthcare services, which encompass cancer- and HIV-prevention care.

This last week, District Judge Andrew Carter issued an injunction against the planned shutdown of Job Corps centers, saying the move was illegal. Yes, this decision has now been complicated by the Supreme Court’s decision that appears to ban nationwide injunctions. In this case, the majority of the job centers affected are represented by the case—so there’s potentially a way forward here.

Similarly, Judge James Donato granted a preliminary injunction that blocks the Trump administration from terminating the collective bargaining rights of a coalition of unions. It seems like this case will also be affected by the aforementioned SCOTUS ruling, but I didn’t find anyone talking about how. I’ll update you when and if I find out.

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Good climate news…

A broad coalition of people and organizations collaborated to acquire a 1,517-acre parcel of old-growth redwoods forest and transfer it to the Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space Preserve—protecting this area for the future.

The border wall in Texas, which is terrible for the environment on so many levels, has been defunded by the state legislature without fanfare.

Scientists have identified an apple tree that is both one of the oldest and (prior to cloning) the only one of its kind in North America—a Drap D'Or de Bretagna (Golden Cloth of Brittany) on Verona Island in Maine.

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In somewhat older news…

Ghazala Hashmi will be the first Muslim and the first Indian-American to appear on the ballot for a Virginia statewide office after she won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on June 18th.

Twenty states were awarded a preliminary injunction against an order that would have withheld previously committed federal transportation funds if they did not “assist” with immigration “enforcement.” (Yes, I’m using air quotes liberally and sarcastically here. We’re all seeing how these efforts actually go.)

In Maine, farm workers will finally be guaranteed the same state minimum wage that most other workers earn, starting in 2026.

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Okay Sunny-siders, I challenge you to take a few minutes at some point this week and indulge your senses in something beautiful and joyful. If you need a few suggestions: pause to appreciate a beautiful sunset, cuddle with a pet, or savor a quiet cup of tea while reading a book. Mostly, I hope you can do something to fortify yourself as you continue to resist.

I’ll “see” you on Friday.