WEāRE NOT DOOMED: Tue July 14, 2026
Today we actually had a whole lot of really big wins, so youāve probably had your feed covered with them. But we can never have enough, so here are three more.
Mon, June 1 - What started as a 30 day data center moratorium back in May, became a data center moratorium till August 2027 after a 9 hour special city council meeting that mostly consisted of public comment against data centers.
The most important name you need to know here is Councilmember Meghan Ebert, who, like many her colleagues is running for reelection this year.
While this extended moratorium was introduced by Council Member Devon Reese, it was Ebert who made sure the decision included language explicitly stating that the moratorium cannot end until there are actual regulations in place.
She is also concerned that Reese is only doing this because he is running for Mayor and that he will immediately flip on this if he wins. She told Nevada Current:
My community does not have trust that this body will follow through on any promises. So I need to have something in code, and I need to show my community that they will be protected, and that this isnāt a political stunt
And itās important to mention one other player, Councilmember Kathleen Taylor, who was not just against the August 2027 moratorium but also the only member of the city council who voted against the original 30 day moratorium. And sheās also running for mayor.
And, the one negative, the smaller data centers that are already in progress, will still be completed. Which sucks, but those larger ones really wonāt be happening anytime soon.
So this is a reminder of the power of a good elected official, and of fighting back against injustice. I can almost guarantee you, no moratorium would have happened at all without people fighting back.
Fri, June 12 - Chelmsford is a city in Essex and on June 20, Essex held their Pride parade. Leading up to that, the city council commissioned several artists to draw queer art across the city in shop windows.
Some of it was TERF friendly, as in, it didnāt mention trans people, and some of it very much wasnāt.
Hayley Wells painted āThere is no LGB without the Tā on Toast, a local coffee house.
And Bucky Ringsell drew a tiger with top surgery scars that said āProud of my Stripesā inside the local Lush store window.
Of course, terfs were outraged by Ringsellās design. As far as I can tell, the only thing Chlemsford did to quiet them was remove Rigsellās design from their Facebook posts showcasing the murals. Iāve seen nothing to suggest it was actually removed in person.
And Ringsell even posted on Instagram:
The mural is part of a city-wide Pride campaign. I designed and painted this tiger to support and represent trans folks who have undergone top surgery
ā myself included. Being proud of your scars (aka stripes) is something everyone can take inspiration from, regardless of your journey.
Would I love if Chlemsford City Council hadnāt removed the photo from their Facebook page? Yes, of course. But if thatās all they did, and the artwork was still up in person, thatās still a very loud statement, especially in England. And that matters.
Mon, June 15 - Instead of focusing on something Governor Andy Beshear has no control over, letās focus on something he does.
Ahead of Juneteenth, he signed an executive order creating the Freedom Trails Pardon List. This pardons 43 people and counting who had been criminalized for helping free those enduring enslavement in the 1800s.
He signed the order with Rev. Andrew Baskin, professor emeritus, specifically in the African and African American Studies department at Berea College and James Prichard, a historian focusing on Kentucky during the Civil War Era.
As he was signing it, he explained to the girl standing next to him, who I can only assume is Baskinās daughter:
We get to make a pretty loud statement that what they did was right, they shouldnāt have been prosecuted for it, and while we canāt go back in time and change that, we can certainly recognize their actions as heroic today.
This is not a complete list either. Beshear wants to pardon everyone he can. So if you know someone or have a family member who should be on this list, you can email the governor at [email protected].
This is an ongoing process, and, as Prichard said during the signing, at a time:
when there seems to be an effort to sanitize our past, that this part of our history is no longer swept under the rug and becomes a part of Kentuckyās soil.
Thatās what makes this story so incredibly powerful. Not just that Beshear is doing this at all, but that heās doing this when the federal government wishes he was doing literally anything else.
I hope these stories invigorate you and make it easier for you to fight back! Remember, our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
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And if you read to the end, comment šÆ(a tiger) cause I canāt get enough of that window art.
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