shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
I took a break from social media and the news on Sunday, and watched The Avengers Infinity War and Endgame - which cheered me greatly. Also did the whole work thing today. Trying to figure out if I want to fly down to South Carolina to see Mother at the end of April or the beginning of May, with a pesky Doctor's Appointment in between. When one gets older - one gets plagued by Doctor Appointments.

Anywho here's some relatively good news from the American Resistance and it's Global Allies in the on-going and seemingly futile fight against fascism, oppression, inequality, conformity, climate change, and evil oligarchs (aka altogether? THANOS or the forces of darkness).

1.More than 100 lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration, with courts fully blocking 26 executive actions and another 61 pending in court. Some important cases and updates include:

a. U.S. Special Counsel Termination: On February 21, 2025, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked Trump’s removal of the U.S. Special Counsel. On March 6th, the plaintiff ended the legal challenge after a federal appeals court panel stayed the order blocking his removal.

b. DOGE: Numerous lawsuits have been filed targeting DOGE, including over the agency’s existence and lack of transparency. On February 21st, a Manhattan-based federal judge issued an order blocking DOGE’s access to Treasury Department data systems. On March 5th, new filings were initiated over Trump’s claim during the Joint Adress that Elon Musk is solely in charge of DOGE.

c. CFPB Closure: On February 14th, a federal judge temporarily blocked the agency’s dismantling. On March 3rd, a federal judge continued the pause.

d. USAID Freeze: On March 5th, the Supreme Court sided with a federal district judge and rejected Trump’s executive order to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding.

e. Funding Freeze: On March 6th, a Rhode Island-based Federal District Court judge extended the block on the Trump Administration’s sweeping order to freeze federal loans and grants, saying that the White House put itself above Congress.

f. Mass Civil Servant Terminations: On March 5th, the U.S. Merit Protection Board, which oversees federal employees, blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from firing probationary employees.

g. Inspectors General Terminations: On February 12th, eight inspectors general filed a lawsuit appealing their termination. A federal judge denied their immediate reinstatement but the case is still expected to proceed.
These are just a few.

2. AOC introduces a bill to ban Congress from owning and trading stocks. [It won't go through - they've tried this before. But there is hope at least.]

3.Via Zann Z on FB: The rest of the world needs to know this: the physical size of America is VAST. [It is. It takes at least a week maybe two to travel across the US by car. Seven - eight hours by plane.] We ARE protesting EVERYWHERE! We are gathering on small town street corners, in front of suburban Tesla dealerships, on the steps of city councils. We are an isolated land by nature. Seprated by mountain ranges, miles of terrain, and disastrous economic conditions, but we are not sitting home doing nothing. The media is not painting an accurate picture of the resistance, but We The People are not complying. [This is actually true - over the weekend, people turned out in mass and protested at all of the National Parks.The United States has 63 national parks, which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service.]

:

* Protest Outside the Heritage Foundation in DC, there were several over the weekend

* Protests in the National Parks 2 weeks ago

* Thousands Gather at the National Parks

Photos of Protests at the Parks

Nationwide Protest Over Telsa and Elon Musk held in Stamford (also had ones across NY State.)

ICE Protests in Los Angeles Shut Down Major Freeway
[there's even mover listed further down the list]
4. Tesla Manhattan closed permanently.

This is kind of why and Hundreds of New Yorkers stormed it to shut it down

Note this was all going on at the same time as protests over the detained Columbia Student.

5. CBS's 60 Minutes reporting on music and DEI. Go 60 minutes diversity, equity, inclusion!

60 Minutes has Students Perform Despite Trump Admin DEI rollbacks

Also Here

6. A federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump administration efforts to illegally deport Mahmoud Khalil, a legal resident, and a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University. Or he would have already been gone. Speaking up matters.

Federal Judge Hears Challenge to Mahmoud Khalil Detention

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Activist Arrested by ICE

7.Republicans in the South Carolina House tried to push through a provision barring DEI practices in the state budget. It nearly succeeded until Rep. Jermaine Johnson and other Democrats stepped up and called them out.

8. Focus group: Trump swing voters in Michigan have buyers' remorse. [I would think so? They set the house on fire.]

9.Christer Gardell, a Swedish billionaire and hedge fund manager, issued a stark warning about Tesla stock and what he believes are bubbles in the stock market. Tesla stock has been extremely volatile as of late amidst controversies and souring sentiments over CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly political leanings. Gardell stated that the electric vehicle maker’s valuation could drop as much as 95% due to the “circus” surrounding its CEO. “Tesla, especially now with the whole Musk circus going on everywhere, is probably the most expensive stock on the global stock exchanges right now. It could go down 95% – and maybe it should go down 95%.” The Swedish billionaire sees Tesla as fundamentally a car company. Thus, he does not understand why the market has given the EV maker such a high value. Gardell believes the EV maker has become a poster child of sorts of a market that has become speculative, where share prices do not reflect true valuations anymore, as noted in a CarUp report. The hedge fund manager noted that in Tesla’s case, this “eternal bubble” should have burst long ago. “I have commented that it should have burst over the past five years, but it still hasn’t. The valuation is incomprehensible,” he explained. The hedge fund manager, however, noted that once the crash happens, the decline would be dramatic.

Go HERE

10. Armed Forces Brewing Company (AFBC) opened in Norfolk in 2024.
In a statement, the brewery said it was closing its Norfolk location and "we had chosen Norfolk because of the large military and veteran community ... unfortunately our ability to profitably operate in Norfolk was severely impacted by a local woke mob.” multiple local civic leagues came out against the brewery's request for a conditional use permit due to AFBC shareholder and veteran Robert O’Neill sharing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric online, including calling members of the LGBTQ community “pedophiles." Beal said it created a "toxic environment" and that they would relocate to a "more pro-small business social and economic climate.”

11.Canada’s Mark Carney vows to fight Trump's tariffs: Liberal Party of Canada leader Mark Carney vowed on March 9 to “keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect” in a message to Donald.

Go Here

12. Bernie is turning out huge crowds. 9000 in Michigan. And they are all huge like that.

Bernie Sanders Steps into Leadership of the Anti-Trump Resistance

Bernie Sanders Draws 10,000 supporters to Warren, Michigan

13. 3500 turned up in Austin with Sen Elizabeth Warren.

14.In a town with just over 1,000 residents, hundreds of people packed Belmont's Community Building Saturday for a town hall hosted by Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan. The building was filled to capacity with people even waiting outside and peeking through the windows.

In Belmont, Wisconsin - a Democrat gives a master class on how it is done by holding a town hall meeting with a 1,000 people, filled past capacity, while the Republican hides

Also go here

15. Meet the Federal Worker who went Rogue

>Ortiz is an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- the federal agency in charge of enforcing U.S. workplace anti-discrimination laws that has undergone tumultuous change since President Donald Trump took office. Like millions of other federal employees, Ortiz opened an ominous email on Jan. 28 titled “Fork in the Road” giving them the option to resign from their positions as part of the government’s cost-cutting measures directed by Trump and carried out by DOGE under Musk, an unelected official.

Her alarm grew when her supervisor directed administrative judges in her New York district office to pause all their current LGBTQ+ cases and send them to Washington for further review in order to comply with Trump’s executive order declaring that the government would recognize only two “immutable” sexes — male and female.

Ortiz decried management’s lack of action in response to the directive, which she said was antithetical to the EEOC’s mission, and called upon some 185 colleagues in an email to “resist” complying with “illegal mandates.” But that email was “mysteriously” deleted, she said.

The next day, after yet another frustrating “Fork in the Road” update, Ortiz decided to go big, emailing the EEOC’s acting chair Andrea Lucas directly and copying more than 1,000 colleagues with the subject line, “A Spoon is Better than a Fork.” In it, Ortiz questioned Lucas’s fitness to serve as acting chair, “much less hold a license to practice law.”
Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, poses for photos, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, poses for photos, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“I know I take a great personal risk in sending out this message. But, at the end of the day, my actions align with what the EEOC was charged with doing under the law,” Ortiz wrote. “I will not compromise my ethics and my duty to uphold the law. I will not cower to bullying and intimidation.”

16.New school program aims to help boys thrive academically. Boys are at least half a grade behind girls in reading in nearly every U.S. state — to address that gap, one school made three big shifts.

A New School Program Aims to Help Boys Thrive Academically



17.Artist’s nature-inspired window murals give cancer patients a room with a view. “I want them to feel transported,” Colleen Wall said of the motivation behind the colorful murals she installs in windowless hospital rooms.

Inspirational Artist Paints Murals for Cancer Patients

[Okay that's cool. I want to do that. Maybe I'll take a mural painting course when I retire, and learn how to paint on walls not just paper?]

18. Same sex marriage is officially legalized in Thailand now. It's the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

[Way to go Thailand!]

19.Thousands of women from across 16 cities in Québec including Montréal formed a human chain to protest Trump and Elon Musk. Protesters chanted “shame on you” on the doorsteps of the U.S. Consulate. It was one of more than a dozen demonstrations held across Quebec to mark International Women’s Day and denounce the American government’s attacks on women’s rights and Canada’s sovereignty.

In Montreal, many wore red, symbolic of both blood and love. Some donned signs displaying the Canadian maple leaf. A few wore robes reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel in which women are subjugated by the governing regime. Others carried signs comparing U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to that of Nazi Germany.

Go HERE

20. Fired Federal Probationary Employees Reinstated Per Court Ruling

21. US Clears Out Remaining Migrants from Guantamo Bay, Cuba and moves them to the Mainland US as they await Deportation

The United States has cleared out the last migrants being held at its naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sending them back to the U.S. mainland as they await deportation.

Two U.S. defense officials told VOA on Wednesday that 40 detainees, including 23 “high-threat illegal aliens” incarcerated at the base’s detention center, were flown to Louisiana on Tuesday.

22. Trump suspends Tariffs on Mexican and Canadian Goods Again - until April now

Later on March 6, Trump also announced that the 25% tariff on Canadian goods that are compliant with the USMCA would also be postponed to April.

Why? Glad you asked. After he announced the tariffs were taking effect? "Following the announcement, the shares of several companies doing business in North America plummeted."

[I'm thinking that no one in the Republican Party has a basic understanding of Economic theory?]

23. DOGE is now subject to the Open Records Act

"Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) must comply with a request to disclose its internal records. In a ruling on Monday, US District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote that DOGE is likely covered by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), adding that “the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records.”

The ruling stems from a lawsuit from an ethics watchdog group — the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) — that sued DOGE for failing to hand over documents related to communications between staffers and federal agencies, organizational charts, financial disclosures, and other records."

This is a well-known legal tactic - you request documents and flood them with requests. If you work documentation at all? You'll understand how crippling this can be for an agency.

24. Telsa Sales Are Falling Off a Cliff Globally - including Germany, Australia and China

China has a competing car that is better than Telsa's.

"Tesla was proudly proclaiming less than a year ago that it would be selling 20 million electric vehicles annually by 2030. Fast forward to today, and things have taken a sharp downturn. After seemingly abandoning this lofty goal mid-2024, the company has also seen its first annual sales decline in a decade. Now, Tesla’s sales are continuing to slide in several major markets, including Germany, Australia, and, of course, China.

Earlier this week, we reported that Tesla sales in Norway collapsed by 44.4% through January and February, despite the country’s overall EV market growing by 53.4%. Things are even worse in Germany. New data from the KBA – Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority – shows that in January 2025, Tesla sales plummeted by 59.5%, with just 1,277 new cars registered in the country."

Hee Hee Hee. [Personally I don't own a car - so not an issue, but keep it up those of you who do?]

25. Border Traffic Down between Canada and the US since Vacation Ban went into effect

Basically the Canadians are no longer traveling to the US. (I think Americans are traveling there - some possibly hoping to flee to Canada.)

"It's like a ghost town — that's how the owner of the Emerson Duty Free shop at the Manitoba-United States border described the highway leading to the crossing after new tariffs kicked in.

Simon Resch said vehicles are usually lined up "by the dozens, sometimes by the hundreds" to head into the U.S., but after a 25 per cent tariff came in Tuesday, it went down to a trickle.

"I've been here now for a couple of hours and I've counted two trucks leaving Manitoba. That is unprecedented. We have never seen that," Resch told CBC News a couple of days after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs took effect and before Trump announced they would be paused for some items until April 2."

26. South Dakota Governor Signs Landmark Bill Restricting Eminent Domain for C20 Pipelines - this is kind of huge, folks, and in a good way.

"In a historic victory for landowners and citizen advocacy, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has signed HB 1052 into law, banning the use of eminent domain for private CO2 pipeline projects. This landmark legislation marks a major win for property rights and rural communities, ensuring that corporations can no longer use government-backed land seizures for private gain.

Dakota Rural Action (DRA) and its members have been on the front lines of this fight since the very beginning. What started as a grassroots effort in 2021 has grown into one of the most significant political movements in South Dakota’s recent history—spanning multiple county ordinances, PUC permit hearings and denials, legal battles that have gone to the SD Supreme Court, major shake ups in the SD GOP, and last year’s successful referral of Referred Law 21."

27. Anonymous Shut Down X for a Day. Yes, Anonymous and it's resistance hackers have entered the fight.

Using the hashtag #takedowntwitter (the site’s former name before Musk bought the platform in October 2022), a Bluesky user who goes by the name ‘Puck Arks’ posted that a pro-Palestinian hacker group known as the Dark Storm Team has laid claim to Monday morning's interruptions.

“#DarkStorm has confirmed that the DDoS attack against Twitter will continue throughout the day as a protest against Musk and Trump,” they posted, stating the attacks are expected to last for at least another four hours.

[I'm barely on Twitter - so didn't notice. But Bluesky was rumbling about something.]

28. Stand Up for Science Held Protests Across the US and Abroad

"WASHINGTON, D.C.—Thousands of researchers and their supporters, including recently fired federal workers, gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial here today to protest what they consider the antiscience actions of President Donald Trump in the nearly 7 weeks since he took office. The nation’s capital is just one of the many locations hosting the rally, called Stand Up for Science, with about 30 events nationwide and additional rallies outside the United States, bringing the expected total to more than 150 events."

29. Over 500 People Rallied in Millwaukee to Protest Job Cuts to Veterans Affairs

30. Protests have taken over Chicago - there's at least 6 rallies this week alone- Women’s Day, Stand Up For Science, a rally for Ukraine, Indivisible protest against Trump/Musk, a rally for trans rights, and more.

Just this week, Chicago is set to see at least six protests throughout the city, from a rally for Ukraine last Sunday to a march for International Women’s Day this Saturday. While the focus of each protest has varied, a common theme appears to unite them all: a rejection of Trump, Elon Musk and the administration’s attacks on constitutional and federal law.

31. Over 3.5 Million People have Sent Letters and Signed a Petition to Free Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Kahlil

The administration’s attempt to illegally deport Columbia University student Mahmoud Kahlil was halted by a court. The Syrian-born, US permanent resident is still being detained and persecuted for exercising his First Amendment rights to speech, protest, and assembly. A court case is scheduled for Monday. A sit-in was held by Jewish activists in Trump Tower and a rally was held at Columbia University. A staggering 3.2 million people signed a petition calling for his release.

[It is important to note that all these actions have been non-violent forms of resistance.]

33. Filipino Workers at a Semiconductor Factory Declare Strike Victory

34. Monarch Butterfly Population is Rebounding

35. Filipino ex-president Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

36. Serbia’s Generation Z is driving unrelenting protests against government corruption.

For over three months, students in Serbia have been protesting for justice, freedom, and democracy. What began as a silent demonstration has grown into the largest student movement in the modern history of the Balkans—and it continues to expand. If they succeed, could this spark a global wave of change?

37. Georgia just marked its 100th day of protests against the government’s about-face on European Union membership.

38. Mexican women are defying drug dealers and waste dumpers to protect the environment and build a thriving sustainable shellfish business.

39. Women’s Day protests were held across the US and millions participated worldwide including with large demonstrations of thousands in Mexico City, Brussels, Rome, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, La Paz, Bolivia; Madrid, Spain. In Toronto, more than 3,000 people came out and called for cross-border solidarity in one of the longest-running Women’s Day marches in the world.

40. Little Free Library Celebrates 200,000th Launch by Distributing Thousands of Books to Elementary Schools

41. a 200 Foot Rainbow Banner Unfurled at the Capitol of Utah as the GOP bans Pride Flags on Government land

42. In Pakistan Soap Operas are building peace-building and understanding between Indians and Pakistanians

43. Ecador is using cyberactivism to build better bicycle programs

44. In Bogota, Columbia, Mimes Directing Traffic Had Surprisingly Loud Impacts

45.The SURVIVOR and her MARTIN GUITAR ... "the floods of Helene came roaring in the area of the mountains where they lived. She grabbed her disabled son and what few belongings she could gather. As the surging waters separated her from the rest of her family she grabbed a guitar case and used it as a float as she was swept down river. Music does save lives and this time literally. People got her to come to the event at Warren Wilson College and after being interviewed by Karen Czar for NPR, they had put away a little surprise for her. In all of the 1800 instruments WoodSongs gave away that day they held back a very special Martin guitar, a prize for any guitar player. After she told her story to the reporter, they brought her gift over and opened the case, and this is the expression she had when she realized we were gifting her a Martin guitar to replace the instrument that she used to float down the surging river that saved her life. In all, 1800-plus instruments were collected from all over America, well over 1000 people stood in line and every single instrument was handed out and gifted. All for free." 

46. North Carolina Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards was confronted by angry constituents during a town hall meeting over Donald Trump and Elon Musk's devastating (and illegal) cuts across the federal government. This level of backlash is becoming more common at GOP town halls in recent weeks, so much so that elected Republican officials are being advised by party leadership to cancel in-person events with constituents.Mind you, North Carolina is a state that Donald Trump won in 2024. Americans of all stripes are standing up and voicing their anger over the Trump-Musk-Vance regime's authoritarian power grab.

47.The Oklahoma State Supreme Court has blocked its Department of Education from purchasing 55,000 bibles, ruling it as unconstitutional.

48.A federal judge in Maryland issued an even more sweeping restraining order, surpassing an earlier one from the same day. The order broadly prohibits the Trump administration from implementing any future “reductions in force,” such as this week’s directive to terminate half of the Education Department’s workforce. Additionally, the order requires agencies to offer reinstatement to recently laid-off probationary employees and expands its scope to 18 agencies, up from the six mentioned in the earlier case.



Whew. Off to bed. That made me feel better, not sure about anyone else. I wish I could do more than go to work, post these lists, sign petitions..and do boycotts, but we do what we can, don't we?

Date: 2025-03-18 02:39 am (UTC)
sonia: Quilted wall-hanging (Default)
From: [personal profile] sonia
This is awesome! I really appreciate the time it takes to gather and post these. I keep hoping we'll get to a turning point, and especially the last item sounds like maybe it could happen.

Date: 2025-03-18 04:22 am (UTC)
house_wren: glass birdie (Default)
From: [personal profile] house_wren
Oh thank you. Your lists are so encouraging.

Date: 2025-03-18 10:13 pm (UTC)
trepkos: (Default)
From: [personal profile] trepkos
Yes, it made me feel better too! Bloody Trump has noticeably impacted my pension fund!

Date: 2025-03-19 07:30 pm (UTC)
yourlibrarian: VotingSPN-morgentau (SPN-VotingSPN-morgentau)
From: [personal profile] yourlibrarian
I have wondered many times how history would have gone were it Bernie who had run against Trump in 2016 rather than Clinton.

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