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shadowkatGood news, depending on one's perspective? It also shows how the courts check the executive branch or how the system of checks and balances works.
Prior to going into this? A nice little video about how a "bill" becomes a "law" in the US, which shows how the Legislature and Executive Branch interact and check each other. The US is a democratic Republic with a system of Checks and Balances, it's not a Parliamentary System, although the system did borrow heavily from it.
I'm Only a Bill...via School House Rock.
[For those who don't already know? School House Rock along with the Afterschool Special was ABC's response to the Children's Television Act of the 1970s and 1990s, which required American Broadcasting to provide television shows aimed at educating children and were "child" appropriate. And specifically the creation of advertising executive who decided cartoons would be a cool way to teach kids.
Per Wiki: "Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, music videos) which aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The themes covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series' original run lasted from 1973 to 1985; it was later revived from 1993 to 1996. Additional episodes were produced in 2009 for direct-to-video release. "]
And a fun little one about our Checks and Balances known as the 3 Ring Circus, it explains in simple terms what each branch of the US government is responsible for:
Both are rather oversimplified explanations. It's more complicated than that, and if we add in the State Legislatures, Executive Branches, and Courts, it gets even more so. There's a reason you can't practice law in the US without passing both the individual State Bar Exam and the Multi-State Bar Exam (Federal). Also not every State recognizes every other State's Bar, since the regulations and laws per state vary.
So, its not just a check and balances between the Executive (enforces the laws), the Legislative (creates the laws), and the Courts (interprets the laws and determines if the newly created laws or their enforcement contradicts the US or State Constitutions and are invalid, and how they should be enforced) - it's also a checks and balances between the States vs. Federal, States vs. States, and States vs. Local, and add to all of that other countries or what is known as International Law, and International Trade and Treaties. This type of law is practiced and taught under Administrative Law (which has various regulations and policies in place to enforce the laws), and Constitutional Law, also Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Procedural Law.
Hopefully the above will give anyone who wasn't taught all of this in law school or civics courses or isn't a legal professional working with administrative laws and regulations daily - a simplified road map towards understanding what is currently happening? (shrugs)
Now, for the good news, or a demonstration of how all of this is actually working to beat back fascism and uphold our civil rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner. [As always, mileage may vary on whether this is good news and it's in the eye of the beholder.]
1.A federal court temporarily blocks the president’s unconstitutional executive order attempting to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
https://www.votebeat.org/2025/04/24/trump-executive-order-elections-preliminary-injunction/
2. Mohsen Mahdawi, a college student arrested by ICE following his citizenship interview, is released from detention by order of a federal court while his immigration case proceeds.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-columbia-student-detained-ice-seek-release-case/story?id=121317902
3.19 states and Washington, DC sue the Dept. of Health and Human Services and its leadership over the unconstitutional dismantling of various federal programs vital to Americans’ health.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/health/states-sue-trump-administration-hhs-rfk
4.A U.S. district court rules that the presidential administration cannot use an 18th-century wartime law to deport people from Venezuela living in the U.S. (How can they do that? The Federal Government is attempting to deport citizens of various States, or people who are living in those States under those States protections of laws - so since the deportations are happening within the State's jurisdiction - the State has a say in whether the Department of Justice or ICE is violating due process, under the State and US Constitution, and whether the legal precedent or law it is utilizing is valid. It's kind of similar to whether the European Union can use an antiquated NATO treaty to deport immigrants from Germany or force a country like England or Greece to accept them. The individual countries and their laws have a say in the matter. Just as the US can't automatically deport citizens to say Mexico - if Mexico disagrees and refuses.)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-cannot-use-alien-enemies-act-deport-venezuelans-judge-rules-2025-05-01/
"NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from using an 18th-century wartime law to deport some Venezuelan migrants, in the most sweeping ruling thus far against a key part of the Republican president's aggressive immigration crackdown.
In a 36-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez in Brownsville, Texas, ruled that the Trump administration exceeded the scope of the Alien Enemies Act by using it to speed up the deportations of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The government labels the gang a terrorist organization.
Trump's mid-March proclamation invoking the 1798 law to justify rapid deportations faces multiple court challenges. Judges in several states have temporarily blocked the administration from deporting migrants detained in their districts under the Alien Enemies Act, with a Colorado judge ruling last week that the administration must give migrants at least 21 days to challenge their potential removals in court.
Rodriguez's ruling went further. The judge, appointed by Trump during his first term in office, permanently barred the administration from deporting Venezuelans detained in the Southern District of Texas under the law.
His ruling was also the first to outright reject Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, writing that Tren de Aragua's actions in the U.S. did not amount to an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" that would justify the use of the law.
"The President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful," wrote Rodriguez
, opens new tab, whose district includes the detention facility from which at least 137 Venezuelan men were deported to El Salvador on March 15, immediately after Trump invoked the law."
Trump believes his election gave him a mandate. But that's not how it works. All it did is give him the ability to enforce laws created by the legislature and approved by the Supreme Court, or veto them. Note, he cannot enact or create laws, which is what he's attempting to do. He's trying to run the country like a business, and it's not a business.
5.Colorado passes a bill to uphold public school students’ access to diverse reading materials.
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-limit-school-library-book-bans/
6.37,000 petition signers and protesters rally against Avelo Airline’s complicity in the administration’s anti-immigrant deportation agenda.
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/rally-tweed-new-haven-airport-protest-avelo-ct-ice-20279477.php
7.DOGE just got slapped down hard by a federal judge for trying to steal the U.S. Institute of Peace and its $500 million headquarters. The Trump regime tried to illegally fire the board, storm the building with the FBI, and hand the whole damn thing over to themselves. It was like a low-budget coup…for a nonprofit. Judge Beryl Howell ruled the whole takeover “unlawful, null, and void.” She ordered the real board reinstated and told DOGE cronies to get the hell out.
8.Earth justice just won their first victory against this Trump administration! USDA has agreed to restore info about climate change that it purged from its websites, a move they challenged on behalf of farmers who depend on this data. This win is a proof point that the power of the law is an effective tool against the Trump administration’s science-denying, industry-appeasing agenda.
9.The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey, released today, showed the second-lowest level on record — down almost 30 percent since the start of the year, right before Trump took office. Nearly three-fourths of respondents — including a notable share of Republicans — mentioned tariffs.(Funny, 30 percent is almost as much as Trump’s poll numbers have dropped since he took office).
10.A federal judge ruled that the takeover by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of the U.S. Institute of Peace was unlawful and therefore “null and void.” The order blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from interfering with the organization.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69754533/40/united-states-institute-of-peace-v-jackson/?_hsmi=362263629
11.San Francisco schools cancel 151 layoffs in major win for teachers’ union.
https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/16/sfusd-cancels-layoffs-expands-teacher-hiring/
12.A federal appeals court seemed open to siding with Georgia voters by reviving a pro-voting lawsuit targeting a right-wing effort to disenfranchise some 364k voters.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/appeals-court-could-crack-down-on-anti-voting-groups-dangerous-mass-voter-challenges/
13.Maine sues the presidential administration for retaliation after its refusal to comply with discriminatory order on trans youth in sports. [Maine is traditionally conservative, so this is rather interesting.]
https://bsky.app/profile/hrc.org/post/3lmcvgk4qn224
14.Pushback works: The Trump administration reversed its position and is restoring financial support for a landmark women’s health study, which was researching “factors associated with cardiovascular diseases, aging, cognition, frailty, resilience, and much, much more.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5376473/hhs-restores-funding-for-womens-health-initiative?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40
15.Wind and solar capacity have surpassed coal-powered thermal energy in China for the first time.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250425-china-says-wind-and-solar-energy-capacity-exceeds-thermal-for-first-time?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40
16.In Cobb County, GA, Democrats swept both county commission seats in a special election, maintaining control of the five-member board.
https://archive.ph/gQzD2#selection-1513.120-1513.258
17.A decades-old law firm, Donati Law, has resigned from the Tennessee Bar Association, citing qualms with its inaction against Trump’s “unprecedented assault on the rule of law.”
https://www.actionnews5.com/2025/04/24/memphis-law-firm-resigns-tba-after-40-years-over-complicity-trumps-executive-overreach/
18.The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation regain rightful control of 2,100 acres of their land and establish the Three Affiliated Tribes National Park.
https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-park-badlands-tribe-6c541f02c3c81c50e5ab563f0b22776f
19.U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Duncan Williams confirms that the embassy will make an official request for information about Andry José Hernández Romero, who was deported from the U.S. and essentially disappeared to a Salvadoran prison.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2025-04-23/chabria-column-robert-garcia-el-salvador-deportees
20.Arizone Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes a bill that would have left the state’s immigrant communities more vulnerable to deportation.
https://azmirror.com/2025/05/03/hobbs-vetoes-gop-bills-that-would-force-cooperation-with-ice/
21.Maryland reaches their land conservation goals five years early and it's reaching for more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/climate/maryland-30x30-conservation-land.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
22. Springfield, OH sues a white-supremacist group over a hate campaign deliberately targeting and endangering Haitian communities.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/08/springfield-ohio-neo-nazis-haitians/
23. New Mexico passes three bipartisan bills to conserve freshwater and wildlife.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2025/04/15/pew-applauds-new-mexico-legislature-and-governor-for-major-wildlife-and-freshwater-protections
24. Florida - A federal court orders the state to address water pollution that led to a record number of manatee deaths.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18042025/judge-orders-florida-to-address-pollution-that-led-to-manatee-deaths/
25.A win for Michigan voters: SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) declined to take a case from Michigan GOP lawmakers who used the radical independent state legislature theory to challenge two voter-approved pro-voting amendments to the Michigan Constitution. The amendments will remain in effect.
https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/michigan-voting-rights-constitutional-amendments-challenge/?_hsmi=362263629
26.The largest remaining antebellum slave-holding plantation home turned “resort”, Louisiana’s 64 room “Nottoway Plantation” was destroyed by fire on the night of May 15th. Located in White Castle, Louisiana, the 53,000 square-foot structure was engulfed in flames just after sunset. By 10 PM, the south wing had collapsed and much of the property was reduced to rubble. No injuries were reported in the cause of the fire is still under investigation. It was once a working plantation that once housed 155 enslaved people.
[Be a bit like watching Auschwitz burn to the ground.]
27. Switzerland is installing solar panels between train tracks. [wickedly cool]. The Swiss start-up Sun-Ways has initiated a pilot project near Buttes in the canton of Neuchâtel, aiming to harness solar energy from the unused space between railway tracks. This innovative approach involves installing removable solar panels that can be quickly deployed and removed, ensuring that train operations and essential track maintenance are not disrupted. The pilot installation consists of 48 solar panels over a 100-meter stretch of track, expected to produce approximately 16,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually—enough to power about four to six households. Sun-Ways estimates that if this system were implemented across the entire Swiss rail network, it could generate up to 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of solar energy per year, supplying electricity to around 300,000 households, which corresponds to about 2% of Switzerland's total electricity consumption.
This project has garnered international interest, with countries like South Korea, Spain, Romania, China, and the United States exploring similar collaborations. While some experts express concerns about the long-term efficiency and maintenance of removable panels, others see significant potential in utilizing existing infrastructure for renewable energy production without consuming undeveloped land. As Switzerland progresses toward its goal of a zero-emission future, the Sun-Ways initiative represents a bold and scalable model for clean energy production integrated with active railway infrastructure.
28. 19 year old Adam Kovalčík figured out a cheaper and faster way to make an antiviral drug for a fraction of the normal cost, using an alcohol from corn husks.
https://www.businessinsider.com/teenager-invents-cheaper-faster-antiviral-drug-manufacturing-method-wins-award-2025-5
29. Fight back: journalist taking Trump administration to court calls for media to resist attacks.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/patsy-widakuswara-voice-of-america-lawsuit-trump-administration-press-freedom?CMP=bsky_gu
30. Alabama: Court-ordered redistricting results in two majority-Black cities having congressional representatives who understand community needs first hand.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5345820/alabama-black-voters-new-second-congressional-district
31.Diné voters in present-day San Juan County can continue to access in-person voting and voting materials in the Diné Bizaad (Navajo Language) language through at least 2028. [Settlement extension ensures Navajo voting access through 2028 in San Juan County ].
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/settlement-extension-ensures-navajo-voting-access-through-2028-in-san-juan-county/
"Since day one of the new administration, We The People have fought in the courts, legislatures, and the streets to defend our civil rights against any attack:
We and our affiliates have joined the legal teams of students and scholars targeted by the government in retaliation for their speech in support of Palestinian rights, including Mahmoud Khalil, Dr. Badar Khan Suri, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Mohsen Mahdawi. We will always fight to protect the First Amendment.
The ACLU is suing in response to Trump's threats to slash funding to schools that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and for removing medical research by private doctors from a government website for including the words "LGBTQ" and "trans[gender]."
The ACLU is suing the Trump administration to protect gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Next month, the Supreme Court will decide the outcome of our case, U.S. vs. Skrmetti, which could secure the right to health care for transgender youth nationwide.
And we're suing the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs for information about DOGE's secretive efforts to access and analyze Americans' sensitive personal information. These lawsuits come after those agencies failed to promptly respond to the Freedom of Information Act requests that we filed with over 40 federal agencies.
We've had 17,000+ people join Know Your Rights trainings on immigrants' rights. Trainings of this kind have been so impactful that Tom Homan, head of border enforcement, complained about how disruptive they have been to planned ICE raids."
As stated earlier in this post - the US does have things already in place and historically embedded over 200 years, that enable us to fight back and to do so peacefully.
Another School House Rock Ditty... No More Kings - which I think explains the American character rather well, even if it leaves a lot out, unfortunately.
Also these:
* Electoral College - Send Your Vote to College
* The Constitution - the Preamble
* Declaration of Independence - Fireworks
And finally, a new protest song by Joan Baez and Janis Ian:
Prior to going into this? A nice little video about how a "bill" becomes a "law" in the US, which shows how the Legislature and Executive Branch interact and check each other. The US is a democratic Republic with a system of Checks and Balances, it's not a Parliamentary System, although the system did borrow heavily from it.
I'm Only a Bill...via School House Rock.
[For those who don't already know? School House Rock along with the Afterschool Special was ABC's response to the Children's Television Act of the 1970s and 1990s, which required American Broadcasting to provide television shows aimed at educating children and were "child" appropriate. And specifically the creation of advertising executive who decided cartoons would be a cool way to teach kids.
Per Wiki: "Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, music videos) which aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The themes covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series' original run lasted from 1973 to 1985; it was later revived from 1993 to 1996. Additional episodes were produced in 2009 for direct-to-video release. "]
And a fun little one about our Checks and Balances known as the 3 Ring Circus, it explains in simple terms what each branch of the US government is responsible for:
Both are rather oversimplified explanations. It's more complicated than that, and if we add in the State Legislatures, Executive Branches, and Courts, it gets even more so. There's a reason you can't practice law in the US without passing both the individual State Bar Exam and the Multi-State Bar Exam (Federal). Also not every State recognizes every other State's Bar, since the regulations and laws per state vary.
So, its not just a check and balances between the Executive (enforces the laws), the Legislative (creates the laws), and the Courts (interprets the laws and determines if the newly created laws or their enforcement contradicts the US or State Constitutions and are invalid, and how they should be enforced) - it's also a checks and balances between the States vs. Federal, States vs. States, and States vs. Local, and add to all of that other countries or what is known as International Law, and International Trade and Treaties. This type of law is practiced and taught under Administrative Law (which has various regulations and policies in place to enforce the laws), and Constitutional Law, also Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Procedural Law.
Hopefully the above will give anyone who wasn't taught all of this in law school or civics courses or isn't a legal professional working with administrative laws and regulations daily - a simplified road map towards understanding what is currently happening? (shrugs)
Now, for the good news, or a demonstration of how all of this is actually working to beat back fascism and uphold our civil rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner. [As always, mileage may vary on whether this is good news and it's in the eye of the beholder.]
1.A federal court temporarily blocks the president’s unconstitutional executive order attempting to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
https://www.votebeat.org/2025/04/24/trump-executive-order-elections-preliminary-injunction/
2. Mohsen Mahdawi, a college student arrested by ICE following his citizenship interview, is released from detention by order of a federal court while his immigration case proceeds.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-columbia-student-detained-ice-seek-release-case/story?id=121317902
3.19 states and Washington, DC sue the Dept. of Health and Human Services and its leadership over the unconstitutional dismantling of various federal programs vital to Americans’ health.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/health/states-sue-trump-administration-hhs-rfk
4.A U.S. district court rules that the presidential administration cannot use an 18th-century wartime law to deport people from Venezuela living in the U.S. (How can they do that? The Federal Government is attempting to deport citizens of various States, or people who are living in those States under those States protections of laws - so since the deportations are happening within the State's jurisdiction - the State has a say in whether the Department of Justice or ICE is violating due process, under the State and US Constitution, and whether the legal precedent or law it is utilizing is valid. It's kind of similar to whether the European Union can use an antiquated NATO treaty to deport immigrants from Germany or force a country like England or Greece to accept them. The individual countries and their laws have a say in the matter. Just as the US can't automatically deport citizens to say Mexico - if Mexico disagrees and refuses.)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-cannot-use-alien-enemies-act-deport-venezuelans-judge-rules-2025-05-01/
"NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from using an 18th-century wartime law to deport some Venezuelan migrants, in the most sweeping ruling thus far against a key part of the Republican president's aggressive immigration crackdown.
In a 36-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez in Brownsville, Texas, ruled that the Trump administration exceeded the scope of the Alien Enemies Act by using it to speed up the deportations of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The government labels the gang a terrorist organization.
Trump's mid-March proclamation invoking the 1798 law to justify rapid deportations faces multiple court challenges. Judges in several states have temporarily blocked the administration from deporting migrants detained in their districts under the Alien Enemies Act, with a Colorado judge ruling last week that the administration must give migrants at least 21 days to challenge their potential removals in court.
Rodriguez's ruling went further. The judge, appointed by Trump during his first term in office, permanently barred the administration from deporting Venezuelans detained in the Southern District of Texas under the law.
His ruling was also the first to outright reject Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, writing that Tren de Aragua's actions in the U.S. did not amount to an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" that would justify the use of the law.
"The President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful," wrote Rodriguez
, opens new tab, whose district includes the detention facility from which at least 137 Venezuelan men were deported to El Salvador on March 15, immediately after Trump invoked the law."
Trump believes his election gave him a mandate. But that's not how it works. All it did is give him the ability to enforce laws created by the legislature and approved by the Supreme Court, or veto them. Note, he cannot enact or create laws, which is what he's attempting to do. He's trying to run the country like a business, and it's not a business.
5.Colorado passes a bill to uphold public school students’ access to diverse reading materials.
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-limit-school-library-book-bans/
6.37,000 petition signers and protesters rally against Avelo Airline’s complicity in the administration’s anti-immigrant deportation agenda.
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/rally-tweed-new-haven-airport-protest-avelo-ct-ice-20279477.php
7.DOGE just got slapped down hard by a federal judge for trying to steal the U.S. Institute of Peace and its $500 million headquarters. The Trump regime tried to illegally fire the board, storm the building with the FBI, and hand the whole damn thing over to themselves. It was like a low-budget coup…for a nonprofit. Judge Beryl Howell ruled the whole takeover “unlawful, null, and void.” She ordered the real board reinstated and told DOGE cronies to get the hell out.
8.Earth justice just won their first victory against this Trump administration! USDA has agreed to restore info about climate change that it purged from its websites, a move they challenged on behalf of farmers who depend on this data. This win is a proof point that the power of the law is an effective tool against the Trump administration’s science-denying, industry-appeasing agenda.
9.The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey, released today, showed the second-lowest level on record — down almost 30 percent since the start of the year, right before Trump took office. Nearly three-fourths of respondents — including a notable share of Republicans — mentioned tariffs.(Funny, 30 percent is almost as much as Trump’s poll numbers have dropped since he took office).
10.A federal judge ruled that the takeover by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of the U.S. Institute of Peace was unlawful and therefore “null and void.” The order blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from interfering with the organization.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69754533/40/united-states-institute-of-peace-v-jackson/?_hsmi=362263629
11.San Francisco schools cancel 151 layoffs in major win for teachers’ union.
https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/16/sfusd-cancels-layoffs-expands-teacher-hiring/
12.A federal appeals court seemed open to siding with Georgia voters by reviving a pro-voting lawsuit targeting a right-wing effort to disenfranchise some 364k voters.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/appeals-court-could-crack-down-on-anti-voting-groups-dangerous-mass-voter-challenges/
13.Maine sues the presidential administration for retaliation after its refusal to comply with discriminatory order on trans youth in sports. [Maine is traditionally conservative, so this is rather interesting.]
https://bsky.app/profile/hrc.org/post/3lmcvgk4qn224
14.Pushback works: The Trump administration reversed its position and is restoring financial support for a landmark women’s health study, which was researching “factors associated with cardiovascular diseases, aging, cognition, frailty, resilience, and much, much more.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5376473/hhs-restores-funding-for-womens-health-initiative?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40
15.Wind and solar capacity have surpassed coal-powered thermal energy in China for the first time.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250425-china-says-wind-and-solar-energy-capacity-exceeds-thermal-for-first-time?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40
16.In Cobb County, GA, Democrats swept both county commission seats in a special election, maintaining control of the five-member board.
https://archive.ph/gQzD2#selection-1513.120-1513.258
17.A decades-old law firm, Donati Law, has resigned from the Tennessee Bar Association, citing qualms with its inaction against Trump’s “unprecedented assault on the rule of law.”
https://www.actionnews5.com/2025/04/24/memphis-law-firm-resigns-tba-after-40-years-over-complicity-trumps-executive-overreach/
18.The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation regain rightful control of 2,100 acres of their land and establish the Three Affiliated Tribes National Park.
https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-park-badlands-tribe-6c541f02c3c81c50e5ab563f0b22776f
19.U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Duncan Williams confirms that the embassy will make an official request for information about Andry José Hernández Romero, who was deported from the U.S. and essentially disappeared to a Salvadoran prison.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2025-04-23/chabria-column-robert-garcia-el-salvador-deportees
20.Arizone Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes a bill that would have left the state’s immigrant communities more vulnerable to deportation.
https://azmirror.com/2025/05/03/hobbs-vetoes-gop-bills-that-would-force-cooperation-with-ice/
21.Maryland reaches their land conservation goals five years early and it's reaching for more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/climate/maryland-30x30-conservation-land.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
22. Springfield, OH sues a white-supremacist group over a hate campaign deliberately targeting and endangering Haitian communities.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/08/springfield-ohio-neo-nazis-haitians/
23. New Mexico passes three bipartisan bills to conserve freshwater and wildlife.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2025/04/15/pew-applauds-new-mexico-legislature-and-governor-for-major-wildlife-and-freshwater-protections
24. Florida - A federal court orders the state to address water pollution that led to a record number of manatee deaths.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18042025/judge-orders-florida-to-address-pollution-that-led-to-manatee-deaths/
25.A win for Michigan voters: SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) declined to take a case from Michigan GOP lawmakers who used the radical independent state legislature theory to challenge two voter-approved pro-voting amendments to the Michigan Constitution. The amendments will remain in effect.
https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/michigan-voting-rights-constitutional-amendments-challenge/?_hsmi=362263629
26.The largest remaining antebellum slave-holding plantation home turned “resort”, Louisiana’s 64 room “Nottoway Plantation” was destroyed by fire on the night of May 15th. Located in White Castle, Louisiana, the 53,000 square-foot structure was engulfed in flames just after sunset. By 10 PM, the south wing had collapsed and much of the property was reduced to rubble. No injuries were reported in the cause of the fire is still under investigation. It was once a working plantation that once housed 155 enslaved people.
[Be a bit like watching Auschwitz burn to the ground.]
27. Switzerland is installing solar panels between train tracks. [wickedly cool]. The Swiss start-up Sun-Ways has initiated a pilot project near Buttes in the canton of Neuchâtel, aiming to harness solar energy from the unused space between railway tracks. This innovative approach involves installing removable solar panels that can be quickly deployed and removed, ensuring that train operations and essential track maintenance are not disrupted. The pilot installation consists of 48 solar panels over a 100-meter stretch of track, expected to produce approximately 16,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually—enough to power about four to six households. Sun-Ways estimates that if this system were implemented across the entire Swiss rail network, it could generate up to 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of solar energy per year, supplying electricity to around 300,000 households, which corresponds to about 2% of Switzerland's total electricity consumption.
This project has garnered international interest, with countries like South Korea, Spain, Romania, China, and the United States exploring similar collaborations. While some experts express concerns about the long-term efficiency and maintenance of removable panels, others see significant potential in utilizing existing infrastructure for renewable energy production without consuming undeveloped land. As Switzerland progresses toward its goal of a zero-emission future, the Sun-Ways initiative represents a bold and scalable model for clean energy production integrated with active railway infrastructure.
28. 19 year old Adam Kovalčík figured out a cheaper and faster way to make an antiviral drug for a fraction of the normal cost, using an alcohol from corn husks.
https://www.businessinsider.com/teenager-invents-cheaper-faster-antiviral-drug-manufacturing-method-wins-award-2025-5
29. Fight back: journalist taking Trump administration to court calls for media to resist attacks.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/patsy-widakuswara-voice-of-america-lawsuit-trump-administration-press-freedom?CMP=bsky_gu
30. Alabama: Court-ordered redistricting results in two majority-Black cities having congressional representatives who understand community needs first hand.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5345820/alabama-black-voters-new-second-congressional-district
31.Diné voters in present-day San Juan County can continue to access in-person voting and voting materials in the Diné Bizaad (Navajo Language) language through at least 2028. [Settlement extension ensures Navajo voting access through 2028 in San Juan County ].
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/settlement-extension-ensures-navajo-voting-access-through-2028-in-san-juan-county/
"Since day one of the new administration, We The People have fought in the courts, legislatures, and the streets to defend our civil rights against any attack:
We and our affiliates have joined the legal teams of students and scholars targeted by the government in retaliation for their speech in support of Palestinian rights, including Mahmoud Khalil, Dr. Badar Khan Suri, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Mohsen Mahdawi. We will always fight to protect the First Amendment.
The ACLU is suing in response to Trump's threats to slash funding to schools that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and for removing medical research by private doctors from a government website for including the words "LGBTQ" and "trans[gender]."
The ACLU is suing the Trump administration to protect gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Next month, the Supreme Court will decide the outcome of our case, U.S. vs. Skrmetti, which could secure the right to health care for transgender youth nationwide.
And we're suing the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs for information about DOGE's secretive efforts to access and analyze Americans' sensitive personal information. These lawsuits come after those agencies failed to promptly respond to the Freedom of Information Act requests that we filed with over 40 federal agencies.
We've had 17,000+ people join Know Your Rights trainings on immigrants' rights. Trainings of this kind have been so impactful that Tom Homan, head of border enforcement, complained about how disruptive they have been to planned ICE raids."
As stated earlier in this post - the US does have things already in place and historically embedded over 200 years, that enable us to fight back and to do so peacefully.
Another School House Rock Ditty... No More Kings - which I think explains the American character rather well, even if it leaves a lot out, unfortunately.
Also these:
* Electoral College - Send Your Vote to College
* The Constitution - the Preamble
* Declaration of Independence - Fireworks
And finally, a new protest song by Joan Baez and Janis Ian: